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European Council President Antonio Costa, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in London after UK-EU Summit on 19 May. Credit: Stefan Rousseau - WPA Pool / Getty Images 

The UK has struck a deal with the EU to simplify the cross-border trade of food and extend reciprocal fishing access. 

An agreement on sanitary and phytosanitary measures will facilitate food products to be traded and reduce the “red tape” London says burdens businesses and leads to queues at the border. 

Traders have faced lengthy procedures to get their products across the English Channel in either direction since the UK left the EU in 2020. 

The European Commission said the agreement would require the UK to align to “the relevant EU rules”. 

Research found the agri-food sector to be one of the hardest hit by Brexit. 

Negotiators also agreed on fishing access, guaranteeing an extension of 12 years for “full reciprocal access to waters”, the Commission said. 

A post-Brexit fishing deal was set to expire on 30 June 2026 but has now been extended until 30 June 2038. 

Kraft Heinz is weighing up “strategic transactions to unlock shareholder value”, the US food major has announced. 

In a brief statement, the Heinz ketchup and Jell-O desserts owner said the deliberations had been going on for months. Last year, Kraft Heinz saw revenue and profits decline. CEO Carlos Abrams-Rivera described 2024 as “a challenging year with our top-line results coming in below our expectations”. 

The company’s revenues and earnings fell again in the first quarter of this year. Alongside the first-quarter numbers, Kraft Heinz also cut its 2025 outlook across a range of metrics to factor in the potential upward pressure on input-cost inflation from changes in tariffs. 

Kraft Heinz’s announcement sparked speculation among Wall Street analysts about the different options the company could consider. 

“This sounds as though it could be a wide-ranging consideration of a broad range of options, not simply a tinkering around the edges of possible small-scale divestments,” Bernstein analyst Alexia Howard said. 

Hain Celestial has announced the start of a “comprehensive review” of its portfolio and the departure of its CEO. 

The board of the US food and drinks group is embarking on a review “in light of recent performance”, chair Dawn Zier said. 

Wendy Davidson, Hain Celestial’s president and CEO, is leaving the business “effective this morning”, a statement read. 

Former Kimberly-Clark and Coca-Cola executive Alison Lewis, who has been on the Hain Celestial board since September, is stepping in on an interim basis. 

The group, home to brands including Terra snacks and Celestial Seasonings teas, also reported a set of third-quarter and nine-month financial results that included lower sales and worsening profitability. 

Those figures follow a challenging 12 months up to the end of last June. In Hain Celestial’s last full financial year, net sales were down and the company ran up a net loss of $75m, albeit lower than the $116.5m loss filed a year earlier. 

PepsiCo has pushed out its target for net-zero emissions by a decade amid “external realities”. 

The US food and drinks giant is now aiming to hit net-zero emissions “by 2050 or sooner” compared to its previous goal of 2040 “versus a 2015 baseline”. 

PepsiCo has also made changes to specific goals on emissions and on packaging while “expanding” its target on regenerative agriculture. 

The Pepsi Max and Lay’s maker is the latest major FMCG company to revise ESG goals, the changes coming in the wake of similar moves from The Coca-Cola Company and Unilever in the last 12 months. 

In a statement, PepsiCo said it was “strengthening the resilience of its business and honing its focus to where it believes it can have the most positive impact”. 

Chief sustainability officer Jim Andrew added: “Our sustainability journey will not always be linear, but we are focused on doing the work that can both strengthen our business resilience and support a positive impact for the planet.”

Danone has struck a deal to acquire a majority stake in Kate Farms, a US-based business that makes plant-based and organic nutrition products. 

Founded in 2011 by Richard and Michelle Laver, California-based Kate Farms supplies a range of products from nutritional shakes on sale at mass-market retailers to tube-feeding products sold directly to healthcare providers. 

Kate Farms categorises its product into four areas: “everyday nutrition” for daily dietary needs; “medical nutrition” for medical and dietary requirements; “kids nutrition” for children aged one to 13 years; and specialised nutrition to support diets targeting specific health conditions. The company’s customers span retailers including Walmart and Amazon to more than 1,400 hospitals. 

The financial details of the agreement have not been disclosed. Danone said the senior management of Kate Farms will retain a minority stake in the business. 

In May last year, Danone snapped up US tube-feeding business Functional Formularies from private-equity firm Swander Pace Capital.