The FMT Blog
Opinion, analysis and musings from the FMT editorial team and expert guest writers about the food processing and manufacturing sector.
Mandatory CCTV in slaughterhouses to be introduced from May 2018
The new legislation to make CCTV in abattoirs in England mandatory will come into effect from May 2018, once it passes through Parliament, it has been announced today (23rd February). Environment Secretary Michael Gove has laid the proposals, which will also give the...
Partners showing support for FMT Food Industry Awards 2019
Just two weeks after 2018’s Food Management Today Industry Awards Ceremony took place, organisers have revealed a flurry of partners have already signed up to 2019’s campaign. Marel, Harper Adams Univeristy, Protolan, Reiser UK, Dawsonrentals Temperature Control...
UK food manufacturers on first UK trade mission to India
Food manufacturers from the UK visited India for a week-long trade mission in January, organised by Santander UK, in conjunction with the Food & Drink Federation (FDF) and the Department of International Trade (DIT). The 12 firms attending the initiative included...
Minette Batters elected as National Farmers’ Union president
Minette Batters has been elected as the new president of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) for a two-year term, becoming its first female president. Batters, a beef farmer from Wiltshire, will serve alongside Guy Smith as deputy president and Stuart Roberts as vice...
Asda’s sales increase but profits slip
Asda has reported a 0.5% rise in like-for-like sales, but gross profit margins have dipped, for the fourth quarter ending 31st December. Without disclosing the exact amount of its profit’s decrease, owner Walmart attributed the slip to “on-going price investments”....
Gove responds to Brexit labour concerns at NFU Conference
Environment Secretary Michael Gove has addressed concerns over access to labour after Brexit and announced a review of the inspection regime during the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) Conference. Recognising that farming currently depends on access to labour from...
Morrisons takes over free range eggs supplier
Morrisons has acquired free range eggs manufacturer Chippindale Foods, bringing forward the date at which all its eggs will come from non-caged hens, which currently stands at 2025. The addition of the Chippindale Foods business is expected to enable Morrisons to work...
Kerry Group reports strong volume in 2017
Kerry Group has enjoyed a buoyant year, with preliminary results for the year ending 31st December revealing group revenue of €6.4 billion. The overall 4.3% business volume growth year-on-year was offset, according to the group, by adverse currency movements,...
Russell Hume goes into administration
Meat supplier Russell Hume has gone into administration, with this news following the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) recent hygiene investigation into the company. Headquartered in Derby and operating from six production sites in Liverpool, Birmingham, London,...
Government warned over post-Brexit food tariffs
Defra and trade organisations have been urged to provide “detailed sector analysis on the impact of tariffs on the UK’s agricultural sectors”. In its report on Brexit’s impact on the food trade, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee has warned that...