top of page
UK Supermarkets Call For Greater Supply Chain Accountability
Major UK grocery retailers, including Sainsbury’s, Asda, Aldi, and Marks & Spencer, have joined calls for tougher new legislation requiring businesses to take greater responsibility for human rights and environmental risks across their UK supply chains. The supermarket operators are among 32 businesses, trade unions, and campaign groups supporting a call for the government to introduce mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence for companies operating in the UK, r
Government Urged To Expand Healthy Start And Broaden Access To Fresh Produce
The Food Foundation is calling on the government to act urgently to widen access to the Healthy Start scheme, and help more families afford the fresh fruit and vegetables needed to support healthy growth and development during pregnancy and the early years. Some 750,000 pregnant women and children from low-income households are missing out on vital nutritional support due to restrictive eligibility criteria, according to the charity, prompting calls for wider eligibility and
Lidl Offers Primary Schools £150,000 In Fruit And Veg Grants
Lidl GB has pledged direct funding for teachers to provide classroom fruit and vegetable tasting sessions, as part of a major nationwide expansion of its Foodies programme which will teach children about sustainable farming, food waste, and healthy diets. Image: Lidl GB Overall, Lidl is making £150,000 available to primary school teachers across Great Britain to fund hands-on fruit and vegetable tasting sessions in class, under the extension of its free Lidl Foodies education
FEATURED
Sarah-Jayne Gratton
FPC’s £300 Million Reset Warning Puts Britain’s Global Fresh Produce Supply In The Spotlight
The Fresh Produce Consortium’s warning that the UK–EU Reset could add more than £300 million a year to fresh produce supply chains is attracting renewed trade media attention, bringing the implications for global imports into sharper focus ahead of November’s summit. FarmingUK covered the latest intervention on 20 October, highlighting the potential consequences for fruit and vegetable prices, supply reliability and smaller importers. Horticulture Week has also picked up FPC’
Gene-Edited Crops Win Farmer Interest, But Market Doubts Remain
Nearly eight in ten farmers surveyed would consider growing gene-edited crops within five years, although concerns about buyer acceptance could hinder adoption. Research for the Defra-funded PROBITY project found that 78% of respondents were open to growing the crops, while 60% identified buyer and market acceptance as the biggest potential barrier. According to FarmingUK, the survey was led by the University of Nottingham and conducted by Grounded Research, gathering respons
Sainsbury’s Gives Families A Fresh Boost With £18 Fruit And Veg Top-Up
Sainsbury’s is reintroducing its Healthy Start top-up, offering eligible families up to £18 towards fruit, vegetables, beans and pulses before Christmas. The initiative will provide an additional £3 a week for six weeks to eligible Healthy Start customers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Weekly electronic gift cards will be emailed from 18 November and can be spent in store or online on fresh, frozen, tinned and dried products. Registration closes at 11.59pm on 9 Novem
Burnham Must Protect Britain’s Fresh Produce Supply From £300 Million Reset Bill
FPC urges Prime Minister to defend UK consumers and retain proven risk-based controls at 20 November summit The Fresh Produce Consortium (FPC) is calling on Prime Minister Andy Burnham to secure a fresh produce solution at next month’s UK–EU summit in Brussels, warning that failure to protect vital global supply chains will saddle the sector with more than £300 million in avoidable annual costs, ultimately hitting shoppers. FPC says the Government must negotiate boldly for U
Discounters Set The Pace For British Apples
Aldi and Lidl led supermarket purchases of British apples in September, with both discounters taking a substantially larger share of home-grown fruit than their overall grocery market shares. Figures from British Apples & Pears Limited (BAPL) put Aldi at the top of the purchasing table, buying approximately 2,000 tonnes during September 2026. That represented around 22% of British apples supplied by BAPL growers, compared with the retailer’s grocery market share of roughly 11
Farming With Light: Thorvald Wins TIME Recognition As Robot Crop Protection Expands
An agricultural robot that tackles crop disease with ultraviolet light has earned a place on TIME’s Best Inventions of 2026 list, putting a spotlight on an alternative to conventional fungicide spraying. Saga Robotics’ electric Thorvald platform is already treating an estimated 30% of the UK’s tabletop strawberry production in 2026, according to the company. Saga says it works with 15 leading UK strawberry growers, supported by four operational hubs. Operating at night, Thorv
SUBSCRIBE TO US FOR FREE
AND NEVER MISS A STORY
bottom of page