The UK’s number three supermarket chain Sainsbury’s has suspended its membership of the British Retail Consortium, the retail industry’s trade association.

One of the biggest contributors to the BRC, Sainsbury’s is reported to have stopped its membership until the end of April, but insists that it is working with the organisation to resolve its issues. It has also been rumoured that Asda is considering withdrawing its support, which would be an equally damaging blow to the BRC.

“We can confirm that Sainsbury’s has suspended its membership of the BRC until the end of April,” said the chain in the Sunday Times. “This follows concern about how the BRC is able to represent members effectively on issues where they hold significantly differing views.

“We have had concerns for a while, but the issue was highlighted most recently following the Food Standards Agency announcement on food labelling.”

While Sainsbury’s has backed the agency’s plans for a “traffic light” system of food labelling - which labels food green, amber or red - rival Tesco has opted for a different system.

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