MEPs last week voted to adopt a contentious report calling for
rules to be established at the community level on the coexistence
of genetically modified (GM) crops with ordinary crops. A move that
squares up against the Commission...
German firm Loryma has been awarded distribution rights within
Europe for MGP Ingredients' food proteins and starches. The
agreement does not include the United Kingdom or Ireland, but does
extend to other countries such as Turkey,...
Hot on the heels of disappointing third quarter results, notably in
the colours division hit by weaker sales in the US, Sensient
Technologies has announced a round of cost cutting measures which
will include job losses.
The movement of foodstuffs within the European boundaries will be
changed forever once the next step towards an enlarged Europe takes
place. Food and Life Sciences lawyer Raymond O’Rourke takes us
through a detailed look at some of...
With tight new rules on traceability soon to hit European food
manufacturers and retailers, European food lawyer Raymond O'Rourke
examines the new legislation and the impact this will have on
industry. Of concern, O'Rourke...
Sales of cava, the Spanish sparkling wine, are likely to grow
substantially this Christmas as consumers across Spain raise a
glass to their loved ones, according to the head of the Consejo
Regulador del Cava, the body which regulates...
Czech food and cosmetics giant Setuza has said that it is gearing
up to spend a total of CZK 150 million (€4.6m) by the end of April
2004 on the reconstruction and modernisation of its plants in Usti
nad Labem and Olomouc.
Two of Scandinavia's leading retail groups announced last week that
they were to form a new joint venture in Latvia, Lithuania and
Estonia prior to those three countries joining the EU in May next
year.
Tetra Pak has been a pioneering force in the central and eastern
European food and beverage packaging sector. However, with
accession just around the corner a series of new challenges are
about to present themselves. We spoke to a...
Spain might well have a culinary heritage to rival that of France,
but like it trans-Pyrenean neighbour, consumption patterns have
been changing over the last few years, with more hectic lifestyles
(even in the land of the siesta)...
An innovative new food safety technique using a virus is set to win
an exclusive worldwide licence. This marks the first step towards
the commercialisation of this unusual process, a technique that a
UK scientist claims can explode...
The launch of a new low-fat version of Unilever Bestfood's
Hellmann's mayonnaise brand in the UK is the first step in the
company's bid to turn Hellman's into a 'master brand' over the next
five years...
The British are the biggest consumers of chocolate in Europe,
munching their way through more than 10 kg each every year. A
reflection of Britain's ongoing love affair with snacking - and
consumers' reluctance to choose...
In a bid to reinforce customer relations in Latin America, the
dairy ingredients business unit of DSM Food Specialties' has
expanded its presence in Latin America with the opening of a new
sales and customer services office in...
Ahold's worries
have hit the headlines throughout 2003, and while it now appears to
be on the road to recovery after revelations of fraud and losses of
€1 billion, it is still not all plain sailing for the Dutch
retailer.
Slovakia's sole salt producer Solivary, which is based in Presov,
in eastern Slovakia, has confirmed that it is to invest Slovak
crowns 700 million (€17 mn) in a new salt plant in Zbudza, near
Michalovce in eastern Slovakia.
Last week's dismissal of three executive board members at leading
Slovenian food manufacturer Droga has caused some degree of
consternation amongst the company's workers.
As the European Parliament delivers slices of the €99 billion
budget pie for next year, €45 bn earmarked for CAP and €400 million
for health and consumer protection, funding for science projects
confirmed.
An attempt by US-based brewing giant Anheuser-Busch
to keep Czech brewer Budejovicky Budvar from registering its name as a
European Community trademark was foiled by the Office for
Harmonisation in the Internal Market of the European...
Lactimilk, the subsidiary of Spanish group Ebro Puleva which
produces the Leyma, Ram and El Castillo brands, is to invest
between €36 and €45 million over the next three years in
relaunching all three brands.
Food products made with GM maize could soon be on the European
supermarket shelves despite the cynical consumer if policy-makers,
soon to take a decision on the sale of Syngenta's Bt11 GM maize ,
take a yes vote. A recent breakthrough...
Potatoes with low levels of reducing sugars could be the answer to
fighting the formation of the potentially carcinogenic compound
acrylamide in foods.
Scientists warn this week that our traditional christmas snack of
brazil nuts might not be for much longer if intensive harvesting
practices continue in 'persistently exploited' areas.
In response to an increasing worldwide demand for pectin, Danish
ingredients company Danisco is to expand its Czech production
capacity by 40 per cent to accommodate an expected growth rate of
5-6 per cent on the world market.
Calls by a number of consumer bodies tougher labelling on alcoholic
beverages have not fallen on deaf ears. No sooner had the National
Consumers League (NCL), the Center for Science in the Public
Interest (CSPI), and 67 other consumer...
This year has been one the most hectic in recent times for the
British supermarket sector, what with the year-long Safeway
takeover battle, Tesco and Co-op strengthening their positions in
the convenience store sector, Somerfield...
Tesco, the UK's
biggest supermarket group with 13 million customers, is to
introduce degradable carrier bags in all of its stores from next
year, the first UK retail group to take such a move.
Children should be strongly encouraged to regularly include
calcium-rich foods and drinks in their diets, report US
researchers, after a new study confirms the negative association
between the mineral and body fat. Increasing calcium...
US agri-giant Cargill is set to expand its gum manufacturing
capabilities in China. Working with its joint venture partner
Shandong Huanghelong Group, the company has announced a significant
capacity increase at its Zibo production...
China's soybean shopping team left for the US this week. Top of the
list? Contracts in the range of 1.5 million tonnes of soybeans,
predicts the Chinese government.
Following a year of investments in its production facility, leading
Hungarian pasta producer Soos Tesztagyarto, based in Vecses, near
Budapest, has said that it is now gearing up to increase its yearly
production to meet demand from...
Alongside the growing wealth of the average CEE consumer, the
region's food retail sector is growing at an unprecedented rate, a
recently published report finds. Fuelling that growth is the boom
in large-scale supermarket and...
Cencosud, the Chilean supermarket group, has ended its exclusive
talks with Dutch retailer Ahold over the acquisition of the
latter's Argentinian unit, Disco, after failing to reach an
agreement.
Carrefour, the biggest European retail group and the world's second
largest supermarket operator, is to begin a major overhaul of its
supply chain IT systems with its Asian operations.
Estonian state-owned cooking oil manufacturer Werol Tehased has
announced plans to launch a pilot project for the production
protein derived from rape seed oil. The company is also mulling
over a number of other projects, including...
Set against the backdrop of difficult trading conditions for
branded food manufacturers, raw material prices and a negative
currency impact played down first half figures for ingredients
giant Danisco.
Nearly a year after it was first announced, the takeover of Safeway
is now in its final phase following yesterday’s £3 billion updated
offer for the chain by Morrisons. But what effect will the takeover
have on the British retail...
Demand for functional ingredients in Europe is far from slackening
with European buyers set to reach 5 million by 2007. Ingredients
companies, such as J. Rettenmaier & Sons (JRS), are aiming to
keep pace with the demand, focusing...
'Extremely disappointing' is how New Zealand's agriculture minister
Jim Sutton yesterday described new European Union restrictions on
New Zealand butter imports.
Soft drinks are set to become the biggest beverage sector in the
world, overtaking hot drinks, with consumption rising by around 5
per cent a year, according to a new report from Zenith
International. But while the US remains the...
Functional food makers present in the UK market will reap the
rewards of consumers who are among the biggest spenders on
functional foods and drinks in Europe.
Following two years of political wranglings Europe's first food
safety agency finally has a permanent home in the city of Parma,
after Italy successfully fought off a strong bid from Helsinki. The
imminent challenge for the food...
Swiss healthcare firm Novartis said today it is to buy US-based
Mead Johnson's adult medical nutrition business for $385 million
(€312m) in cash, giving it a strong presence in the US retail
market.
With the recent acquisition of BRL Hardy, Constellation Brands has
become the world's largest wine producer, but faces a challenge to
maintain its leading share of the market intensifies from with
increased competition from US...
Central European Distribution Corporation has reduced its outlook
for the coming financial year because of a charge for the
re-evaluation of a deferred tax asset.
Carlsberg Breweries has again increased its shareholding in
thePolish brewer Carlsberg Okocim through the acquisition of a
further 6 per cent of its share capital.
Japanese seasonings company Ajinomoto moves deeper into the export
market for the food flavour enhancers - nucleotide seasonings -
unveiling a 6 billion yen factory in Thailand last week.
Set to fuel the debate on GM foods, a market experiment conducted
in 2000 in Canada found that consumers preferred sweetcorn which
had been engineered to be pest resistant over the conventional
sweet corn variety.