Archives for March 1, 2004

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Tesco well ahead of the online retailing pack

Tesco, Britain's leading food retail group, has made no secret of its global ambitions, with fast growing businesses in eastern Europe and Asia complementing its number one status in its home market. But Tesco already has one world-beating business -...

Soft drinks boast hard sales

Germany is Europe's largest soft drink market with the UK following fast behind, reports a new study that predicts consumption will soar to 186 litres per person per year by 2007.

Fighting salt in UK consumer diet

Meeting calls to cut the salt content manufacturers in the UK have committed to a programme that will aim to reduce salt in processed foods such as soups, pizzas and ready meals, according to the food industry body, the Food and Drink Federation.

GM ruling hits exporters

Exporters of genetically modified (GM) food suffered a setback this week when an international conference on biotech safety agreed to impose stricter labelling requirements on such products. The US, which is the largest exporter of GM products, has...

Ahold confirms Wal-Mart takeover of Bompreco

Dutch retail group Ahold has confirmed that its Brazilian unit Bompreco has been bought by giant US retailer Wal-Mart, bringing to an end several months of negotiations and clearing the way for the sale of its other Brazilian unit, G Barbosa.

Rewe planning rapid growth after excellent 2003

With Germany mired in one of the worst post-war recessions, the excellent 2003 performance of Cologne-based retail group Rewe was something of a novelty. But the group is clearly confident that the performance will not be a one off, with plans for a...

Somerfield launches loyalty card scheme

Somerfield, the UK supermarket group, has launched a new loyalty card scheme under the Saver name, offering customers a range of promotions and money-off coupons tailored to their shopping patterns.

Carbonates losing their fizz?

Bottled water, new age beverages and energy drinks are driving growth in the global soft drinks market, but carbonates are losing their appeal, according to a new report from market analysts Datamonitor.

Solae launches TV campaign to raise profile of soy protein

The Solae company has launched a multi-million dollar television advertising campaign to build consumer awareness of its soy protein brand and steal sales of meat products, currently increasing with the popularity of high protein, low carbohydrate diets.

Diet deals with ado diabetes

Can a high-protein, low-carbohydrate, very low calorie diet be an effective tool for the short-term treatment for obese adolescents with type 2 diabetes? According to new research from the US, yes.

Sliding scale for organics?

Leaked minutes from the UK government show that it is planning to enforce different levels of GM contamination for different organic food if GM crops are grown commercially in the UK, says UK organic body, the Soil Association.

Price rises for synthetic vanilla

Proof that soaring price rises are not only branded in the hard pushed natural vanilla market with the news this week that Norwegian ingredients company Borregaard Synthesis has hiked up the price for its line of synthetic vanillin products.

Sudan red alert

A screening method to identify a series of banned food dyes has been developed in the UK. The move comes in response to the European Commission's attempts to prevent the importation of products containing four chemicals known as Sudan Red I, Sudan Red...