== SAMB joins network ==

The Scottish Association of Master Bakers has joined the National Skills Academy’s (NSA’s) Network of Excellence for Bakery. Coventry University’s training business Acua, Westminster Kingsway College and Barnsley College have also become accredited NSA members.

== Coffee Republic dea ==

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As British Baker was going to press the administrators of Coffee Republic, KPMG, announced it had agreed a deal with Arab Investments for the UK coffee chain. A spokesperson for KPMG said that contracts were due to be exchanged on Wednesday, 28 July. For the latest on this story go to bakeryinfo.co.uk.

== RGFC sees stability ==

The Real Good Food Company, supplier of sugars and bakery ingredients and a manufacturer of bakery products, announced it has noticed "some stability returning to the markets" in which it operates. In a trading update, the company also said the merger of its sugar and bakery businesses to form renshawnapier had gone well.

== Cancer prevention ==

A report in The Daily Mail said scientists have discovered that regular consumption of bread, and particularly bread crusts, could help prevent bowel cancer. The chemical reaction that produces the crust during baking also triggers the release of cancer-preventing antioxidants called pronyl-lysine.

== High street vacancies ==

Research from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has found that 12% of town centre shops are now vacant, three times more than last autumn, as the recession accelerates decline on the high street. A 20-point plan for securing the long-term future of town centre retailing has been drawn up by the BRC.