The final frontier opens up opportunities for food makers and
Europe's space agency pushes its latest technologies at the massive
food fair in Paris this week.
An international team has demonstrated that women with a higher
intake of dietary fibre have lower circulating oestrogen levels, a
factor associated with lower risk of breast cancer.
Fonterra has built a new processing plant in New Zealand as part of
its strategy to move its dairy business away from commodification
and towards producing more value-added products.
Brussels will fight to appeal against a new decision by the World
Trade Organisation that rules the EU illegally subsidises exports
of sugar, ruling in favour of a legal challenge by Australia,
Thailand and Brazil, the world's...
Israeli soy proteins producer Solbar is launching a new soluble soy isoflavone extract that can be added to functional foods including drinks, soy milks and dairy products like milk and yoghurts.
Czech shoppers are refusing to pay inflated prices for organic food
- something which may burst the bubble of the country's booming
organic farming industry, unless a sharp increase in government
subsidies can turn the situation...
For decades, Moldova has been the biggest exporter of wine to the
Russian market, dominating the market with a share as high as 70
per cent. But the arrival of more sophisticated wines from
countries such as Australia, Argentina or...
Slovenia's wine makers, buoyed by the news of EU funding for their
vineyards, face a long struggle if they are to conquer foreign
markets and compete effectively against the titans of the world
wine business - but one man is...
Vodka is more than just another drink to most Russians - it is a
way of life, an embodiment of the national sprit. But such a
fanatical following also has a downside, with per capita
consumption at the very limit of acceptable norms...
Denmark and Italy will use a meeting of EU agriculture ministers
this week to ask for a European task force to be set up on
genetically modified organisms (GMOs), reports CORDIS.
Americans were warned last week that unless they up their
consumption of calcium and vitamin D, the number of people
suffering from osteoporosis and low bone mass is likely to jump,
and advised that supplements could be the answer.
Brussels commits €188 million to food safety issues in the Union
linked to animal diseases, signing off the largest slice for
eradication of mad cow disease.
Bread has been highlighted as the biggest single source of excess
salt intake in Ireland, according to the country's Food Safety
Authority, which is now stepping up the pressure on Irish bakers to
act, reports Chris Mercer.
Alpine cranberries may help to fight infection by the herpes virus,
one of the most common viral infections in humans, according to new
findings by a Taiwan team.
UK bakery ingredients firm Bakemark UK continues the drive into
value-added products, launching a new addition to its Diamond range
of bread improvers that it claims will slice away costs for bakers
making the 9 million loaves a day...
The battle for market share in the growing zero trans fats oil
marketplace has gathered pace after a small US co-operative joined
the large commercial players by rolling out its first batch of
trans fat-free soybean oil.
Despite acknowledging last week that considerable investments in
R&D and production facilities, designed to support the low carb
surge, would impact sales in the first quarter of 2005, wheat
protein and starch supplier MGP Ingredients,...
Food makers encouraged to position self-indulgent products as
rewards rather than functional as premium foods in UK top billon
euro mark showing hectic pace of life continues to drive growth in
the self-indulgent food sector.
UK whey proteins firm Volac International has opened a major new
plant in the Netherlands, significantly increasing its output of
highly concentrated dairy proteins for the health foods market.
DSM Nutritional Products has launched its purified green tea
extract Teavigo in Italy, its first European market. The move is
likely to help the roll-out of the product in other member states.
In a move that has split the government, Italian ministers block a
motion put forward by the agriculture minister aimed at regulating
the future introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in
Italy, reports CORDIS.
UK food watchdog warns this week it will bump up prevention actions
for food pathogens as salmonella cases are on the rise, but
contamination focus on Spanish eggs seems likely.
Wine players are getting bigger and exposing their businesses to
greater risk as consolidation in the industry continues and to
ensure quality remains constant, Danish ingredients firm Chr Hansen
claims to offer the solution through...
Soy products firm Solbar Industries is to set up a new company
specialized in sugar analysis, which will market its technology for
use by manufacturers of dairy products, protein-rich foods and
probiotic products.
Food makers alert to the levels of a potentially carcinogenic mould
commonly found on crops as scientists back an extension barrier
levels for ochratoxin A to grape juice, coffee and wine.
A low-carbohydrate diet improved cholesterol levels of severely
obese people and may also curb markers of inflammation better than
a reduced-fat diet, suggests a six-month study.
Risk assessment and market predictions translate into new pectin
opportunities for Danisco that will break ground on a new pectin
plant in Brazil, to be up and running by 2007, reports Lindsey
Partos.
An expert group in Brussels backs a Commission proposal for tighter
levels of the potentially carcinogenic compounds Polycyclic
Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) found in grilled meats.
The battle for market share in the growing zero trans fats oil
marketplace has gathered pace after a small US co-operative joined
the large commercial players by rolling out its first batch of
trans fat-free soybean oil.
Central European Distribution Corporation (CEDC) has acquired yet
another Polish alcohol distribution company, taking the number of
companies owned by the Florida-based holding to 13. But the company
is now keen to launch its own...
Six of the new EU member states are set to receive more than €20
million in EU funding so that they can improve and expand their
vineyards, helping them to make better quality wine and compete
more effectively in both their home markets...
Unsafe food makes almost a third of the globe ill each year,
providing constant pressure on governments and the global food
industry to come up with tools to fight food safety and reduce the
risk of food poisoning.
Breakthroughs in the lab provide food makers with a competitively
priced technology designed by Danish enzyme leader Novozymes to cut
the artery-clogging trans fats out of food products, writes
Lindsey Partos.
A meat preserver, a gel-forming additive and an anti-microbial
agent face tougher European rules as Brussels adopts a proposal to
change the current food additive directive.
Soy appears to deliver tangible health benefits for the heart,
brain and kidney health but more research is needed in many areas,
heard a large audience attending this year's Soy and Health
conference.
The UK's competition watchdog has moved to calm a potential storm
between the government and the food and drink industry after
warning an industry association that new goals for healthier
products could lead to a breach of competition...
Ending months of speculation, the flavours and texturants units at
Degussa, Germany's third largest chemicals group, are up for sale
as the firm looks at selling the food ingredients arm or finding a
partner for its business.
Food companies around Europe are adding heart-healthy omega-3 fatty
acids to traditional products as they seek to meet increasing
consumer demand for healthy food.
Russia's 2004 wheat harvest will be more than sufficient to meet
both domestic and export demand, but efforts by the government to
invest in improving the quality of the harvest, to boost exports
further, have met with a lukewarm...
It is over a month since the Russian authorities clamped down on
beer adverts, and the impact is already being felt. But there is
worse still to come for Russia's brewers, with the legislators
preparing more rules which will...
This year's Czech harvest has been hailed as the best since 1993,
producing almost nine million tonnes of crops, showing that the
farming industry has recovered well from a poor 2003 and the
disastrous floods of 2002 - just in...
RosSpirtProm, Russia's state-owned alcohol producer, is to be
privatised next year in a two-phase operation expected to garner
interest from a wide range of drinks companies. But with many of
the distilleries within the group...
Tackling the ongoing issue of risk assessment in the food chain the
US food safety agency plans to release two draft risk assessments
related to the harmful food pathogen salmonella.
Natural Foods Group Hain Celestial has confirmed it will purchase
the new natural vanilla flavor created by Technology Flavors &
Fragrances (TFF) for use in its products.
Scientists at the Emory University Health Sciences Centre are
hoping to widen the understanding of an enzyme that breaks down
caffeine into theophylline, using bacteria that need the breakdown
product of the enzyme for survival.