Britons may struggle to get hold of a free-range turkey or goose for the Christmas table this year after an industry head said about half of them have either died or been culled due to the country's largest-ever outbreak of avian flu.
Richard Griffiths, chief executive of the British Poultry Council, told lawmakers that British farmers usually produce 1.2 to 1.3 million free-range birds for the festive period.
"We have seen around 600,000 of those free-range birds being directly affected," he said.
Giving evidence to parliament's Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, Griffiths said total turkey production for Christmas in the UK was usually about 8.5 to 9 million birds. Of these, just over one million have died or been culled.
He did not know what the impact would be on prices.
"That is really a question for retailers at this point. We do not know how the gaps within retail are going to be filled," he said.
The major supermarket groups have so far been relatively relaxed in their public statements about turkey availability at Christmas.
Market leader Tesco said in October it expected to be able to satisfy demand, while earlier this month Sainsbury's said it had ordered more turkeys for Christmas this year than last year, giving it a buffer in case the crisis did hinder supply.
Also, Marks & Spencer, which typically sells one in four fresh turkeys consumed in the UK at Christmas, said it had strong plans to protect supply.
However, poultry farmer Paul Kelly told the committee, "there will be a big, big shortage of free range British turkeys on the shelves this year," noting "the biggest effect has been on the supermarkets."
Griffiths said that since the beginning of October there had been nearly 140 cases of bird flu in the UK, with 1.6 million birds culled.
He said 36 per cent of poultry farms in the UK were now subject to avian flu controls, which means birds must be kept indoors.
"So it's huge and the costs for industry and food production are potentially enormous."
Shareholders in food and drink giants such as PepsiCo, Coca-Cola and Mondelez are among a group of investors calling on the sector to be more transparent about the healthiness of its sales as a first step towards taking accountability for its significant impact on public health, in a move coordinated by responsible investment NGO ShareAction, the NGO stated.
The investors include Legal & General Investment Management, Pictet Asset Management, Nest, and CCLA, who collectively manage £2.34trn in assets. In a letter delivered today (21) to the chief executives of PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Mondelēz, Kraft Heinz, Kellanova, and General Mills, investors have called on the companies to follow the likes of Unilever and Danone in adopting internationally-accepted nutrition standards for publicly reporting the healthiness of their sales.
The investors have raised concerns that an over-reliance on sales of less healthy products leads to poor diets and sicker societies, which they claim harms economic productivity and threatens long-term business success and financial returns. The investors added that a lack of transparency hinders their ability to fully assess risks and opportunities.
“We believe that health is a systemic risk that affects the whole economy,” said Tom Sanders, Senior ESG Analyst at Nest. “The increased consumption of unhealthy products harms public health and could reduce worker productivity, creating externalities that can impact our long-term investment returns as a globally diversified investor. Food and drink companies must take responsibility in helping manage these risks by being more transparent, using internationally recognised nutrition standards as an important first step.”
The move comes amid an increasing focus by governments and consumers on the food and drink sector’s reliance on sales of foods that are high in fat, salt and sugar. Around one in eight people globally are living with obesity, including millions of children, which is projected to cost the global economy more than £3.34trn a year by 2035.
Thomas Abrams, Co-Head of Health at ShareAction, said: “It’s really encouraging to see the momentum building among the investment community to hold the food and drink sector to account for its impact on public health. By adopting a responsible investment approach to public health investors can not only manage financial risks but also help more people to enjoy healthier lives for longer.”
ShareAction and the investors are asking the food and drink companies to commit to adopting one or more of the internationally accepted Nutrient Profiling Models used to define healthy food, rather than their own in-house versions.
Freight-related crime cost the UK economy an estimated £680-700 million in 2023, when accounting for lost revenues, VAT, and insurance costs, revealed a recent report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Freight and Logistics.
The study, funded by the Road Haulage Association (RHA), documented 5,370 reported incidents of HGV and cargo crime across the UK last year, a 5 per cent increase on the previous year. Experts suggest that the actual figures could be significantly higher due to under-reporting. The direct value of stolen goods reached £68.3 million.
According to data from the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS), major crime hotspots include Stafford with 138 offences, Thurrock with 103, and Warwick Services with 87. The East of England, Yorkshire and Humber, and South East regions experienced the highest concentration of incidents, with the West Midlands seeing incidents double in 2023 and Yorkshire/Humber recording a 65% increase since 2021.
Analysis reveals distinct seasonal patterns, with fourth-quarter criminal activities increasing by 56 per cent in 2022 and 26 per cent in 2023, coinciding with the Christmas retail period.
The report highlights significant infrastructure challenges, noting a national shortage of approximately 11,000 lorry parking spaces. Current facilities are operating at 83 per cent capacity nationwide, with utilisation exceeding 90 per cent in the South East, East Midlands, and East of England. The A14 Cambridge-Felixstowe route, serving Britain’s busiest port, has reached 100 per cent capacity for overnight parking.
Three-quarters of recorded freight crimes occurred in independent road parking areas or unsecured motorway service stations, with incidents at motorway services increasing by 59 per cent in 2023.
The APPG’s research indicates that rather than being opportunistic, these crimes are largely conducted by organised groups targeting high-volume routes near major ports. Small and medium-sized enterprises, which comprise 90 per cent of the sector, are particularly vulnerable to losses.
The impact on Britain’s supply chains is substantial, considering that road freight moves 89 per cent of all goods and 98 per cent of agricultural and food products. The cross-party group has proposed several measures, including the establishment of national secure parking standards, enhanced law enforcement resources, and reforms to planning frameworks to increase secure parking facilities.
The report forms part of a broader examination of supply chain security and follows the government’s allocation of £32.5 million in November 2022 for truck stop improvements, supplementing £20 million provided by National Highways earlier that year.
British Beekeepers’ Association (BBKA), which represents hobbyist beekeepers, has urged retailers to stock local honey, after a new research raised significant questions about the composition of blended honey samples imported to the UK and sold at supermarkets.
In a recent authenticity test, 96 per cent of samples of imported honey from supermarkets were found to be ‘atypical’ for honey, compared to 100 per cent of UK beekeeper samples that were deemed ‘typical’.
The Honey Authenticity Network UK (HAN UK) sent 30 honey samples for testing last month, with 24 out of the 25 jars of imported honey not meeting the required standards. All five of the samples sent from UK beekeepers passed the test, as well as one supermarket honey, which was also British honey.
The test was carried out at The Celvia research institute in Estonia, which has developed a DNA Metagenomic test in which the composition of samples is compared against a database of more than 500 genuine honeys.
Diane Drinkwater, chair of the British Beekeepers’ Association– which has a membership of nearly 30,000 beekeepers across England and Wales– said she was “disappointed, but not surprised” at the outcome of the results, adding:
“Our members are small, local producers of artisan honey. Whilst the amounts that they can produce each year will vary due to the seasonable nature of the product, our methods of extraction are unique, and each jar will have its own distinct flavour and texture,” Drinkwater commented.
“We will continue to champion the benefits of local honey in an era of increasing debate over the composition of imported honey sold in the UK”.
According to the International Trade Centre, the UK imported an average of 50,917 tonnes of honey in 2023, of which 39,405 tons were from China. Jars and bottles of honey can be bought off the shelf for as little as 69p, but often feature a blend of products from a number of different countries.
Honey adulteration can take many forms, with one of the most common methods being to bulk out honey with cheap syrups made from corn, rice and other crops.
These new results follow similar outcomes from imported honey samples in Europe, with 80 per cent of samples from Germany, 62 per cent of samples from Finland, and 100 per cent of samples from Austria failing the same test.
Lynne Ingram, BBKA Honey Ambassador and chair of the Honey Authenticity Network UK said: “It is disappointing that yet again, samples of cheap imported honeys in UK supermarkets have been found to be ‘atypical’ for genuine honey. All British honeys in the tests were found to be genuine.
“The lack of appropriate monitoring, testing and enforcement by UK government has led to the UK being flooded with cheap honey, much of it from China.
“Consumers wanting authentic honey are advised to be guided by price as very cheap honey is unlikely to be genuine; to read labels carefully and choose honeys that are not a blend. Ideally buy British honey.
“We would also call on more UK supermarkets to stock British honey.”
Wiltshire Police have arrested five people and seized more than £55,000 worth of illicit vapes, tobacco and alcohol following a series of warrants in the Broadgreen area of Swindon.
In a joint operation HMRC and Trading Standards, officers executed four warrants in Manchester Road at three stores and a property on Tuesday as part of the force’s ongoing Clear Hold Build work within Broadgreen.
The raids led to the seizure of thousands of pounds worth of illegal vapes which breached the legal capacity limit and “were for sale directly next to the counters.” Officers also seized illicit tobacco and alcohol.
Some vapes were advertised as containing more than 15,000 puffs – well in excess of the 600 puff limit for disposable vapes.
Five men were arrested on suspicion of breaching section 92 of the Trade Marks Act 1994. They have been taken into custody for questioning.
“This was a highly successful morning involving excellent multi-agency work,” Sergeant Winter, of the Swindon Central South Neighbourhood Team, said.
“Community intelligence is vital to enable us to conduct operations like this. If you have any concerns around activity going on in your community then please report it to us.”
As industry leaders is cash handling, Volumatic has long supported the use of cash and the importance of maintaining access to cash for both consumers and businesses. The company recognises the importance of the new set of rules created by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) two months ago, to safeguard access to cash for businesses and consumers across the UK.
Since introduction, the new rules are intended to ensure that individuals and businesses who rely on cash can continue to access it and the outcome has already sparked the creation of 15 new banking hubs across the UK, including one in Scotland, with many more to follow.
These hubs provide shared spaces for consumers to access basic services, such as depositing and withdrawing cash, and are being embraced by businesses keen to support the use of cash, who have been struggling in recent years due to the flurry of bank closures across the UK.
With this in mind, Volumatic welcomes the increase in banking hubs and other facilities but recommends businesses go one step further to make things even easier.
“We have known for some time that more and more people are using cash again on a daily basis and so it’s great that access to cash is being protected by the FCA, something that we and others in the industry have been campaigning for, for a long time,” said Volumatic’s Sales & Marketing Director Mike Severs. “Both businesses and consumers need to have easy and local access to cash, and these new rules ensure cash usage continues to rise and will encourage more businesses to realise that cash is still an important and valid payment method.”
With time being of the essence for most businesses, making a journey to the nearest bank, banking hub or Post Office isn’t always possible on a daily basis, plus there is the obvious security risk to both the money and the individual taking it to consider.
Volumatic offers integration with the G4S CASH360 integration
Volumatic’s partnership with G4S, announced back in April 2024, means every business dealing in cash anywhere in the UK can have access to a fully managed solution. This will be especially relevant to those who currently have to walk or travel a distance to a bank or PO to deposit their cash.
Severs adds: “Although having more banking facilities is fantastic news, Volumatic can help businesses even more by bringing the bank to them through an investment in technology like the CCi that can offer integration with the G4S CASH360 solution. Together, we make daily cash processing faster, safer, and more secure and the combination of solutions will save businesses time and money for years to come, making it a truly worthwhile investment.“
Volumatic offers a range of cash handling solutions, with their most advanced device being the CounterCache intelligent (CCi). This all-in-one solution validates, counts and stores cash securely at POS, with UK banks currently processing over 2.5 million CCi pouches each year. When coupled with the upgraded CashView Enterprise cash management software and its suite of intelligent apps, the Volumatic CCi can offer a full end-to-end cash management solution – and now goes one step further.
It does this by providing web service integration with other third-party applications such as the CASH360 cash management system, provided by the foremost UK provider of cash security, G4S Cash Solutions (UK).
“Ultimately, only time will tell how successful the FCA’s new rules will prove. In the short amount of time the new legislation has been in place, the signs are already looking good, and coupled with the new technology we offer, it is a good thing for businesses and consumers alike in the ongoing fight for access to cash and more efficient cash processing,” concludes Severs.