This rounds up what has mostly been a week of speculation, of Carrefour‘s potential exit from Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, the success of Ocado’s IPO and and that of Amazon‘s new grocery venture. Carrefour and its alleged suitors played the no comment game until Carrefour made a statement today that it was not selling its Malaysia or Singapore operations. Here’s the pick of what was said this week.

“We need a new approach. We have to make Change4life less a government campaign, more a social movement. Less paid for by government, more backed by business. Less about costly advertising, more about supporting family and individual responses,” UK Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said of the government’s plans to withdraw funding from its Change4life programme.

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“While the market is likely to take this speculation mildly positively, we do not think that the sale of these assets would have a material impact on Carrefour’s earnings nor valuation,” RBS analyst Justin Scarborough said in response to rumours that the French retailer may be selling its Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand operations.

“At the moment, society has the opportunity to go through a period of change and come out of that change in an enhanced shape,” Alara Wholefoods MD Alex Smith describes the economic landscape as it repackages and expands its branded range with the motto ‘Welcome the Sun’.

“The Wrigley Company has been unwavering in our commitment to deliver quality products to our consumers and we stand behind the scientific research regarding Eclipse gum and mints with magnolia bark extract,” said Wrigley marketing communications manager Jennifer Jackson-Luth. She stood behind the ‘Natural Germ Killing’ claims made by its Eclipse gum, despite settling a class action lawsuit.

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“Our footfall was relatively flat [but] the basket was positive. That’s good news for us. People are buying into quality and innovation and that’s typically the driver we’ve had with 570 products introduced [during the quarter],” new Marks & Spencer CEO Marc Bolland said alongside the retailer’s first quarter results.

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“We will need to see the prospectus to make sure that we have not missed anything and in order to tighten up our estimates and subsequent valuation but at this stage even the bottom end of the IPO range seems pretty ambitious to us,” RBS analyst Justin Scarborough said, throwing cold water on Ocado’s IPO plans.

“Wal-Mart does not support deforestation, and as Greenpeace’s report shows, our largest markets do not source product from APP, and in the remaining markets that do, we have taken the steps to stop development on private-brand products with APP and are looking at what measures can be taken regarding branded products,” Wal-Mart senior director of international corporate affairs Kevin Gardner hit back at allegations made by Greenpeace this week.

“Retailers like Whole Foods Market have done a terrific job at offering unique private-label products that become a destination product for shoppers. For example, Whole Food Market Organic Fettucine compares very favourably to the leading national brands of pasta,” said food marketing expert Dr Richard George in our Private Label briefing.

“Despite tough economic times, Hain Celestial has shown strong fundamentals, brand growth, strong cash flows and a solid balance sheet. With consumers increasingly focused on health and nutrition, this financing will enable us to maintain flexibility with our working capital and provide access to acquisition financing to support our strategic growth,” said Ira Lamel, Hain Celestial executive vice president and chief financial officer, suggests the US natural and organic food group is ready for more acquisitions.

“As the dust settles from a turbulent 2009, retailers in developed markets face a changed landscape that features fewer stores, heavier discounting and more fickle shoppers,” US consultancy firm AT Kearney said as Russia becomes a less attractive market for foreign investors.