Retailers have rebuffed MPs comments about food waste in the UK, following a government study that found the average household throws away £8 a week.

The Co-operative Group has secureed the purchase of Somerfield for £1.56bn meaning the Co-op will operate 3000+ grocery stores.

The Co-operative has scored another green hit, claiming to be the first UK retailer to roll out 100% rPET (recycled) bottles across its entire own-brand range of carbonated drinks and mixers.

International Development Minister Gareth Thomas has launched a £2m scheme intended to help more African-produced foods reach UK supermarket shelves.

Forty major food and drink companies have signed up to a pledge put together by the Food and Drink Federation to reduce food miles and reduce transport's environmental impact generally.

Yeah! to David Cameron telling roly poly Brits to get a grip, stop blaming everyone else and to eat less. For once a politician has jumped down off the fence and said something sensible.

Waitrose's new Delicatezze range, launched this summer, enables customers to treat their guests to a fabulous range of light summer appetisers. Influenced heavily by the "fresh flavours and relaxed outdoor eating of the Mediterranean", the range includes more than 30 varieties of nibbles and is intended to be mixed and matched.

Following its appointment of a 'head of convenience' Waitrose is believed to be starting a move into the convenience sector with a trial of smaller formats.

British asparagus growers and packers met in London recently to review the 2008 PR campaign for the vegetable, now in its sixth year. Demand from British consumers "remained very strong for home grown asparagus and trip spend and volume per customer increased". However "tricky" growing conditions meant a slightly later start to the season. The campaign theme 'Quick & Easy' successfully debunked the myth that asparagus is difficult to cook with.

You might expect a Kellogg's head honcho to say "expand the fixtures," but sales director Jean-Yves Heude has some interesting views on merchandising cereal snacks.

Many of yesterday's certainties vanish in the face of the deep cut promotion. The latest headline-hitting venture being the 50p effort from Morrisons.

Unilever has opened a twin-sited research centre it's calling the Centre for Excellence - Ice Foods to bring more innovation to ice cream, despite the fact it recently reported Magnum sales "soaring" in the good weather.

While consumer concerns have influenced the design of retail packaging to minimise waste and processing, the opposite has been the case in the supply chain.

The Co-operative recently introduced 17 new own-label fish lines on to its shelves for the summer season, including four premium products.

The magnificent men and their (hopefully) flying machines came in out in force to try and make as much air as possible with their homemade contraptions in the Red Bull Flugtag, held at London's Hyde Park recently.

The outlook is bleaker than ever for fresh produce businesses, according to a Plimsoll report. "Zero growth, sliding profits and escalating debts have pushed a third of the UK fresh produce industry to the brink of failure," it said. It is a picture of consolidation as supply outstrips demand and "companies are experiencing a difficult trade-off between protecting margins and appeasing price-sensitive customers". Plimsoll has rated 199 of the largest companies in the "need to change in order to survive" bracket. The company's David Pattison said they "must put immediate plans into place to trade their way out of the problems - cutting costs and jobs, and even turning unprofitable work away".

Waitrose has acquired four new shops in prime London locations from Woolworths, as part of its expansionist strategy this year.

Asda triumphed at The Grocer Gold Awards, stealing the availability award from last year's winner Morrisons, and once again bagging the pricing award.

British shoppers are leading their Continental counterparts when it comes to shopping ethically, according to new figures from the IGD.

It's the time of year when fruit and veg a-plenty are in season, but being something of a product of my generation I know strawberries are coming into season and potatoes are particularly new at the moment, but little more than that.

Model and health fanatic Nell McAndrew has been enlisted to provide the visual anchor for the Potato Council's Love Potatoes campaign, which is attempting to get consumers loving their indigenous spuds again.

We are surrounded by measures that - due to the twin pressures of oil and raw material price increases - encourage manufacturing industries to put their prices up.

Sainsbury's is on target to be "great again", following its recent results, which showed like-for-like sales (excluding fuel) up 3.9%.

Wrigley will become a subsidiary of Mars following a $23bn deal that is being described as a merger rather than a purchase.

The Moore household is doing its best to be a little greener, but I have to say the novelty of two separate bins in the kitchen - one for real waste and the other for recycling - is wearing thin.

Waitrose is planning a rollout of a convenience format of upmarket stores that is likely to take on local farmers' markets by offering another channel for local suppliers.

The Competition Commission has released its report on its inquiry into UK groceries, confirming that it wants an Ombudsman established to oversee disputes, possibly appointed by retailers.

Waitrose MD Mark Price may well have been expecting a cosy chat about the partnership's fine food ranges when he agreed to participate in the Real Food Debate at the recent London Real Food Festival.

Wal-Mart reportedly "blew the whistle" on alleged price-fixing of food and toiletries recently, thus giving it immunity from any fines that may be forthcoming.

Availability may be a well-coined retail term but when you consider the array of consumers visiting today's supermarkets, it takes on a renewed prominence.

There is a new spirit of tea in the land. A once revered, refreshing and sustaining beverage is in the process of being reborn.

Pork pies made in and around Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire are finally to be protected by the European Commission, having received Protected Geographical Indication status

The Co-operative Group has extended and improved its barbecue range for this season, as well as launching many summer eating products. The barbecue additions include Tennessee BBQ thighs and ribs, Hoi Sin drumsticks, and sweet chilli chicken kebabs. The Co-op is also launching new products into its premium Truly Irresistible range, including an Aberdeen Angus burger with vintage farmhouse Cheddar, an Aberdeen Angus beef sausage, a salmon, lemon & coriander burger, and a Cumberland Sausage.

Retail industry figures recently spoke out about the need for the ombudsman, proposed by the Competition Commission to oversee retailers' dealings with suppliers, to have the power to protect suppliers, possibly by allowing them to remain anonymous.

Two leading figures from major fmcg brands appeared at a recent Convenience Retail Show seminar to put their weight behind the industry-wide campaign to reduce the weight of packaging.

A couple of years ago, retailers had a traditional approach to in-store PoS products. They knew what was in the marketplace, what they wanted and how to get it.

The Moore household has ended its 'great shopping experiment'. We had abandoned online ordering in favour of visiting the supermarket. The rationale was that we would save money by not just reordering from our favourites list, instead shopping for what we needed, when we needed it. Sadly, it didn't work like that.

The Food Standards Agency has decided to advise ministers to encourage food manufacturers to voluntarily remove food colourings by 2009.

Tesco's yearly results showed it is still growing successfully across the group, despite rumours that its US Fresh & Easy chain is failing to meet its potential.

A representative of the government's waste reduction programme told a seminar at the recent Convenience Retail Show it was imperative to let customers know about green improvements being made to packaging.

A ram-raider wearing just a pair of boots and a bed sheet ram-raided The Co-operative Group's store in Balsall, West Midlands, and then raced off with police officers in hot pursuit after stealing £1,500 of cigarettes. Thirty-one-year-old David Ball's near-naked ambition meant the security shutters were no obstacle for his friend's Renault Clio. Ball did not steal any booze, perhaps because he was already twice over the drink limit.

62%Verdict Consulting found that more 62% of all shoppers surveyed "regularly use supermarkets to buy non-food items - a sharp rise on five years ago when 45% used grocers for non-food regularly. The current collective spend is put at £19.7bn.

Well it certainly is for two high-ranking Sainsbury's employees still under investigation for alleged payments received from suppliers, but we'll leave that to one side. No, the humble potato is being elevated to the status of UN ambassador, with the organisation focusing on spuds and their role in "providing food security and alleviating poverty". Rising prices do affect potatoes too, but maybe the UK could look at exporting something for once!

It wasn't a good year for Sainsbury's in 1998, as Tesco had overtaken it three years previously and began to dominate the market. In the February 1999 third quarter statement, CEO Dino Adriano showed his dissatisfaction: "In a market that was more competitive, our Value to Shout About campaign improved customer's perceptions of value but did not meet its sales target." He also admitted the value campaign "resulted in a fall in average spend and transaction size". Things have changed now though, and Sainsbury's is well into achieving its 'Turnaround' objectives, with 12 consecutive quarters of sales growth to December 2007.

Apart from rivalling other multiples on basket spend, Waitrose seems to do everything brilliantly, and its internet shopping services are no exception. WaitroseDeliver, launched 10 years ago at Waitrose's Kingston store, and Ocado are innovations that have kept Waitrose head and shoulders above the rest, bringing reassuringly expensive smoked salmon and champagne to 'the ladies who lunch' across the UK. WaitroseDeliver differs from Ocado in that deliveries are sourced from certain local branches.

The Government has announced a £2m fund to support retailers who work with African suppliers to bring products into the UK.

Chief executive of Tesco Terry Leahy had only been in the job a year in April 1998, but that was the point he saw 'primary' Tesco shoppers spending 80% of their grocery shopping budget with Tesco [AGB Retailer Track].

When James asked me to write about how retailing has changed in the past 10 years, I thought it would be easy. After all, we now have online shopping - remember ordering over the phone or waiting two hours for the store's inventory to download if you used the computer?

Nineteen-ninety-eight was the year the multiples started to come under serious attack, accused of monolithic behaviour, artificially high prices and supplier domination. This problem won't go away unless treated with extreme caution.

The key driver for consumers in grocery shopping was convenience and this would lead to a growth in formats such as online shopping, a report by Euromonitor in 1998 found. This has been borne out in the growth of online shopping, while the other big factors of quality and service have grown in importance, according to a 2008 report published by IGD.

Over the past 10 years, Unilever has been at the forefront of innovation in the laundry market. Since the groundbreaking introduction of Persil tablets in 1998, a wealth of NPD and heavy marketing support has continued to add value.

The controversial acquisition in 2004 by Tesco of 45 London convenience stores run by Cullens, Europa and Harts caused the OFT to investigate. Although the move meant Tesco opening Expresses across town, the OFT dismissed calls to refer the purchases for a full Competition Commission inquiry.

City analysts may have been questioning Morrisons' decision to expand south out of its Yorkshire heartland in April 1998, but how things have changed. Sir Ken Morrison has just stepped down as chairman after 56 years, in which time he has transformed the firm from his father's three market stalls to the UK's fourth biggest supermarket.

QWhat would the Government do without national retailers?

The Co-operative is continuing its crusade to be the ethical retailer of choice, with a ban on the sale of all eggs from caged hens.

The Competition Commission is to take decisive action to attempt to force large retailers not to change terms agreed with their suppliers.

Today's consumers are not satisfied with cheap, low-quality products - they are on the look-out for something special. However, this trading-up has to be balanced against consumer spend that is tighter than ever.

Between the ages of 12 and 18 I was a vegetarian. I ate fish, but nothing with four legs or feathers passed my lips.

Research undertaken by Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH) and parenting website Netmums has found that parents remain "confused about which foods contain salt".

The number of shoppers who believe supermarkets should concentrate on food rather than non-food has halved since 2006, according to a survey by Key Note.

Twenty-one leading food and drink manufacturers have signed up to the Food and Drink Federation's initiative to reduce water use.

We often use the words 'new year' as a figure of speech. But this year in retail is showing all signs of being a REALLY new year.

Ofcom's ban on adverts for junk food aimed at children under 16 has now come into force, but campaigners say the ban does not cover enough programmes.

Despite "record levels of promotions" in the run-up to Christmas, shoppers provided a "lacklustre" sales performance in stores, according to Nielsen.

Shoppers who abuse priority spaces in Asda's car parks will now be fined £60.

Tesco is claiming it is happy with its Christmas performance, with non-food sales rising 3.1% (excluding petrol) in the six weeks to 5 January.

Tesco is set to expand its business overseas by £30bn to £74bn within five years and double store numbers.

The present wrapping has gone for recycling, the credit card bills are piling up, we're still treading on sharp pine needles and the children have already flung some of their toys to one side. Yes - you can tell Christmas is over for another year and 2008 has arrived.

Retail ready packaging is the name given to product packaging designed to go directly from the factories on to shelves without the need for unpacking or decanting.

Now well-established in the UK, Fairtrade Fortnight is being exploited to the full by multiple retailers and producers alike.

Fresh veg specialist Parripak said it has had a successful and busy winter when it comes to onions and has put 251 tonnes of finished onions through its Bedfordshire facility, equating to two million hand-sorted onions. The company said it was looking forward to some exciting new launches and healthy eating-based promotions this year. Demand for onions was up from the ready meals and soup sectors, said Parripak.

Werther's Original Sugar Free is a great example of how the confectionary industry is meeting consumer needs on two levels. The product offers all the creaminess and taste of the topselling Werther's Original Butter Candies, now worth £19.4m, but it also appeals to consumers who are looking to reduce the amount of sugar in their diets without cutting out sweet treats completely.

QFrom the outside, it's a gloomy start to 2008. Tesco "fails to convince" and M&S produces a mild downturn, but the market knocks millions off the value of the shares. Retailers' needs for increased sales and maintained margins translates to lower, or, at best, retained prices from manufacturers.

Asda has given its 100,000 sq ft Patchway store near Bristol a £3m revamp, making it a model Supercentre that will become the template across the UK. The multiple used consumer feedback to give it "the look of a department store", said general manager for Supercentres Paula Wright.

The Competition Commission's recent announcement of the provisional findings in its grocery inquiry may have risked creating 'inquiry fatigue', but it did point to possible changes in the code of practice regulating retailer-supplier relationships.

Sainsbury's customer William Chapman is quite entitled to look a bit smug, as he is now free of the treacherous world of mortgages, thanks to Bird's Eye.

Tesco Pure is an Extended Shelf Life (ESL) fresh milk that has been available to customers since 2005 and has gone from strength to strength. Available in 2-litre and one-litre formats, Pure was the first own label ESL milk in the market.

Gordon Brown has hosted a seminar with the drinks industry to tackle underage and binge drinking. Despite retailers apparently not being present at the meeting, the PM "challenged alcohol producers and retailers to take part in the effort to deal with unacceptable drinking, or face tougher action".

In a key speech on the government's green targets for business and individuals, Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently announced the setting up of a grocery industry forum to discuss how to eliminate single-use disposable carrier bags.

I'm starting to lose the will to live with food/health/environment scare stories. This month I've read that not only can I no longer enjoy a bacon butty or indeed any cured meat, I'm also to be visited by some kind of 'travel interrogator' who's going to shine a light in my eyes to find out how often I use my car and why I don't cycle everywhere.

An ACNielsen survey reveals the vast majority of consumers are purchasing more functional foods since 2005. 97% of consumers say they have bought some food with an added health benefit.

After nearly 100 years of production in Denmark, Castello speciality cheese has arrived in the UK. The producer claims it sells 21 million cases of the cheese per year across 50 countries. The UK has two varieties of the creamy cheese in time for Christmas cheeseboards - Castello Blue and Castello White, with a delicate rind covering, in distinctive 150g half-moon packs (rrp: £1.69).

Fredericks Dairies is the UK's largest independently owned ice-cream manufacturer. Like any other market dependent on dairy products as primary raw materials, the firm has seen an unprecedented increase in the cost of these ingredients over the past 18 months. The combination of restricted worldwide supply and increased demand for dairy products, including skimmed milk powder (SMP) and whey protein concentrate, has seen prices rise by more than 150% over this period. The reduction in supply has been caused by a combination of successive droughts in Australasia and a physical reduction by processors in much of the production capacity for SMP, following years of over-supply and unsustainably slim margins. Equally, increased demand has been driven by the increasingly affluent populations of emerging economies such as China and India wishing to enjoy Western-style diets.

So after surviving Christmas, how to face the challenges of a New Year and surmount them? This year has been particularly hard for some retailers, notably Kwik Save - a company that pioneered cheap products, overcome by others that did it better and moved faster.

A survey among teenagers aged 14 to 19 found that, while a career in retail was far from the most popular choice, it was also far from the least.

The Food Standards Agency has handed over the issue of removing artificial colours to the UK food industry and European regulatory agencies and turned up the temperature of the debate.

The Co-operative has been promoting its "water for water" initiative - which raises money for clean water systems in Africa - to British schoolchildren.

I am becoming increasingly concerned about emotionally charged, misleading and inaccurate media reports justifying the introduction by some retailers of alternative packaging formats to glass.

Influenced by Tokyo's department stores, Swiss food emporiums and Parisian gastro-boutiques, John Lewis has opened its first Foodhall in London.

Cadbury Trebor Bassett is to shut its Keynsham factory, with the loss of 500 jobs.

I was chatting with friends when the conversation turned to shopping. Jackie was moaning about the fact that she had to go to Asda for the week's food shopping and didn't have a clue what she was going to buy.

Over 90% of shoppers questioned in a survey from Capgemini said they are dissatisfied with their grocery shopping environment, with concerns over issues such as product availability and navigation of stores.

Fast-becoming the second-biggest seasonal occasion next to Christmas in terms of retail sales, Halloween is an increasingly important event for retailers. UK consumer spending on Halloween has increased ten-fold over the past five years. This offers a perfect opportunity for retailers to create a Halloween-themed experience with some in-store theatre.

The Ghost of Christmas to come...

Coca-Cola, Cadbury Trebor Bassett and Müller have signed up to the carbon footprint measurement scheme first put on pack by Walkers, although the product standard has yet to be finalised.

A leading figure in grocery retail has rejected the OFT's findings that supermarkets and the dairy industry "colluded" to keep milk and other dairy product prices high at a cost to the consumer of about £270m.

Branston is a strong, traditional British food brand and we felt that it would be good to offer our shoppers an established name as an alternative to Heinz.

Ribena is claiming to be the first "major UK soft drink" to use 100% recycled plastic in its ready-to-drink bottled blackcurrant range.

The IGD has predicted that spending on organic products will double over the next five years to reach £2bn by 2012.

Despite a disappointing summer, sales across all grocery retailers have stabilised recently, reports Nielsen, with a 4% gain in the past 12 weeks versus the same period last year. The four weeks to 18 September saw sales up 5% in value on last year. ACNielsen said better weather had helped, but there were other factors such as strong promotions in the liquor (+10%), fresh fruit & veg (+10%) and non-food (+8.5%) categories".

I can just imagine the turmoil at Morrisons head office as the chain continues to deal with the food poisoning aftermath. But aside from the rigorous inspections and other admin and legal loops the chain will be jumping through, there's also the less tangible issue of shopper confidence to deal with.

Despite forays into doing the Continental, the Brits are coming back to tried and trusted home-grown regionals such as Lancashire, Cheshire and Red Leicester, according to Mintel.

There has been a significant increase in the number of restaurant brands available in retail.

Following a desperate plea from UK pig farmers to retailers to pay them a higher price for pork, sausages, bacon and ham (the British Pigs are Worth It! campaign), it looks like there may be some hope on the horizon. A poll by the British Pig Executive found that 78% of pork and poultry consumers said they would be prepared to pay a "few extra pence" to cover rising costs. The BPE's campaign is being supported by chef Antony Worrall Thompson who said: "Consumers happy to pay more? It sounds unbelievable but it's true." The survey by YouGov found only 9% of those polled thought farmers were paid a fair price by the big retailers. The National Pig Association said "huge" worldwide rises in feed prices had pushed up costs by more than 30% in the past year.

Sainsbury's has launched a Fair Development Fund to support producers in the developing world wanting to provide Fairtrade products to the multiple.

Meat purchased from two Morrisons stores in Paisley, Scotland, is being investigated following the death of a woman in the area from the E.coli bacteria.

The Competition Commission has turned its attention to multiples' treatment of suppliers in the latest phase of its grocery enquiry.

Parents have been advised to return a wide range of Mattel toys made in China due to safety fears.

The Sainsbury's soft drinks range is one of the most dynamic in store and one we constantly seek to tailor to customer needs by store format as well as seasonal demand.

I had to nip into an unfamiliar supermarket the other day to grab a few things for the evening. Of course, I didn't have a clue where anything was and what should have taken 10 minutes actually took twice as long as I roamed up and down the aisles.

Walkers has nurtured great working relationships with its British farm suppliers, developing partnerships which are based on trust. As Britain's largest crisp manufacturer, our commitment to using only 100% British potatoes is considerably larger than for anyone else in the crisps and snacks market.

It's 2am and a group of friends are arguing about the difference between irritation, aggravation and frustration.

Unilever UK is undergoing a large management restructure as it rolls out its One Unilever strategy to create a "leaner, simpler business".

Veetee Dine In is flying off the shelves because it's the first microwaveable rice that provides restaurant-quality in two minutes. It is perfect for busy people who don't want to compromise on taste.

The newly opened Marylebone Waitrose is hoping to give London newcomer Whole Foods Market a run for its money as a fresh and different store experience.

Asda is claiming its new front-of-pack hybrid traffic light and GDA labelling is preferred by its customers over Tesco's GDA version.

And yet here we are - soggy and many of us more than put out by the incessant rain. It seems the strange weather is also playing havoc in some supermarkets.

Ready meals do tend to get singled out for negative stories and it's not surprising that they are a target.

The last brave soldier. We've all seen them. The last product on the BOGOF shelf because it has no partner. Or just the last product on the shelf right at the back where you can't see, and probably can't reach anyway.

Cereals firm Kellogg's is to strengthen its code on marketing to children through the adoption of "new nutritional criteria".

Cadbury Schweppes has announced it is to shed 15% of its staff by 2011, according to reports, but remains tight-lipped about how or if this would affect its UK operations or brands.

Morrisons has been named the top chain for availability over the past year.

The Food Executive at the Co-op has asked staff to submit ideas for proving the multiple is Good With Food.

Whole Foods Market opened its flagship Kensington store last month, with big promises on organic freshness, but customers and local retailers are not all bowled over.

Moving on to more serious matters, especially if you work at Kwik Save - the chain has closed 79 stores and others are sporting empty shelves. I can remember back in the 90s when 'Kwikies' was considered a role model of how to run a great discounter. The stores were pleasant to shop, cheap and with a decent range.

We have recently listed Bounce Balls well-being positioned snacks, in four variants: Premium Protein, Spirulina & Ginseng, Cashew & Pecan and Almond Protein. We are now rolling them out across the Partnership.

Nine major suppliers have signed up to the Government-backed commitment to reducing packaging waste, which means they have to stop their waste increasing before 2008.

Summer is the second biggest time of the year for spirits sales. Unlike Christmas, the season is very dependent on weather, which presents a few challenges but also many opportunities for retailers. Britain is Europe's biggest BBQ nation and when the sun is shining people tend to plan more impromptu entertaining at home.

Waitrose has set out its position as an environmentally friendly leader with an initiative to ban free plastic carrier bags in selected stores at special 'green tills'.

Waitrose tells Brighton shoppers: on your bike

It's not an exaggeration to say that internet shopping has changed my life. And not just for groceries. I can now buy all the mundane things online. No more trips to John Lewis (bed linen) or Mothercare (baby's loo seat). I'm now at the point where I can't understand why anyone would shop for anything other than clothes, shoes or handbags on a Saturday.

The first quarter of performance of 2007 was strong among the multiples with growth at 7.5% in the 12 weeks to 21 April, according to Nielsen, with Waitrose coming out on top.

Reduced production in the UK and European glass industries has resulted in an international supply problem for users of glass containers. Many UK manufacturers would characterise 2007 as a challenging year. And even the best-situated and best-prepared manufacturers are likely to have felt the effects of this shortage. Only the most resourceful will have carried on with NPD unhindered.