The national furore over contaminated fuel last month could become the worst debacle over fuel quality since Formula Shell was removed from sale in the '80s, according to the PRA's technical consultant, Peter Barlow.

Graham Peacock, managing director of the Malthurst Group, once again heads the list of the Top 50 Indies, a rundown of the biggest independent groups, published as a supplement within this issue, and summarised in the box below.

Car wash operator David Charman has urged the Environment Agency (EA) to clamp down on unregulated hand car washes.

Forecourts saw their share of total tobacco sales increase by 4% following the introduction of Ireland's public smoking ban, according to figures released by Imperial Tobacco.

CPL Petroleum has done a deal with Inchcape to supply its 4mlpa site in Wokingham with the UK Retail brand.

Torex Retail has maintained its "business as usual" stance following another management shake-up in the wake of its recent problems. Geoffrey Forster and David Hallett have resigned as non-executive directors. This comes after Steve Marshall, a former CEO of Railtrack, was appointed non-executive chairman. The company also recently announced £15m-worth of increased bank funding.

General Appearance: Just outside Thetford on the busy A134 from Bury St Edmunds, is the Nuns Bridges Filling Station. Ideally situated for passing traffic, the site is surrounded by two quite dense areas of housing

Annual shop sales were worth more than £641,000 in 2006, which represents an increase of 2.8% over the previous year in 'raw' cash terms. If we look at the RPI measure of price inflation during the year, we find that it averaged 3.2% and was rising quite significantly towards the end of the year.

Even in a less-than-perfect world, retailers and suppliers are meant to be on the same side. But when things go badly wrong, how can you salvage what's left?

Taking a daily mid-afternoon nap is not what you might think of as normal behaviour for a Top 50 independent with six flourishing forecourts to run. But Clive Gardner manages it - and believes it is good for business.

As Gulf Retail puts the finishing touches to its preparations for its appearance at the International Fuel and Forecourt Equipment Show, managing director Keith Jewers, reflects on a very successful year for the brand.

Chilled and fresh foods have been pushed to the top of the shopping list as consumers increasingly look for healthier options. And many forecourt-based stores have been improving their ranges as operators seek to take their share of what has become a very profitable market.

You might think that with all the newspapers having TV pages and most TVs themselves having Teletext there'd be no market for TV listings magazines. But you'd be wrong because once again, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) figures, What's on TV is the best-selling magazine in the UK. And not too far behind it is TV Choice, with the Radio Times still going strong in the fourth position. However, according to analysis by MediaTel for the Periodical Publishers Association (PPA), What's on TV's circulation fell by 4.3% in the July to December 06 period, when compared to the previous year. Radio Times was down too, by just over 1% while TV Choice had a much better six months, with circulation up nearly 12%.

Running alongside IFFE 2007, the Convenience Retailing Show will feature more than 200 big-name companies showcasing their latest innovations for the c-store sector.

The Lucozade Energy brand is being backed by its biggest-ever marketing drive.

Britvic will be launching two new pure juice products in the second half of the year.

The gum war between Wrigley and Cadbury Trebor Bassett's new Trident brand is moving onto the forecourt, with both companies booking nozzle advertising through media specialist Alvern.

McVitie's Jaffa Cakes, made by UBUK, have become the official energy snack of the England cricket team.

Unilever UK is adding two new variants to its Magnum range.

Diet Coke is giving consumers the chance to win their ultimate 'Diet Coke break', worth £10,000, in an on-pack promotion running throughout this month. Five hundred breaks are up for grabs. Non-winners will be able to take advantage of special offers including discounts off shopping and travel.

Gallaher has launched new Silk Cut Graphite featuring a dual carbon filter to deliver a smoother smoke with enhanced flavour.

The Feasters range of microwaveable burgers is set to enjoy prime-time TV coverage as sponsor of Supermarket Sweep, hosted by Dale Winton, on ITV1. The brand has a new look for its TV debut, which will run for 60 shows. A new pack design includes the message '100% beef'.

Fredericks Dairies is strengthening its Cadbury portfolio with an addition that aims to bring 'vintage cool' to the freezer.

Gallaher has announced the launch of Camel natural flavour filter 20s and Camel natural flavour subtle 20s as additions to the Camel premium cigarette range.

Walkers has relaunched its snacks brands with significant reductions in their saturated fat and salt contents.

Mornflake is giving readers the chance to win free cases of the first-ever Wallace & Gromit-branded porridge oats.

Tokheim UK has fitted an automatic monitoring Stage II Vapour Recovery solution - which it claims eliminates the need for weekly and annual compliance tests - on its first two UK sites.

Bank Machine has joined forces with digital content provider, the Felix Group, to launch an ATM kiosk that offers a range of extra digital services, including mobile top-ups, ringtone and music downloads, photo printing and interactive gaming.

Viseon has launched a web-based CCTV recording system that aims to remove the need for expensive on-site equipment.

Wrigley is introducing a hot new addition to its Extra brand. Extra Fire will be available in packs of 10 pellets and promises to give consumers a fiery burst of minty breath freshening. The new variant will replace Extra Mountain Frost. The launch will support the growth of the Extra brand and complement Extra Ice gum, which was launched last year.

Loyalty cards have been very much in the news recently. I don't know whether you saw the recent documentary about Tesco's clubcard, but if you did I'm sure you would have been impressed by its scale and potential economic and marketing power. So the question is, are loyalty cards worthwhile in the forecourt market in 2007?