Welsh government has urged food businesses with surplus food to make use of the Surplus with Purpose Cymru Fund.
The Fund aims to help make it easy for businesses to donate their surplus, by overcoming any barriers to donation.
Businesses can divert the surplus stock to FareShare Cymru, helping hundreds of charities across Wales.
Funding is available until 2025 to make it cost-neutral to donate your food surplus by covering the costs of harvesting, labour, packaging, storage or transportation of surplus food. The fund can also offset any lost income from donating edible food that would otherwise have gone to anaerobic digestion.
After the success of the initial funding, FareShare Cymru has received a second round of funding from the Welsh government in October last year.
Wholesale giant Booker has launch its fourth colleague network Disability at Booker.
The network joins the Women@Booker, Race & Ethnicity, and LGBTQ+ networks already in operation at the cash and carry and wholesale business.
“Our networks are here to help us celebrate our differences, amplify the voices of our diverse colleagues and where allies can show their support. A huge thank you to everyone involved in bringing our new network to life,” said a Booker spokesperson.
Booker has also been accredited as a Disability Confident Committed employer. Disability Confident is a government scheme that encourages employers to think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop disabled people.
The Booker spokesperson said that the accreditation is part of its work “to positively shift attitudes towards disability within the industry and our commitment to create a great place to work for everyone”.
Booker Group stated on social media, "Today, we’re marking International Day of Persons with Disabilities with the launch of our fourth colleague network – Disability at Booker.
"Our networks are here to help us celebrate our differences, amplify the voices of our diverse colleagues and where allies can show their support. A huge thank you to everyone involved in bringing our new network to life.
"We’re also delighted to announce that Booker is now a Disability Confident Committed employer, through the Disability Confident scheme – part of our work to positively shift attitudes towards disability within the industry and our commitment to create a great place to work for everyone."
A business selling a vape to a 13-year-old has been successfully prosecuted, and fined following interventions by Bedford Borough Council’s Trading Standards team in its ongoing efforts to protect young people from age-restricted products.
In April 2024, an intelligence led test purchase operation resulted in a 13-year-old test purchaser being sold a single-use vape at Bedford Fruit and Vegetables Ltd, located at 109 Midland Road, Bedford.
On Nov 26, Bedford Fruit and Vegetables Ltd was fined by Luton Magistrates Court and ordered to pay a total of £3,621, encompassing fines and costs. The Director, Farogh Sadeghi, did not attend the hearing, having previously entered a guilty plea by post.
This successful prosecution, follows previous interventions with the business in relation to the sale of tobacco related products including the provision of advice and guidance relating to underage sales, and marks the third such case brought forward by Bedford Borough Council's Trading Standards department in 2024.
Councillor Phillippa Martin-Moran-Bryant, Portfolio Holder for Housing and Regulatory Services, expressed the Council's unwavering commitment to protecting children: “We take the protection of our young residents very seriously, the health risks associated to underage vaping are well documented.
"The prosecution of these traders demonstrates our resolve to uphold the law and ensure that businesses operate responsibly, especially when it comes to age-restricted products.”
Bedford Borough Council urges all retailers to prioritise staff training and implement robust procedures to prevent the sale of age-restricted products, such as vapes, to minors. Failure to comply will result in strict enforcement action.
Stoke Convenience Store in Aylesbury has been served with a one-month closure order for selling counterfeit and illegal vapes, cigarette and tobacco products.
Demonstrating its zero-tolerance towards illegal trade, Buckinghamshire Council has issued closure orders against three businesses.
In November, Smokey World, in Castle Street, High Wycombe, was issued with a closure order by Wycombe Magistrates to run for three months and later the same month Red Power in Aylesbury was also served with a closure order for a period of three months.
Most recently, Stoke Convenience Store in Stoke Road, Aylesbury, was served with a one-month closure order at a hearing at Milton Keynes Magistrates’ Court on Dec 3.
All three premises had been subject to investigations by officers from Buckinghamshire and Surrey Trading Standards, having been caught selling a variety of illicit products including illegal vapes, counterfeit cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco in test purchasing exercises carried out by undercover officers.
A number of operations involving tobacco detection dogs were also carried out at the locations. These specialist canines are trained to sniff out cigarettes and tobacco that is hidden from sight. At Smokey World the dogs were able to locate counterfeit good concealed behind sophisticated false wall panels. Stoke Convenience Store was also caught selling both regular vapes and alcohol to underage shoppers.
The closure orders were sought under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, and mean neither of the premises is allowed to open for trade during the three month/one month period respectively. If the orders are breached, those involved are liable for arrest and could receive up to 51 weeks in prison, or a fine, or both.
Mark Winn, Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Homelessness and Regulatory Services said: “These are brilliant result for the council and for the residents of Buckinghamshire. Counterfeit goods like these are a menace to our society and undermine the interests of law-abiding retailers who do not compete on a level playing field.
"They have no regard for the impact their illegal activity has on legitimate local businesses trying to make an honest living. Equally, selling alcohol and even legal vapes to those who are underage is against the law and we will crack down on those who seek to ignore the law in this respect.”
Mark added: “Let this be a warning, such criminality will not be tolerated in Buckinghamshire. Our Trading Standards officers proactively assess compliance and will use all appropriate sanctions available to them to stop unscrupulous retailers from flouting the law.”
Select & Save, Select & Save, claimed to be the UK’s sole independent symbol group, is launching an Aldi Price Match next year as it looks to ramp up its proposition to independent retailers.
The symbol group will be comparing prices on up to three branded lines stocked at Aldi per four-week promotional period.
The group stated on social media, "We also provide price comparisons for each promotional period with ALDI starting in 2025.
"The consumers we serve need to know we’re competitive, and retailers must have an edge with a retail-focused approach—not just wholesaler-driven promotions that serve their own interests."
Additionally, Select & Save is offering a 5 per cent wastage allowance on retailers' weekly chilled spend.
The group stated, "Select & Save is offering a 5 per cent wastage allowance on your weekly chilled spend, for example, if you spend £1,000, we will contribute £50 towards your wastage for 16 weeks to help grow your chilled business.
"This is in addition to our tiered rebates, which offer up to 5.5 per cent on purchases (excluding tobacco)."
It comes a month after it was reported that Select & Save has initiated the rollout of its new identity across its UK estate. Over the past year, the group has invested in its brand to distinguish itself in "an increasingly bland and static market".
Boasting the youngest management team among the UK convenience symbol groups, Select & Save has collaborated with industry experts to redefine its offerings for both retailers and shoppers.
Notably, Select & Save offers a Relief Manager service at no cost, allowing retailers to take well-deserved breaks — a first in the industry.
As a part of its wider strategy to differentiate, store designs have been revamped to enhance inclusivity and visual appeal. The new concept features a distinctive layout with an upgraded colour system, assigning specific colours to each section for an improved shopping experience.
The first rebranded Select & Save store is now open at Calder Drive, Walmley, Birmingham.
Farmers have slammed supermarkets over their practice of slashing the cost of vegetables to lure Christmas shoppers, saying that heavy discounting can impact consumer expectations about the real value of British produce.
Around Christmas, most supermarket giants, even upmarket chains Waitrose and Marks & Spencer, cut the price of festive basics by at least half at their busiest time of year.
The deep discounts come as the cost of producing homegrown vegetables has been pushed up with growers “already under the cosh” according to the National Farmers’ Union (NFU). Workforce availability, extreme weather and rising employment costs – compounded by recent national insurance and minimum wage increases – have taken their toll on the sector.
A spokesperson for the NFU told The Guardian, “While promotional activity can have positive impacts for growers to help drive sales volumes and attract new shoppers, growers have long held concerns about the impact heavy discounting can have on consumer expectations about the real value of British produce. Growers must also be reassured that this pricing strategy is not funded by unsustainable farmgate prices.”
Jack Ward, the chief executive of the British Growers Association, said: “Is that really a cause for celebration? We are giving people a false impression of what’s involved in improving food.
“People ask ‘if I can buy it for 15p at Christmas why is it 65p the rest of the year?’ It completely devalues what are superfoods compared to a lot of other things consumed in Christmas week. There’s no denying that consumers like this kind of deep discounting but they have got to understand it comes at a cost.”
While Ward admits that retailers take the profit hit on discounting the vegetables over the festive season, he says the growers will ultimately pay in lower prices throughout the year.
“Let’s not delude ourselves, the [cost of the] promotions are factored in somewhere along the way over the 12 months.”
Some retailers agreed the discounting was not good for the industry.
One supermarket insider told The Guardian that the discount frenzy devalued the image of vegetables and that it is a "race to the bottom and no one is really benefiting. Anyone selling a bag of carrots for 17p is making a thumping loss.”