Food, in brief

A cargo ship carrying corn caught fire and sank in the Black Sea on Monday, about 30 nautical miles south of Sfantu Gheorghe, a Romanian fishing port. [4][5]

Romania's interior ministry, which runs its coast guard, said 11 crew were rescued and two people were found dead. [4] The ship was the Royad Mammadov, 139 metres long. [5]

Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said two Russian drones hit the ship. [1] He said it was owned by Turkey and carrying corn, and that its captain was killed. [1][3]

Russia did not comment on the ship. [1] Earlier, Russia's defence ministry said it had struck two cargo vessels. [1]

Romania did not give a cause for the fire. [2] Asked whether a drone was involved, Romania's defence ministry did not answer. [4] Romanian media reported that a drone hit the ship. [3]

The ship sank inside Romania's exclusive economic zone, the sea beyond its coast where it controls fishing and drilling, but outside its territorial waters. [2][5]

Romania is a member of NATO, the Western military alliance. [2] It has reported several drones crossing into its territory this year, and its navy has destroyed nine drifting sea mines since the war began. [2]

The crew came from Azerbaijan and India. [1][3] Three of them were injured and were lifted out by helicopter. [4]

The Black Sea is the main shipping route that carries Ukraine's grain to the rest of the world. [3]

Wartime objects found floating or washed up in the Black Sea more than doubled in six months, mostly in Romanian, Bulgarian and Turkish waters, the maritime security firm Ambrey reported last month. [4][5] At least a third carried live explosives. [4]

Turkey has protested attacks on Black Sea shipping, and Turkish sailors have staged protests over deaths at sea. [4][5]

On Sunday, Russia said it would step up strikes on Ukraine after Zelensky said Ukraine would hit more Russian oil refineries. [1] A US farm market report says Black Sea exports remain slow, with no end to the war in sight. [6]

Why it matters. Romania has not said what caused the fire, so the next thing to watch is whether it names a cause, and what Turkey says as the country Zelensky names as the owner. [4][1]

President Donald Trump signed an order on Monday letting road vehicles use dyed diesel, the untaxed fuel normally kept for tractors and other off-road machines. [7] It puts off the federal tax of 24.4 cents a gallon for the rest of the year. [7] Diesel hit a record of about $6.50 a gallon last month, after attacks on refineries in the wars in Iran and Ukraine. [10] At least ten US states already allowed it, and farm and oil groups had asked for a national waiver. [7][8][9]

Why it matters. Grain farmers are in the middle of harvest and paying record prices to truck their crops to market. [7] The order also tells the agriculture secretary to keep dyed diesel available to farmers in areas where demand is high. [7]

John Denton, head of the International Chamber of Commerce, a world business group, warned that the blocked Strait of Hormuz could cause a world food crisis. [11] He said grain prices could rise by up to 80% if the waterway stays shut, the Wall Street Journal reported. [11] The blockage has already left the world about 2.7 million tonnes short of fertiliser, a fall of nearly 40%. [11] The ICC is working with the UN on a plan to hand control of shipping through the strait to the UN for a time. [11]

Why it matters. Countries that import much of their food and fertiliser would be hit hardest, the report said. [11] Tension between the US and Iran has so far stopped the UN plan. [11]

Officials confirmed bird flu in a small backyard flock at Ness, on the Isle of Lewis. [12] It is the first case of the 2026-27 season, which began on 1 October, and the strain is H5N5. [12] Officials set a 3km protection zone and a 10km watch zone around the birds. [12] The case means Great Britain has lost its status as free of the disease, which affects trade. [12] The UK had 100 outbreaks last season and 82 the season before. [12]

Why it matters. The lost status covers all of Great Britain, not only the island with the sick birds. [12] NFU Scotland, which speaks for Scottish farmers, said every poultry keeper, whatever the flock size, must stay alert. [12]

The US Food and Drug Administration, which polices food safety, drafted a 10-point plan against Cyclospora, a parasite that causes long stomach illness. [14] This summer's biggest outbreak made almost 13,000 people ill, put 560 in hospital and killed two. [14] It was traced to iceberg lettuce from a Taylor Farms operation in central Mexico, where inspectors found the parasite in processing water and a grower's ditch. [14] The plan runs until the 2027 growing season. [14]

Why it matters. It means more testing of the crops most often linked to Cyclospora, and a laboratory in Mexico to get results faster. [14] Importers will be pressed to treat the parasite as a hazard when they check their suppliers. [14]

The prices of what British farms buy rose 7.8% in the year to September, the fastest since early 2023, the farm consultancy Andersons estimates. [15] Fertiliser cost 35% more than a year earlier, and energy and lubricants more than a quarter more. [15] Over the same year, the prices farms got for what they sell fell 1.3%. [15] Andersons says the gap between the two is now more than 9%. [15]

Why it matters. Supermarket meat also got cheaper in September, with chicken breast down 5.5%, a meat suppliers' group found. [15] The group says the checkout price no longer covers what farmers spend. [15]

British Sugar, the company that turns Britain's sugar beet into sugar, agreed next year's price with NFU Sugar, which bargains for the growers. [16] Growers get a one-year fixed price of 28.50 pounds a tonne on up to half their contract. [16] This year it is 30 pounds on up to 65%, and last year it was 33 pounds on up to 70%. [16] The rest can go on a lower base price with a bonus if sugar prices rise. [16] British Sugar had started formal arbitration in August. [16]

Why it matters. Growers now carry more of the swings in the sugar price, while their own costs are rising. [16][15] British Sugar's managing director, Keith Packer, said the sugar industry faces hard market conditions. [16]

Sainsbury's, Britain's second-biggest grocer, held talks this year about merging with Morrisons, the Financial Times and Sky reported. [18] The talks are believed to have ended. [18] Together the two would hold 23.6% of the market, against 27.8% for Tesco, the biggest. [18] In 2019 the competition regulator blocked a deal between Sainsbury's and Asda, fearing higher prices. [18] Morrisons is owned by a US private equity firm and carries more than 7 billion pounds of debt. [18]

Why it matters. Lidl, a German discount chain, overtook Morrisons in market share this year. [18] It reported the same day that its British sales rose 10% to more than 13 billion pounds, as shoppers looked for cheaper fresh food. [18]

Britain's Conservative Party, now in opposition, said it would abolish Natural England, the English government's nature agency, and the Environment Agency, which polices pollution and floods. [17] Their powers would go back to ministers at Defra, the farming and environment department. [17] Victoria Atkins, who speaks for the party on farming, announced it on Monday at the party's conference. [17] The Wildlife Trusts, a nature charity group, condemned it, and the Countryside Alliance, a rural lobby group, backed it. [17]

Why it matters. Atkins said one dairy farmer was ordered to spend 750,000 pounds against a pollution risk the agency put 50 years away. [17] The party also says it would scrap the tax on inherited family farms if Britain's Labour government keeps it in the 28 October Budget. [17]

Shamonda virus was found in cattle on two farms in County Cork, in the Republic of Ireland. [13] It is spread by midges, small biting flies, and can cause fever, less milk, lost calves and birth defects. [13] It appeared in western and central Europe this summer, and there is no vaccine or treatment. [13] Northern Ireland's farming minister, Andrew Muir, asked farmers to watch for it. [13]

Why it matters. Shamonda is not on the list of diseases that farmers must report to officials, so finding it brings no limits on moving animals and no effect on trade. [13] It follows bluetongue, another virus carried by midges, which emerged last year. [13]

Diageo, the drinks company that owns Guinness, will close its Baltimore brewery by the end of the year. [19] Its last day open to the public is 1 November. [19] Guinness spent $90 million to open it in 2018, its first US brewery since 1954. [19] Diageo is cutting $1 billion of costs and more than 2,000 jobs. [19] Its North American sales fell 8.4% in the 2026 financial year, as fewer people drink alcohol. [19]

Why it matters. Guinness keeps its other US brewery, in Chicago, which opened in 2023. [19] Diageo says the savings will be put back into its brands, Guinness among them. [19]

US farmers had harvested 23% of their corn by Sunday, against a five-year average of 27%, the US Department of Agriculture said. [21] Soybeans were 25% harvested, against a usual 33%. [21] Very wet weather in parts of the Midwest and Plains held up field work. [21] The share of corn rated good or excellent fell 3 points to 54%. [21] Rice was ahead, at 86% harvested against a normal 79%. [21]

Why it matters. The same rain helped grazing land: 23% of US pasture was rated good or excellent, up 4 points in a week, and rain in the Plains slightly shrank the area in drought. [21][6] Traders are waiting for the USDA's next crop estimates on Friday. [6]

The Kissan Board Pakistan, a farmers' body, demanded that farming get at least 10% of federal and provincial budgets, Dawn, a Pakistani newspaper, reported in an editorial. [30] It wants guaranteed prices of 5,000 rupees per 40kg of wheat and 700 rupees for sugarcane. [30] It complains of shortages of urea, a common fertiliser, high electricity bills and the closed border with Afghanistan, and warns of protests. [30] Farming is about 22% of Pakistan's economy and supports nearly 60% of its people, but gets 2-3% of budgets. [30]

Why it matters. Dawn's editorial argues the money should go to irrigation, roads, storage and machines rather than guaranteed prices. [30]

True Food Kitchen, a US restaurant chain built around healthy food, filed for bankruptcy protection in a Texas court on Sunday. [20] It owes about $42 million and closed 12 restaurants the same day, keeping 34 in 14 states. [20] Its court filing blames frequent changes of managers and plans, and the pandemic. [20] Oprah Winfrey has been an investor since 2018. [20] It is looking for a buyer under court supervision. [20]

Why it matters. The chain says many of its restaurants make money, but some get too few customers. [20] Its open restaurants keep serving while a buyer is sought. [20]

The Senedd, the Welsh parliament, backed a call for polluters to pay to clean up contaminated land, in a debate on 30 September. [23] The motion, led by Niamh Salkeld of Plaid Cymru, asked the UK government to help pay where the polluter cannot be made to. [23] Plaid Cymru estimates Wales has about 45,000 contaminated sites. [23] A BBC documentary on old toxic waste dumps brought new attention to them. [23]

Why it matters. The Soil Association, an organic farming charity, says farmers cannot be blamed for pollution they did not cause. [23] It wants farmland near known sites to be tested. [23]

Sun Bear Biofuture, a British start-up, makes a fat from yeast fed on sugar, to stand in for cocoa butter, the fat in chocolate. [22] In taste tests run by Oxford Brookes University, products made with it were rated equal to or better than the real thing in four of five tests. [22] The firm built its pilot plant for 30,000 pounds, using brewing and dairy equipment. [22] Cocoa prices have eased from their 2024-25 peak but stay unsettled. [22]

Why it matters. A fat that can be made anywhere would not depend on cocoa farms, which have been linked to forest clearing and child labour. [22] It is one company's product, tested in one study. [22]

Adults who took creatine, a supplement popular with athletes, during an exercise and diet plan gained nearly three pounds of lean tissue and lost fat over 12 weeks, a Texas A&M University study found. [26] People given a dummy pill showed little change in lean tissue. [26] The study had 64 people, and the researchers say larger studies are needed. [26] Creatine sales are worth more than $1.7bn a year, says the research firm Grand View Research. [26]

Why it matters. Food and drink makers may start selling creatine for weight loss, FoodNavigator reports. [26] A study this small cannot show that creatine itself causes weight loss. [26]

Flowers Foods recalled Nature's Own Hawaiian Bread in five US states because the label left out milk, a danger to people allergic to it. [27] Stewart's Shops recalled two ice cream flavours after a customer found metal in a carton. [28] EAK Distribution recalled broccoli sprouting seeds sold on Amazon after the FDA found salmonella in the seed batch. [29] A sprout grower using the same seeds is part of an FDA outbreak investigation in several states. [29]

Why it matters. No illnesses have been reported from any of the three products. [27][28][29] The seed supplier has recalled the whole bulk batch the seeds came from. [29]

A tractor pulling a hay wagon with 19 people on board, most of them children, overturned in Wellsburg, New York, on Sunday. [25] Fourteen people were hurt, three of them critically, including the driver. [25] The sheriff said the tractor, an older John Deere, was moving fast when the wagon broke away at a turn and threw everyone off. [25] The riders belonged to a German Baptist community that meets each Sunday. [25]

Why it matters. The tractor rolled over and trapped the driver, who was flown to hospital in Syracuse. [25] The county sheriff is investigating. [25]

Twelve Droimeann cattle, an old Irish breed, have been moved to Ardtornish, an estate on Scotland's west coast. [24] It is believed to be the first time in centuries the breed has lived in Scotland. [24] They will eat back dense bracken and coarse grass so native plants can return to woodland known as Scotland's rainforest. [24] Ireland recognised the Droimeann as a rare native breed in 2020. [24]

Why it matters. Generations of heavy grazing by sheep and deer shaped this land. [24] The estate wants the cattle to produce organic food while the land recovers. [24]