INCPEN (The Industry Council for research on Packaging and the Environment) has published information on the EU Commission’s initial thoughts on a Circular Economy Package.
By Fintan Hastings, external affairs adviser, British Retail Consortium
The close relationship between supply chain partners means they are well-placed to help each other tackle food waste, says Fintan Hastings, external affairs adviser at the British Retail Consortium.
A method to trace contaminated food back to its source developed by US researchers and a start-up company is targeting adoption from food firms by the end of the year.
The GCC’s food supply chain and logistics industry is driving up food costs and stifling growth due to a lack of development and innovation, according to a new report.
Companies make commitments to deforestation-free supply chains but some are still failing to take action, according to a report from the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).
Confectionery giants Mondelēz International, Nestlé and Mars must do far more to ensure women are not blocked from day-to-day commercial cocoa operations because of issues like land rights, according to a report commissioned by Oxfam.
Scandinavia’s top-selling smoothie manufacturer Froosh has called for ‘trade not aid’ in developing countries and insists beverage brands should do more to understand their supply chains.
Changing supply and demand is reflected in food recalls and notifications showing how unpredictable the industry is, according to the Stericycle European Recall and Notification Index.
One of the more common gripes we hear at FoodNavigator-Asia from international companies looking to sell their products and services in Asia’s vast new market, is the loops they have to jump through to find the right local distributor.
Understanding the Challenges of the Food System grant winner
An effort to identify weaknesses in the supply chain and make industry more predictive than reactive is being undertaken by the University of Manchester.
Retailers need to take more responsibility over their supply chains or face regulation, according to the section head of a supply chain consultancy firm.
If modern-day slavery is ever to be eradicated from Thailand’s food sector, companies and supermarkets must set out to make their supply chains more transparent—a move for which there seems to be little appetite, especially among Thai suppliers.
The global standards organization is stressing the importance of improved traceability in the food supply chain worldwide, to keep consumers safe and regulators happy.
When it comes to putting sustainability promises in to practice, it is vital that industry understands the key issues that affect different regions, says Job Leuning of Cargill.
Food manufacturers should protect themselves against political instability – such as the Ukraine crisis – and extreme weather by planning contractual protection, warns food law firm Roythornes.
The horsemeat scandal was caused by “a more for less” culture in the food supply chain, which highlights the benefits of manufacturing branded products compared with own-label, said Warburton’s boss Jonathan Warburton.
Food recalls dropped in the fourth quarter from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) but the number of consumers affected nationwide more than doubled, according to ExpertRECALL figures.
dispatches from EU food manufacturing and safety summit
Trace One, a private label and product lifecycle management (PLM) organisation, has launched T Transparency, a cloud-based platform for improving supply chain visibility across the food sector.
MEPs have rejected a European Commission proposal for labelling meat according to where animals were reared and slaughtered – but not where they were born.
By John Giles, divisional director, Promar International
Although the New Year has come and gone, there is still the opportunity to both look back and forwards to see what has happened in the past 12 months and what might happen in the next 12.
Mondelez International reached its 2015 goal of sourcing 100% RSPO-certified palm oil for all its purchases last year – two years ahead of schedule, the company has said.
EU Regulation 1169/2011 will restore consumer confidence
Few lessons have been learnt from the horsemeat crisis, claims new research commissioned by supply chain consultancy Achilles, as an influential committee of MPs urged retailers to buy more local food.
It is vital for food firms to map their supply chains and know where products are coming from to prevent contamination, according to the president of a specialty-consulting firm.
Removing ethylene using an active packaging technology can extend strawberry shelf life by at least two days, according to research presented this week.
Developing a better understanding of the food industry, including its complex supply chains, is a key recommendation of a new report commissioned by the Scottish government to learn the lessons of the horsemeat crisis.
The European meat supply chain still contains “shocking blind spots”, said a supply chain management firm, after the Dutch authorities revealed 50,000t of meat supplied by two Dutch meat traders may have contained horsemeat.
Nestlé has released a series of deforestation guides for commodity sourcing in partnership with Conservation International, to give a clearer idea of where deforestation is occurring globally.
Associated British Foods – worst-in-class in an Oxfam report critical of 10 food giants for essentially operating under a corporate social responsibility (CSR) “veil of secrecy” – has hit back, slamming the report ‘s findings as “ridiculous”.
Resource efficiency will be even more crucial for the food industry in the coming year as it fights to prevent production costs from being passed on to consumers.
Projects aimed at boosting operational efficiency and sustainability in the food processing and packaging sectors are being urged to apply for a share of a £15m (€18m) fund by the UK Government.
The European Parliament today gave its consent to the 2010 International Cocoa Agreement and passed a resolution on child labour in the cocoa sector in a move that will benefit manufacturers, according to industry bodies.
Greater ownership and management of the stevia supply chain has helped to build a system that is sustainable, responsible, and scalable, say leading global suppliers PureCircle and Cargill.
An innovative ordering system that gives fresh produce packers round-the-clock access to flexible packaging materials and real-time visibility of stock levels boosts efficiency throughout the supply chain, said Amcor.
Givaudan has started the build of its new manufacturing site in Hungary, which it says will increase capacity and grow its savoury flavours business in developing European markets.
The grounding of airplanes throughout much of Europe has put the brakes on imports of some fruit and vegetable products, although trade groups and supermarkets are downplaying the impact of the Icelandic volcano on food stocks.
A resource map outlining where and how much meat and fish – as well as it associated packaging – is wasted in the supply chain is to be developed in a bid to cut all three and save cash for industry players.