ASR Group-owned Tate & Lyle Sugars is considering legal action against The Guardian newspaper over a story published this week accusing the sugar giant of working with a Cambodian supplier that employed child labour among other human right abuses.
Five RSPO-certified palm oil producers accused of contributing to Indonesian forest fires have submitted digital images of their plantations in an effort to clear their names – and the RSPO has commended them for fast action.
Insects are being touted as one answer to an upcoming global protein gap – in Europe, there’s just the niggling ‘disgust factor’ to get over. But why scuttle before we can walk? Let’s talk options.
Interest in quinoa has surged among consumers in Europe and the United States – but the rapid increase in its popularity has also given rise to concerns about sustainable production.
Mondelez International says its first training center for coffee farmers to promote sustainability and entrepreneurship, in Vietnam, will help it meet a 100% sustainable sourcing goal in Western Europe.
A UK alliance of NGOs has launched a campaign to convince people to eat less, better quality meat and aims to link with similar networks across Europe.
The Archer Daniels Midland Company is in discussions to sell its cocoa processing operations. We find out how potential industry consolidation could affect the cocoa supply.
European institutions reached a deal on reforming the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) on Wednesday, including a compromise that will end sugar quotas by 2017.
The British dairy supply chain – comprising farmers, processors and retailers – is a “global leader” in terms of environmental sustainability, an industry-funded report has claimed.
Food industry representatives from across the European food supply chain have pledged to halve edible food waste in the EU by 2020, in a declaration signed in Brussels on Tuesday.
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has given five of its Indonesian members 48 hours to submit satellite images of their plantations, as evidence that they are not responsible for the forest fires that have engulfed several South East Asian...
Want to attract consumers to your sustainably produced products? Focus on taste, and make it personal, according to experts speaking at Organic Monitor’s Sustainable Foods Summit in Amsterdam earlier this month.
A new European palm oil supply agreement should make it easier for companies to source 100% segregated palm oil across the continent, say the companies behind the deal.
The food ingredients industry has an opportunity – and an obligation – to improve sustainability in the food supply chain, according to president of DSM Food Specialties Hans Christian Ambjerg.
Several studies have suggested that global food production needs to double by 2050 if we are to feed a growing population – but this will not be possible if current trends continue, according to new research.
A new Danish research project aims to promote the widespread adoption of insects in our diets by showing that bugs and grubs are not only good for you, but are also delicious.
Global certification association ISEAL Alliance has developed a set of principles for defining what makes an ecolabel, standard or certification credible.
Global stevia supplier PureCircle has introduced a range of sustainability targets for reducing carbon emissions and water use, as well as calories in global diets by 2020.
Blanket opposition to genetically modified crops is “a morally unacceptable position to take on the basis of unsubstantiated suspicions and fears”, according to the boss of Toronto-based firm Maple Leaf Foods.
Bumper corn and wheat crops are expected to help the price of commodities fall this year, increasing food affordability and security, says the latest scores from the Global Food Security Index (GFSI).
Rice quality issues contribute to $3.39bn a year at least in global costs to the food industry from rice waste, significantly boosting the importance of quality testing.
“The price of apparently cheap food is costing nothing less than the Earth.”
The Prince of Wales has called on Europe to ‘recalibrate and re-gear’ its food systems towards a local model of food production and distribution - while issuing a wide-ranging attack on current practices within the food industry.
Using palm oil certified as sustainable under the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is no longer enough to ensure companies are acting responsibly, claims the WWF following the adoption of new RSPO standards.
The European Commission has urged increased global use of its PGI (protected geographical indication) system to increase trade in foods from African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states, while encouraging sustainable production practices.
European fisheries ministers have agreed on an overhaul of the Common Fisheries Policy, with the hope that it will end decades of arguing over fishing quotas and help rebuild fish stocks.
Insects could play a vital role in food security in the coming decades – but disgust remains a barrier for consumers in many Western countries, according to a new report from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
Annual global greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and livestock have increased 13% since 1990 as food production has increased - with the majority coming from livestock, according to a new report from the Worldwatch Institute.
Some of the world’s biggest agriculture firms have united with food industry and scientific partners to form a steering committee, intended to share initiatives for achieving a sustainable global food and water supply chain.
Researchers have produced starch from plants not usually used for food purposes, potentially opening up whole new sources for foods and packaging materials.
The complexity and variety of 'green' initiatives for products in the EU has prompted a new initiative to create a single market for eco-claims, says the European Commission (EC).
Nestlé has released a series of deforestation guides for commodity sourcing in partnership with Conservation International, to give a clearer idea of where deforestation is occurring globally.
Nestlé and UK supermarkets Sainsbury’s and the Cooperative Group have entered into a pilot project to improve the environmental performance of some of their products, say the project’s organisers at the Product Sustainability Forum (PSF).
An understanding of psychology could help persuade people to make more sustainable dietary choices – and even steer their preferences, according to Dr Andrew Bodey, analyst at sustainability consultancy Best Foot Forward.
Health, the environment and consumer choice are the three main issues facing today’s soft drinks industry, according to InnoBev Global Beverages Congress 2013 organizer Zenith International.
A Rainforest Foundation ethical food product guide based on companies’ palm oil use unjustly discourages the use of palm oil even if it is sustainably sourced, claims the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).
Food safety, quality and financial issues are considered the top three risks to business for most food companies, but sustainable supply is emerging as a growing area of concern, according to a new survey from DNV Business Assurance.
CSR – corporate social responsibility – is becoming increasingly coherent across the globe due to greater uptake of internationally recognised standards, according to a new European Commission report.
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has welcomed the decision of the world’s biggest sovereign wealth fund to pull investment from certain palm oil companies – but has disagreed with its divestment from firms that are on the path to RSPO certification.
Nestlé has published a raft of sustainability and nutrition commitments it aims to meet by 2020 or earlier, including sourcing 100% certified sustainable palm oil, cutting greenhouse gas emissions and improving nutrition labelling.
UK new product development (NPD) specialist Omniceutica has developed a process that transforms apple pulp and surplus fruit waste from cider making into nutrient-dense, bite-sized snacks.
Norway’s US$710bn sovereign investment fund has pulled its investment from 23 Southeast Asian palm oil companies, claiming that they source palm oil unsustainably.
Oxfam has called on the three biggest chocolate manufacturers to conduct independent audits on conditions for women on cocoa farms supplying their factories after finding evidence of unequal pay, discrimination and hunger.
Oxfam will step up its campaign to improve the treatment of people and resources that form part of the supply chain of the world’s biggest food conglomerates, after it cast industry responses to its damning Behind the Brands report as ‘bland’ and ‘complacent’.
The first ever structured benchmark of the world’s leading food companies suggests that farm animal welfare is not being properly managed and reported by the food industry.
Unilever and Nestlé say Oxfam missed an opportunity for a wider and more comprehensive debate about food ethics after the NGO published a damning report on the supply chains of the world’s biggest food firms this week.
Associated British Foods – worst-in-class in an Oxfam report critical of 10 food giants for essentially operating under a corporate social responsibility (CSR) “veil of secrecy” – has hit back, slamming the report ‘s findings as “ridiculous”.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi, Kenya has launched a new campaign to highlight the implications of European food waste – and has called for new ways to process and market ‘ugly’ produce.
