Below is a list of recent news and media coverage. For older items, see News archive.
Christine Tacon extends GCA contract to provide continuity through coronavirus outbreak
The Grocer – 27th April 2020
Tacon had been due to stand down in June, seven years after taking up the role
“I want to play my part in the response to Covid-19”, the adjudicator said
Groceries Code Adjudicator Christine Tacon has agreed to stay in the post for a further six months, amid fears GSCOP is coming under pressure from retailers during the coronavirus outbreak.…
Christine Tacon to continue as Groceries Code Adjudicator
Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy – 27th April 2020
Christine Tacon will continue as Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) for a period of up to 6 months.
Small Business Minister Paul Scully today (Monday 27 April) confirmed the reappointment of Christine Tacon CBE as the Groceries Code Adjudicator for a period of up to 6 months.…
Webinar: ‘Will grocery retail be disrupted by coronavirus? We discuss with our leading industry experts’
Listen again here. Access Code: 3K.@Wz7&
The potential impact of coronavirus to the retail economy is as of yet unfathomable, as shoppers turn to survival mode. Groceries and household essentials are the only port in this storm. Beanstalk discuss how this will shape future retail with experts.…
Coronavirus shouldn’t affect GSCOP, Tacon tells supermarket bosses
The Grocer – 14th April 2020
Tacon has urged retailers to use the flexibility within the code.
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- Groceries Code Adjudicator Christine Tacon has asked retailers to withdraw their requests for elements of the code to be suspended.
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- Last month Morrisons CEO David Potts asked the government to allow the delisting of products without giving suppliers reasonable notice”.
Webinar: ‘We look to predict the fresh food landscape 18 months post COVID-19 with our expert industry guest speakers’
Listen again here. Access Code: I4$yq82&
Aired: Tuesday 14th April 15:00 BST.
Panelists: Christine Tacon CBE – Groceries Code Adjudicator, Shaun Browne – Co-Head Corporate Finance, UK at Houlihan Lokey, Sterling Crew – Chair of The Food Authenticity Network’s Advisory Board, Sarah Calcutt – Partners in Produce Ltd, Ben Makowiecki – Area Director Agriculture for Lloyds Banking Group, Max MacGillivray – Editor in Chief for Beanstalk & Webinar Host.…
My Life In The Grocery Trade
Ulster Grocer – 1st April 2020
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Christine Tacon calls for retailers to help suppliers facing cashflow problems
The Grocer – 27th March 2020
Groceries Code Adjudicator Christine Tacon has made an extraordinary intervention in a bid to help suppliers facing a cashflow crisis from the coronavirus outbreak.
Tacon has always previously refused to give any guidance on payment terms, because the issue is not covered in GSCOP.…
Coronavirus: Groceries Code Adjudicator issues guidance for supply chain
Food Manufacturer – 17th march 2020
The Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) has urged retailers and suppliers to work tog ether but has called on them to follow some “guiding principles”.
It said there were “considerable challenges” facing retailers and suppliers as they worked together to ensure customers had access to food and other essentials during the COVID-19 outbreak.…
GSCOP – Get trained, know the code, speak up!
Spend Matters – 25th February 2020
We haven’t heard from 4C Associates in some time, but they look to have been busy with new hires and a new website. We’ll be catching up with business developments soon. But for now, Simon Latham, a senior manager with the procurement consultancy, shares his thoughts on The Grocery Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP), having worked at JS, Safeway and Tesco where he wrote Tesco’s GSCOP training material and trained over 3,000 people.…
Webinar: An update from the GCA
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GCA reaches out to small suppliers
Speciality Food – 10 February 2020
The Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA), Christine Tacon, has launched the seventh annual survey, which provides suppliers with the opportunity to express any Groceries Supply Code of Practice issues. The survey has enabled Christine, as the UK’s first GCA, to achieve progress for suppliers, demonstrate where retailer efforts have improved Code compliance and identify areas for improvement.…
GCA opens annual survey
Fresh Produce Journal – 07 February 2020
Christine Tacon launches final survey of suppliers as Groceries Code Adjudicator before her term ends in June
The Groceries Code Adjudicator Christine Tacon has launched her annual survey of supermarket suppliers, ten years on from when the Groceries Supply Code of Practice came into force.
The survey, which will be Tacon’s last as GCA before her term ends in June, has played a vital role in regulating and improving retailer practices.…
New Markets: New Opportunities in 2020
Lexology – 06 February 2020
The turn of a year into a new decade sharpens our focus on what’s happening in our market and what may affect our future. Scotland Food and Drink’s target value for the sector of £30bn by 2030 seems significantly closer in February 2020 than it did when we hosted our annual conference in November 2019!…
After 10 years of GSCOP, what’s changed – and what’s left to do?
The Grocer – 05 February 2020
This week the Groceries Supply Code of Practice reached a major milestone: its 10-year anniversary. Introduced to ensure the country’s largest retailers treat their suppliers lawfully and fairly, the landscape for groceries suppliers has changed enormously since 4 February 2010.…
Women in Food and Agriculture event proves to be a great success
Farming Life – 09 January 2020
Over 300 delegates from 26 countries made their way to Amsterdam for the inaugural Women in Food & Agriculture Summit.
The agribusiness and food event brought together some of the sector’s most progressive and disruptive thinkers with an audience that wanted to openly debate the inclusivity and diversity of the agri-food industry.…
Women in agribusiness: ‘We are not men in skirts’
Farmers Journal – 25 December 2019
Following seven years as the UK’s Groceries Code Adjudicator, Christine Tacon speaks to Amii McKeever about her background, why she is leaving this role and women in agribusiness.
Click here to view the full article. …
GCA’s self-regulation proposal: the big misunderstanding
The Grocer – 17th December 2019
Suppliers are concerned and retailers are confused. Christine Tacon, the outgoing Groceries Code Adjudicator, said in her final annual conference she wanted “to see the retailers build for themselves a whole-organisation approach to code compliance”.…
UK grocery watchdog has dramatically changed dysfunctional UK supermarkets
Farmers Journal – 05 November 2019
Since taking office in 2013, the UK’s grocery code adjudicator has delivered dramatic behavioural change in how UK supermarkets treat suppliers.
Click here to view the full article. …
Christine Tacon urges government to stick with ‘collaborative’ GCA approach
The Grocer – 27th August 2019
Groceries Code Adjudicator Christine Tacon has urged the government not to ditch her “collaborative” approach to tackling retailer-supplier disputes, as she presses ahead with plans for a system of self-regulation.
Responding to a statutory review of the role by Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), Tacon produced written support from supermarkets and food and drink companies.…
Christine Tacon’s exit announcement will surely make suppliers nervous
The Grocer – 24th June 2019
Read the full article here.…
Outgoing UK grocery business adjudicator sets out new approach to regulation
Just Food – 25th June 2019
The UK government body overseeing the behaviour of the country’s large supermarket chains has set out a new compliance strategy.
The Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA), Christine Tacon, told the organisation’s annual conference in London yesterday (24 June) that her aim is to drive effective top-to-bottom compliance risk management by the retailers she regulates.
However, it has led to concerns that the changes are effectively ushering in self-regulation.…
Aldi tops GCA annual survey for 6th year with Co-op the most improved
Farmers Guardian – 25th June 2019
97 per cent of suppliers said Aldi complies consistently well or mostly well with the code.
Aldi has topped the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) annual survey for the sixth year, with 97 per cent of suppliers stating the retailer complied well or mostly well with the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP).…
Retail supplier complaints hit new low
Fresh Produce Journal – 24h June 2019
Aldi again named most Code-compliant supermarket in annual report by Groceries Code Adjudicator
The number of supplier complaints against supermarkets has fallen to a new low, the Groceries Code Adjudicator’s new annual report indicates.…
Suppliers call for Amazon to be regulated by Groceries Code Adjudicator
Yorkshire Post – 24th June 2019
Food and drink suppliers have called for online giant Amazon to come under the watch of the grocery industry regulator.
Amazon and Boots were the two retailers which received the most requests from suppliers to come under the remit of the Groceries Code Adjudicator, according to its annual survey.…
Groceries Code Adjudicator to step down
Retailers to be given ‘self-policing GSCOP role as Adjudicator steps down
The Grocer – 24th June 2019
Read the full article here.…
Christine Tacon could face plenty of flak in the BEIS review of the GCA
Read the full article Waitrose and Ocado to sign up to supplier audit respite pledge
The Grocer – 20th June 2019
Read the full article here. …
Christine Tacon: suppliers can learn from GSCOP-regulated retailers on payment terms
The Grocer- 30th May 2019
The regulated retailers have told Tacon that being code compliant has improved their internal efficiency.
Read the article here.…
As next GCA league table looms, here’s what suppliers need to look out for
The Grocer – 29th May 2019
In six years, Tacon’s collaborative approach has improved retailer compliance and seen millions returned direct to victim suppliers. It is not just working, it has become the envy of many other countries
On 24 June, at the Grocer Code Adjudicator’s annual conference, we will see the new league table of retailer compliance.…