The gastronomic delights of Christmas appear to be the focus of
current research at the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA). Earlier
this week we reported on a recent study of dried fruit - destined
for mince-pies and Christmas pudding....
A $2.4 million (€2.4m) research grant from the US Department of
Energy (DOE) will allow the National Corn Growers Association,
Archer Daniels Midland and the Department of Energy's Pacific
Northwest National Laboratory to continue...
"HACCP is nothing without trainers," declared Dagmar Engel, HACCP
trainer and consultant from Germany, at the recentInternational
Food Safety Focus conference, co-hosted by the Chartered Institute
of Environmental Health,...
The Australian competition watchdog accuses biscuit, bread and
cake-maker George Weston Foods, and one of its former senior
executives, of fixing the price of flour.
Food manufacturers took a further battering this week when the UK
Consumers' Association (CA) released new research, as part of its
Honest Labelling campaign, that suggests the public continues to be
misled by inadequate food...
'Impractical and unenforceable,' is how the European food
and drink association, the CIAA, last week condemned the new EU
legislation on the labelling of genetically modified organisms in
food. We spoke with Dr Geraldine...
Food companies figure prominently in a new survey of the most
admired companies in New Zealand. Out of the top ten places, five
were devoted to food businesses, the NFO/Porter Novelli report
reveals.
Eating too much refined bread and cereal may be at the root of the
teenage acne suffered by almost all adolescents in the developed
world, according to a report in this month's New Scientist
which reveals new US research.
As the season of mincepies and Christmas pudding approaches, the UK
Food Standards Agency finds that dried fruit products - the star
ingredient at Christmas time - are within the legal limits for a
toxic substance called ochratoxin...
Trail blazers in e-commerce UK retailer Tesco announced this week
that for the first time ever booming online grocery sales have
reached more than £10 million (€15.6m) in a week - an encouraging
portent for yuletide spending.
Healthy eating may be a burgeoning market but consumers still need,
and will pay for, a treat, reveals a new report on the UK dairy
market from Datamonitor. The report finds that although the
consumption of fats and spreads will decrease,...
Euromonitor continues its analysis of UK retailers with a look this
week at media means and private brands. According to the report, UK
retailers Tesco and Sainsbury's are leveraging the trust consumers
have in their brands to...
Changing consumption of normal cheese to cheese made from vegetable
oils can reduce cholesterol levels in some people, report
scientists in Finland who found that rapeseed oil-based cheese
could be a healthy alternative to normal...
Food safety issues may be increasing in Europe but according to a
recent study of people's diets, levels of a group of harmful
chemicals have fallen in food during the past 20 years.
Hispanic-style cheese made in Mexico may provide US scientists at
the Agricultural Research Service with a better scientific
understanding of how to improve the overall quality of cheese in
general.
We reported last week on the work of a group of European scientists
that is jointly developing a biosensor for the detection of gluten
in food in order to help sufferers of coeliac disease - currently
affecting some 1 million Europeans....
A further step marking the importance of the traceability of GMOs
in Europe was made yesterday when the European Research
Commissioner Philippe Busquin inaugurated a European network of
genetically modified organism (GMO) laboratories....
The quest for eternal youth continues with a new study underway in
Europe that will assess the role of fat-soluble vitamins A and E
and carotenoids in the human ageing process.
A European funded project currently underway will seek to
facilitate the assessment of exposure to a range of food chemicals
- to include food additives, pesticides and nutrients, in a bid to
meet the growing need for food safety...
A new product will be launched later today in the US which could
revamp the flagging gin market there. Wet by Beefeater is a
pear-infused premium gin which Allied Domecq hopes will give it a
major boost in the one area of the market...
It's official - despite massive efforts to promote the 5-a-day
message - the average UK consumer is still not eating enough fruit
and veg. According to a national survey, less than one in seven
people eat the recommended five...
Eating food cooked with oil need not be as unhealthy as it was
before, claims US agribusiness giant ADM. The company has just
launched a new cooking oil which it claims can help combat obesity,
a growing problem in the US and elswhere.
The pressure on margins caused by the demands of the retail sector
is nothing new, but a recent survey of prices charged by four
supermarket chains in Spain has prompted one producers' association
to warn of economic meltdown.
As the European Commission proposes a more sustainable form of
agriculture with severe changes to the current Common Agricultural
Policy, a national study in the UK is echoing the sentiment and is
set to investigate ways of shortening...
Research into frozen foods that took place more than 40 years ago
will be recognised this week in a special ceremony to take place at
the US Department of Agriculture's Western Regional Research
Center. The research - known as...
Eating a diet with less fat and more carbohydrates could lead to a
modest but significant reduction in body weight - whatever the US
fad no-carbo Atkins diet claims. The question is, does the type of
carbohydrate, simple or complex,...
Is the phrase 'Have a Break' inextricably linked to the KitKat
confectionery brand? Well, no, at least according to the UK High
Court and US confectionery group Mars. But Nestle, the Swiss maker
of KitKat, is set to continue...
A new centre for Australian research into food technologies which
will aim to produce safer, more nutritious foods, was launched this
morning at Food Science Australia's facility in Werribee, Victoria.
Recruitment is over for the executive director of the new European
Food Safety Authority (EFSA) with the announcement yesterday that
Geoffrey Podger has had the all clear from the European
Parliament's Environment Committee -...
Soy proteins, nuts and oat-based fibres when consumed in
combination could dramatically reduce LDL , or 'bad' , cholesterol,
suggest new study from Canada.
Expanding the European Union to 25 members will undoubtedly improve
the lot of the consumers in the 10 new countries, providing the
legislative framework is in place to encourage investment, claimed
Tesco CEO Sir Terry Leahy yesterday....
Just 83 bottles of The Balvenie Cask 191 single malt have been
produced, making this the smallest ever release under the brand. A
bottle of the whisky, which was laid down in 1952, will set you
back more than €9,000.
In the same week that the agriculture Council cleared the way for
tougher GM legislation in Europe, the European Commission has
announced a new proposal that seeks to harmonise the use of food
additives in flavourings in order to...
UK flavour and fragrance company Treatt saw turnover increase 11
per cent for the year with a slight dip in pre-tax profit from
£2.83m in 2001, to £2.77m for 2002, the company reports today.
Investment in the USA is paying off.
Hectic lifestyles and increased snacking are reducing the average
office worker to ‘desk-dining’, reveals a new report from Reuters
Business Insight that examines our current lunchtime eating habits.
While the French like a tipple...
Health concerns are leading to increasing consumption of bottled
and bulk water, so much so in fact that water is set to overtake
carbonates as the leading soft drink within just three years,
according to a new report by Canadean.
Novartis is delaying the planned sale of its health food and
slimming and sports nutrition businesses due to a lack of
attractive offers in the current weak economy, the company said
last week.
European ministers have reached a political agreement on
genetically modified foods and feed, paving the way towards some of
the toughest legislation on GMOs in the world. Although a supporter
of GM labelling, the European food industry...
The premium private label products - both food and non-food - of
the leading UK retailers Tesco and Sainsbury are now worth more
than some of the brands they were originally created to emulate,
according to new data from Euromonitor.
