Dutch company Acatris, formed recently following a merger between
four Royal Schouten businesses, established its new name with the
launch of a lignan product at last week's VitaFoods trade fair in
Geneva, Switzerland.
Britain's number two grocery retailer J Sainsbury has reported
full-year figures which show that it is steadily gaining ground on
arch rival Tesco. Store expansion and cost cutting programmes
helped lift pre-tax profits by 16.8...
A new system for reporting deadweight pig prices is about to be launched in the UK which will bring benefits to the whole industry, according to the Meat and Livestock Commission (MLC).
Following a proposal from the European Commission to allow the use
of two new intense sweeteners - sucralose and an
aspartame-acesulfame - the European Competitiveness Council gave
the all clear on Monday, reaching a political agreement...
Despite a year of protracted low prices together with high stocks
and poor demand the Irish Dairy Board (IDB) reported satisfactory
financial results for 2002 with a turnover from continuing
operations increasing by 1.4 per cent to...
Agilent Technologies has announced a new AgBiotech business
programme that incorporates elements of the gene expression,
agricultural and food safety industries.
"Maintaining unrestricted entry for imports of milk protein
concentrates (MPC) and casein," is a top priority for the
Consumers for World Trade (CWT), according to a letter sent to the
US Congress by the CWT, writes the...
Despite an increase in sales UK flavour and fragrance company
Treatt described trading for the six months to 31 March 2003 as
'challenging' this week, with profit before tax falling by
24 per cent to £955,000 (€1.3m) compared...
New proposals governing the humane slaughter of animals in the UK could have huge implications for Jewish and Muslim communities, as well as the British meat processing industry as a whole.
A new European project is set to explore how the nutrition and
health trend could shape the business and regulatory environment in
the next few decades.
Auchan, the French food retailer, has reported sales for 2002 only
marginally affected by exchange rate concerns due mainly to its
growing focus on core eurozone markets.
Irish consumers concerned about the presence of GM ingredients will
be assured by the results of a recent survey commissioned by Food
Safety Authority of Ireland that set out to identify foods
containing GM maize and/or soya ingredients...
News again today on inulin with Sensus America, a subsidiary of
Dutch company Sensus, announcing that the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) has given inulin Generally Regarded As Safe
(GRAS) status. The move could provide inulin...
The Australian government is to provide a total of A$2.8 million
(€1.5m) over four years to strengthen food safety standards in
Australia, through the development of new Primary Production and
Processing (PPP) Standards and information...
In a market valued at €140 billion, the consumption of food and
drink in the European workplace provides manufacturers with the
potential to create products that meet three key criteria -
quality, convenience and health.
The latest research into the beneficial impact of peptides in
fermented milk might have on lowering consumer's blood pressure
brings good news for manufacturers of drinking yoghurts.
After years of restrictions related to BSE and FMD, as well as
unfavourable economic conditions caused by the strength of
sterling, British food and drink exports rose for the first time
since 1998 last year. A continued focus on...
The British Retail Consortium has reacted strongly to the latest
moves by food producers to reduce salt in food, calling for less
rhetoric and more action. The BRC has called on the UK government
to set achievable targets for sodium...
US-based bio protection firm EnviroSystems has received clearance
from the US Environmental Protection Agency for expanding its range
of EcoTru products.
Cognis Nutrition and Health used the Vitafoods exhibition taking
place in Geneva, Switzerland this week as the right platform to
launch its Tonalin CLA to the European market.
Ahold's troubles continued in the first quarter of the current year
with sales dropping 11 per cent compared to 2002, mainly due to
exchange rate declines. But organic growth at most units was solid,
a small ray of hope for the...
With impeccable timing in light of the US move earlier this week to
file a case with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over the EU ban
on biotech foods, a recent report from Washington, DC, based
International Food Information Council...
NSF International, a global not-for-profit NGO that provides public
health and safety risk solutions, has announced details of the
second global congress on hygienic coatings and surfaces.
Europe's sheep population fell by four per cent last year, according to figures released from the EU's December sheep census. Within the major sheep-rearing countries however, the rate of decline varied greatly.
Researchers in the US are claiming that that a combination of high
temperature and high pressure during the preparation of processed
meats may reduce the presence of infective prions.
In response to increasing demands from the consumer and health
bodies to reduce salt consumption in the diet, the UK Food and
Drink Federation (FDF), has launched an action plan to cut salt in
breakfast cereals, soups and sauces....
The humble, yet nutritious, raisin could well be the next rival to
sodium nitrite in the food preservative stakes, claim researchers
from the US this week who have just completed research on the
celebrated beef jerky.
There are numerous potential candidates to acquire the South
American operations of the troubled Ahold group, but as market
analysts Euromonitor point out, such an acquisition would not be
without considerable risks. The debate is...
A wide range of products are on display at this week's Vitafoods
exhibition in Geneva. One such product is edible film strips, a
novel delivery system from Watson Foods.
The latest full year results for Safeway - probably the last before
the company is bought out by one of its rivals - were solid if
hardly spectacular, as the uncertainty over the future ownership of
the group took its toll on store...
Where would we be without bread? Believed to have first been
enjoyed by our palates over 8,000 years ago, this simple product
with its roots in the land has far from lost its star appeal.
Dr Franz Fischler, the leading light behind reform proposals to the
Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), continued on his crusade to
guarantee the quality of food in Europe with a persuasive speech at
an informal meeting of EU Ministers...
So, they went ahead and did it anyway. Despite imminent changes to
the European legislation on genetically modified organisms (GMOs),
re-iterated by EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy just this week,
the US has gone ahead and filed...
Jim Miller, the head of Ahold's US Foodservice arm, has finally
stood down from the post he has held since 1997 after coming under
increasing pressure to carry the can for the accounting scandal
which has rocked the unit in recent...
Research continues into the potential impact of maternal caffeine
consumption on baby weight with news this week that scientists from
the UK universities of Leicester and Leeds have been commissioned
to explore the phenomenon.
Following the possible outbreak of avian influenza in Germany last week, the European Commission has decided to reinforce the control measures already put in place by German authorities.
As the enlargement of the EU draws ever closer, the impact that this process will have on pork producers and processors within the new Member States is becoming a pressing concern.
RhodiaFood, part of French speciality chemicals company Rhodia,
recently announced that it would hike up the price of its Rhodigel
food grade xanthan gum by 10 per cent.
Spanish consumers appear to have shrugged off the concerns about
the safety of meat related to the BSE scandal. The meat sector
posted the biggest increase in per capita consumption last year,
according to a recent survey.
The food industry, consumers and politicians in Europe are alive to
the sound of three words - genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
Barely a day goes by without a reference to this controversial
aspect of biotechnology. And the...
Tesco is now one of the world's top 10 grocery retailers, and is by
far the fastest growing company in the field. And, according to a
new report by M+M Planet Retail, the British number one has the
right growth strategy to see...
The World Health Organisation, the body that recently tasted the
wrath of the US sugar industry when it published a report into diet
and health that set a ceiling of 10 per cent for sugar consumption
in an overall diet, welcomed the...
An EU funded project is building the critical mass of knowledge
required to ensure that Europe meets the Lisbon objective of
becoming the world's most competitive knowledge-based economy by
2010, reports Cordis.
Courts in Portugal and Lithuania have ruled in favour of Czech
brewer Budweiser Budvar in its ongoing battle with the world's
largest brewer Anheuser-Busch, respecting Budvar's geographical
claims to the Budweiser name.
The US Government's food safety leader, Elsa Murano, has said that
despite irradiation being an effective way to maintain the safety
of meats, companies are still slow on the uptake.