Denmark has banned the savoury spread Marmite, saying its added vitamins and minerals break food safety laws. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13536479) By law, Danish authorities must give their permission for products with such additives to be sold. In recent years they have banned several well-known items – including the chocolate malt drink Ovaltine and some breakfast cereals. Already a shop in Copenhagen has been ordered to remove jars of... read more →
Farmers in eastern China have been left perplexed after their watermelons began to explode one by one. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13421374 17 May 2011) An investigation by state media found farms in Jiangsu province were losing acres of fruit because of the problem. The overuse of a chemical that helps fruit grow faster was blamed in one report by China Central Television. But agriculture experts were unable to explain why chemical-free... read more →
Controversial proposal among more than 200 reforms to food safety and environmental regulations put forward by farming regulation taskforce. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/17/farming-regulation-tb-cattle-milk Fiona Harvey Environment Corrspondent guardian.co.uk Tuesday 17 May 2011) Milk from cows that test positive for tuberculosis (TB) would be introduced into the human food chain under reforms suggested on Tuesday by government advisers... read more →
Cornish pasties are to be used to power cars after a green fuel company in North East Lincolnshire announced plans to use them to make biodiesel. Greenergy is to take pasties, pies, crisps and other food waste that would otherwise have gone to landfill, to extract the oil they contain. It will then be blended with diesel and sold at petrol stations across Britain. The firm has invested £50m in its production facility in Immingham to enable it to process... read more →
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-13388851 A Lincolnshire food factory is closing with the loss of more than 100 jobs. Bakkavor, owners of Exotic Farm Produce (EFP), in Kirton, started a 90-day consultation over the site’s future in February. The firm had emphasised the factory had been making a loss for some time and it would cease production at the end of Friday. A spokesman said it hoped to redeploy some staff and was currently expecting... read more →
Published on Tuesday 3 May 2011 13:30 – Spalding Guardian SOUTH Holland and the Deepings MP John Hayes has re-stated his support for local agriculture and horticulture following criticism that he failed to support two meetings important to the industry. The MP was one of a number unable to attend a meeting arranged in the House of Commons to discuss a document promoting South Lincolnshire’s horticulture, forcing it to be cancelled. Specialist... read more →
1.3bn tonnes of food is lost or wasted each year, UN food agency report says, and reducing losses in developing countries could have ‘immediate and significant’ impact on poor people (Claire Provost – guardian.co.uk – Thursday 12 May 2011) One-third of the world’s food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted each year, according to a study (pdf) released on Wednesday by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Roughly... read more →
Scientists warn that farming practices must be adapted to a warmer world and rises in global population. (Damian Carrington – guardian.co.uk – Thurssday 5 May 2011) Global warming has already harmed the world’s food production and has driven up food prices by as much as 20% over recent decades, new research has revealed. The drop in the productivity of crop plants around the world was not caused by changes in rainfall but was because higher... read more →
