Ocado’s customer orders have been disrupted by another warehouse fire six months after a blaze destroyed its robot-controlled depot in Hampshire (The Times £). A fire at a major Ocado depot has caused disruption to its food deliveries just months after another of its sites was destroyed in a blaze (Sky News). Four fire engines and “around 25 firefighters” took more than three hours to bring the blaze at a warehouse in Erith, east of London, under control on Wednesday evening (The Telegraph). Ocado suffers second site fire within a year as blaze ignites outside fulfilment building in south-east London (The Daily Mail).
Morrisons is closing four supermarkets, putting more than 400 jobs at risk. The Bradford-based grocer said the decision was made after a review of the performance of its 494 stores. (The Guardian)
Jamie Oliver is to turn the remains of his business empire into an ethical “B Corporation” that officially gives equal weight to people, the planet and profit (The Guardian). Jamie Oliver is looking to move on from the collapse of his 25-strong restaurant group in the UK, by recasting his business interests to focus on his campaigning efforts against junk food and child obesity (The Financial Times £)
High street sales fell sharply this month and at their fastest rate since December 2008, leaving sentiment “crumbling” among retailers (The Times £, The Guardian). British retail sales dropped this month at the fastest rate since 2008, according to a survey conducted by the business group CBI (Sky News).
The Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith is to advise a government review of hospital food, following the deaths of six people due to a listeria outbreak. A “root and branch” review launched by the Department of Health and Social Care on Friday will examine whether the number of hospitals catering in-house can be increased. (The Guardian)
A US House of Representatives committee has asked e-cigarette manufacturers to hand over details about the health impact of products, heaping renewed scrutiny on the popular devices. (The Times £)
Australian cheesemakers are mobilising against a proposed European crackdown on the naming of hundreds of products – including feta, mozzarella and gorgonzola – warning not only of job losses, but of a degradation of Australia’s rich multicultural history (The Guardian). EU trade negotiators find non-Greek ‘feta’ hard to swallow. The name of the distinctive cheese is just one of many European products Brussels is seeking to protect (The Financial Times £).
Northern Ireland farmers warn of no deal risks. (The BBC)
Patrick Hosking on pre-Brexit stockpiling writes in The Times £: “No one wants panic. But encouraging a bit of precautionary stockpiling by households might be no bad thing… Moderate stockpiling would probably save households money and if done now, it would free up desperately needed warehouse space at a seasonally critical time for the supply chain.” (The Times £)
Plant-based meat substitutes and other alternative proteins are in the spotlight, but among them, consumer interest in pea protein and lab-grown meat is especially strong, according to a new report. (The Financial Times £)
After more than four years of low prices, extreme weather, and a trade war with China, frustration on American farms seems to be boiling over. For one farmer, last week’s shock forecast from the US Department of Agriculture — which pushed corn futures prices down 6%, the largest daily sell-off in six years — could have been the final straw. (The Financial Times £)
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