FDA warns Amazon's Whole Foods Market for misbranding food products
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Tuesday it has issued a warning letter to Amazon.com Inc’s Whole Foods Market for not labeling some products for the presence of food allergens, which led to a series of product recalls. The supermarket chain, which was bought by Amazon in 2017 for $13.7 billion, has recalled more than 30 food products in the last year as the presence of major food allergens was not listed on product labels, the agency said.
Source: Financial Post
Online grocery delivery companies recruit extra staff to cope with spike in demand
Grocery delivery companies are struggling to fulfil demand and are having to bring in extra staff following a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases and more people being forced to isolate at home. Over the past few weeks the Jersey Island has seen the virus grow exponentially, with the number of known active cases topping 1,000 on Monday. One apparent side effect of this abrupt increase is that online supermarket-style businesses – which deliver groceries to customer’s doors – are seeing a larger demand for their services, with some even taking on additional staff to cater for it.
Source: Jersey Evening Post
US Foods exceeds $35 Million in donations for Covid-19 hunger relief efforts
US Foods Holding Corp. announced that since March the company has donated more than $35 million in food and supplies to fight hunger during the COVID-19 pandemic, the equivalent of approximately 17 million meals. “As we look back at 2020, I am grateful we have been able to support so many organizations whose mission is to help others,” said Pietro Satriano, chairman and CEO, US Foods. “The impact of COVID-19 has been felt far and wide, and our charitable partners have worked tirelessly to meet unprecedented demand. As we continue to face the challenges brought on by COVID-19, our commitment to fighting hunger will continue into the new year and beyond.”
Source: RestaurantNews
Grocers disappointed by lack of liability protection in relief package
Food retailers hoping for liability protection for their businesses amid the challenges of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic were disappointed in the COVID relief package passed by Congress on Dec. 21. “While we appreciate the bipartisan effort to provide much-needed economic relief to the American people, the bill unfortunately falls short of the needed liability protections critical to independent grocers,” noted Greg Ferrara, president and CEO of the Arlington, Virginia-based National Grocers Association (NGA), which represents the independent grocery sector. “Independent supermarkets have led the way in keeping workers and customers safe and have remained open when their communities need them most. It is unacceptable for Congress to leave open the floodgates for frivolous litigation to be levied against independent community businesses simply for staying open during the crisis.”
Source: Progressive Grocer
India: Billionaires fight it out for India’s retail crown
Amazon.com Inc’s chief executive Jeff Bezos, the world’s wealthiest man, is determined to retain his company’s pre-eminence in India’s retail market, estimated to reach $1.3 trillion by 2025, amid a surge in online shopping, and stave off an equally determined challenge from Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest and chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd, which runs the country’s largest offline retail chain. The battle for dominance in one of the fastest-growing major retail markets is being fought on the ground in India and the courts in Singapore and New Delhi.
Source: Mint
UK: Morrisons orders 150 fresh new trailers for UK supermarket fleet
Morrisons has historically utilised temperature-controlled box van trailers to undertake the majority of deliveries to its circa 500 stores throughout the UK, but the supermarket’s team, echoed by Tiger Trailers’ design engineers, identified that ambient moving double-deck trailers would increase not only efficiency but versatility, too. Capable of transporting 44 pallets as opposed to 26 previously, and also able to carry cages, Tiger Trailers' ambient moving double deck solution for Morrisons is a prime example of innovative design and engineering resulting in ‘more products, fewer miles’ and translates into 50% more real-world scope for store deliveries.
Source: TransportEngineer
South Africa: Brick-and-mortar retail in the doldrums as shift to online accelerates
The year 2020 pushed Shoprite Holdings’ Checkers, Woolworths and Pick n Pay to invest more in online shopping platforms. Spar is the laggard. Woolworths group CEO Roy Bagattini offered shareholders and customers a frank mea culpa about the retailer’s online shopping offering that flopped during South Africa’s hard Covid-19 lockdown. A Woolworths internal survey found that 14% of its customers in South Africa started shopping online for the first time during lockdown. But the company’s online shopping – mostly for food – was a nightmare for customers who avoided frequenting the retailer’s brick-and-mortar stores during the first wave of Covid-19 infections. They had to wait days for online orders to be delivered. The unlucky ones waited weeks for new delivery slots to open.
Source: Daily Maverick
UK: Cheapest UK supermarket has changed ahead of Christmas - and it's between Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury's and Morrisons
With Christmas now just days away, supermarket shoppers are rushing to Asda, Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Waitrose to buy their last minute bits and pieces. But after a financially difficult year, many are looking for the cheapest supermarket to keep costs down. New research from 'Which?' has now shown which retailer is the most affordable, and there's a clear winner. The research collected prices from five of the UK’s biggest supermarkets including Asda, Morrisons, Tesco, Sainsbury's and Waitrose to find out which retailer was the most affordable. According to the research, Asda was found to be the cheapest for a Christmas food shop.
Source: Manchester Evening News