All articles by Sam Fortescue – Page 4
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News
A 'new era dawns' for meat hygiene regime
The Meat Hygiene Service has survived intact from an FSA review of how best to deliver safe, hygienic meat in abattoirs and processors. The government-run service will be streamlined to cut total costs, but it will not be disbanded, the...
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Talking shop
Another round of flooding looks set to knock pea growers again. Let's hope, for the sake of British consumers, the supermarkets show some understanding of the problems facing the supply chain, says Martin Riggall, chief executive of the...
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M&S pioneers packs that cut waste by 10%
Marks & Spencer will be the first grocery chain to adopt new pack sealing technology that can cut packaging waste by 10%. The Integrity Seal will be used for M&S's entire salad range and is expected to be on products in-store by the end...
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Bernard Matthews escapes prosecution
Bernard Matthews has escaped prosecution for leaving bins of scraps uncovered at its Holton cutting plant. The FSA had been looking at evidence the turkey producer breached rules on disposing of animal by-products after BBC news footage...
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Merger's got balls to target UK barbecues
A newly merged meat company is poised to bombard the UK retail market with a range of Scandinavian foods aimed at barbecue fans and partygoers. HK Scan, formed from an amalgamation of Scan Foods of Sweden and HK Ruokatalo of Finland, is...
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Growers rattle sabres over polytunnel blow
Growers in Herefordshire will have to seek planning permission to use polytunnels after a landmark decision from the county council. The council's cabinet voted unanimously last week to approve the new rules. The move, which means each...
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Commission likely to order Noble break-up
The merger of egg suppliers Stonegate and Deans Foods looks set to be reversed after competition watchdogs reiterated their commitment to a breakup. The Competition Commission inquiry, chaired by Dame Barbara Mills, has brushed aside a...
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Levy rate rise 'could sink some businesses'
British fruit and veg growers may see their levy payments rise after the reform of the levy board system. Running costs at the Horticulture Development Council were likely to increase, not fall, once the system was centralised under Levy...
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Argentinian gauchos set their sights on UK
Argentine beef exporters are launching a €1m promotional campaign in the UK in a bid to repair the damage done by export restrictions. The campaign is being led by the Argentine Beef Promotion Institute (IPCVA) which is spending most of...
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Heated fields bring on early asparagus crop
Underground heating in fields has put the first British asparagus onto shelves four weeks earlier than usual. The Co-operative Group said it was the first retailer to offer a home-grown crop, which went on sale in 11 stores on Monday 19...
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Chains must work with legal strawberry farms
Multiples are being urged to stop buying illegally produced strawberries from Spain. WWF campaigners have warned that irrigation by unlicensed farmers in the Huelva region has lowered the water table in the protected Donana Marshes by up...
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Organic milk 'returns to underlying growth'
Boom and bust in the organic milk market is a thing of the past, according to major raw milk supplier Omsco. Demand growth has halved from recent highs of nearly 50% in the year to March 2006, but retail sales are not losing steam,...
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NFU calls on multiples to back meat farmers
The National Farmers' Union is mounting a major campaign to encourage supermarkets to do more to support British livestock farmers. Letters asking buyers to make a range of best-practice pledges are to be sent out to the...
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Spain enlists help of British bug battalion
Spanish vegetable growers are buying in billions of British-bred bugs in an effort to rid themselves of pests without using chemical pesticides. Up to 70% of the growers in Almeria said they would use the insects to kill smaller...
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News
Deans offers farmers flexible egg contracts
Egg supplier Deans Foods is offering farmers 'portable contracts' in an effort to mollify competition watchdogs over its merger with rival Stonegate to form Noble Foods. The company has offered to release suppliers from long-term...
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Co-op Group's produce gets upmarket revamp
New-look packaging is being rolled out across the entire fresh produce category at The Co-operative Group. By the end of June, packaging on all 330 fresh produce lines will have been revamped, and many products improved, according to Sue...
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Retailers go it alone with produce drives
The government's 5-a-day campaign has lost out as supermarkets start the year with a blaze of fruit and veg promotions. Tesco and Sainsbury's are both pumping millions into free or cut-price produce, and Waitrose is also running a citrus...
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US beef set to return to UK supermarkets
US beef could soon return to British supermarket shelves after nearly 20 years of absence. A new software product launched for American cattlemen gives their animals full traceability and can guarantee they have not been given hormone...
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LazyTown set to make heroic entrance in UK
Cult kids TV show LazyTown is hoping to strike a marketing deal with the UK's top grocers. In exchange for selling branded LazyTown toys, clothes, music and educational supplements, creator Magnus Scheving promises higher fruit and veg...
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Wheat shortfall to hit organic supplies hard
There is likely to be a shortage of organic eggs, milk and poultry in a few months, producers have warned. Organic wheat - a vital mainstay of the organic farm animal's diet - is in chronically short supply this year, with prices already...