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Andrew Opie opened his talk on the
British Retail Consortium by saying the consortium had both large
and small members, including most of the big supermarkets – Asda,
Sainsbury, Marks and Spencer, Waitrose, Tesco, Iceland, Spar and the
Co-op, but not Somerfield or Morrisons.
He had decided to talk about the
current issues that are important to the Consortium and areas of
work on which they are concentrating at the moment.
The first one was allergens. They are very aware from
discussions with the Anaphylactic Society and Food and Drink
Federation [FDF] and recently with the Food Standards Agency [FSA]
about the labelling and in particular about the over use of
‘may contain’ when there may be cross contamination.
A best practice guide has been produced mainly aimed at the
small and medium sized manufacturers. However, there are still some
unresolved issues. The consortium would like to see a ranking of
allergens as regards the danger of the reactions – for example
nuts relative to celery.
The BRC has also put a lot of work
recently in to alcohol issues – particularly regarding the sale of
alcohol to under age users. Local authorities had sent in underage
purchasers to test the situation and supermarkets had not done well.
BRC has now initiated the ‘Challenge 21’ which is proving
successful. The people at the tills are asked to challenge anyone
who looks under 21 and request proof of their age. The people at the
till can be fined £80 if they sell alcohol to underage customers.
The BRC also keeps a very close eye on
additives and colourings and such like and works closely with EFSA
and FSA on this. Recent issues have included acrilamide and sunset
yellow. Some of the
supermarkets at present are making great play about the removal of
these products – not only the colourings and additives but also
the hydrogenated fats. The BRC, with the FSA , have
produced hygiene guidelines for retailers.
Labelling is always an issue and how
much you can get on it; retailers ask for less and consumer groups
for more. The Dutch have
organised a conference with the
UK
which will start from
scratch and ask how little is necessary.
As always the S&T members asked for Country of Origin. to
be included. This is a requirement on meat and fruit and vegetables
but not on processed food. It is hoped to simplify the labels and
reduce the anomalies - for example ‘salt’ or sodium chloride.
The shops are responding to the public’s wish for healthier food
[e.g.] less salt to attract more customers.
But of course salt is a preservative!
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Avian Flu is of concern. British
poultry is best and ‘fresh’ poultry is as a rule British.
Imported meat is used in processing. If there is an outbreak
of Avian Flu, DEFRA may order all flocks indoors and derogation will
be requested for animal disease control reasons to ensure ‘free
range’ and ‘organic’ supplies maintain their status. However,
there are concerns about Northern Ireland .where devolution and the
F&M problem resulted in a different way of working and yet more
problems.
New
EU rules to improve the standards regarding microbiological issues
were introduced at the beginning of the year to improve standards
and reduce risks of salmonella etc. but different national cultures
make it difficult for retailers and producers. Belgians and the
French eat lots of raw minced meat and any hint of salmonella means
the whole batch must be removed; in the
UK
we cook ours so it may still be sold.
Retailers
play a part in nutrition and health; again the
UK
is seen as at the forefront. The two key issues for supermarkets are
consumers being generally interested in healthy lifestyles and the
EU and UK Government putting the matter second only to smoking.
There are some threats to retailers and manufacturers.
Retailers must meet demands and do so responsibly but not all
consumers have changed to healthy eating. While
Westminster
looks at obesity, supermarkets are introducing new products and
healthy ranges, and the trend for ready meals is ‘kitchen cupboard
ingredients’. EU recommendations on nutrient profiling on labels
is still under debate. The EU Parliament holds opposing views to the
EU Council on this point. And what claims are permissible on labels?
The supermarkets, and the FSA, are all developing their own kind of
labelling to indicate the amount of salt, fat etc. We have to wait
and see what happens.
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New
EU rules to improve the standards regarding microbiological issues
were introduced at the beginning of the year to improve standards
and reduce risks of salmonella etc. but different national cultures
make it difficult for retailers and producers. Belgians and the
French eat lots of raw minced meat and any hint of salmonella means
the whole batch must be removed; in the
UK
we cook ours so it may still be sold.
Retailers
play a part in nutrition and health; again the
UK
is seen as at the forefront. The two key issues for supermarkets are
consumers being generally interested in healthy lifestyles and the
EU and UK Government putting the matter second only to smoking.
There are some threats to retailers and manufacturers.
Retailers must meet demands and do so responsibly but not all
consumers have changed to healthy eating. While
Westminster
looks at obesity, supermarkets are introducing new products and
healthy ranges, and the trend for ready meals is ‘kitchen cupboard
ingredients’. EU recommendations on nutrient profiling on labels
is still under debate. The EU Parliament holds opposing views to the
EU Council on this point. And what claims are permissible on labels?
The supermarkets, and the FSA, are all developing their own kind of
labelling to indicate the amount of salt, fat etc. We have to wait
and see what happens.
There
is renewed interest in certain products such as fish and omega 3,
with food miles coming up the agenda. The moratorium on BST is
coming to an end but with current prices of liquid milk we are not
likely to be importing any.
There are problems arising during
reformulation. Manufacturers are cutting down on salt but pastry is
a problem. It is
difficult to remove fat from meat pies and there is no industrial
process to produce low-fat pastry that is fit to eat.
Reducing the quantity of pastry by making lattice-topped pies
led to the spillage of the contents in transit. Another issue aired
was excess packaging
The
Chairman thanked Andrew Opie for giving us a fascinating insight
into the thinking and actions of food retailers and manufacturers
regarding customers, the EU and the UK Government into all the
current issues particularly regarding healthy eating and adequate
reliable labelling. The members managed to get many of their
questions asked and answered and took the opportunity to express
their views.
There
is renewed interest in certain products such as fish and omega 3,
with food miles coming up the agenda. The moratorium on BST is
coming to an end but with current prices of liquid milk we are not
likely to be importing any.
There are problems arising during
reformulation. Manufacturers are cutting down on salt but pastry is
a problem. It is
difficult to remove fat from meat pies and there is no industrial
process to produce low-fat pastry that is fit to eat.
Reducing the quantity of pastry by making lattice-topped pies
led to the spillage of the contents in transit. Another issue aired
was excess packaging
The
Chairman thanked Andrew Opie for giving us a fascinating insight
into the thinking and actions of food retailers and manufacturers
regarding customers, the EU and the UK Government into all the
current issues particularly regarding healthy eating and adequate
reliable labelling. The members managed to get many of their
questions asked and answered and took the opportunity to express
their views.
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