When food retailers and producers all over the world met at last
year's CIES industry summit, they were set five 'tests' by
celebrity speaker Bob Geldof to see if their company's business was
sustainable. Meeting...
In the face of rising meat and dairy prices, animal disease
outbreaks and consumer health concerns, world agriculture policy
makers, meat traders, dairy experts, veterinarians and private
sector producers have attended the 20th session...
A Spanish research team has devised a bioinsecticide for pest
control in the production of fruit and vegetables which is said to
provide a more effective and cheaper means of preventing crop
infestation.
Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer, is to extend its electronic
products code (EPC) initiative to more stores and more suppliers,
announcing a timetable this week which will see the radio frequency
identification (RFID) tags...
As grain stocks are depleted across the world, China's food
producers have found sourcing the commodity an increasingly
expensive and time consuming issue, writes Simon Pitman.
However, a report from independent intelligence...
Controversy linked to the most common food ingredient in the world
continues as the UK health minister sparks a row with the food
industry after rejecting their plans to slash salt levels in food
products. The minister accuses the...
A study from the University of Southampton reveals that candles and
ion wind delivery systems containing certain essential oils can
reduce a range of commonly found bacteria in foodstuffs - a system
that could provide a cheap and...
The less than sparkling, but stable, full year results for Danish
ingredients giant Danisco mirror the current state of play for
ingredients companies in today's market marked by squeezed margins,
higher raw material prices and...
Ingredients supplier Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) said on Thursday
that it had reached a $400 million (€333m) settlement in an
anti-trust case that claimed the US firm conspired to fix the price
of the food sweetener high fructose...
It is six months since Dutch retail group Ahold announced plans to
sell its Spanish supermarket business as part of its wider
restructuring programme, and a number of foreign and domestic
players have expressed an interest in buying...
Philip Green, the billionaire owner of Bhs and Top Shop, has been
rebuffed once again in his bid to acquire ailing British retailer
Marks & Spencer. A new offer for the company, valuing it at
£8.3 billion, was rejected yesterday...
Europe rejects the entry of a GM food crop supplied by biotech
giant Monsanto into the food chain with officials from the 25
member states failing to reach a qualified majority at the vote
yesterday.
Oxoid, a leading manufacturer of microbiologicalculture media and
diagnostic tests, says it will participate in CAMPYCHECK, a
shared-cost three year project within the EU Fifth Framework
'Quality of Life and Management of Living...
Keeping French consumers interested in chocolate has been the
driving force behind brand owners' investment in innovation in
recent years, and the latest product launches highlighted by the
Global New Products Database (GNPD)...
A UK partnership between Ulma Packaging, the packaging solutions
provider, and one of the country's biggest producers of fresh
chickens, Banham Poultry, is said to have bought efficiencies that
benefit both retailers and consumers.
Last year's exceptionally hot summer weather gave a major boost to
soft drink consumption in the UK, but a new report from market
analysts Canadean shows that the heatwave merely accelerated
the already rapid growth in one of...
In response to market demand natural lactic acid, lactate and
gluconate supplier Purac wlll ramp up production of its sodium
lactate powder, unveiling a new production facility in Spain.
Leading ingredients firm Danisco heads deeper into the growing
semi-refined carrageenan market acquiring all the assets for
processing the ingredient from liquidated firm Scottish Scotcol.
New software from Teklynx is capable of centralising control of
enterprise-wide bar code printing. This should help manufacturers
achieve better control of the movement of goods from the warehouse
right through to the store shelf.
In a matter of months food manufacturers operating in Europe face
tough new rules on food allergens that put an end to the 20 year
old '25 per cent' rule, aiming to provide the consumer,
increasingly stricken by food allergies,...
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has approved the use of
Hyperform HPN-68 for use in food applications, which means that
this high-speed nucleating agent for polypropylene from Milliken
& Company has now gained acceptance...
Nestlé Romania has confirmed that it is to invest a further €3.5
million in its factory in Timisoara, as the company reaffirms its
ambitions to dominate the all-important wafer market in the region.
Dutch infant nutrition group Royal Numico is to sell its
unprofitable South African baby food business as it looks to
concentrate on regions where it can gain a leading position.
Food makers will have increasingly accurate data about their
consumers as researchers in the US design a new method to help
survey respondents remember 'forgotten foods'.
Number two vitamin maker BASF and the former number one Roche have
been told by the US Supreme Court that a case brought by customers
outside the US against the companies for price-fixing cannot
proceed, reports Dominique Patton.
Hydrolysed whey proteins significantly reduce blood pressure in a
small clinical trial, likely by altering multiple cardiovascular
disease risk facters, reported researchers at a recent diabetes
conference, writes Dominique Patton.
Leading food manufacturer Heinz is to cut the salt content of its
celebrated baked beans as consumer health concerns continue over
the levels of salt used in processed foods.
As the buffer zone for global cereal stocks continues to fall and
raw material prices rise, the UN-backed Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO) warned this week that cereal stocks will
continue to fall, predicting that although...
Australian food ingredients firm Burns Philp could be close to
announcing the sale of its North American spice business, Tones
Brothers, for up to $500 million, say Australian media reports.
A common, but increasingly expensive and popular, food ingredient
is the focus of a new global initiative to protect production.
Ingredients firm Aarhus United has linked up with other
stakeholders in the food industry to push a plan...
Facing up to changing tastes and demands is part and parcel of
everyday business for the global food industry, but a recent survey
in the US suggests that assessing just exactly what today's
consumer wants is becoming increasingly...
Old World wine producers – who just 15 years ago had the British
wine market almost to themselves – still need to do more to counter
the ongoing threat from New World producers, a new report suggests.
But solving the problem is likely...
The European Investment Bank, the European Union's financing
institution, is making available a total of €70 million for Small
and Medium Sized Enterprises in Serbia and Montenegro.
More than 777,000 bottled water cooler units were installed at the
end of 2003 across East Europe, 26 per cent more than in 2002,
according to the fourth report on East Europe Water Coolers from
drinks consultancy Zenith International.
Russian market research company Market Advice has conducted an
extensive study into sauce preferences in the country's capital.
The study reveals that mayonnaise remains a firm number one, with
leading condiment maker Unilever...
New laws on genetically modified foodstuffs ushered into Europe
earlier this year may be tough, but Australia and New Zealand's
joint food watchdog claims that their own rules are among the
toughest, following an extensive review...
Britannia Health Products, the company set up to market the evening
primrose oil brand Efamol, is introducing a range of breakfast
cereals containing Hi-maize prebiotic resistant starch.
The widespread restructuring of Ahold's business announced two
years ago looks set to continue to impact results at the Dutch
retail group this year, with first quarter results hit by disposals
and currency exchange rates.
Findings from a new report from the Geneva-based World Trade
Organisation suggest today's highly processed food industry will
continue its thirst for ingredients, writes Lindsey Partos.
In the past two decades international trade...
With a plethora of brands from which to choose and long-established
patterns of consumption, the prospects of significant growth in the
French chocolate market might seem remote. But a new report
suggests that there is plenty of movement...
Little evidence supports either the safety or efficacy of
nutritional supplements in helping to improve diabetes-related
conditions despite strong public interest in natural therapies,
according to the head of a government-funded...
A new study supports growing evidence that eating fruit - thanks to
the protective antioxidants they contain - can help men and women
fight against the onset of age-related maculopathy (ARM), a
degenerative eye disease that can cause...
Shareholders in UK symbol group Londis will vote next week to
decide on whether to accept a £60 million takeover bid from Irish
retailer Musgrave, a bid which has been consistently supported by
the company's board. But this has...
German cheese maker Hochland has opened a new €35 million
production facility in the Moscow area, aimed at capitalising on
rising demand in the Russian market.
The Slovakian soft drinks market has grown by a healthy 31 per cent
since 1998, driven by increasing tourism and the arrival of the
multinationals, says a recent market report.
The demand for ingredients that lift fibre levels and reduce
carbohydrate quantities has been a major boost for textured wheat
protein supplier MGP Ingredients, recently announcing plans to
expand production capacity, writes Lindsey...
Researchers are to investigate whether a genistein-rich food,
derived from soybeans and shiitake mushrooms, could help slow or
even halt the progression of early prostate cancer.
Europe's organic food and farming sector got a major boost this
week with the adoption by the European Commission of a new action
plan to promote the sector. The challenge will be to ensure, and
maintain, consumer trust in premium-priced...
A slice of nut and nut products on sale in the UK today, including
peanut butter and marzipan, were found to contain harmful toxins,
said the UK's food watchdog this week, following an annual survey.
Retailers rush to amend the...
Further evidence to support the inclusion of carotenoids in food
formulations comes from the US with a new study showing that high
blood levels of carotenoids, a family of disease-beating
antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables,...
