Set against the backdrop of difficult trading conditions for
branded food manufacturers, raw material prices and a negative
currency impact played down first half figures for ingredients
giant Danisco.
Researchers working in Canada have discovered that an optimal UV
irradiation system can be developed for individual food products,
taking into account the UV transmittance of each product. These
findings, published in the Journal...
They say technology never stays still. As if to prove this adage,
Vivid Learning Systems, a provider of web and intranet-based
compliance and regulatory training programmes, has just announced
its purchase of the website Foodsafety.com...
Nearly a year after it was first announced, the takeover of Safeway
is now in its final phase following yesterday’s £3 billion updated
offer for the chain by Morrisons. But what effect will the takeover
have on the British retail...
Demand for functional ingredients in Europe is far from slackening
with European buyers set to reach 5 million by 2007. Ingredients
companies, such as J. Rettenmaier & Sons (JRS), are aiming to
keep pace with the demand, focusing...
'Extremely disappointing' is how New Zealand's agriculture minister
Jim Sutton yesterday described new European Union restrictions on
New Zealand butter imports.
Soft drinks are set to become the biggest beverage sector in the
world, overtaking hot drinks, with consumption rising by around 5
per cent a year, according to a new report from Zenith
International. But while the US remains the...
BOC, a developer of engineered solutions for the food processing
industry, has acquired the food safety product portfolio of RGF
Environmental Group. Those assets include a full line of food
safety equipment and ozone and ultra-violet...
ADM Natural Health and Nutrition has expanded its range of soya
isoflavone concentrates for use in food and food supplements.
Novasoy 700 has a minimum 70 per cent isoflavone content and
Novasoy 200 is a 20 per cent isoflavone concentrate.
The issue of food labelling, which has been a hot topic of late,
has arrived in the ice cold waters of Norway. In the near future,
salmon raised in certain conditions will be able to bear the label
'This is a free range salmon...
Functional food makers present in the UK market will reap the
rewards of consumers who are among the biggest spenders on
functional foods and drinks in Europe.
Following two years of political wranglings Europe's first food
safety agency finally has a permanent home in the city of Parma,
after Italy successfully fought off a strong bid from Helsinki. The
imminent challenge for the food...
Swiss healthcare firm Novartis said today it is to buy US-based
Mead Johnson's adult medical nutrition business for $385 million
(€312m) in cash, giving it a strong presence in the US retail
market.
When a certain Dom Perignon formulated the first champagne, or so
legend goes, bubbles were key to the drink's appeal. Hundreds of
years later scientists are still working on the bubbles.
Retailers and manufacturers working in Australia have five days to
go before meeting the new rules on food labels, warned the Food
Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) today.
The Slovakian Ministry of Agriculture has announced a project to
team up with the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food
Quality in an effort to help meet food safety and consumer
protection standards laid down by the European...
Italian leader Silvio Berlusconi will soon hand over the reins of
the European Presidency to Ireland's prime minister Bertie Ahern.
Food safety should remain high on the agenda, and who know's maybe
a decision on the location...
With the recent acquisition of BRL Hardy, Constellation Brands has
become the world's largest wine producer, but faces a challenge to
maintain its leading share of the market intensifies from with
increased competition from US...
New research to come out of the university of Utah in the US
suggests new ways of regulating the behaviours that allow us to
smell food, learn, and remember.
Central European Distribution Corporation has reduced its outlook
for the coming financial year because of a charge for the
re-evaluation of a deferred tax asset.
Carlsberg Breweries has again increased its shareholding in
thePolish brewer Carlsberg Okocim through the acquisition of a
further 6 per cent of its share capital.
Japanese seasonings company Ajinomoto moves deeper into the export
market for the food flavour enhancers - nucleotide seasonings -
unveiling a 6 billion yen factory in Thailand last week.
Set to fuel the debate on GM foods, a market experiment conducted
in 2000 in Canada found that consumers preferred sweetcorn which
had been engineered to be pest resistant over the conventional
sweet corn variety.
Spain's food companies are broadly happy with the support they
receive for marketing their products on export markets, but most
would still like to see more financial backing and a greater degree
of co-ordination from the various...
A fenugreek extract made by Dutch ingredients company Acatris has
been shown to reduce blood sugar levels in both non-diabetic and
type-II diabetic subjects, reported the company today.
Following its failure to attract investment from French food giant
Danone, Russian dairy and juice producer Wimm-Bill-Dann has had its
Standard & Poor's rating downgraded from stable to negative.
S&P said it had made...
International food processor Cargill is set to construct a $50
million malt plant in Tula Oblast, Russia. Company spokeswoman
Irina Kalygina told the Russian Vedomosti newspaper that the
corporation is looking into the possibility...
Czech brewers, backed by the Czech Association of Small Independent
Breweries (CSMNP), are readying to increase their presence in the
significant Polish beer market. The move is the first big drive on
to the market in 10 years and...
The economic transformation of Russia and the CEE region is still
being led by the retail sector, according to a market report. For
the food retail sector, growth has been driven by the emergence of
big supermarket and hypermarket...
Leading Japanese emulsifier supplier Riken Vitamin is set to boost
production at its subsidiary in Malaysia with the opening of a new
plant this week. High hopes to increase market share.
Speaking in Brussels earlier this week, European Commissioner for
Health and Consumer Protection David Byrne announced the latest
development on issues relating to food safety within an enlarged
EU.
The saga of an illegal red dye saga in the UK continues this week
with the country's food agency boasting the powers of its
'detective work' in thwarting imports of the illegal spice.
Tough new rules on food imports into the US came into force today,
but with thousands of foreign and domestic companies yet to
register with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the
policy-makers have given some breathing space.
Finland's leading confectionery company, Leaf, has said that it is
to build a factory in St. Petersburg, Russia, for the production of
functional pastilles and lollipops.
UK Chancellor Gordon Brown's attempts to clamp down on tax evasion
have 'dismayed' one of the country's biggest manufacturing sectors
- the Scotch whisky industry.
Consumers aged 50-64 are among the most affluent in Europe, and
while the food industry has been relatively slow to see the
potential of targeting this age group, a few companies have now
begun to roll out products designed for the...
A milk ingredient made by Dutch ingredients business DMV
International can effectively reduce blood pressure in hypertensive
patients, the company reported this week.
Early depletion of African gum stocks have driven up global prices
of gum acacia. US company TIC gums this week passed the price rise
of gum arabic on to the market.
The regional distribution of soybean production and processing capacity in the US has shifted dramatically during the last decade. Citing the impact of emerging markets, a new study claims this change will have important consequences for the US soybean...
The debate over which plant has the most antioxidants continues,
with new research showing black beans are a rich but overlooked
source of antioxidants equal to fruits like grapes, apples and
cranberries.
An Every Day Low Pricing (EDLP) strategy is more popular with
shoppers than one driven purely by promotions, according to a
recent survey in the UK. But a combination of the two is the best
means of keeping shoppers happy.
Despite the steady stream of new product launches in a number of
European markets, and continued growth of flavoured alcoholic
beverages (FABs) across the Continent, spirit manufacturers are
already predicting a gradual downturn in...
New rules that harmonise EU legislation on additives necessary for
the storage and use of flavourings were welcomed by industry last
week. Proposed by the Commission in 2002, amendments to Directive
95/2/EC on food additives other...
Labelling issues on the cards again for manufacturers as the UK's
food safety agency this week launches a consultation on the use of
alternative phrases to 'may contain' on food labels.
The major issues affecting the food and drink industry supply chain
were discussed at Ross Systems' recent annual users conference,
Rossworld 2003. The global software provider touched on vertical
industry-specific functionality,...
Just when the dust appeared to have settled on the Safeway takeover
affair, leaving Morrisons as apparently the sole bidder, a report
in the UK press today suggests that Asda has returned to the fray
with a bid designed to scotch...
With the Safeway takeover bid dominating the headlines for nearly a
year, the rest of the UK retail sector has been somewhat
overlooked. But there has been plenty of activity over the last few
months, in particular in the convenience...
After getting off to a slow start at the beginning of the year,
Romanian confectionery manufacturer Heidi Chocolats Suisse has said
it is now estimating a 15 per cent increase in sales this year.
A number of leading Croatian food and beverage manufacturers and
retailers have confirmed that they have started the first round of
discussions aimed at promoting the industry in the face of stiff
competition from foreign imports.