All articles by Sam Fortescue
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News
Morrisons refuses to stock fresh NZ lamb
Morrisons has ditched fresh New Zealand lamb and promised to stock only British product until at least 2009. Chief executive Marc Bolland made the pledge last week at a conference hosted by English Farming and Food Partnerships in London....
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Shores leads Whole Foods expansion
Nina Shores has been appointed to head the UK expansion of US organic and natural food company Whole Foods Market. Shores has been property director at clothing chain Bank Fashion for two years and will take up the post of vice-president...
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Doh! Bernard Matthews was too 'stuck in the past' for Bart
Bart Dalla Mura quit Bernard Matthews last week over frustrations about the slow pace of change at the company, a close source to the former UK chief executive has claimed. He left unexpectedly after less than a year in the job, without...
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Home-grown oats go into Co-op bars
The Co-operative Group has launched a range of cereal bars made with oats grown on its own farms. The products join a growing list of lines, including peas, pumpkin and onions, that have been repackaged and branded with the retailer's...
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Bad weather helps red meat sales rise
Red meat sales soared during the cold, wet summer, according to new consumption data from the MLC. Shoppers spent an additional £50m on roasting joints and steaks during the summer, taking overall sales for beef, pork and lamb to £641m in...
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Heinz UK promotes Armstrong to run global supply taskforce
Heinz UK's logistics director David Armstrong has been promoted to the new role of project director for the group's global supply chain taskforce. He will be part of an initiative that was created in January to improve capital efficiency...
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Retailers look to rivals after Wealmoor blaze
The owner of the warehouse destroyed by a blaze that also tragically killed four firefighters has moved to reassure customers and suppliers. Family-owned Wealmoor said it had managed to divert business from its Atherstone packhouse in...
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Processors claim £16m in damages after FMD
British meat processors have put in a £16m legal claim for compensation after the foot and mouth outbreaks this summer. The British Meat Processors' Association has instructed solicitors to build a case against the government, which owns...
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Red grape supply short as sales rise
Soaring demand for red seedless grapes is creating major supply shortages and could lead to a rise in prices. Red grapes have traditionally held a 20% share of the seedless market but that is heading towards the US average of 50%,...
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Talking shop - The Soil Association should focus the spotlight on UK organic growers
The Soil Association should focus the spotlight on UK organic growers before it starts to point the finger at the developing world, says Jo Crawshaw, consultant for africapractice Some environmentalists have accused the Soil Association of backing...
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Anti-GM lobbyists call for fairer funding split
The government has come under fire from anti-GM campaigners for offering more financial support to the biotechnology industry than to the organic industry. Friends of the Earth said it had obtained figures showing the government...
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Air freight label fails to take off with shoppers
Tesco and M&S have admitted that their much-trumpeted initiatives to badge airfreighted fruit and vegetables have had no impact on sales. Though they were coy about the exact figures, they said that there was no evidence yet to suggest...
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Up to 20% of milk cost is poured down drain
The dairy industry is effectively pouring a fifth of the cost of every pint of milk down the drain - as a result of serious supply chain inefficiencies. Up to 20% of the cost incurred between the farm and the final consumer added "no...
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Price flash
Fresh produce prices have returned to the same high levels that were reached in June when supply fears over flooding resulted in rocketing shelf prices. The Grocer's regular price survey of a basket of typical fruit and veg has risen steadily...
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Marks pledges higher prices for lamb farmers
M&S has guaranteed its core lamb producers a mould-breaking base price of 240p/kg deadweight, beating an earlier commitment from rival Waitrose. The retailer said it would also pay a premium of 35p/kg on top of the base price for carcases...
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Cornish fishermen in tuna price plea
Cornish tuna fishermen are in crisis talks with retailers after achieving very low prices for this season's albacore through local markets. They want a supermarket to rescue the fishery, which was only set up this summer, by agreeing to...
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BerryWorld embraces the snack pack format
Berryworld has braved concerns over a global blueberry shortage and unveiled the UK's first branded blueberry snack at this week's World Fruit and Veg show at London's ExCel. Marketing manager Lisa Hoggarth said the first packs of its new...
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Asda recalls lamb with vet drug taint
Asda has been forced to recall thousands of packs of fresh lamb because they might have contained meat from sheep not fit for the food chain. The sheep had been treated with a veterinary drug called Doramectin, which experts say causes...
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Organics must slash reliance on airfreight
The Soil Association has decided against an outright ban on organic food airfreighting, arguing that it would hurt farmers in developing nations. But after four months of consultation over whether airfreighted produce can have organic...
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Just 26% eating two fish portions a week
Only one in four people is getting their recommended two helpings of fish per week - though consumption is rising, research from Seafish has revealed. Twenty six per cent of people eat the amount recommended by the Food Standards Agency,...