Natural Newsdesk

A major new report from the House of Lords Committee on Food, Diet and Obesity condemns what it calls an “utter failure” to tackle a “public health emergency of obesity and diet related disease”.  It says urgent action to fix the UK’s “broken food system” must start now. At the heart of this failure, the Committee says, lies a misplaced focus on individual responsibility. Misguided fears over to so-called ‘nanny state’ policies (and sometimes ideological opposition to them) have placed too much of an emphasis on personal choice rather than tackling the underlying drivers of unhealthy diets, it argues.  The Lords report, which follows a 10-month enquiry, calls for a “radically new approach to the food industry”. It says industry is strongly incentivised to produce and sell the highly profitable unhealthy products that are driving record levels of obesity and preventable diet-related disease. Voluntary measures have failed because they have not tackled these incentives. The report says the crisis requires a sustained focus and a “systemic response to a systemic challenge”. It highlights the food industry’s continued domination by a small number of very large companies, who exert a powerful influence in political and food-policy circles through their lobbying and infiltration of advisory groups. Demanding action now, the Lords Committee says the government “must publish a comprehensive and integrated food strategy, led at the highest level, setting targets for a healthy food system and plans to achieve them”. It adds that “businesses that fail to meet healthy sales targets must be excluded from any discussions on the formation of policy on food, diet and obesity prevention”. And it calls for a “total ban across all media by the end of parliament on appetising both of HFSS food and drink and buy businesses that fail to reach healthy sales targets. To read the full report, follow the link below. https://lnkd.in/ey5eeqGh #obesity #HFSS #foodpolicy #dietrelateddisease

Brighton-based vegan retailer Kindly of Brighton has opened a second store in the city, taking over the York Place unit formerly occupied by pioneering alternative supermarket HISBE. Kindly was founded in 2019 in Brighton’s Seven Dials area by Shiv Misra, driven by a mission to demonstrate how veganism can be a powerful way to reduce our collective environmental footprint, with a stated aim of “revolutionising the supermarket model by putting the planet before profits”. The substantially sized (2,500 sq ft of selling space) new store forms part of a longer term plan to operate five outlets across the Brighton area. Misra says that moving into the unit previously occupied by another alternative supermarket is fitting. He told The Grocer recently:  “When they closed, they hoped their efforts would inspire others to continue the important work of transforming how food is sourced, sold, and consumed. Kindly is proud to carry this torch forward.” #Vegan #Brighton #retail To read the full story, follow the link below. https://lnkd.in/eyiQ7bRB

Ownership of the pioneering organic and sustainable food business Alara Wholefoods will be handed over to the its employees this week, when the company is formally moved into an Employee Owned Trust (EOT) scheme. Alex Smith, who founded the company nearly 50 years ago, believes employee ownership is the best way ensure the continuation of Alara’s mission-based ethos, as well as strengthening prospects for future growth and development. Commenting on the announcement, Smith says: “Alara has been focused on sustainability for the last 50 years. Since social equity is one of the key foundations of sustainability – and of such relevance given the glaring divergence of wealth between the many and the few – going down the EOT route seems absolutely appropriate for a sustainability-focused business. “In the early 1970s I lived for a year without money, as part of a squatter  community in North London. Shortly after, I founded Alara with £2 I found in the street, the cost of getting a van into New Covent Garden where I picked up discarded fruit and veg – which I then sold in a vacant shop unit in Camden. On our first day of trading we turned £2 into £4, doubling our capital!” The fledgling Alara wholefood shop was where Smith began to experiment with his muesli recipe, which would set the company on a course to become the country’s leading organic cereal manufacturer. Today, from its factory in King’s Cross, the company produces up to half of all the organic muesli sold in the UK, along with its heritage Alara brand. Smith continues: “Over the years, I have grown to appreciate the real value of money – less as something to possess and more as a tool with which to effect positive change. So my priority, as Alara moves into a new phase, is that the business is given the opportunity to further enhance the values that we established right at the beginning – standing for social fairness and championing sustainability. “My message to our customers and suppliers is that this move will strengthen the Alara business, making it more resilient and adaptable. There is real confidence here about the future of the business and the market, signified by a further £150,000 investment that we have just commissioned at our factory at Kings’s Cross. There is also real excitement about the EOT concept among the whole Alara team and we are seeing our people really stepping up. We’ve got a very strong management team in place, who I’m confident will successfully take on more of the roles that I and Katrina Smith (managing director) currently perform, making us stronger than ever as a business. " To read the full story, follow the link below. https://lnkd.in/egBp2VT8 #EOT #EmployeeOwnedTrust #EmployeeOwned #organic #sustainable Soil Association Riverford Organic Farmers

Parry Nutraceuticals has secured a European Union import licence for organic spirulina – the first to be granted to an Indian company in nearly two years. In October 2022, the European Commission delisted a number of Indian organic certification bodies after detecting traces of the EU-banned pesticide ethylene oxide in a shipment of organic sesame seeds from India. The ruling affected the only body in the world authorised to certify organic microalgae from India, putting an indefinite stop to imports of organic spirulina into the EU from India. Following the European Commission’s decision, Chennai-based Parry Nutraceuticals – which produces only spirulina that is certified organic – began the search for a Europe-based body willing to develop the capacity to certify organic spirulina from India. Having identified a credible European partner, and after more than a year of work behind the scenes, Parry Nutraceuticals is now able to resume exports to the EU with immediate effect. To read the full story, follow the link below. #spirulina #organic #India #organicspirulina Richard Clarke 🇺🇦Ingredient Communications https://lnkd.in/eM57qXmT

As part of a coordinated push on the UK market, Organic Sweden is bringing together nine companies under a shared pavilion at this week’s Nordic Organic Food Fair event in Stockholm (October 9-10 at Kistamässan in Stockholm). The pavilion is part of a broader push towards the UK, where the demand for organic and sustainable products is steadily increasing. Organic Sweden sees the UK market as a priority for Swedish organic exports and aims to strengthen ties with UK stakeholders through this project, which will run until 2026. The companies exhibiting at the stand include Berte Qvarn AB, Biofood, Camelina Of Sweden, Dig, Fazer Mills, Moonvalley, Nordic Chocolate, Oh Mungood, and Svenska LantChips AB. Together, they represent a rich diversity of organic products across various categories such as snacks, bars, cereals, oils, and plant-based alternatives. Commenting, Charlotte Bladh André, CEO of Organic Sweden, said: “We are excited to bring together some of Sweden’s leading organic companies under one umbrella and showcase the strong added values that come with organic production. Within the EU, strict requirements are placed on organic production, and through certification, Swedish organic companies can guarantee sustainable production that truly makes a difference for both the environment and the consumer." https://lnkd.in/e8dVCEuE

"Successive governments have grievously abrogated their responsibilities on nutrition and health, resistant to or fearful of acting on the advice of independent experts and preferring to work ‘in partnership’ with the food industry – significant parts of which make products that, to quote Dr Chris Van Tulleken, “are driving early death in a really unpleasant way, and they know it”. So, plenty of hand wringing over soaring health costs and a collapsing NHS but near silence on the fact that the system is designed – or at least destined – to fail." New comment piece at Natural Newsdesk on the renewed calls for an end to the conflicts of interest among members of the Government's nutrition and health advisory committee, and more widely. https://lnkd.in/eXQ97tr9

Leading experts from IKEA, Lidl, Coop Sverige, Svensk Dagligvaruhandel, Martin & Servera, Organic Sweden, IFOAM Organics Europe and KRAV will join a big name speaker line-up at next month’s Nordic Organic Food Fair (9-10 October, at Kistamässan, Stockholm). Full opening below to read the full story. https://lnkd.in/emsHE5NH

Will it be jingle tills all the way? Health Stores UK's next Shop Talk event takes on the theme 'Planning for the Festive Season' In this one-hour session, see and hear where independent health stores can make the most of the festive spirit with displays, hampers, gift cards, seasonal foods, body care sets and gifts for all the family. This online session is led by independent retail specialist, Dave Christie and supported by retailers Joanne Hill from Amaranth and Cheryl Thallon of Sheaf Street Health Store. What: Shop Talk - Planning for the Festive Season  When: 6pm, Wednesday 25 September  Where: Zoom Reserve your FREE place here - all independent retailers are welcome. https://lnkd.in/eVwq3rZg

Over a dozen top-selling Weleda lines are now available in selected Marks & Spencer stores around the country and online, as part of the retailer’s expanding beauty portfolio which now assimilates both famous-name products and new consumer trends. WELEDA UK Weleda AG Marks and Spencer #naturalbeauty #naturalcosmetics https://lnkd.in/eeeARhbE

Just landing. This week's new briefing from Natural Newsdesk , featuring stories on Natural & Organic Products Expo , Holland & Barrett, Next, The BMJ, IFOAM Organics Europe, BEUC - The European Consumer Organisation, Cristina Guarda, HEALTHSTORESUK, Prinova Global, Sustain: The alliance for better food and farming, Hampstead Tea, Viridian Nutrition, Clipper Tea and more. https://lnkd.in/eAMZSnAD