Eggs in a carton

Shorter egg supply chain

Sir, Is it too much to ask for food to come with provenance - a freshly laid egg from a certified farm in a local place you recognise, or an anonymous egg that has been in transit for weeks from a place unknown?

Transparency is just one benefit from shorter supply chains. Such accountability rarely exists in mass supply chains. The longer the chain, the more anonymous the information. Fresh-range is building the technology and infrastructure for shorter, lighter, faster food supply chains. As a result, we are seeing procurement follow - from individuals, businesses and government.

Richard Osborn, director, Fresh-range

Subway bread is cool!

Sir, No journalist is going to tell me how to store my bread (‘Chilled bread isn’t cool,’ 12 August, p23). My wife often bakes bread, we slice it and store it in the freezer! As for Subway, I love the offer. Its breads are great, its fillings delicious and its salads perfect for a quick lunch. There’s a place for everything. Don’t just have cold shoulder with sour cream in your articles.

Simon Rushton, via thegrocer.co.uk

Dogs suffer from bad food

Sir, With one in three UK dogs now deemed clinically obese, it amazes me that so many dog lovers still refuse to embrace the key learnings from the healthier living renaissance in human food, where paleo, raw & HPP are testament to the fact that ‘old school’ heat treatments (pasteurisation) are now recognised for asset-stripping top quality ingredients of their essential nutrients and taste notes. Many dogs’ ailments can be attributed to either nutritionally vacant meals, dubious back-of-the-barn ingredients, inappropriate fillers (eg grains). or unappetising artificial extras.

Elsewhere, veterinary bills and pet discomfort are spiralling from ailments such as weak bone joints, inflamed gums, itchy skin, lacklustre coats, bad breath and runny stools, which could in many instances be eradicated or reduced by a more thoughtful diet regime

The gluten-free movement is certainly gathering momentum within the dogfood arena, as is label transparency, and yet still the nutritionally advanced raw movement (BARF) has been overlooked by a majority of the major supermarkets (excluding Ocado) who aren’t willing to find the freezer space required for best-in-class meal solutions.

Ian Hills, founder, Purple Pilchard