IHG plans 200 Indigo hotels across Asia – For more hospitality stories, see what the weekend papers say
IHG plans 200 Indigo hotels across Asia
InterContinental HotelsRead the full article in the Independent on Sunday >>
Subway salmonella outbreak traced to Irish farm
An outbreak of salmonella that affected 83 people in the UK and Ireland may have stemmed from contaminated beef supplied to sandwich chain Subway by a meat supplier in the Irish Republic. Laboratory tests carried out by the Food Standard Authority of Ireland found a potential link to Dawn Farm Foods in Naas, County Kildare. Both Subway and Dawn have withdrawn products that could pose a risk to consumers
- 10 August, BBCi
Sitcom star loses stake in luxury Welsh hotel
Actor Neil Morrissey has lost his stake in luxury Welsh hotel Hurst House on the Marsh after the company behind it fell into administration. The Men Behaving Badly star set up the multimillion-pound hotel and country club at East Marsh, Carmarthenshire, in 2001 with business partner Matt Roberts and it became a popular celebrity haunt. Roberts bought the hotel's assets from the administrators this month by means of a "pre-pack" in which assets are placed in administration and then immediately bought out so the business can continue trading. Although Morrissey had resigned as a director of the hotel group in February, he had retained a financial interest until its collapse. The hotel group also contains companies that own private members' club Hurst House London in Covent Garden and luxury Hertfordshire hotel Hurst House at the Mill, which is set to open next year. - 10 August, Read the full article in the Sunday Telegraph >>
Drought threatens Australian wines
Some of Britain's best-selling Australian wine labels, such as Jacob's Creek, are at risk from a worsening drought in Riverina wine belt in the south-east, which has some of the best vines in the southern hemisphere. The drought, the worst in the past century, has lasted nearly a decade and devastated the creeks and streams of the Murray-Darling river system where some 1,300 growers produce more than 4000,000 tons (about a quarter of the Australian total) of mainly shiraz, cabernet sauvignon and chardonny grapes. Vineyards have relied on irrigation systems from huge reservoirs in the Snowy Mountains but storage levels have now dropped to 40% of normal. It is feared the dwindling water flow will cut grape yields and raise prices. - 10 August, Read the full article in the Sunday Telegraph >>
Scientists devise tasty alternatives to healthy options Two US companies are working with Cadburys and Coca-Cola to create healthy low-fat, low-sugar foods that taste as appealing as the calorie- and additive-packed versions that consumers crave. They have won patents on compounds called flavour modulators, which fool the brain into thinking foods are sweeter or saltier than they really are. Humans are genetically disposed to crave fattening foods because they were scarce throughout most of our history. San Diego firm Senomyx will use its flavour modulators in Cadbury products from next year while the Redpoint Bio Corporation in New Jersey is working with Coca-Cola to improve the flavour of its sugar-free drinks. Senomyx is also designing bitterness blockers that will make medicines or healthy green vegetables such as broccoli taste more palatable. One in four adults have magnified taste sensations that put them off green vegetables that can protect against cancer. - 9 August, Read the full article in the Daily Telegraph >>
By Angela Frewin