The latest Fairtrade products to hit the UK market are organic
bananas, distributed by the British arm of Dutch company AgroFair.
The fruit is already being sold in one of the leading organic
supermarkets there.
Company results continue today with US ingredients company MGP
Ingredients reporting net losses for the third quarter ended 31
March 2003 due to a combination of factors including higher energy
costs and the lack of expected funds...
Despite a testing global economic climate, sales remained steady
and earnings before interest and taxes rose for German speciality
chemicals company Degussa in the first quarter of 2003. But guarded
optimism remains for 2003.
Somerfield continues on the road to recovery with a slight rise in
like-for-like sales in the last year. The steady progress made by
the company over the last few months is only likely to increase
speculation about takeover bids.
Cognis B.V., a subsidiary of the Henkel Group, has entered the
botanical extracts market with the acquisition of Spanish company
Laboratorios Dr. Vinyals...
High dosages of vitamins and minerals taken over a long period of
time could cause permanent damage to your health and may lead to
cancer, warns the UK Food Standards Agency this week in a statement
set to provoke a vociferous reaction...
The extent of the accounting fraud at US Foodservice, a subsidiary
of Dutch group Ahold, was greater than originally thought, the
company reported yesterday. Initial estimates of $500m were low:
the actual figure is nearer $880m.
The European Commission has proposed new regulations allowing
Member States to grant aid for research and development (R&D)
to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), without having to
first apply for clearance from the Commission,...
Ingredients developer zuChem this week announced that it has raised
a considerable chunk of capital in order to develop new methods to
manufacture alternative sweeteners.
The UK Competition Commission has released an issues statement
concerning its investigation into the proposed acquisition of the
Safeway retail group. Among the matters still to be investigated
are whether any of the deals would lead...
No more browning in cut lettuce, or so scientists in the US would
have us believe following the development of a new technology.
Their discovery could shortly have an impact on the $2 billion
(€1.76) bagged salad industry in the US,...
In a bid to meet increasing demands from sponge cake manufacturers
for a healthier version of their traditionally calorific products,
French starch derivative manufacturer Cerestar, now under the wings
of US giant Cargill, claims...
Overcapacity continues to affect the organic food industry with a
new report from UK market analysts Organic Monitor that reveals
large volumes of organic meat products are coming into a market
that is showing slowing growth rates.
Food from Britain is to receive an additional £3m to help promote
awareness of the wide diversity of regional British food and drink
products, both within the UK and in key international markets.
Food Safe, a wholly owned subsidiary of publicly traded Aquentium,
has filed a patent application with the United States Patent and
Trademark Office for its proprietary food sanitisation process.
The frustration of suffering the drip-drip effect of an ice lolly
on a hot summer day may well be over as food ingredients giant
Danisco hails the launch of the non-drip ice lolly, Ice Dreams.
Calls for the creation of a new European funding structure totally
dedicated to research gained in volume this week with the release
of a new report from scientists in the EU.
After a turbulent few years and the wholesale sell off a number of
businesses, Portugal's Jeronimo Martins retail group appears to be
on the road to recovery.
Operating profit for Danish enzyme company Novozymes improved
marginally in the first quarter of 2003, despite the impact of
unfavourable exchange rates. On the back of favourable developments
in net financials, the company reports...
The European Commission believes that the results of the Electronic Identification of Animals (Idea) project, presented yesterday, confirm the feasibility of electronically tagging cattle, sheep and goats.
Netherlands-based Royal Schouten Group has merged four of its food
and health ingredients companies to form Acatris. The merger
involves Daminco, Orffa Health & Nutrition, Schouten USA and
SoyLife Nederland.
GlaxoSmithKline, the pharmaceutical and healthcare group, is to
relaunch its Plenty juice drink brand just six months after it was
withdrawn from sale. But has the company got the product
positioning right this time, asks market analysts...
Dairy group Arla Foods, in the news for the second time this week, in partnership
with German sugar manufacturer Nordzucker, has started production
of Gaio tagatose in a custom-built plant located near Hannover,
Germany
The pursuit of genome sequencing continues with the news this week
that scientists from seven nations have revealed the genome
sequence of the bread mould Neurospora crassa.
Adding to a growing body of evidence that suggests environmental
pollution may have an impact on the proportion of male births
around the world, a new study from the US states that women exposed
to polychlorinated biphenyls may be...
Krest'yanskoe, a Soviet-era brand produced by a number of different
companies, remains the most popular brand of butter in Russia, but
its popularity is coming under increasing pressure from
international brands such as Anchor...
The outbreak of the deadly lung infection SARS in Asia is starting
to impact on Arla Foods' sales in the area, the Scandinavian
company reported this week.
The UK's independent scientific Committee on Toxicity (COT) is
urging the government to review its advice on the use of soya-based
infant formulas, following a new report suggesting that there is a
lack of evidence on phytoestrogens...
Findings from a massive European-based study published in this
week's The Lancet suggest that a high fibre diet could
considerably protect us against against colorectal cancer. The
results dispute a mounting body of evidence...
The leading US producer of kettle chips, Cape Cod Potato Chips, is
to extend its presence in the European arena via a deal with
Ireland's Largo Food Exports. Top of the list are Ireland, France,
Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Natural ingredient manufacturer Kemin Foods last week voiced its
support for the US Food and Drug Administration's new initiative to
strengthen labelling, manufacturing and product quality
requirements for the dietary supplement...
A new Future Store concept from Germany's Metro group was unveiled
last week, packed with all the latest electronic features designed
to make shopping easier for the consumer and category management
simpler for the retailer....
Qibla Cola, the UK-based drinks group which claims to offer Muslims
an alternative to US brands, has launched a number of new products
this week. But are they just another set of me-too products,
despite the company's posturing?
After a period of silence, the European Food Safety Authority
(EFSA) commented on Thursday that its newly appointed management
board had selected a number of scientific experts to make up the
EFSA's yet to be formed Scientific...
German enzyme company AB Enzymes, a subsidiary of ABITEC Group, the
food ingredient and specialty chemicals group, announced this week
that it has acquired Gamma Chemie, a German-based enzyme business.
With the imminent arrival of European enlargement, the welcoming
yesterday of 162 observers from candidate countries into the
European Parliament marked a significant step forward towards full
integration. The Confederation of the...
Following the results of a recent survey, the UK Food Standards
Agency (FSA) this week advised parents to give no more than three
beakers (approximately 180ml each) per day of dilutable soft drinks
or squashes containing the sweetener...
Implicit vote for the celebrated, and some might say controversial
Atkins diet, with new evidence that suggests a high-protein diet
containing mostly meat does not have adverse effects on women's
ability to retain calcium.
Four of the five potential bidders for UK supermarket chain Safeway
have this week been presenting their cases to the Competition
Commission. The heads of Tesco, Sainsbury, Asda and Morrisons all
took at turn at highlighting why their...
Proof that the UK consumer is still very partial to a snack or two
comes in the form of new research from market analysts Mintel that
reveals in 2002, the UK accounted for a whacking 51 per cent of
total value sales of savoury snacks,...
In a bid to increase European competitity in the global research
arena the European Commission announced new measures destined to
encourage public and private players across Europe to upgrade their
research effort.
A harbinger of problems likely to arrive when new tougher European
legislation on genetically modified foods enters into law, arrived
with the findings of a recent survey on GM foods that highlighted
the fact that a small section...
Robertet, the French flavours and perfume group, announced on
Monday strong financial growth for the fourth year running. For the
year 2000 the company...
