Ending months of speculation, hungry US ingredients firm Cargill
strengthens pectin, lecithin and flavour positions, agreeing today
to buy the food ingredients unit of German chemical giant Degussa.
New yeast blends to help vintners enhance flavour as they make
wines with ever higher alcohol content have been developed by
international ingredients firm Chr Hansen.
Record oil prices bite hard into earnings for ingredients firms
with Degussa, Germany's third largest chemicals group, warning of
the impact a one dollar price rise for crude oil can have on the
firm's books.
As a warning of safety procedures at flavour firms, a former
popcorn-plant worker in the US has been awarded $15 million (€12m)
after a jury found exposure to butter-flavouring fumes led to his
severe respiratory problems.
Alumni of the food ingredients world will gather in Paris this
November at the FI Europe show, with suppliers demonstrating their
wares in a roll call of launches.
Opportunities in the mature enzyme market lie in developments,
driven by biotechnology, that provide food and beverage makers with
the right tools to meet consumer trends, claims a new report.
Cognis has launched a new enzyme range that promises to improve the
production of short-shelf-life yeast-raised baked goods and save
food makers money.
Cash, cash, cash. Castigated as simple asset-strippers out to make
a quick buck, the entrance of private equity onto the food industry
stage has participants chattering in the wings.
Kraft Foods, one of the world's largest food producers, has begun
selling melted cheese in Russia and has an aggressive expansion
plan to become a leading player within seven years.
Consumers opt to buy organic food because it tastes better, so
claims a recent survey from the UK's organic body the Soil
Association, putting increasing pressure on the food makers to
perfect their formulations.
Number two UK supermarket Asda becomes the latest food player to
slice salt from foods, announcing plans to cut the salt from its
entire range of tinned vegetables.
Arla's switch of production from the EU to Saudi Arabia will save
the firm money and help it to benefit from the Middle East's
significant potential for high value diary products.
Prices for the omnipresent beverage and confectionery ingredient
coffee leapt this week after flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina
put inventories of beans in New Orleans at risk.
Danish company Chr Hansen has shored up its lead in the dairy
cultures business after doubling capacity at its plant in France,
now said to be the world's largest.
As Hurricane Katrina hammers the US state of Louisiana damaging
corn and soybean crops in its wake and creating bullish trading in
the energy markets, the storm could actually benefit food crops
located further north, affecting global...
Arla Foods' factory re-jig paid off this week as the group signed a
joint-venture deal with China's leading dairy firm to get its added
value milk powder products into one of the world's fastest emerging
dairy markets.
The state of California is suing nine top food manufacturers over
their reluctance to issue warnings that some popular snacks could
contain a potential cancer-causing chemical.
The rise in trademarking food products in the UK serves as
indication the industry remains on top of the game, as processors
and retailers attempt to meet consumers' demands.
Reporting good sales and profits growth in the first six months of
2005, ingredients and food products maker Kerry said today it is
still on the prowl for what it describes as further"bolt-on"
acquisitions.
All round gains in flavours, speciality, and dairy ingredients help
Irish ingredients group Kerry face "highly competitive trading
conditions" and contribute to the 12.8 per cent rise in first-half
profit.
Attempts by the Russian government to bolster the domestic yeast
industry by raising taxes on imports have been dented by a lack of
trust in local supplies.
Praise where praise is due. And it is certainly due for one
small-time drinks firm in southern Britain, which is spear-heading
answers to global water shortages that threaten to wreak havoc on
food producers everywhere.
Strenghtening supply chain number one enzyme supplier Novozymes
will consolidate its numerous distributor agreements in Europe
under one firm, ingredients and additive distributor Fiske.
As prices for hazelnuts, two-thirds of which are sourced from
Turkey, slowly start to recover following global shortages,
pistachio production also shows signs of improvement following last
year's frosts.
The EU provides the largest amount of trade-distorting support to
farmersas measured by dollar value, with the US a distant second
and Japan adistant third, according to a report this month bythe US
government's Congressional...
German-based ingredients firm Nutrinova passes raw material and
energy price rises onto the market, announcing double-digit price
hike for its sorbate products, used increasingly by food developers
to preserve foods such as cheese...
Hazelnut prices remain at all time highs but the imminent crop from
key producer Turkey could offer some stability to snack makers and
confectioners impacted by the record highs.
Core business segments, including food ingredients, contribute to
an 18 per cent leap in quarterly profit for expanding, and
ambitious, US firm Cargill.
Investing in faster tools to fight the risk of food contamination,
the venture capital arm of leading ingredients firm Danisco will
pour more funds into German technology company Profos.
Tapping into lucrative opportunities for the growing organic
processed food market, Danish ingredients firm Chr Hansen rolls out
a package of flavours, colours and dairy cultures for organic
processors.
Leading Dutch lactic acid supplier is believed to be in discussions
to expand its presence in the East with plans to build an acid
plant in Thailand that uses sugar as a raw material.
Dairy group Arla Foods, under pressure from intense cost pressures,
will cut staff and production at a speciality milk powder plant in
Denmark to help salvage full-year profits.
Consumer demand for natural foods or products without synthetic or
chemical preservatives has led European processors to pile into the
market with a wave of new offerings, according to research produced
by Mintel.
Ten mega trends stretching from age to individualism will determine
the success and shape of any new products to hit the market in the
near future, claims market analysts Datamonitor.
Strong growth for soy-based alternatives to dairy and meat products
on the back of rising consumer health concerns sees the assured
European market hitting €1.6 billion in 2004.
Nestle, the world's largest food company, depended on its pet
business, beverages and ice creams to keep overall sales growth
humming at 5.2 per cent during the first half of the year, although
Europe remained sluggish at 1.5...
In among the hollers about obesity and the concerns over nutrition,
food companies now need to work hard to ensure they clinch public
trust, as a matter of insurance. This means more than compliance on
traceability and labeling. This...
With sales growth up and operating profit down in the second
quarter, Belgian supermarket and food group Delhaize serves up
another sign to processors that their western European market is in
direstraits.