Bringing you the latest news on British products in the supermarkets and other major items of interest about British food; here is our round-up for January.

• Climate change will be good for British farming! It is thought that although there may be more droughts, there will also be a longer growing season and reduced frost damage, meaning that it will be possible to introduce crops such as peaches, maize and sunflowers. Additionally, an estimated 10,000 melons are expected to be harvested in Kent this year.


• Another one bites the dust! Britain's biggest fresh milk supplier, Robert Wiseman Dairies, is yet another British company to fall into the hands of a foreign raider – Germany's Muller. This follows the overseas sale of a number of other food and service companies, notably, Cadburys to America's Kraft in 2010. Wiseman's has the biggest share of the UK fresh milk market at almost 33 per cent, supplying Tesco, the Co-op and Sainsbury's.


• British Food Exports have hit a record £12 billion in 2011, according to the Food and Drink Federation. Exports rose by 12.2% in the first 9 months of 2011, a trend which was largely attributable to a rise of meat exports by nearly 25%. If alcoholic drinks are included, the figure is closer to £13.4 billion, with a rise of 23% sales in Whisky alone.


• Brits rank 14th out of 19 in the EU when it comes to eating fruit and veg. On average Brits eat 258g a day, with the World's Health Organisation recommending a minimum of 400g.


• Happy Egg Co is expanding in to categories that haven't traditionally used free range eggs. Six months after the supplier introduced free range quiches and Scotch eggs, it is making plans to introduce free range egg based sandwich fillers. Tesco will stock Happy Egg Co's Egg Mayo and Egg & Bacon fillers from the end of this month.


• Tyrrells is introducing a new crinkly vegetable crisp to its range. The ‘Crinkly Veg’ bag will contain beetroot, parsnip and carrot crisps seasoned with rosemary and wild garlic and will be available on shelf from March.


• Tesco has signed up for a new social networking platform which will be fully integrated with www.tesco.com. ‘Foodie.fm’ has been dubbed the ‘Facebook for Groceries’, and will allow it's users to make friends, share recipes and will even automatically produce shopping lists for the recipes listed, checking availability on the existing Tesco site.


• English Wines had a record year last year, with sales up by 50% by value and 25% by volume. Sales have more than doubled in value since 2006.


• Increased demand for lamb worldwide has caused a 10% increase in Welsh sheep numbers this year, up to a staggering 8.62 million.


• Though recent reports in the press have focused on the 30 remaining British chicken farms still to comply with the new EU ban on battery cages that was bought in on 1 January, Defra has assured that these too will convert by February.  The British egg industry has also taken the first step in issuing judicial review proceedings against the UK government for it's refusal to ban imports of eggs produced in battery farms. January 1st saw EU legislation banning the production of ‘battery eggs’, yet the UK government does not intend to check liquid egg products from non complying countries.   


• Bacon Connoisseurs Week 2012 will sport a new ‘Red, White & Bacon’ theme.  This year, it will be held from the 19th of March and will mark the end of the annual search for Britain's most innovative bacon cures. This annual event is designed to celebrate the vast range of lip-smacking, quality bacon available to us in the UK.


• Sainsbury's has launched a new ‘20 by 20’ Scheme, which consists of 20 ambitious targets to be completed by 2020. Some of the goals include; pledging to promote nutritious eating, increase sourcing from certified producers and double British food purchases.


• The first ever ‘World Pasty Championship’ has been announced by the Eden Project and is to be held on the 3rd of March in the Eden Project Bakery. The contest aims to display variations on the traditional recipe by both amateur and professional chefs from Cornwall and around the country.

Seasonal foods at their best to look out for in the supermarkets this month: 
Vegetables: beetroot, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, carrots, celeriac, celery, chicory, horseradish, Jerusalem artichoke, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, onions, parsnips, potatoes (maincrop), purple sprouting broccoli, radishes, rhubarb, rocket, salsify, shallots, spinach, swede and turnips.
Fruit: apples and pears.
Herbs: chestnuts, chives, coriander, mushrooms (cultivated), mushrooms (wild) and parsley (curly).
Meat: beef, chicken, duck, goose, grouse, guinea fowl, hare, mallard, partridge, pork, rabbit, turkey, venison and wood pigeon.
Fish: brill, clams,cockles, cod, conger eel, crab, dab, dover sole, eel, haddock, hake, halibut, john dory, langoustine, lemon sole, lobster, mackerel, monkfish, mussels, oysters, plaice, scallops, sea bream, skate, squid, turbot and winkles.
See at the touch of a button all the British produce currently available in the supermarkets - [search Want to Buy British by product or by supermarket].