Dutch group Ahold has completed its takeover of Chilean subsidiary
Santa Isabel, raising its stake in the company from just over 70
per cent to 97 per cent as a result of a tender offer.
Britain's consumers believe that the only ones to benefit from
genetic modification of food will be the companies which have
developed the GM technology - feelings which the Consumers'
Association says the government would...
Childhood obesity rates have reached staggering levels and obesity
has nearly surpassed smoking as the leading cause of preventable
death among Americans, according to a new Datamonitor report.
The European Commission has updated the regulations designed to
prevent the import of aflatoxin-contaminated Chinese peanuts and
Turkish figs, pistachios and hazelnuts into the European Union.
Despite continued economic pressures in certain Asian markets,
Australia's largest food group Goodman Fielder is performing in
line with expectations, chief executive Tom Park said earlier this
week.
After trialling the system in two stores earlier this year, the
British supermarket chain Safeway is to launch an electronic shelf
label system in more than 50 stores nationwide.
Britain's top two food retailers, Tesco and Sainsbury, are at the
centre of a row over customer loyalty, with Tesco accusing its
rival of trying to lure away customers by offering them money-off
vouchers.
The ban on British beef imports has been lifted by French Prime
Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, but British farmers face an uphill
struggle to get their products back on supermarket shelves there.
And they are also keen to ensure that...
Hyparlo, the Carrefour franchisee with 12 stores in France, has
reported strong sales in the first half, and is counting on further
improvements in the remainder of the year.
Many foodstuffs are fortified with calcium and marketed as being
good for the health, but new research presented in the US this week
suggests that in fact such products may hinder the effectiveness of
antibiotics.
The US has complained to the World Trade Organisation about the
recent decision in the EU to tighten the labelling restrictions for
GM products, increasing the likelihood of a new trade war between
the two blocs, warns Friends of...
After a lengthy period of restructuring, the first half of 2002 was
a good one for the UK's Co-operative Group, driven by an excellent
performance from its food retail arm... just the kind of welcome
new chief executive Martin...
The IADSA Asian conference on food supplement regulations held in
Bangkok, Thailand last week produced a clear recognition of the
need for a common approach to regulations in the region and a
demand for increased collaboration and...
Vitamin D has long been known to help build bones, and it is
already widely used to help treat osteoporosis. But scientists in
the US have now synthesised a new form of the vitamin which they
claim has better bone-building properties.
Treatt Florida gets a name change - to Treatt USA - and a new
state-of-the-art production plant as the UK flavours group expands
its business across the Atlantic.
Allied Domecq has announced the latest phase of its Move to Market
business plan with the appointment of a number of key managers to
three new business units within its spirits unit.
Spain's OCU consumer protection organisation has accused the Koipe
company of fixing the price of its Carbonell and Koipe Sol brands,
and has denounced it to the competition authorities.
The US-based Agricultural Research Services has devised a method of
detecting fecal bacteria in fresh produce, which it claimed could
reduce the chances of contamination to zero.
American scientists may well warn about the risks to human health
of reducing the levels of antibiotics in the food chain, but there
is still considerable opposition in Europe, as the UK's Soil
Association has shown this week.
Further evidence presented at the ICAAC meeting in California this
week shows that increasing public pressure - and better animal
husbandry - has led to a reduction in the use of antibiotics in
animals in the US. But is this necessarily...
Despite the concern that it can cause TCA - the mouldy smell
attributed to bad wine - natural cork is the preferred closure for
most US winemakers, according to a survey carried out on behalf of
the Amorim cork group.
A study carried out by researchers at the University of
Massachusetts shows that consumption of Alpha protein, a new soy
protein ingredient, significantly lowered total and LDL blood
cholesterol in animals, according to soy processor...
New research from Procter & Gamble suggests that there may be
more appropriate methods of preventing the formation of
cancer-causing chemical acrylamide than simply cooking food at
lower temperatures - but also that the compound...
The dispute between Ahold's Albert Heijn chain and the Anglo-Dutch
group Unilever, which saw several of the latter's brands removed
from shelves, has ended with a new supply agreement.
Last week FoodProductionDaily.com reported about some
interesting research work into packaging design at the Delft
University of Technology in the Netherlands. Roland ten
Klooster believes he has come up with solutions to make food...
Greencore, the Irish ingredients and food producer, is predicting a
decline in its net debt for 2002 as its core operations continue to
improve despite continued difficulties in its ambient grocery
division.
A team of US researchers have discovered the cause and a potential
treatment for celiac disease, the inability to digest gluten, a
major protein in wheat, rye and barley products.
The Catalan authorities claim that Spanish winery and cava producer
Miguel Torres is continuing to make wine from grapes grown on
illegally-planted vineyards - a claim denied by the producer.
Proposed new legislation which would tighten the rules governing
the labelling of foodstuffs in a bid to reduce the risk of
consumers suffering from allergic reactions to certain ingredients
has passed the latest stage of its journey...
Biacore International, the Swedish-based global Surface Plasmon
Resonance specialist, has launched a new rapid screening kit for
thedetection of ractopamine drug residues in food.
Both soy supplements and hormone replacement therapy appear to
improve risk factors for heart disease in women with diabetes,
according to a report on two new studies published this week. The
findings present conflicting evidence...
Starch and starch derivatives manufacturer Cerestar, recently taken
over by US agri-business Cargill, said this week that it has
developed a new gelatine replacement, targeting a market currently
undergoing growth due to consumer...
British starch and sugars group Tate & Lyle said on Thursday
that it expected strong results for the six months ended September,
but said growth in second half profits depended on higher sweetener
prices.
Archer Daniels Midland became the first US company on Thursday to
sign contracts with Cuban food importer Alimport as an
unprecedented US agricultural trade show got under way in Havana.
The acquisition by Carrefour of the outstanding shares in its
Spanish unit, Centros Commerciales Carrefour, will not include the
8 per cent held by Guyenne & Gascogne, long-time franchise
partner of the French retail giant.
Consumer preferences are currently moving towards easily prepared
food, less severely processed (vitamins and nutrients preserved),
natural (without preservatives and other artificial additives),
healthy (functional food, low fat,...
Solid evidence is mounting that drinking tea can prevent cell
damage that leads to cancer, heart disease and perhaps other ills,
scientists said on Tuesday.
France's Intermarche and Spain's Eroski have formed a new alliance
which will increase their European buying power and allow each
company to benefit from the other's expertise. Other companies
could join the union in...
More evidence to suggest the health benefits of cranberry juice
were revealed this week by researchers in Germany. Setting out to
evaluate the influence of plum, cranberry and blackcurrant juice on
urinary stone risk factors, the...
The European Food Safety Authority may not, as yet, have an
executice director, but let's hope the selection is speedier than
our American neighbours who, after nearly two years without, have
finally chosen a new commissioner...
News in Germany earlier this year that tainted organic wheat had
been fed to poultry at organic farms caused an immediate fall in
consumer demand for organic foods, with the organic meat sector
being particularly badly hit. The industry...
The weakness of the US economy has impacted the sales performance
of the Food Lion and Kash n' Karry chains run by Belgium's Delhaize
group, prompting the company to revise its full-year growth
forecasts.
Fees charged by European retailers such as Tesco and Carrefour have
been investigated by the Thai authorities, which claim that such
charges - levied on suppliers for the listing of their products -
are illegal.
South African wine sales in the UK have been growing rapidly in the
last few years, and four SA brands are now among the top 20
best-sellers there. But more can be done to promote Cape wines in
the UK, such as focusing on recognisable...
In the first look at the molecular diversity of the starch pathway
in maize, researchers at the North Carolina State University have
found that - in contrast to the high amount of diversity in many of
the maize genes previously studied...
Eating too much seafood, which can contain high levels of the toxic
substance mercury, could be linked to an increased risk of
infertility in men and women, researchers said on Tuesday.
Overweight children could be eating their way into health problems
- no news there. But new evidence suggests that normal-weight
children with abnormally high cholesterol could be predisposed to
obesity in later childhood.
The board of directors of Swiss flavour and fragrance manufacturer,
Givaudan at its 16 September meeting agreed the repurchase of up to
725,627 registered Givaudan shares.
After a difficult few years of restructuring and debt reduction,
Brau und Brunnen has decided to combine its beer and soft drink
sales units to offer a broader range of products and to allow it to
react more quickly to consumer demand...
