At a conference organised by the Policy Commission and the Institute for Grocery Distribution to mark two years since the Curry Commission reported, Sir Don Curry, chairman of Defra's Sustainable Farming and Food Implementation Group, said: "We are certainly moving in the right direction, but we must maintain our enthusiasm and momentum." On the relationship between producers and retailers he said, "the current power imbalance between producers and retailers has led in many cases to a lack of trust and confidence. We need to establish responsible and sustainable trading relationships."
Friends of the Earth's Food and Farming Campaigner Sandra Bell has called on the Government to impose a new statutory Code of Practice on supermarkets: "Two years after the Curry report, it is clear that the supermarket Code of Practice has failed. During that time the Government has allowed the balance of power to tip further in favour of supermarkets.... [I]t has done nothing to strengthen the protection for farmers and other suppliers from the bullying behaviour of the big supermarkets."
Tesco, the UK's leading food retail group, is one of a number of companies in the food industry criticised this week for driving down employment conditions for millions of women workers around the world by the international agency Oxfam.
In a new report called Trading Away Our Rights, Oxfam criticises huge retailing "empires" such as Tesco for undermining labour standards by using a common business model that demands ever-quicker and cheaper delivery of the freshest and latest products.
ACC Milk, a subsidiary of the Co-operative Group, has launched a new dairy brand which it will market through its distribution channels throughout Wales. The brand 'Cadog', named after the St Cadog monastery at Lancarfan, South Wales, is Wales' first fully bilingual dairy brand.
According to recent research, customers are becoming increasingly receptive to brands which convey a local heritage and origin, with a clear majority of consumers indicating an interest in buying local food.
Shareholders representing 99.6 percent of Safeway shares voted in favour of the Morrisons acquisition. Morrisons shareholders also voted in favour of the deal at a separate meeting.
Morrisons plans to sell 132 Safeway stores when it completes the £3bn takeover of its rival supermarket chain.
