Consumer interest in eating locally-sourced produce is encouraging
food manufacturers to develop ready-meals made with ingredients
sourced from the same region in which the product is sold, says
analyst Datamonitor.
Fortitech Asia Pacific has been appointed to manufacture a vitamin
and mineral premix containing Akzo Nobel's Ferrazone iron for
Pakistan's National Wheat Fortification Program - a contract that
underscores confidence in...
Common preservative sodium benzoate, widely used in soft drinks and
other foods, is again at the centre of health concerns after
research emerged linking it to cell damage.
Negotiations are underway between private-equity groups over the
sale of French natural ingredients firm Diana-Ingredients,
indicating a positive view of the company's potential in the
marketplace.
The UK's Department for International Development is to invest £10m
(c €14.7m) in banking seeds of essential food crops over the next
four years, as part of an effort to preserve food sources for poor
farmers and maintain crop...
French sugar giant Tereos is entering into agreements with La
Societe des Sucreries du Marquenterre to counter the effects of
sugar reform on its operations, including taking over the latter's
sugar plant in Marconelle.
Cheese processors in the UK have been handed tougher guidance on
hygiene, following EU claims that the country's food safety
authority was not doing enough to protect consumers.
Mitsubishi Corporation is to form a new diversified food science
company by amalgamating three of its subsidiaries, in order to
strengthen its R&D capabilities and expand globally by
combining customer bases and sales networks.
Food processors could continue to pay higher prices for
Australian wheat after the country's government decided this week
to retain its controversial export monopoly on the grain.
Growth in the retail ethnic foods in Europe is outpacing overall
growth in the foods and drink sector, according to Leatherhead Food
International, offers new challenges and opportunities to
manufacturers and ingredient companies.
Agrana has reported its first set of annual results in which its
fruit segment outstripped sugar and starch as a source of revenue,
following a refocus in the wake of EU sugar reform.
Tate & Lyle has reported a strong full year 2007, the third
consecutive year of sales growth and a key one for repositioning
towards value added ingredients. But despite this, EU sugar reform
continues to prove a drag.
Consumers in the UK have a low level of differentiation between
saturated and unsaturated fat, and are frustrated at the lack of
clear front-of-pack information on food products, a FSA study has
found.
Masterfoods' U-turn over its plan to reformulate its famous
confectionery brands using animal-derived whey sets a precedent
that will prevent any other food manufacturer from flying in the
face of the global trend towards the...
Leading cocoa producer Barry Callebaut has discovered the specific
bacteria responsible for flavour creation during extensive research
into cocoa bean fermentation - enabling the company to produce
better quality chocolate in the...
Ingredients specialist DSM is helping bakers target the lucrative
health-conscious market with its newest enzyme product, designed to
overcome the typical obstacles associated with producing high fibre
breads.
UK supermarket Asda said it is removing artificial colours and
flavours from all of its private label food and beverage products -
the biggest indication to date of the shift towards natural
ingredients in lieu of artificial additives.
It may be a lucrative time for farmers, but the continuing boom in
grain and meat prices will put the squeeze on plant managers to
find ways to cut costs out of their supply chains.
Symrise has completed its new €1.8m extraction and distillation
plant in Germany, intended to help meet demand for natural
flavourings for beverages in the light of the health and wellness
trend.
Consolidation is no bad thing for flavours, says analyst, since
it allows large players to serve multinationals, spurs
R&D, and makes regulation compliance easier.
Syngenta is to acquire a 49 per cent take in Chinese seed company
Sanbei with a view to jointly developing corn seed products to meet
growing demand driven by changing food patterns and agronomic
trends.
Bilberry extracts mixed with mulberry or black bean skins are
reported to have hit the Japanese market and elsewhere, duping
the industry into creating cheaper alternatives and undermining
quality.
Danisco is making the most of the superfruit trend - and may even
help perpetuate it - by developing a new acai berry flavour for use
in dairy, ice cream, beverage and confectionery
products.
The Novozymes group claims that their new enzyme can help brewers
increase capacity at little extra cost by offering longer and more
consistent filtration cycles.
Danisco has cut a deal to sell its flavours division to Firmenich
that will let it focus resources on its bioingredients, texturants
and sweeteners competencies - while still keeping some interest in
flavours through a partnership...
The image of grains needs a fundamental makeover in order to
encourage consumption globally, according to the R&D director
of pasta firm Barilla, who said the enduring perception of grains
as 'empty' energy is the major...
Slovenian ingredients firm Vitiva is seeking to tap potential for
its rosemary markets in the Russian meat sector, with a new
strategic alliance with Elite Food Ingredients of Moscow.
Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) has reported a modest third quarter
increase in income, with a strong performance from its corn
processing segment boosting flagging profits in other divisions.
Gadot is taking its first ever step outside Israel with a joint
venture to build a new citric acid plant in China - a project that
it expects to yield significant cost advantages thanks to the
fermentation technology of partner Jiangsu...
The American Association of Cereal Chemists International (AACCI)
is meeting this week in Europe, where experts from the
international cereals and grains industry are discussing latest
developments in grain-based science and technology.
Danisco is launching a new emulsifier and stabilizer
system for vegetable-based whipping cream, which it says
has benefits compared with both with dairy cream and other
vegetable alternatives.
French supplier Euringus is introducing a new organic pea fibre to
its ingredient range, which it expects will help food makers meet
demand for fibre-enriched products in Europe in the light of
consumer campaigns.
Chocolate giants Hershey and Barry Callebaut, have teamed up for a
landmark partnership which will see the Swiss cocoa producer
providing the raw material for Hershey's chocolate products and
expanding facilities in South America.
DSM Food Specialities is opening a new process flavour plant in
Xinghuo, China, which it says will expand its product range and
double capacity to make the Dutch company becomes the largest
process flavour maker in the world.
The Food and Drink Federation has said that many of its members are
clued up on waste- management issues, with programmes already in
place to reduce waste, minimise packaging, and increase recycling.
A major shift in agricultural methods and their environmental
impact is urgenty required to protect productivity and food
security in the future, the UN's Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO) warns today.
The UK's Food Standards Agency is planning a review of the Sudan I
incident, which led to a massive recall of food products containing
the illegal dye in February and March 2005, and is seeking comments
from interested parties.
The obesity epidemic has reached a crisis point, experts warn at
this week's European congress, and governments and the food
industry must gear up efforts to deal with it and prevent further
impact quality of life and life expectancy.
Frutarom is continuing its strategic shopping spree with the
acquisition of UK flavour firm Jupiter, less than a month after an
agreement to acquire Belmay.
Marketing strategies - two words that incorporate everything from
pseudo scientific research to shock value advertising campaigns.
But shouldn't honesty be the best policy?
British ingredient giant Tate & Lyle yesterday completed the
sale of its Canadian sugar refining business, as the firm makes
another step away from the commodity end of the market.
Royal Cosun has received long-awaited approval for its planned
acquisition of CSM Suiker, news that is welcomed not only by the
companies but also by sugar-beet growers.
Solanic is planning a one-day debate on the potential benefits of
vegetable protein and whether functional barriers that presently
lead some companies to plump for animal protein may be overcome.
A range of development projects, from functional dairy proteins to
cheddar cheese, will benefit from a multi-million euro investment
in Ireland's dairy industry, the country's government has
announced.
Danisco is adding a new ingredient to its Dimodan NH line of
emulsifiers to tap further into the move towards hydrogenation-free
products - this time in oil and fat applications like as margarines
and spreads.
In the first of a new series of exclusive interviews, Professor Peter van Bladeren, Nestlé's director of science and research, tells Stephen Daniells how collaboration is key to innovation at the Nestlé Research Center.
The agreements just keep rolling in for Probi after the probiotic
company announced a new license agreement with an unnamed, but
well-established European food company.
European private label food and beverage brands are likely to
increase their penetration in most markets over the next five
years, says a new report, but lessons could be learned from the UK,
where the potential has been most extensively...