Sainsbury’s changes meat packaging again after previous switch

Sainsbury’s has made another change to its meat packaging, months after a move branded “disgusting” by customers.

The supermarket giant has announced it is removing plastic trays from its steak range, replacing them with a cardboard alternative.

The change, which will affect ten products across the range, will use 70% less plastic and will be in all stores and online from today.

The new trays can be recycled at home by rinsing the cardboard before placing it in a kerbside recycling bin.

Claire Hughes, Director of Product and Innovation at Sainsbury’s, said: “As part of our Plan for Better commitments, we are trying to reduce plastic packaging across our own brand ranges, as we know that reducing plastic is important to our customers but also on our environmental impact.

“It’s why we are always looking at ways to innovate our packaging and reduce or replace plastic wherever we can, as quickly as we can.

It comes after Sainsbury’s made a controversial change to their mince packaging in April, becoming the first supermarket to vacuum pack its beef, saving 450 tonnes of plastic a year.

 

 

By Joshua Searle | Swindon Advertiser

‘More positivity’ across the pig sector

There is ‘more positivity’ across the pig sector following two years of crippling losses, the National Pig Association (NPA) has said, although longer-term concerns remain.

Farmers summed up the sector’s mood during recent NPA meetings, as sustained higher pig prices, tight supplies and generally bearish trends in the feed ingredient markets bring relief after years of losses.

The past two years have seen one crisis follow another, with pig production losses estimated at £750m.

The NPA met online last week during the regional round-up, with one producer saying: “In general, there is a lot more positivity within the independent producers left in in the area around here.

“Everyone is down in numbers from where they have been historically. We are still feeling the impacts of the terrible summer and autumn infertility we had last year. A lot of producers have had similar issues.”

“Health wise, there have been some repercussions from the backlog, but I think that’s started to improve over last three months.”

 

by Farming UK

EU trade problems must be resolved, British Poultry Council says

Ongoing asymmetry in UK-EU trade threatens to push up food prices in the UK, BPC chief executive, Richard Griffiths, told attendees at new conference Trade Unlocked.

Trade Unlocked – supported by UK Trade and Business Commission and Best for Britain – brought together parliamentarians, businesses leaders and trade experts to discuss trade and ways to boost growth to deliver a better future for all people in the UK.

In a panel session on Standards and Regulation, Griffiths said: “We need equality in trade. If we are to move forward as a sovereign nation, we need Government to get serious about developing a set of standards they believe in and keep at the heart of trade. Only then will we have an opportunity to build positive relationships with trading partners.”

For poultry meat exporters it is certainty and consistency that are key to a profitable and sustainable food system. On the repeated failure to implement full controls on product entering UK from EU, Griffiths, said: “Import checks have been postponed four times in two years, costing BPC members millions. The current system, that some industries are yet to feel the full weight of, is adding to already soaring production costs and eroding business viability. The longer disparity in UK-EU trade goes on, the harder it will get to address it.”

Poultry is half the meat the nation eats but additional administration and red tape has cost exporters well over £100 million since 1 January 2021. EU exporters have paid £0 and continue to enjoy a competitive advantage. The lack of a level playing field, combined with a Government that “is not defending our food standards,” is penalising poultry meat businesses and adding to inflating production costs, “threatening to undercut domestic production with cheaper imports and push up food prices in the UK amid a cost-of-living crisis,” Griffiths told attendees.

 

 

by Chloe Ryan | Poultry News

Farmers’ fury as Exeter City Council axes meat products

Farmers in Devon have expressed their outrage following Exeter City Council’s motion to transition to plant-based catering, neglecting the county’s wealth of local livestock producers.

The motion, which received “overwhelming” backing from councillors before Christmas, will see meat and dairy products expelled from all internal catered council meetings – including the upcoming annual general meeting in May.

It will also see plant-based foods promoted at all council-run sites, such as cafes and leisure centres.

The move echoes a similar direction taken by Oxfordshire County Council last year, which announced a ban on all animal products in its catering for full council meetings – something that constituent and TV star Jeremy Clarkson branded “utter madness”.

 

Matilda Bovingdon / Farmers Weekly

NPA seeks clarity on regionalisation in event of ASF outbreak

The NPA is seeking clarity on whether the regionalisation approach in the EU would apply to pork exports in the event of an African swine fever (ASF) outbreak in the UK.

Under the EU’s ASF regulations, where an outbreak occurs, the sale of pork products from the affected region to other member states is outlawed. However, exports can continue from regions of the country not affected by ASF to other parts of the EU.

This rule has been applied in a number of member states that have experienced ASF outbreaks in recent years, including Germany, Italy and Poland. The UK continues to import pork from ASF-free regions of affected countries.

But it remains unclear what the situation is following the UK’s departure from the EU. UK regionalisation in the event of ASF will be part of the Disease of Swine Regulations expected to be laid before parliament next year.

NPA chief executive Lizzie Wilson said more immediate answers are needed. “We don’t know if our trading partners would recognise regionalisation if we had an outbreak now. We need clarity on this because, if we don’t have regionalisation, it could mean a virtual blanket ban on pork exports from anywhere in the UK – and that would be catastrophic for a sector that has already suffered so much over the past two years.”

 

Alistair Driver / NPA

Little festive cheer from pork processors

There was little festive cheer from the processing sector for the last full week before the short Christmas weeks, according to Thames Valley Cambac.

“Meanwhile, pig supply gets ever tighter, but most processors still seem deaf to this fact,” TVC said in its latest market update,” TVC said in its latest weekly market update.

“Prices were affected by a fall in the SPP which fell sub 200p for the first time in 12 weeks. Processor contributions remained stagnant, with one exception. The fresh meat market was in more festive mood with some appreciation in prices.”

Cull sows continued to improve, up another 4p on the back of improved continental demand, while European markets were similar, with only the Netherlands showing any improvement, although prices in sterling were enhanced slightly by a small rise in the Euro, that ended the week up 0.10p at 85.88p.

There was little interest in any weaner supplies outside contractual arrangements, with fatteners ‘noticeably absent’ due to the parlous state of the finished market, TVC added. There was insufficient data for AHDB to formulate any quotes.

 

Alistair Driver / Pig World

Lamb prices increase but remain under pressure

Deadweight lamb prices increased for four consecutive weeks during November and early December.

GB prices rose to average 561.1p/kg deadweight in the week ending 3 December, up by almost 50p/kg on month-earlier levels.

Despite this growth, prices are 57.5p/kg below the same week last year.

Jonny Williams, operations director at livestock marketing group Farmstock, said there is a lot of New Zealand lamb coming in, both to the UK and into Europe, which is making it challenging and taking the edge off the trade.

“UK lamb is competitive, but not currently as price competitive in Europe as New Zealand lamb,” said Mr Williams.

“Lightweight lambs are very tricky as they are generally exported to southern Europe and that trade does seem very difficult. Standard weight lambs are selling OK, but maybe not as high as people had hoped,” he added.

Charlie Reeve / Farmers Weekly

FSA accused of hindering progress on small abattoirs

Accusations that the Food Standards Agency (FSA) is dragging its feet on support for small abattoirs gathered pace this week, after it rejected proposals for a dual system of meat controls for export and domestic consumption.

Introducing separate regulatory regimes would exempt smaller processors from some of the more onerous regulations required for those which export, but in a new update, the regulator outlined its concerns about the impact of these changes on trade.

The agency claimed that because animal by-products which are sold domestically may end up as ingredients in products which are exported further down the supply chain, the introduction of a dual system would require agreement from international partners and uptake could be limited.

It also suggested the meat industry in Northern Ireland would be put at a competitive disadvantage because the Brexit protocol requires producers to apply EU controls, and warned complications around compliance and traceability within the UK market could arise if there were different regimes in England, Scotland and Wales.

Plans for a dual system were discussed at a meeting attended by Farming Minister Mark Spencer, the FSA, parliamentarians and industry bodies last week.

Christopher Price, chief executive of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, said: “It would be useful if the FSA could give some indication of what they can do to help the sector, rather than constantly coming up with reasons for doing nothing.

“For the first time in a long time, in Mark Spencer, we have a Minister who seems to understand the crisis in the sector and who wants to do something about it. AHDB already says we are losing 10 small abattoirs a year.

“But that means having to take difficult decisions, recognising it will not always be possible to please every organisation and every vested interest.”

 

Abi Kay / Farmers Guardian

Pilgrim’s UK to produce 4 million pork products as demand surges

Pilgrim’s UK has announced it will produce over four million pork products in the run up to Christmas to keep up with a surge in consumer demand.

With the cost-of-living crisis leaving many families cash-strapped, the festive period could bring a boost to red meat, particularly to pork.

It follows warnings this week of a shortage of free range turkeys and price rises due to the country’s largest ever bird flu outbreak.

Pilgrim’s UK, a major pork processor, said these issues had left consumers looking for more affordable meat options to take centre stage at the dinner table this year.

The firm anticipates an increase in demand for pork, such as gammon, which is expected to see a 25% uplift in volume, as well as pork crackling joints.

Fresh pork has increased its share of the wider protein category over the past four weeks to 13.3% in terms of volume compared to the last four weeks of December 2021.

 

Farming UK

Eustice urges Government to learn lessons from Australia trade deal

Former Defra Secretary George Eustice has launched a blistering attack on former Prime Minister and International  Trade Secretary Liz Truss over her handling of the Australian trade deal.

The deal included giving Australia or New Zealand full access to the UK market to the beef and sheep market, albeit phased in over 15 years. Yet Australia still bans the import of British beef and there was virtually nothing in return for UK farmers. The Government estimated the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement, signed on 17 December 2021, would unlock £10.4bn of additional trade while ending tariffs on all UK exports to Australia.

While pork was not a part of the deal, with Australia not being significant exporters, the fear within the pig industry was that could set a dangerous precedent in future trade deals.

Mr Eustice, who was sacked by Mrs Truss when she became Prime Minister, told a Commons debate that it was a bad deal for the UK, especially its farmers, and stressed that lessons need to be learned as the UK negotiates future deals.

“Unless we recognise the failures that the Department for International Trade made during the Australia negotiations, we won’t be able to learn the lessons of future negotiations,” he said.

“The first step is to recognise that the Australia trade deal is not actually a very good deal for the UK.”

 

by Alistair Driver / Pig World

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