BASF Fine Chemicals division said this week that it will
temporarily suspend lysine production at its Gunsan, Korea plant
due to essential maintenance work. The lysine plant will be
shutdown at the beginning of August for up to 3...
The world's top cocoa processor, Swiss-based Barry Callebaut, said
on Tuesday that it had suspended efforts to take full control of
chocolate maker Stollwerck after minority shareholders in the
German firm filed a lawsuit against...
Swiss supplier of fragrance ingredients Givaudan has decided to
start a new share buy back programme of up to 800,000 registered
shares - representing 10 per cent of the share capital, announced
the board of directors this week.
Quite a week for nutritional oils supplier Martek Biosciences. In
the past seven days, the European Commission gave the green light
for the use of DHA/ARA in novel foods, paving the way for a range
of foodstuffs fortified with these...
Carrefour has fought off the increasing challenge from Metro and
Tesco to maintain its leadership of the European grocery reatil
market in 2002. Rewe, Wal-Mart and discount chains Aldi and Lidl
have all strengthened their positions,...
British tourists and expats on the Spanish island of Tenerife will
soon be able to find that increasingly British dish - curry - on
supermarket shelves there. Bombay Bangers is to begin exporting its
range of Indian convenience foods...
Intensive marketing and increased health preoccupations could both
be responsible for the mounting consumer awareness of fatty acids
in Australia and New Zealand and the favourable perception of
polyunsaturated 'good' fats...
Quite a week for nutritional oils supplier Martek Biosciences. In
the past seven days, the European Commission gave the green light
for the use of DHA/ARA in novel foods, paving the way for a range
of foodstuffs fortified with these...
US consumers can soon expect to see juices fortified with the
natural ingredient lutein on the supermarket shelves following an
agreement between ingredients company Kemin Foods and the Hain
Celestial group, the US natural foods company.
Can it be true ? Are the British - the nation of tea-lovers -
really turning down a cup of tea in favour of alternative beverages
? According to a new report from market analysts Datamonitor,
although the average Brit sips their way...
The 'fat cat' attitude of the UK's leading supermarket chain Tesco
has been criticised once again by Friends of the Earth, which
claimed that the chain had grown at the expense of both the
environment and the UK farming...
A global agreement to protect biodiversity and human health moved
one step further on Friday when Environment Ministers in the EU
formally adopted the regulation on the trans-boundary movements of
genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
The share of private label products on supermarket shelves around
the world continues to grow, as visitors to last month's World of
Private Label exhibition discovered.
Product innovation is nowhere more evident than in the dynamic
world of flavours. News this week from a leading UK brewer could
mark a new direction for ice cream flavours with Scottish Courage
announcing that the consumer can expect...
After a tough year in 2001, the French food industry returned to
growth last year, with sales up 2.1 per cent and a 3.8 per cent
improvement in the balance of trade. But the recovery is still
fragile, warns industry association ANIA.
After fighting off two hostile bids, including one which would have
seen 171 of its stores pass into the hands of rival Sainsbury, the
future of UK retailer Somerfield looks more stable. But the company
is likely to remain a takeover...
German retail group Kaufland is to buy 35 hypermarkets trading
under the Familia fascia from compatriot group Bremke &
Hoerster. The future of the latter's supermarket operations will be
decided soon.
In a bid to encourage a closer collaboration between citrus growers
and juice manufacturing customers, Cargill Citro Pure - a joint
venture between Cargill Citro-America, a subsidiary of agri-giant
Cargill, and 83 partners - has formed...
Rewe, the German retail and wholesale operator, has acquired its
Swiss counterpart Bon appétit, a move which will help Rewe
consolidate its position as the number three food retailer in
Europe.
Spanish olive oil processor Koipe is facing censure over alleged
price fixing after the country's competition authorities agreed
this week to investigate a claim made by the OCU consumer group.
After several difficult years, Marks & Spencer is now focusing
on innovation to sustain its recovery. Its successful Simply Food
format is to be trialled in motorway service stations, while the
self-checkout system will be rolled...
Ahead of testing negotiations, aimed at reaching a decision on the
reform proposals to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), that
start today at the Agriculture Council in Luxembourg, Agriculture
Commissioner Franz Fischler confirmed...
Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca continues to focus solely on its
pharma business with the news last week that it will sell UK Marlow
Foods - the producer of meat substitute Quorn - for £70 million
(€98.5m).
The UK arm of the German confectionery group Haribo is to launch a
new product, Maoam Mini's, and introduce a major promotion for fove
of its other major products during the key school holiday period.
Tesco's global ambitions are well known, and the British retailer
has today taken a further step on the road to world domination with
its first entry into the Japanese market via the acquisition of the
C Two-Network.
The issue of a tax on high-fat foods has hit the headlines again
this week with the British Medical Association expected to give its
support to calls for the introduction of VAT on products such as
biscuits or ready meals. But would...
Consumers are increasingly looking for products which are
inherently cool, and while clothing and footwear may be more
obviously fashionable than consumer packaged goods, marketers in
the food and drink industry are increasingly recognising...
Just a few months old, the recently formed alliance between US
agribusiness giant Bunge and DuPont Protein Technologies - Solae -
has already filed a complaint with a court in the US claiming that
the companies Archer Daniels Midland...
Danish ingredients company Danisco will expand its flavour creation
centres in The Netherlands and Belgium as part of the restructuring
of the flavour research and development facilities to improve
capabilities and efficiency.
Building on the progress made in 2002, British sweeteners and
starch group Tate & Lyle continues to move forward, reporting
an 18 per cent rise in annual profit on Thursday for the year ended
31 March 2003.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should require food
manufacturers to limit the amount of the potential carcinogen
acrylamide in their products, said the Center for Science in the
Public Interest (CSPI), a nonprofit US organisation,...
Germany's Tengelmann group has swapped 22 Kaisers supermarkets for
22 Spar outlets in Hungary, which it will convert to its Plus
discount format, which will now be the main focus of its
international growth.
French supermarket group Casino has announced that its US arm Smart
& Final is to sell its Florida-based foodservice and store
businesses in order to concentrate on its core operations in the
western United States.
Haribo Dunhills, the UK arm of the German confectionery group, is
to sponsor a motor racing team at a number of events in the UK this
summer - a good means of reaching its target audience of families
with children, it claims.
The functional foods sector offers strong growth opportunities for
the Irish food industry, according to Enterprise Ireland, a
government-funded development body which recently organised a trade
mission to Japan to assess its successful...
Far from slowing down, our desire to push the years back and stay
healthy is gaining in pace. Good news for food manufacturers
seeking an opportunity for growth. Mintel reveals the latest
functional drinks to hit the shelves.
Budgens has rolled out the first of its new-look convenience stores
under the Quickstop fascia, with all 33 of its Budgens Express
stores set to follow suit in the near future. But with bigger
players such as Tesco and Sainsbury moving...
Just six weeks after it rejected a first takeover bid on the
grounds that it undervalued the company, UK retailer Somerfield has
today turned down a second bid from the same parties on the same
grounds. But this is unlikely to be...
CSM, the parent of bakery ingredients company BakeMark
International, has boosted its fats capabilities for the Eastern
European market with the purchase of Unilever's Hungarian bakery
ingredients business. The new addition will...
Trade in spices is nothing new. After all, since the 15th century
ships laden with the smells of the Orient have navigated their way
to European shores. But Europe's penchant for ethnic foods is
taking on an insatiable upward...
Although privately the debate on whether genetically modified foods
should be present in our food chain has been roaring behind closed,
and sometimes open, doors, yesterday the UK government officially
announced the launch of the...
Soluble fibre, the rising star of the ingredients world, has
traditionally been found and consumed in solid foods such as
cereals, vegetables and fruits. A new generation of soluble fibres
- formulated by a number of ingredients...
Speciality chemicals group Cognis reported an organic sales growth
of €13.9 million for the first quarter, up 1.7 per cent from the
corresponding period for 2002. But sales down, largely impacted by
exchange rate outlay.
Despite tension on both sides of the Atlantic over genetically
modified foods, scientists in the US bring a note of optimism - and
common sense - to the debate, reporting this week that, for the
first time, parties on both sides of...
Sainsbury, the UK's second largest food retailer, is to extend its
partnership with Shell, bringing its Local convenience store format
to 100 petrol stations across Britain.
Japanese soy sauce giant Kikkoman is to forge ahead with plans to
expand in the US with the announcement this week that it has
earmarked $100-million (approx. €86m) for the expansion of its
plant in Walworth County in Wisconsin.
With coffee prices at a 30-year all time low, the International
Coffee Organisation and World Bank ended their round table last
week with a call to rich countries to share the burden of the
present coffee crisis.
