Better chicken welfare, more to come on sugar

Better chicken welfare

Sir, Sainsbury’s approach for improving chicken welfare is not going far enough for the millions of chickens in its supply.

While improving some aspects of health and physical condition, their approach fails to address fundamental aspects: space to live, restricted behavioural repertoire, poor immune function, and cardiovascular and muscle disease.

In order to provide a good quality of life we need a dual approach: the provision of space and environmental enrichment with a robust, slower-growing breed, combined with a process of ensuring good welfare is achieved.

Dr Tracey Jones, director of food business, Compassion in World Farming





More to come on sugar

Sir, The recent launch of the sugar levy and PHE’s potential ban of advertising of high-sugar products during children’s TV in the UK has caused quite a stir in the fmcg world. We believe this will lead to consumers dramatically altering their habits - and that’s no bad thing.

Flavoured milk is currently exempt from the levy due to its high milk content and recognisable health benefits, which include vitamin B2, protein and calcium. At FrieslandCampina we’ve always been proud of the goodness of milk, but we’re certainly not complacent about the concerns of lobbyists. We predict that the focus on sugar as part of the health debate will continue and over time other elements of food & drink may become a focus.

Retailers and manufacturers should be thinking ahead to ensure we provide shoppers with a range of products that help achieve a balanced diet.

Gavin Blair, MD, FrieslandCampina UK





Plastic suppliers must act

Sir, I am sure that we are all too well aware of our society’s endeavours to reduce the use of plastic packaging and to alleviate its contaminating effects on the world.

But surely it is not only the responsibility of the users of this adaptable material to do something about it?

Is it not time that users and distributors of plastic packaging products stopped taking the sole blame and demanded 99% recyclable or reusable and 100% biodegradable plastic packaging from suppliers - not in five or 10 years but immediately, within six months?

Jonathan Choat, chairman, Nexus PR