The Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD) have published their most recent findings from consumer research on the availability of food and groceries. This latest round of research was conducted between 23rd-24th October and highlights that 52% of adults have recently experienced shortages of some food and groceries in-store or online. This represents a considerable reduction since the previous month and is the lowest level since August 2021, although Northern Ireland is revealed as the area with the highest availability concerns. 

More information can be found here 

The European Commission has published its latest report on monitoring EU agri-food trade which shows that in July 2023, both imports and exports slowed down compared with June 2023.  

This did not however impact the EU’s trade balance in agri-food products which stayed positive at €6.2 billion. The cumulative trade balance from January to July 2023 reached € 38.6 billion, which is even higher (by € 7.3 billion) compared with the same period last year. 

While the monthly value of EU agri-food exports in July were below their level in July last year, EU exports are still strong. Cumulative EU agri-food exports increased by 5% in the first seven months of the year. This was mainly due to growth in the exports of cereal preparations, and fruit and nut preparations. Exported volumes of vegetable oils, oilseeds and protein crops, and cereals also increased compared to 2022. The top three destinations for EU agri-food exports between January and July of this year were the United Kingdom, the United States and China. 

EU agri-food imports continued to decrease further in July, falling to € 11.8 billion, 11% less than in June 2023 and 17% less than in July 2022. This is explained by a decrease of import prices since the beginning of 2023, combined with the reduction of import volumes in July. The total value of imports from January to July 2023 was at € 94.9 billion, similar to 2022. 

Cereal imports increased by 29% while imports of oilseeds and protein crops decreased by 11% and those of vegetable oils decreased by 27%. This has resulted in a reduction of the trade deficit for vegetable oils, as well as for oilseeds and protein crops. 

Imports from Argentina decreased by € 1 billion (27%), in large part due to a reduction of soya meals imports, while imports from Brazil also decreased by € 892 million (-8%), with a large decrease in soya beans and coffee. 

The top three origin countries for EU agri-food imports between January and July 2023 were Brazil and the United Kingdom, followed by Ukraine. 

You can download the report in full here

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office have announced that they have formed a partnership with a global nutrition charity to encourage major food companies to improve the impact of their products on consumers’ health.  

The aim of the partnership with the Access to Nutrition Initiative (ATNI) is to encourage some of the largest food companies to help people at risk of malnutrition make healthier choices, particularly vulnerable populations in lower-income countries, including Bangladesh, Kenya, and Tanzania. 

The UK’s £2 million package of support will allow ATNI to carry out assessments of the world’s largest food and drink companies, over a 2-year period, gathering data on factors including how healthy and sustainable their products are. They will also aim to capture for the first time how well they support and meet the needs of communities that are at risk of malnutrition and preventable deaths, specifically of women and children. 

You can read more in the official government press release here. 

The Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD) have published a report on reformulation by the food industry in the context of high fat, sugar, or salt (HFSS) products.  

As part of the UK Government’s Childhood Obesity Strategy, legislation restricting the promotion of products which are high in fat, sugar, or salt (HFSS) was introduced in October 2022 in England. Further restrictions on advertising and volume price promotions are set to come into effect from October 2025. HFSS restrictions are currently under consideration within the devolved nations.  

The report looks at the reformulation action that food businesses have taken in response to the legislation and can be downloaded for free here. 

The EU Commission has published an overview report which focuses on eight Member Statues and how their competent authorities developed control arrangements and strategies to combat fraudulent practices in the agri-food chain.  

Based on a project which ran between 2020 and 2022, the report presents the challenges, opportunities, and several good practice examples in relation to fraud related controls in the Member States. 

Fraud in the agri-food chain affects industry and consumers economically, undermines consumer trust and may lead to serious health issues. The EU has recognised the importance of tackling fraudulent and deceptive practices in the agri-food chain and since 2019 Member States are required to carry out risk-based controls to detect fraudulent and deceptive practices. 

You can download the report here. 

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) recently published a Rapid Outbreak Assessment regarding three clusters of Salmonella enteritidis ST11 infections linked to chicken meat and chicken meat products.  

Between January-October 2023, there have been 335 reported cases related to the outbreak across 14 EU/EEA countries, the UK and USA and they have affected all age groups. Most interviewed cases reported consumption of chicken meat, including chicken kebabs. Nine cases in three countries were hospitalised and one case in Austria died, highlighting the potential for severe and fatal infections from this outbreak. Traceability information revealed that three Salmonella‐contaminated kebabs shared several Polish food business operators.  

Given the information collected, contaminated chicken kebab and chicken meat are the plausible vehicles of the human infections reported in these three clusters. However, in the absence of conclusive microbiological evidence and comprehensive traceability, the role of the identified final producers, their meat suppliers, and the possible involvement of other food business operators as sources of the infections could not be confirmed or excluded. 

It is expected that new cases are likely to occur, and the assessment recommends further investigations to identify the potential locations within the chicken meat production chain where the contamination may have occurred. 

You can read the report in full here