Discovering genetic fingerprints of heat-beating micro-organisms
could bring us closer to understanding why some foods spoil and how
bacteria manage to survive heat treatments.
The Ghana Cocoa Board (GCB) has secured a US$650 million loan to
purchase cocoa for the 2003/2004 cocoa season. The facility, the
highest in the history of the Board and repayable within a year,
was arranged by four leading banks...
In our first news of the day from the Society for General
Microbiology's meeting in the UK this week, scientists from the
Institute for Animal Health announced progress towards controlling
the deadly E. coli bacterium that causes...
DMV International, a division of dairy giant Campina, has entered
into an agreement with AgriMark, USA, for the production of its
bioactive protein lactoferrin.
Long term sustainable growth is the key aim for a far-reaching
development process at Swedish fats and oils company Karlshamns,
the company confirmed recently when it announced its first half
results for 2002. An increasingly competitive...
An industry tie-up to find cheaper production methods for flavours
is already bearing fruit as Swiss flavours giant Givaudan announces
'key milestone' in research on gene pathways.
"We want to make the Doha Development Agenda a success." For
Agriculture European Commissioner Franz Fischler this is Europe's
number one objective for the upcoming WTO trade talks in Mexico
next week. And to achieve...
Women are worth €1,400 billion, a figure set to swell to €2,000
billion by 2008. Long acknowledged as a powerful consumer force, a
new study from Datamonitor suggests that the modern perception of
women provides new growth opportunities...
Calcium could help the body fight E coli, the bacteria often
responsible for traveller's diarrhea, and a cause of illness in
children and the elderly in developing countries, suggests new
research from the Netherlands.
The sale of US Foodservice - suggested as a possible means of
recovering some of its lost reputation - has been dismissed by
Ahold's new chief executive Anders Moberg. But what exactly he
plans to do to redress the comapny is...
As governments, consumer groups and scientists all voice as one the
dangers of high sugar diets, encouraging us to cut the sugar
consumption, opportunities for growth in the sugar-free market
continue to multiply for food manufacturers.
A report carried out at the request of the Commission's Enterprise
DG has concluded that innovation capabilities in the candidate
countries still lag behind those within the 15 current Member
States, report CORDIS.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocate of safer
food, will be hosting a one-day conference to examine some of the
best models for reducing or eliminating food-safety hazards at the
farm level.
In 2001 enough sausages were sold in Britain to go around the world
five times. That's a lot of sausages, but also - as the UK food
agency points out this week - a lot of salt.
Albert Heijn, the flagship Dutch supermarket chain of the embattled
Ahold group, is to axe around 440 jobs in a bid to cut costs and
keep pace with its main competitors.
Casino, the French retail group, is hoping to benefit from an
improvement in exchange rates in the second half after a first half
of steady growth driven by its domestic discount store operations.
In a landmark decision, the European Commission has blocked the
first attempt by an EU region to turn itself into a statutory
GM-free zone. The EU body ruled that governments that tried to ban
genetically-modified crops would be in...
The International Pepper Community (IPC) - gathered in India this
week - has agreed to tackle falling pepper sales, aiming to get
quality standards accepted by importing and exporting countries all
around the world. IPC hopes on NPD...
Somerfield is still to find a solution to the question of how to
turn around the performance of the discount store chain acquired in
1998. The latest quarterly figures show that while Somerfield
improved, Kwik Save sales actually...
Regular alcohol intake, thought to reduce the risk of
cardiovascular disease, is associated with lower prevalence of
metabolic syndrome, reported Greek researchers at the European
Society of Cardiology meeting earlier this week.
Irish ingredients, flavours and end products company Kerry shrugged
off currency fluctuations and sluggish industry growth rates for
the first six months of 2003. Health and exposure to ready meals
offer particularly good growth opportunities.
McVities is relaunching its low-fat range of biscuits and cakes
sold under the Go Ahead! brand, with a new pack design and a number
of new products. But is the decision to market the range as
offering both health benefits and all...
The Irish food safety agency has warned the food industry to be
vigilant and efficient or 'face the consequences' as investigations
continue into the biggest outbreak of E. coli O157 in
Ireland to date.
Ending months of speculation Dutch life science products company
DSM announced today that is to pay CHF 3.5 billion (€2.4 billion)
for Roche's vitamins and fine chemicals division.
When Roche launched the sale of the division...
Despite its troubles in the US market, where a number of stores
have closed as a result of heavy losses, Belgium's Delhaize group
is continuing to expand there. It has acquired the Georgia-based
Harveys group, which is a good...
Ambitious Israeli soy ingredients company Solbar Industries keeps
the new products rolling out with the launch this week of Solpro
900, a soy protein isolate for infant formula, nutritional foods
and beverages, as its investment programme...
Still red wine sales are set to grow at a rate faster than that of
the global wine market as a whole over the next five years, driven
by increasing awareness of health issues and a more knowledgeable
wine drinking public, according...
Marks & Spencer is the latest UK retailer to introduce a
loyalty scheme, combining it with the laucnh of a new credit card.
But with points awarded only every time the card is used - and not
every time customers shop at the store...
France's hypermarket groups, among the biggest spenders on
advertising in the country, are to be allowed to advertise on TV
for the first time - but not until 2007.
In the run up to the WTO trade talks next week in Mexico, the
European Union has called on the WTO to rule on the 'legality of
the Australian quarantine regime' applied to imports of a large
number of food products of EU...
Moves by Dutch grocery retailer Laurus to lift itself back into the
black appear to be working, with a leap back into profit in the
first half. But the streamlined group still has a long way to go.
Kids are being packed off to school with lunchboxes full of salty,
sugary and fatty foods - exactly the wrong kind of diet for primary
school children, according to a recent survey from the UK Food
Standards Agency. But striking the...
A glass of milk could not only protect our bones, but also help
fight food intoxication, suggest Dutch scientists. The news ushers
in the potential for a new wave of functional dairy products in the
future.
The UK food agency has warned consumers that some batches of a
pasta sauce sold in the UK contain chilli powder contaminated with
the illegal chemical dye Sudan I, a known carcinogen.
Giant three-dimensional moving molecules roving before the eyes
could help scientists understand molecular behaviour in a matter of
minutes - instead of the more typical weeks using traditional
techniques.
As Europe and the United States square themselves for the battle of
the GM at the upcoming WTO trade talks in Cancun, Mexico next week,
it would appear that US consumers are far less concerned than their
politicans about biotechnology,...
Tel Aviv stock exchange-listed Frutarom Industries has welcomed a
new company into its stable - Frutarom Switzerland - previously
known as Emil Flachsmann, and by doing so pushes itself deeper into
the botanical extracts market.
Contrary to recent press speculation, the UK premix market is still
alive and kicking, claims one manufacturer, with established brands
showing growth as less sucessful newcomers fall by the wayside.
A rash of salmonella outbreaks have been reported across the UK.
And according to one leading bacteriologist, the source of these
outbreaks is probably food-based.
Health concerns appear to take a back seat when it comes to British
snack habits: Walkers crisps was by far the biggest UK grocery
brand last year. Premium bread brands, Diet Coke and its
'full-fat'parent, and Nescafé also...
Sygen International is to receive funding from the BIRD (Binational
Industrial Research and Development) foundation to carry out
research into disease resistance and mortality in poultry.
Morrisons, the chain most likely to be given the all clear to bid
for Safeway, is thought to be considering reducing its offer in the
light of a weakening performance from Safeway over the last few
months. But with Safeway's...
Scientists could be closer to understanding why red-wine quaffing
Mediterraneans live to a handsome age thanks to a new study that
found an ingredient in red wine extended the life span of yeast.
Germany's Spar group slipped deeper into the red in the first half
of the year, hit by the weak domestic economy and delays to its
much-needed restructuring programme. But the chain remains
confident of an upturn in the second...
Europe's biggest food retail group Carrefour has reported sales
growth of 1.3 per cent for the first half of 2003, even after the
impact of negative currency exchanges. Second quarter sales grew at
current rates for the first...
A UK survey has been carried out on the occurrence of patulin in
cider. Patulin, which is a kind of mycotoxin, is produced by moulds
that sometimes grow on apples.
The steady decline in market share of small stores is not due to
the growth of hypermarkets - targeted by tough 1996 legislation -
but by that of supermarkets, claims Anged, the Spanish association
of large store operators.
