In the first six weeks on sale in Sweden, the lactose-free milk
drink from Finland's Valio group has far exceeded even the
company's most optimistic expectations. Full year sales could be as
much as five times greater than...
The European Commission continues to crack down on unfair
competition and punish the illegal activities with the news this
week that is has fined three companies involved in a food flavour
enhancers (nucleotides) cartel.
US agribusiness Cargill digs deeper into its pockets with the
recent announcement that - via its venture capital arm - the
company is to invest more in emerging technologies in food
applications, animal productivity and industrial...
A variety of wheat from ancient Persia has been used to
successfully breed the world's first salt-tolerant durum wheat
variety, writes the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and
Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) this week.
UK carbohydrate giant Tate & Lyle this morning announced plans
to develop and manufacture a new range of food ingredients based on
its fermentation capability.
Allowing Spanish stores to open every day of the week will lead to
massive job losses and higher prices, supermarkets and small store
operators have warned. And the only people to benefit will be the
French hypermarket groups Carrefour...
France's Auchan group has agreed to sell its five Mexican stores
for an undisclosed sum to local market leader CCM. The Mexican firm
could also join Auchan's international buying organisation.
In November this year the European Council cleared new proposals to
end the '25 per cent rule' and to strengthen the current labelling
of food allergens on food products. Under the new rules, it will be
mandatory to list...
In a move to boost industry research and enhance nutritional
applications of wheat and other major cereal crops, chemical giant
DuPont announced this week that it is making proprietary wheat
genome data available to public and private...
Campari, the Italian drinks group, has extended its agreement with
the UK's Morrison Bowmore Distillers, giving the Scotch whisky
maker the UK duty free and travel retail rights to its brands. But
this does not include its newest...
Poland, along with nine other countries in Central and Eastern
Europe, will join the European Union in 2004, but in the meantime
it will become easier for current EU food and drink producers to
trade with the country following a recent...
Canadian biopharmaceutical company Forbes Medi-Tech this week
reports on study results showing that chocolate, containing its
cholesterol-lowering phytosterol ingredient Reducol, significanly
reduced LDL cholesterol in people with...
Early next century there will be more Europeans over 60 years old
than under 20. A major European funded project currently underway
will examine the factors that determine food choice and acceptance
for older people in a bid to improve...
Caffe Nero has given up its bid to take over rival coffee bar
operator Coffee Republic after its latest offer was once again
rejected. But the company said it would wait and see how Coffee
Republic planned to improve shareholder value...
The food safety authority down under - Food Standards Australia New
Zealand (FSANZ) - launches the latest edition of the Food
Industry Recall Protocol to assist the food industry on steps
to take when a food recall becomes necessary.
Pepsi-Cola earlier this week announced plans to revamp its
packaging, and so it came as no surprise yesterday when arch rival
Coca-Cola unveiled changes to its diet and light brands.
The World Health Organisation has defined osteoporosis as the
second leading health care problem after cardiovascular disease. A
new European funded project - called 'Osteodiet' - will set out to
investigate dietary strategies...
In the US, an agreement has been signed for Marathon Products, a
leading supplier of food safety equipment, to supply Food Safe with
its requirements for temperature monitoring equipment.
The new commissioner for the US Food and Drug Administration, Dr
Mark McClellan, this week indicated his support for reviewing
current rules on health claims on food labels.
With the aim of improving scientific understanding in the European
Union, in November this year Brussels witnessed the launch of one
of the biggest research programmes in the world - the Sixth
Framework Programme (FP6). A slice of...
A new company, Advercan.com, has been formed in the US to tackle
the problem of drinks can hygiene while simultaneously providing
another means of can advertising.
Dutch food retail group Ahold - whose exemplary business
performance of the last few years has become decidedly tarnished in
recent months - has announced it is to sell its Netherlands-based
health store chain De Tuinen to Holland...
Environmental sustainability and bioscience technologies are key
priorities of Australia's dairy sector, according to the new
manufacturing head of the industry's research and development
organisation.
A follow-up survey of soy sauce carried out by the UK Food
Standards Agency (FSA) has shown a significant improvement since
the agency's previous survey in 2001.
A five-fold increase in the number of daily orders has prompted
Carrefour to invest in new facilities for its home delivery
business in Spain. But the unit is yet to make a profit, and
persuading consumers outside of Madrid to buy...
Quaker has introduced its low-fat snack brand Snack-a-Jacks to
Spain after a highly successful launch in the UK. The rice- and
corn-based products are touted as a healthy alternative to other
snacks which can be eaten at any time...
Do you remember the following words from European Commissioner for
health and consumer protection David Byrne? : "I am determined
to ensure that the momentum we have created on food safety
continues… the Commission is forging...
US company Spherix Incorporated reports that the US Food and Drug
Administration has allowed the claim that the low-calorie sweetener
tagatose does not cause tooth decay, and that it may actually
reduce the risk of this disease.
Food manufacturers and retailers must prepare the ground for the
arrival of some of the toughest GMO legislation in the world when
environment ministers in the European Union agreed on Monday to
comprehensive new rules.
Iron deficiency in infants is a cause of concern in the UK when a
conference heard that one in four infants over six months old is
iron-deficient in some parts of the country. Leading nutritional
experts are calling for new initiatives...
Proteomics technology company Proteome Systems is to work with
Swiss food giant Nestle in a bid to investigate 'sweet medicines'.
Under a glycoproteomics research programme, the two companies will
analyse the sugars attached...
The gastronomic delights of Christmas appear to be the focus of
current research at the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA). Earlier
this week we reported on a recent study of dried fruit - destined
for mince-pies and Christmas pudding....
A $2.4 million (€2.4m) research grant from the US Department of
Energy (DOE) will allow the National Corn Growers Association,
Archer Daniels Midland and the Department of Energy's Pacific
Northwest National Laboratory to continue...
"HACCP is nothing without trainers," declared Dagmar Engel, HACCP
trainer and consultant from Germany, at the recentInternational
Food Safety Focus conference, co-hosted by the Chartered Institute
of Environmental Health,...
The Australian competition watchdog accuses biscuit, bread and
cake-maker George Weston Foods, and one of its former senior
executives, of fixing the price of flour.
Food manufacturers took a further battering this week when the UK
Consumers' Association (CA) released new research, as part of its
Honest Labelling campaign, that suggests the public continues to be
misled by inadequate food...
'Impractical and unenforceable,' is how the European food
and drink association, the CIAA, last week condemned the new EU
legislation on the labelling of genetically modified organisms in
food. We spoke with Dr Geraldine...
Food companies figure prominently in a new survey of the most
admired companies in New Zealand. Out of the top ten places, five
were devoted to food businesses, the NFO/Porter Novelli report
reveals.
Eating too much refined bread and cereal may be at the root of the
teenage acne suffered by almost all adolescents in the developed
world, according to a report in this month's New Scientist
which reveals new US research.
As the season of mincepies and Christmas pudding approaches, the UK
Food Standards Agency finds that dried fruit products - the star
ingredient at Christmas time - are within the legal limits for a
toxic substance called ochratoxin...
Trail blazers in e-commerce UK retailer Tesco announced this week
that for the first time ever booming online grocery sales have
reached more than £10 million (€15.6m) in a week - an encouraging
portent for yuletide spending.
Healthy eating may be a burgeoning market but consumers still need,
and will pay for, a treat, reveals a new report on the UK dairy
market from Datamonitor. The report finds that although the
consumption of fats and spreads will decrease,...
Euromonitor continues its analysis of UK retailers with a look this
week at media means and private brands. According to the report, UK
retailers Tesco and Sainsbury's are leveraging the trust consumers
have in their brands to...
Changing consumption of normal cheese to cheese made from vegetable
oils can reduce cholesterol levels in some people, report
scientists in Finland who found that rapeseed oil-based cheese
could be a healthy alternative to normal...
Food safety issues may be increasing in Europe but according to a
recent study of people's diets, levels of a group of harmful
chemicals have fallen in food during the past 20 years.
Hispanic-style cheese made in Mexico may provide US scientists at
the Agricultural Research Service with a better scientific
understanding of how to improve the overall quality of cheese in
general.
We reported last week on the work of a group of European scientists
that is jointly developing a biosensor for the detection of gluten
in food in order to help sufferers of coeliac disease - currently
affecting some 1 million Europeans....
A further step marking the importance of the traceability of GMOs
in Europe was made yesterday when the European Research
Commissioner Philippe Busquin inaugurated a European network of
genetically modified organism (GMO) laboratories....
The quest for eternal youth continues with a new study underway in
Europe that will assess the role of fat-soluble vitamins A and E
and carotenoids in the human ageing process.
A European funded project currently underway will seek to
facilitate the assessment of exposure to a range of food chemicals
- to include food additives, pesticides and nutrients, in a bid to
meet the growing need for food safety...
