Mexican soft drinks firm Coca-Cola Femsa said Monday it planned to
use its strong cash balance as a "war chest" for the possible
acquisition of smaller bottlers.
US sensory analysis firm Arthur D. Little Inc. has created the
first reduced fat ice cream containing omega-3 long chain
polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) from fish oils.
Carrefour SA, the French supermarket giant, unveiled plans to build
a major procurement and distribution centre in the southern Chinese
province of Guangdong.
The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is currently reviewing
a food-contact notification for use of irradiation with ethylene
vinyl alcohol, a substance used in plastic packaging films.
Altus Foods, a functional foods joint venture between Quaker Oats
and Novartis Consumer Health, has launched a line of foods designed
to lower cholesterol.
The world's biggest bottled water companies are pouring into Mexico
where notoriously polluted and unhealthy tap water has created one
of the world's most vibrant markets for H2O in bottles.
The Philippines' top food and beverage conglomerate, San Miguel
Corp, is currently in talks with the management of Tanduay Holdings
Inc. to buy the rum manufacturer.
China is now the world's largest beer producer, however its output
of barley has dropped and barley's price has risen by a margin of
10 per cent in one year.
Researchers in the Netherlands have found that apples, pears and
other fruits rich in certain plant compounds may help protect the
lungs from chronic disease.
Philippine food firm RFM Corp said on July 26 that its board has
approved in principle the sale of a stake in Cosmos Bottling Corp
to the country's food and beverage conglomerate, San Miguel Corp.
Burger King Corp. said that parent company Diageo Plc will transfer
some foreign assets to Burger King in the event of a public
offering of the hamburger chain's stock, in order to ease the
company's transition to independence.
French food group Danone reported a 6.5 per cent rise in first-half
profit on Wednesday and an advance in operating margins despite
higher raw materials costs.
A French supermarket chain said on Wednesday it was withdrawing
pasta noodles from some of its 440 shops nationwide after finding
traces of rat poison in one batch.
Kikkoman Corporation received a US patent for a proanthocyanidin
derived from grape seed extract, and an isoflavones from soy sauce
cake extract, to be incorporated into food.
UK government officials said on Wednesday they had started to
review compensation payments to farmers hit by Britain's
foot-and-mouth epidemic amid concern over valuations of slaughtered
livestock.
French dairy cooperative Groupe Sodiaal on Wednesday denied media
reports it was planning to sell its Yoplait yoghurt business and
had contracted bankers Rothschild & Cie to see through a sale.
H. J. Heinz Company and Kagome Company Limited of Japan signed
agreements for a strategic alliance whose goal is to enable both
companies to explore ways to align their global operations and
product portfolios to accelerate sales...
Cadbury Schweppes Plc, British confectionery and soft drinks group,
wrapped up on July 24 an expected deal to buy Spain's La Casera
from the Iberian Beverages Group for Euro 117 million.
17 US states said they have entered into a second agreement with
the French-German biotechnology group Aventis CropScience to
compensate farmers whose corn was tainted by the company's
gene-altered StarLink variety.
The French government on Tuesday adopted measures to prevent the
spread of disease among sheep and goats and lowered the age
threshold for "mad cow" disease testing of cattle entering the food
chain.
Merko Gida, the Turkish food and beverage producer announced on
July 24 that it would establish a joint venture with French
beverage group Pernod Ricard.
According to Australian researchers, campaigns to reduce heart
disease by promoting polyunsaturated margarines and cooking oils
could be partly responsible for the recent dramatic increase in
childhood asthma in the developed world.
Archer Daniels Midland Co. said on Monday that fiscal
fourth-quarter net earnings fell 6 per cent as the company took a
hit on higher energy costs and losses from some securities
transactions.
The Philippines' leading food conglomerate San Miguel Corp said on
Tuesday it was still discussing the purchase of soft drinks firm
Cosmos Bottling Corp with RFM Corp.
Cott Corporation announced on July 23 that it has completed its
acquisition of certain Royal Crown assets from Cadbury Schweppes
plc for approximately $94 million.
The Tea Packers Association (TPA) and the United Kingdom Tea
Association have merged to form a single trade association. The new
group will operate under the name of the UK Tea Association.
Solid results in its soft-drinks bottling business were expected to
offset weakness in packaging and retail units to give Mexican
brewer and bottler Femsa moderate second-quarter growth, analysts
said.
PepsiCo, Inc. announced that it completed its plan to acquire
Tasali Snack Foods, the leader of the Saudi Arabian salty snack
market, from Savola Snack Foods.
Potent LDL cholesterol-lowering activity and other
anti-inflammatory, antiviral and neuroprotective properties have
been shown in animal studies and human clinical trials of a class
of phytochemicals extracted from sugar cane wax.
After a round of tests on the safety of unapproved StarLink corn as
animal feed, the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries has found no evidence of health risks from pigs fed on
the biotech product.
US food giant Sara Lee Corp. on Thursday said it is voluntarily
recalling about 13,600 pounds of Sara Lee and Quality Packing
sliced, packaged lunch meats because the products may contain the
Salmonella bacteria.
U.K. research published on Thursday said that an entrenched sheep
disease, scrapie, could have triggered mad cow disease, whose human
form has killed more than 100 people, primarily in Britain.
Wine lovers should soon be able to profit from their passion for
France's favorite tipple with the launch on the Paris stock
exchange of a futures contract for fine Bordeaux wines.
Dutch food group Koninklijke Wessanen nv announced the acquisition
of Canadian health food company Preisco Foods Ltd. and Jentash
Specialty Foods Limited Partnership.
The Australia New Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA) called for a
second round of public consultation for the irradiation of herbs,
spices, herbal infusions, peanuts, almond, cashews and pistachio
nuts.
Saint Louis Sucre (SLS) said it would fight in court to force the
Polish state treasury to sell it Poland's biggest sugar group,
Slaska Spolka Cukrowa, under a deal signed last year.
