The Plating up Progress? project, run jointly by the FCRN and the Food Foundation, has released a new investor briefing, Plating Up Progress Part 1, which looks at the sustainability risks and opportunities that exist for food retailers, caterers and restaurants. 

This report from the Eating Better Alliance surveys 620 sandwiches available from retailers in the UK. It finds that 85% of sandwiches on the market still have meat, fish or cheese as their main ingredient, and only two sandwiches had any “better meat” certification (RSPCA Assured logos).

This paper calculates the environmental impacts (climate change, acidification, eutrophication, land use, and water use) caused by either making a meal by using a meal kit (which contains pre-portioned ingredients for cooking a meal) or by buying the ingredients from a grocery store.

This paper by FCRN member Claire Pulker of Curtin University analyses the presence and quality of supermarket corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies related to all attributes of public health nutrition, including sustainability. The paper audited Australian supermarket own brand foods to establish the extent to which CSR policies are translated into practice.

This research briefing from UK charity Sustain assesses which of the UK’s 13 largest supermarket chains pays employees a Living Wage, the ratio between the salaries of their lowest and highest paid workers, as well as their approach to grocery market regulation.

FCRN member Susanne Freidberg examines corporate sustainability practices in the food sector, noting that many early projects overestimated consumer interest in environmental impacts information and the ability of the supply chain to produce that data, and that effective initiatives often require businesses to partner with academia and NGOs.

The global supermarket sector's commitments to protect public health are “generally disappointing”, finds FCRN member Claire Pulker of Curtin University. However, some progress is being made address food waste, assure food safety and quality, and support selection of healthy foods.

UK supermarket Tesco and wildlife NGO WWF have set up a four-year partnership to work on reducing the environmental impacts of food. They aim to halve the environmental impact of the average UK shopping basket, according to a metric that they will develop.

UK supermarket Sainsbury’s has started selling edible insects in 250 of its stores, becoming the first UK supermarket to do so. The barbecue-flavour roasted crickets are made by Eat Grub and contain 68 grams of protein per 100 grams of dried crickets. Eat Grub founder Shami Radia told Sky News, “We're on a mission to show the West that as well as having very strong sustainability and environmental credentials, they are also seriously tasty and shouldn't be overlooked as a great snack or recipe ingredient.”