As the Commission this week earmarked a €6 million rural support
package for accession states, Europe's food industry body has
warned the Irish presidency that the legal and economic climate
must be right to encourage the burgeoning...
A technology that allows the health ingredient lutein to be
delivered to clear beverages has been given GRAS (Generally
Recognized As Safe) status from the US Food and Drug
Administration.
As the United States deals with the fallout from the first case of
mad cow disease to hit the country, an international organisation
warns countries to stay on the alert and buck up controls.
Delhaize, the Belgian retail group, yesterday reported
sales of €18.8 billion for 2003, a 2.4 per cent increase on a
like-for-like basis but 9.1 per cent lower than in 2002 in actual
terms as a result of a sharp decline in the strength...
Sluggish market conditions in France were weathered well by
Hyparlo, the Carrefour franchise operator, in 2003. And a strong
progression in Romania, helped by store openings there, gave an
extra boost to results.
The chances of growth returning to the French dairy market in the
medium term are extremely slim, according to a recent report from
French market analysts Xerfi.
Competition in European flavours heated up this week as Cargill,
the largest private company in the US, signed on the dotted line
for UK flavours group The Duckworth Group (TDG).
The European Commission has rejected warnings about the safety of
farmed salmon, saying that levels of harmful chemicals detected in
a recent scientific study are within safe limits. EU officials
contradicted the findings of US...
As 10 countries prepare themselves for accession to the European
Union in April, a new report reveals food manufacturers entering,
and already present in, these countries might want to start pushing
high value dairy products.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has granted a
€35 million loan to the Lithuanian retailer VP Market, one of the
leading food retailers in the Baltic region with turnover of €650
million in 2002.
The collapse of Italian dairy giant Parmalat -and revelations of
massive and widespread fraud - has been felt throughout the world,
not least because the Parma-based group was such an international
player. In central and eastern Europe,...
The need for consolidation in the dairy market in central and
eastern Europe is clear, especially when faced with the increased
competition likely to be brought by accession to the European Union
in May. But companies looking to increase...
Russia increased imports of alcoholic drinks by around 30 per cent
in 2003 and is likely to lift imports by a further 20 per cent in
2004, according to the latest information from the National Alcohol
Association.
Dutch ingredients producer Sensus has significantly expanded its
presence in the South American market through new agreements with
distributors in Argentina and Chile.
Until recently, consumers with a sweet tooth have had little in the
way of choice when it came to reconciling their desire for sweets
and chocolate with the need to remain healthy.
Faced with a new shareholder revolt over the exact role the
previous management team played in the widespread fraud at the
company last year, Dutch retail group Ahold yesterday pledged
that it would reclaim part of the bonuses paid...
Agri-giant and leading beef processor Cargill sees profits soar in
the first half of fiscal 2004. But as the fallout from the first
mad cow case in the US begins, pressure on current quarter figures
steps up with jobs already lost....
The European Commission is satisfied that Scottish salmon is safe
to eat, despite researchers in North America warning that the
farmed variety sold in many supermarkets contains up to ten times
more cancer causing chemicals than its...
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is using technology
developed by Prionics, a Swiss-based company, as part of its
ongoing BSE surveillance programme. The firm's Prionics-Check
Western rapid BSE test was extensively...
The European Commission has delayed the adoption of a proposal to
authorise imports of a GM sweetcorn onto European lands, opting to
bundle the issue with other GM points on the agenda of an upcoming
Commission meeting later this...
With Hungary's entry into the EU in May, producers of one of the
country's main food specialities will face a particular challenge.
Moves by the Union to phase out the force feeding of geese over the
next 15 years are likely...
Hypermarkets may be the domain of foreign rather than domestic
retailers in the Czech Republic but this does not appear to concern
most consumers there when it comes to their weekly shop.
With barely four months to go until the 10 accession countries
become fully-fledged members of the European Union, many food
companies still have a long way to go before they meet the Union's
stringent requirements on food safety...
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has invested
in a number of food and drink business in central and eastern
Europe in recent weeks, but its latest move there is in fact a
disposal rather than an investment.
Calcium sulphate as a source of calcium, and the amino acid salts,
N-acetyl-L-cysteine and N-acetyl-L-methionine, may be included in
draft regulations amending the PARNUTS directive, which will allow
them to continue to be marketed...
Eating cereal fortified with vitamin E may be a better way of
boosting intake of the vitamin than through supplementing the diet
with capsules, suggests a new study.
Throwing the cat among the pigeons, UK government advisors
confirmed yesterday that GM herbicide tolerant (HT) crops could
harm wildlife, including farmland birds.
Genomics continues to fascinate scientists across the globe taking
up nature's challenge to understand the genetic make-up of the
earth's organisms. An international team of scientists has
succeeded in sequencing a little...
Most of Europe's leading supermarket groups have published trading
figures in the last few weeks, covering both the key Christmas
period and the whole of 2003. Today we look at three more groups,
based in the UK, Finland and...
There is a defining issue for dairy giant Parmalat that has
virtually nothing to do with fraud. If it lives to trade another
day, it will be because it hung on to its suppliers.
If 2003 was all about Safeway, and in the end Morrison's, in 2004
the UK grocery market agenda will be dominated by price. That is
the key finding of a new report from retail market analysts
Verdict published this week.
US agriculture secretary Ann Veneman has announced a series of
e-Government initiatives in response to public fears over beef. In
a recent Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive Health-Care
Poll, over one in five American adults...
US-based firm e-Foodsafety.com has entered into a distribution
partnership with Tru-Pure Ozone Technologies. Under the terms of
agreement, e-Foodsafety.com has exclusive rights to market and
distribute Tru-Pure's patented food...
Anders Moberg, chief executive of Dutch retail group Ahold, has
called for a group of disillusioned shareholders in the company to
back down from their threat of legal action in the interests of the
company's future development.
As the first case of mad cow disease sends US cattle prices
plunging on the markets and dozens of nations ban US beef imports,
new research shows that problems are starting at home in the
American kitchen as consumers begin to get...
While arch rival Sainsbury struggles to get even the basics right,
UK supermarket group Tesco continues to seek new methods of driving
its business. The company has also announced a share placement
which should help it raise £810...
India looks set to consolidate its somewhat unexpected position as
the world's largest whisky market in 2003, stretching further ahead
of its nearest rivals, according to a new report from market
analysts Canadean. ...
Speciality cakes is one of the fastest-moving sectors in the UK
baked goods market, and producers are continually looking for new
products to extend their presence in this sector.
When UK retailer Tesco announced in November last year that it was
to expand trials of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags on a
number of non-food items, its decision was met with a storm of
protest on the grounds that the...
More than other area of the packaged food market, chilled food
exhibits a qualitative difference between developed and emerging
regions, according to a recent report by market analysts
Euromonitor.
Pinpointing growth areas in the food industry, leading US flavours
company International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) is to break
ground on a new facility in the bakery and savoury application
areas.
An emergency decree passed late last month by the Italian
government in a bid to save dairy giant Parmalat from collapse
looks set to win support from the European Commission on the back
of guarantees that there will be no state bail-out...
Irish dairy group Glanbia has begun construction of a new cheese
and whey manufacturing facility expected to generate sales of
around $350 million per annum when completed next year.
Radio frequency identification (RFID) will eventually be used to
track every domesticated animal, claims an American beef industry
specialist. The current BSE crisis in the US has generated renewed
interest in RFID for tracking cattle...
US-based SureBeam, a leading provider of electron beam food safety
systems and services for the food industry, will be out of business
by the end of the week. The company announced today that it has
been unable to reach a restructuring...
Danone, the French dairy product, bottled water and biscuits group,
may have said that it is not interested in acquiring any assets of
bankrupt Italian group Parmalat, but this does not mean that it is
not on the acquisition trail.
Migros and Coop, the two leading co-operative food retailers in
Switzerland, have reported solid gains for 2003, despite continuing
tough conditions in the Swiss market as a whole.
Producing more than a quarter of the world's production of
pistachios, scientists warn the relatively young industry in
California that a devasting disease could put paid to future
growth.
