Technology firm Trident has developed a printing system that uses
only a third of the cure power of traditional printers. The company
claims that the system is therefore ideal for heat-sensitive
packaging material applications such...
Vitamin C breaks boundaries with a new study showing for the first
time that the vitamin reduce levels of C-reactive protein, a marker
of inflammation and chronic disease risk in humans. Their findings
could provide tools to beat...
High prices for soya raw materials keep on rolling, but new
research from the Netherlands confirms the benefits that soya
proteins can offer food manufacturers on the hunt for meat
substitutes.
Swiss drinks packaging equipment provider SIG Combibloc says that
the continuing growth of the soft drinks market in Hungary is
likely to support a period of growth that will last well into next
year.
Romanian sugar producers say they are facing possible collapse
because of suffocating sugar quotas which have been in place for
the last five years, in the run up to accession.
The European Commission will pour millions of euros into a new
project to ensure safety and improve productivity in organic food
supply chains across Europe.
Impending rules on traceability across the EU led CIES - the Food
Business Forum in France - to publish a guide to implementing
traceability in the food supply chain. By 2005 all food companies
in the European Union must have a traceability...
The safety of chicken eggs has been challenged by a UK
environmental pressure group, just weeks after figures showing the
lowest levels of Salmonella in years were published. The Soil
Association claims that as many as one in eight...
One year after the European Parliament cleared a permanent ban on
the use of the food additive konjac in jelly confectionery amid
fears that children could choke on the sweets, the European
Commission has temporarily suspended the...
Nestle Sofia, the Bulgarian division of Swiss food giant Nestle,
has made a clear break into profitability, having announced a 70
per cent increase in its net profit for the 2003 period.
Assessing consumer tastes and demands is all part and parcel of the
modern food retail business, but keeping track of their hopes and
fears can also help supermarkets ensure that they have the right
products on their shelves at the...
Masterfoods Romania, part of the US manufacturer Mars, has
announced that it is expecting its sales turnover to exceed €20
million in 2004, encouraging the company to invest further in the
country.
Nestle Russia has started construction of a €100 million coffee
processing plant in the Krasnodar Territory. The full-cycle
facility is Nestle's first processing for coffee in the region and
is an attempt to muscle in on fast...
Evidence continues to mount suggesting a link between various
stages of depression and low blood levels of the B vitamin folate,
according to research funded by the Agricultural Research Service
in the US.
Burgeoning ingredients firm Corn Products International will drive
harder into the nutritional ingredients market signing on a deal to
acquire a 75 per cent stake in prebiotic supplier GTC Nutrition.
Carrefour might be Europe's biggest food retailer, but even it is
not immune to the continued weakness of the economy in its home
market. The ongoing drop in French consumer purchasing power has
forced the company to invest heavily...
Switzerland's sweet and savoury biscuit sector saw a return to
growth in 2003 due entirely to a strong upswing in export sales -
but domestic sales fell for the second year in succession as a
result of cheaper imports from the...
New equipment designed to pasteurise food safely and efficiently is
being developed to meet EU food safety regulations. We look at two
products hoping to capitalise on a growing market.
According to Wal-Mart - which has mandated its top 100 suppliers to
RFID-tag their cases and pallets - radio frequency identification
(RFID) is the next logical step to enhance supply chain visibility.
Market analyst Forrester carried...
Sainsbury's interest in UK convenience store operator TM Retail
appears to be waning after the multiple grocer's offer for the
business was rejected by its owners. But this could be no bad thing
for Britain's number...
Global manufacturer and marketer of soy protein products signs
agreement with a leading distributor to represent its line of soy
protein products throughout the US.
Scientists in the US are well on the way to developing sugar beets
with improved seedling vigour, higher sugar content, and enhanced
disease resistance.
Baltimore, Russia's largest producer of mayonnaise, has announced
the go ahead to build two major vegetable oil processing factories
in an effort to feed ever-rising demand and to tighten its grip on
a fragmented market. Simon...
The Ukraine city of Odessa is fulfilling its ambitions to become a
hub for the country's food and beverage processing industry having
reported a 35.7 per cent production growth in the sector during the
course of 2003.
Food manufacturers in the EU this month take on tough new labelling
rules on GM ingredients designed by Brussels to boost consumer
choice. But if the end chink in the chain does not actually
understand the labels, the thrust of change...
Germans munch their way through more organic foods than the French
and British put together, so finds a new report from Mintel, that
reveals in Germany alone the organic market tipped €3.2 billion.
Price remains a key barrier to growth...
New data from the US suggests that carcinogens such as heterocyclic
amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), formed
when meat is cooked may be responsible for the risk of rectal
cancer and not the consumption of...
Number one flavours and fragrance firm Givaudan ambles along in the
first quarter with higher sales in flavours offsetting a drop in
the fragrance division, suggesting that strategies to boost profit
announced back in January this...
Lutein supplements can reverse some of the damage done by 'dry'
age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most prevalent form of
the disease, according to a study out yesterday.
Roasted ground coffee is still by far the biggest category in the
German coffee market, but sales dropped by 2 per cent last year as
consumers switched to more exciting variants such as Cappuccino and
Espresso, writes Chris Jones.
Anticipating growing pressure on UK food manufacturers to cut the
trans fats from food products, UK fudge and toffee ingredients firm
Food Design joins the growing number of ingredients companies to
offer alternatives, launching a...
A British Pig Executive (BPEX) delegation is visiting Beijing at
the end of the month to encourage British exports to China, the
world's biggest market for pork.
Biotech firms, consumer groups and environmental campaigners have
the opportunity to voice their concerns about the framework for the
risk assessment of GM food in the EU with the European food
watchdog inviting comments on a new...
A link up between US space technologists and the leading
Swedish-Danish dairy firm Arla Foods could lead to new knowledge
about how to provide humans with calcium and yoghurt bacteria.
The EU has tightened the rules on the labelling of certain foods,
such as margarines, which contain plant sterols. These substances
are added because of their perceived ability to lower cholesterol
levels, but the European Commission...
Two IT solutions providers have formed a partnership to offer food
and drink manufacturers a combined management system. The move,
which is designed to improve plant operation efficiencies even
further, is a good example of the move...
Coffee contains similar levels of antioxidants to black tea and can
be just as beneficial to health, according to Scottish scientists
that have found coffee's antioxidants are highly absorbable by the
human body.
Packaging olives with a stated shelf life of two to three years can
be 'unacceptable' long before their sell-by date, and those packed
in ordinary air may have a true shelf life of only nine months,
says a new report. This...
Participants at the annual meeting of the Association for
Chemoreception Sciences later this month will learn that cinnamon -
as a flavour or fragrance - could boost brain simulation related to
attentinal processes, according to...
British retail chains have led the way in terms of own label
development, with many chains having several different ranges at a
number of price points and quality levels. But with new research
suggesting that own label penetration...
The world's largest dairy ingredients business is aiming to ramp up
collection of colostrum from its suppliers to meet growing demand
for the ingredient in health products.
Leading Polish soft drinks and ingredients manufacturer Mokate says
it is planning to boost its production on the back of an
anticipated 15 per cent increase in sales, which it says will be
largely derived from enlargement. But to...
Despite Italian food giant Parmalat's financial crisis, its
divisions in both Romania and Hungary continue to operate. Indeed,
Parmalat Hungary is expecting that in the run up to accession,
production will increase in response...
US hydrocolloid firm International Specialty Products (ISP)
continues to consolidate its position in the ingredients sector
announcing the acquisition of UK ingredients company Hallcrest. In
March this year the ambitious company acquired...
Only 3 per cent of Britons are aware that being overweight
increases their chance of developing cancer, according to a new
survey commissioned by the cancer charity Cancer Research UK.
British food retailers have welcomed the delay to proposed European
food labelling rules which would have "reduced the ability of
retailers to offer customers healthier eating options". But the
legislation has just been...
"The brain's perception of fat cannot be completely reduced to
viscosity," Dr. Ivan de Araujo at Oxford University tells
Lindsey Partos, following new findings on the texture of
food that suggest there is 'something...
Friesland Romania has confirmed that it has made a public bid for a
controlling stake in Romanian dairy group Napolact. The Dutch-owned
company says that it intends to increase its 41 per cent stake to
over 50 per cent.
Rising prices for ingredients sourced from raw materials may find
little relief in 2004 with the UN-backed Food and Agriculture
Organisation yesterday predicting a fall in cereal stocks again by
the end of the 2003/2004 season. 'Soaring...
Roasted ground coffee is still by far the biggest category in the
German coffee market, but sales dropped by 2 per cent last year as
consumers switched to more exciting variants such as Cappuccino and
Espresso, writes Chris Jones.
