Where would we be without bread? Believed to have first been
enjoyed by our palates over 8,000 years ago, this simple product
with its roots in the land has far from lost its star appeal.
Dr Franz Fischler, the leading light behind reform proposals to the
Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), continued on his crusade to
guarantee the quality of food in Europe with a persuasive speech at
an informal meeting of EU Ministers...
So, they went ahead and did it anyway. Despite imminent changes to
the European legislation on genetically modified organisms (GMOs),
re-iterated by EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy just this week,
the US has gone ahead and filed...
Jim Miller, the head of Ahold's US Foodservice arm, has finally
stood down from the post he has held since 1997 after coming under
increasing pressure to carry the can for the accounting scandal
which has rocked the unit in recent...
Research continues into the potential impact of maternal caffeine
consumption on baby weight with news this week that scientists from
the UK universities of Leicester and Leeds have been commissioned
to explore the phenomenon.
Following the possible outbreak of avian influenza in Germany last week, the European Commission has decided to reinforce the control measures already put in place by German authorities.
As the enlargement of the EU draws ever closer, the impact that this process will have on pork producers and processors within the new Member States is becoming a pressing concern.
RhodiaFood, part of French speciality chemicals company Rhodia,
recently announced that it would hike up the price of its Rhodigel
food grade xanthan gum by 10 per cent.
Spanish consumers appear to have shrugged off the concerns about
the safety of meat related to the BSE scandal. The meat sector
posted the biggest increase in per capita consumption last year,
according to a recent survey.
The food industry, consumers and politicians in Europe are alive to
the sound of three words - genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
Barely a day goes by without a reference to this controversial
aspect of biotechnology. And the...
Tesco is now one of the world's top 10 grocery retailers, and is by
far the fastest growing company in the field. And, according to a
new report by M+M Planet Retail, the British number one has the
right growth strategy to see...
The World Health Organisation, the body that recently tasted the
wrath of the US sugar industry when it published a report into diet
and health that set a ceiling of 10 per cent for sugar consumption
in an overall diet, welcomed the...
An EU funded project is building the critical mass of knowledge
required to ensure that Europe meets the Lisbon objective of
becoming the world's most competitive knowledge-based economy by
2010, reports Cordis.
Courts in Portugal and Lithuania have ruled in favour of Czech
brewer Budweiser Budvar in its ongoing battle with the world's
largest brewer Anheuser-Busch, respecting Budvar's geographical
claims to the Budweiser name.
The US Government's food safety leader, Elsa Murano, has said that
despite irradiation being an effective way to maintain the safety
of meats, companies are still slow on the uptake.
The latest Fairtrade products to hit the UK market are organic
bananas, distributed by the British arm of Dutch company AgroFair.
The fruit is already being sold in one of the leading organic
supermarkets there.
Company results continue today with US ingredients company MGP
Ingredients reporting net losses for the third quarter ended 31
March 2003 due to a combination of factors including higher energy
costs and the lack of expected funds...
Despite a testing global economic climate, sales remained steady
and earnings before interest and taxes rose for German speciality
chemicals company Degussa in the first quarter of 2003. But guarded
optimism remains for 2003.
Somerfield continues on the road to recovery with a slight rise in
like-for-like sales in the last year. The steady progress made by
the company over the last few months is only likely to increase
speculation about takeover bids.
Cognis B.V., a subsidiary of the Henkel Group, has entered the
botanical extracts market with the acquisition of Spanish company
Laboratorios Dr. Vinyals...
High dosages of vitamins and minerals taken over a long period of
time could cause permanent damage to your health and may lead to
cancer, warns the UK Food Standards Agency this week in a statement
set to provoke a vociferous reaction...
The extent of the accounting fraud at US Foodservice, a subsidiary
of Dutch group Ahold, was greater than originally thought, the
company reported yesterday. Initial estimates of $500m were low:
the actual figure is nearer $880m.
The European Commission has proposed new regulations allowing
Member States to grant aid for research and development (R&D)
to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), without having to
first apply for clearance from the Commission,...
Ingredients developer zuChem this week announced that it has raised
a considerable chunk of capital in order to develop new methods to
manufacture alternative sweeteners.
The UK Competition Commission has released an issues statement
concerning its investigation into the proposed acquisition of the
Safeway retail group. Among the matters still to be investigated
are whether any of the deals would lead...
No more browning in cut lettuce, or so scientists in the US would
have us believe following the development of a new technology.
Their discovery could shortly have an impact on the $2 billion
(€1.76) bagged salad industry in the US,...
In a bid to meet increasing demands from sponge cake manufacturers
for a healthier version of their traditionally calorific products,
French starch derivative manufacturer Cerestar, now under the wings
of US giant Cargill, claims...
Overcapacity continues to affect the organic food industry with a
new report from UK market analysts Organic Monitor that reveals
large volumes of organic meat products are coming into a market
that is showing slowing growth rates.
Food from Britain is to receive an additional £3m to help promote
awareness of the wide diversity of regional British food and drink
products, both within the UK and in key international markets.
Food Safe, a wholly owned subsidiary of publicly traded Aquentium,
has filed a patent application with the United States Patent and
Trademark Office for its proprietary food sanitisation process.
The frustration of suffering the drip-drip effect of an ice lolly
on a hot summer day may well be over as food ingredients giant
Danisco hails the launch of the non-drip ice lolly, Ice Dreams.
Calls for the creation of a new European funding structure totally
dedicated to research gained in volume this week with the release
of a new report from scientists in the EU.
After a turbulent few years and the wholesale sell off a number of
businesses, Portugal's Jeronimo Martins retail group appears to be
on the road to recovery.
Operating profit for Danish enzyme company Novozymes improved
marginally in the first quarter of 2003, despite the impact of
unfavourable exchange rates. On the back of favourable developments
in net financials, the company reports...
The European Commission believes that the results of the Electronic Identification of Animals (Idea) project, presented yesterday, confirm the feasibility of electronically tagging cattle, sheep and goats.
Netherlands-based Royal Schouten Group has merged four of its food
and health ingredients companies to form Acatris. The merger
involves Daminco, Orffa Health & Nutrition, Schouten USA and
SoyLife Nederland.
GlaxoSmithKline, the pharmaceutical and healthcare group, is to
relaunch its Plenty juice drink brand just six months after it was
withdrawn from sale. But has the company got the product
positioning right this time, asks market analysts...
Dairy group Arla Foods, in the news for the second time this week, in partnership
with German sugar manufacturer Nordzucker, has started production
of Gaio tagatose in a custom-built plant located near Hannover,
Germany
The pursuit of genome sequencing continues with the news this week
that scientists from seven nations have revealed the genome
sequence of the bread mould Neurospora crassa.
Adding to a growing body of evidence that suggests environmental
pollution may have an impact on the proportion of male births
around the world, a new study from the US states that women exposed
to polychlorinated biphenyls may be...
Krest'yanskoe, a Soviet-era brand produced by a number of different
companies, remains the most popular brand of butter in Russia, but
its popularity is coming under increasing pressure from
international brands such as Anchor...
The outbreak of the deadly lung infection SARS in Asia is starting
to impact on Arla Foods' sales in the area, the Scandinavian
company reported this week.
The UK's independent scientific Committee on Toxicity (COT) is
urging the government to review its advice on the use of soya-based
infant formulas, following a new report suggesting that there is a
lack of evidence on phytoestrogens...
