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NEWS
NEWS Small retailers could be forced into summer closures due to Test and Trace quarantine
By Greg Pitcher
Fine food retailers are living in fear of having to close their doors this summer due to the impact of COVID-19 isolation rules that remain in place despite the phased re-opening of the economy.
Analysis by think tank the Adam Smith Institute suggested almost two million people could be asked to stay at home – via the NHS Test and Trace app – every week as restrictions are eased and the virus’s Delta variant continues to spread rapidly.
The British Independent Retailers Association said some of its members had already been forced to shut due to staff isolations, which the body said were “a real problem”.
Chief executive Andrew Goodacre said small food retailers with low levels of space and staff faced a double whammy of high isolation numbers and a lack of replacement workers. Even beyond 16th August, when forced contact-based isolation is dropped for the fully vaccinated and under 18s in England, many shop workers will fall between these groups and remain at risk of stay-at-home orders.
“We need an urgent solution,” said Goodacre. “We are asking for financial support for businesses forced to close. I do not believe it is any different from a lockdown when simply following Government instructions regarding self-isolation results in a closure.”
Clare Jackson, director of Suffolk-based Slate Cheese, said she had cancelled an appointment to attend an event in London recently, not for fear of contracting the virus but to minimise her risk of a damaging isolation request if she came into close contact with someone with COVID-19.
“We are walking on eggshells,” she said. “In a small business in these busy months, we cannot operate if we lose a member of staff. We have a policy of no holiday during July or August because we are at full stretch.
“If a full-time member of staff had to isolate we’d most likely have to close as we wouldn’t be able to cope with demand. It is a real issue for small businesses with limited teams.”
Mark Kacary, managing director at The Norfolk Deli, said it would be “impossible” for him or his wife and business partner to run the shop on their own if one of the pair was told to isolate.
“We are a small, familyrun business,” he said. “To close the shop for 10 days would cause the usual problems associated with having to waste a lot of food.
“I do not see any compensation being offered for this.”
Retailers are fearing being asked to stay home this summer
Al-fresco dining licence extension a “real boost to business”
Pavement dining and alfresco pints are set to be a fixture for another year as the government extended the relaxation of pavement licenses last month.
As part of the Government’s high streets strategy, the news will be welcomed by the urban deli-restaurants and cafés that took advantage of the loosening of regulations over the past year.
Trade body UK Hospitality lauded the announcement, and its spokesperson said the extension would be a “real boost for business”.
“The extension - and potential permanent retention - of streamlined pavement licensing is a real boost for pubs, cafes and restaurants, who will
Al-fresco dining at Delilah Fine Foods in central Nottingham
be delighted that they can continue to make use of outdoor areas, helping them to navigate their way more speedily back to profitability,” the spokesperson added.
The government simplified the pavement license application process last year in a bid to boost trade during COVID.
Self-isolating and the law
Jo Joyce, health & safety specialist at law firm Taylor Wessing, sets out the legal position on COVID isolation.
Q: When do food shop workers have to self-isolate?
“The basic legal position is that you have to self-isolate if you get a positive test result or you are told to by a designated professional such as someone from a GP surgery or NHS Test and Trace.
“Being pinged on the app is not a legal requirement, it is a recommendation. But it gets more complicated as employers must ensure they are running a safe workspace and keeping customers safe.”
Q: What are the legal risks if someone works after an isolation alert on the NHS app?
“My advice is don’t force anyone who has been pinged to come to work as you are setting yourself up for a constructive dismissal claim. If someone is happy to come in then you might require them to have a negative PCR test first but that is still high risk.
“It is possible that a staff member or customer could attempt to bring a legal claim and, whether it succeeds or not, having to defend it and deal with the publicity could be damaging.”
Q: What support do I get if my staff are isolating?
“You don’t have to pay an employee who is isolating and isn’t ill. Those employees on low incomes can apply for a £500 support payment from the government. There is no direct payment from central government for businesses forced to close because staff are isolating.”
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT... COVID-19 ISOLATION RULES
MARK KACARY DIRECTOR, THE NORFOLK DELI
“My wife and I have both been double jabbed so, surely, if people can come back from amber-list countries without going into quarantine, then it would be total nonsense to ask us to isolate for contact reasons. Maybe asking us to produce a test every two days for a week or fortnight would be a better alternative.”
“It feels like there is a discrepancy between the lifting of social restrictions and the easing of isolation requirements. I do understand that it gives more time for more people to get double vaccinated, which I am in favour of as the best long-term solution. But it puts us in a very difficult situation over the next month.”
“There is a real risk that fatigue in the sector kicks in. Staff may well evaluate the risk to themselves as low, especially as many are young, and not follow guidance or stop using the Test and Trace app. Once guidance is seen as devalued, other controls will also come under pressure. This further partial rollback is yet another pressure on retailers.”
CLARE
JACKSON
DIRECTOR,
SLATE CHEESE
GERARD BURDEN ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SPECIALIST, NAVITAS SAFETY
NEWS Fine food distribution ‘nightmare’ as lorry driver shortage causes logistics disruption
By Greg Pitcher
Fine food distributors have described a “nightmare” getting stock to customers as a logistics body estimated the national shortage of lorry drivers had hit 100,000.
The Road Haulage Association wrote to the prime minister in June saying the driver shortage was at “crisis point” after workers returned to their countries of origin during COVID and were prevented from returning by strict post-Brexit immigration rules. An ageing workforce, a huge drop in the number of HGV driver tests being carried out and changes to self-employment laws were also blamed for the shortfalls.
Berkshire-based importer and wholesaler Tenuta Marmorelle said deliveries from Italy were taking up to a week longer than usual, with further delays fulfilling orders from UK retailers.
Director Nick Carlucci said the haulier staffing crisis, aligned with extra hurdles from paperwork and routing rules, was causing the company to rethink its operating model.
“At first it was a shock as everyone said Brexit wouldn’t change anything,” he said. “The biggest problem is shipping to our customers at farm shops and delis in the UK; they are getting frustrated. Delays were affecting our business. So we are fulfilling orders in our van within a 100-mile radius.”
Tenuta Marmorelle may look to buy more vans for the busy pre-Christmas period, Carlucci added.
The Road Haulage Association urged the government to introduce a temporary work visa for lorry drivers and to add the profession to the Home Office’s official Shortage Occupation List. The association insisted a relaxation of legal limits on drivers’ hours, announced by ministers in July, was “counter-productive” as it would make the job even less appealing.
“Loading more hours on to drivers that are already exhausted is not the answer,” said chief executive Richard Burnett.
But Federation of Wholesale Distributors chief executive James Bielby said the government move to allow 11-hour shifts and 99-hour fortnights was “just what food distributors needed” and could mean 15 per cent more deliveries in a day.
Buckinghamshire-based fine food distributor RH Amar said its team of longserving drivers and a wellestablished relationship with its distribution partner had given it a “robust logistics chain” and removed its reliance on pallet delivery networks.
“There have been some instances where our European-based suppliers have been unable to get product to port, but RH Amar has a culture of going that extra mile,” added operations manager Mody Rupkus. “In mid-June, one of our colleagues drove to Kühne in Germany to pick up gherkins to ensure consistent supply.”
The Road Haulage Association claim the shortage is at “crisis point”
IN BRIEF
The latest review from Walter Smith Fine Foodsveteran retailer Bill has announced theGrimsey has claimed closure of three storesindependent retailers in the Midlands. Theare facing a “mountain butcher chain revealedof debt” after taking on over Christmas that itsCOVID support loans Denby Village, Westduring the pandemic Bromwich and Coventryand has called on shops would stop trading,Government to write off leaving it with 11 outlets –some of the debt. many of which are withinvanishinghighstreet. garden centres.com Tracklements has hired Ben Hallam for the role of commercial manager, which includes identifying new market opportunities. Hallam joins the Wiltshire-based condiment specialist after 11 years at dairy firm Yeo Valley. Health food retailer Planet Organic has moved into the hot food delivery market and teamed up with high-end service Supper, which will courier a selection of to-go items and sushi from two Central London stores.
British food and drink exports to the EU fell by £2bn in the first quarter of 2021, with sales of dairy products dropping by 90%, according to Food & Drink Federation analysis of HMRC data.
fdf.org.uk
Cibus 2021 – the trade show focused on Italian food & drink – is set to be held in Parma, northern Italy from 31st August to 3rd September. Over 2,000 food companies are set to exhibit at the event.
cibus.it
Waitrose boosts presence at Shell petrol station sites
Waitrose will start selling its food and drink products at more than 60 new Shell petrol station locations across the UK in a major expansion.
The supermarket is set to grow its partnership with the oil giant to boost the number of sites selling its stock from 57 to 125 by 2025.
The expansion will bring Waitrose products to an additional 68 garages over the next four years.
The retailer has also confirmed plans to install up to 800 Shell electric vehicle charging points at up to 100 of its shops, with these also due to be in place by 2025.
Waitrose executive director, James Bailey, said: “This is an important partnership for Waitrose and means we can offer even greater convenience to more of our customers.
“We’re also delighted to bring our customers 800 new charging points for electric vehicles, including new rapid charging capabilities, as the UK moves more and more towards a sustainable transport network.”
The news comes as the supermarket’s owner The John Lewis Partnership announced that it is to cut 1,000 in-store jobs as it simplifies store management structures.
The group said the planned restructuring is part of a bid to save £300million per year after reporting its first full-year loss in March and ditching its annual staff bonus for the first time in 67 years.
waitrose.com
King Stone Dairy takes the crown at cheese awards
David Jowett of King Stone Dairy came home from the Artisan Cheese Awards with a raft of awards for his Morbierstyle Ashcombe, less than a year after he started selling the cheese.
Beating off competition from over 600 British and Irish cheeses, Jowett was awarded the Supreme Champion title, along with best English Cheese, Best New Cheese, Best Farmhouse Cheese and Best Washed Rind Cheese. King Stone also picked up Gold, Silver and Bronze medals for Rollright, Evenlode and Moreton.
Created during the first national lockdown last year in a bid to support the cheesemaker’s milk supplier, Ashcombe has a distinctive ash layer running through its centre.
The Supreme Champion victory may seem like history repeated for 30-year-old Jowett, who also picked up the gong at the awards in 2016 for Rollright, just eight months after he launched the cheese.
Held at the annual Melton Mowbray Artisan Cheese Fair, the 2020 awards were postponed due to COVID restrictions, but this year’s fair was marred by low turnout and a £10,000 loss.
David Jowett with his haul of awards
NEWS Fears over impact of proposed sugar and salt tax on small food & drink producers
By Tom Dale
Sugar and salt should be taxed and the UK’s food network aligned with its climate targets, an independent review of the nation’s food systems has recommended.
Part two of the Government-commissioned National Food Strategy plans to transform food in England “from farm to fork”, following the review, led by Henry Dimbleby, cofounder of fast-food chain Leon and the Sustainable Restaurant Association.
The report recommends that a tax of £3/kg on sugar and £6/kg on salt sold for use in food manufacturing and foodservice should be introduced, citing current over-consumption of the two ingredients in the UK.
It stated that the tax would apply to all sugar and ingredients used for sweetening, including syrups, and would “encourage manufacturers to reformulate products”.
Dimbleby claimed that the tax would not, in most cases, lead to price increases. However, chief scientific officer for the Food & Drink Foundation, Kate Halliwell said: “After years of cost pressures, businesses in our sector are already operating on very tight margins, and further costs would have to be passed on to the consumer.”
John Farrand, MD of the Guild of Fine Food added: “My concern is that the tax will discriminate against smaller food & drink producers who use those ingredients judiciously and source them well to add necessary flavours.”
The review also called for a push towards more environmentally friendly farming practices, recommending that of the £2.4bn per year budget for agricultural funding, £2.2bn be spent on Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes. ELMs will pay for farmers to maintain hedgerows, engage in lowtill farming and maintain new woodlands, while a suggested ring-fencing of £500m-£700m will go towards encouraging farmers to convert less-productive areas into carbon-capturing landscapes used for smaller scale food production. The paper also called for a 21% reduction of the 70% of land in the UK currently used for food production.
Chief Executive of the Soil Association Helen Browning welcomed the report. hailing its commitments to making farming more sustainable.
Over the next six months, the Government has committed to develop a Food Strategy White Paper informed by the review and other stakeholders.
A tax on sugar and salt has been proposed in the report
IN BRIEF
Walter Smith Fine FoodsThe Government has has announced thepromised to launch closure of three storesa consultation on in the Midlands. Thepublic procurement butcher chain revealedthis summer, with a over Christmas that itsview to buying more Denby Village, Westlocal food, following a Bromwich and Coventryreview of Government shops would stop trading,Buying Standards leaving it with 11 outlets –(GBS). A spokesperson many of which are withinsaid buying local will garden centres.be championed in the updated GBS.
gov.uk
Tracklements has hired Ben Hallam for the role of commercial manager,New research has which includes identifyingrevealed that Brits lack new market opportuni-awareness of allergies. ties. Hallam joins theA survey carried out by Wiltshire-based condi-standards organisation ment specialist after 11GS1 determined that years at dairy firm Yeo one in six cannot identify Valley. any allergens in common food groups, while 66% of sufferers fail to ask Health food retailer Plan-about allergens due to et Organic has movedsocial awkwardness. into the hot food delivery gs1uk.org/feed-us-themarket and teamed upfacts with high-end service Supper, which will courier a selection of to-go items and sushi from two Central London stores.
Tebay Services – the Westmorland-owned motorway services retailer – has been featured in a Channel 4 documentary, A Lake District Farm Shop.
channel4.com
Glastonbury for chefs DOWN ON THE FARM The latest from farm shops across the country
Dubbed Glastonbury for chefs, the Universal Cookery & Food Festival will be hosted at Mudwalls Farm, Warwickshire on 14th September 2021.
The show – designed by chefs for chefs – is the only hospitality event in the UK to be hosted outside and attracts visitors from across the supply chain.
Multiple stages with a wide range of demonstrations, interviews and panel debates will keep attendees entertained throughout the day, as well as a farmer’s market showcasing products and suppliers, foraging sessions discovering edible wild species in the locality, and complimentary food & drink throughout the day.
cookeryandfoodfestival. co.uk
The Green House farm shop has recently opened on the Dillington Estate, near Ilminster in Somerset.
The owners have a passion for cooking and smoking foods that comes from their own experiences abroad, in countries including South Africa, New Zealand, Holland and Singapore.
facebook.com/ TheGreenHouseIlminster
Maria Robinson and her husband have been Dorset council tenants, farming land near Marnhull for sixand-a-half years, and have now opened a farm shop – Shepherds Farm Shop – selling their own lamb, beef and goat alongside a selection of Dorset producers’ wares.
shepherdsfarmshop.com
Flint and Oak farm shop, pictured, has just added a garden café to its offer. Fresh coffee, baked goods, and al-fresco lunches will be served with views over the vineyard and surrounding countryside.
flintandoak.shop
Cattows Farm in Leicestershire has been transformed following refurbishment. The farm shop is well known as a pick-your-own destination –is home to the county’s largest pumpkin patch –and has been undergoing extensive refurbishment since February 2020.
The retailer has expanded its premises to create a new seating area and brand-new commercial kitchen with a specialist baking area. The revamped farm shop now also includes a deli counter.
As well as seasonal produce from Cattows Farm itself, the shop offers an array of Leicestershire products, too.
There is also a private room that can be hired out.
The expansion – which, as well as catering for increasing visitor numbers, will support local jobs – is estimated to have cost around £450,000, and has been partly funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.
cattowsfarm.co.uk
