A report last week suggested that Spanish hypermarkets
were on track to recover some of the market share lost to
supermarkets in recent years as a result of store opening
restrictions. But new data suggest that the supermarket sector...
NSF International (NSF) has unveiled a new protocol that
establishes product safety and performance requirements for
microbiological water purifiers. Protocol P231: Microbiological
Water Purifiers is based on recommendations from...
Russian retailer Ramenka has announced plans to increase
investments in its Ramstore supermarket chain for 2004 by
approximately 30 per cent to $130 million.
Slovenian meat and poultry processor Perutnina Ptuj has announced a
20 per cent increase in its revenues for 2003 on the back of strong
domestic demand - results that are expected to fuel further
expansion outside the domestic market.
Russia's largest beer company, the Baltika Brewery has released
preliminary financial results for the year 2003 which show that it
is continuing to return a solid performance, despite a substantial
restructuring programme and...
In a bid to clarify labels and in response to consumer concerns,
the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has launched a consultation on
the use of alternative phrases to 'may contain' on food labels.
More hours spent commuting in today's hectic society mean more
possibities for eating and drinking in transit, with the UK and
Germany coming out on top, writes a new report from market analysts
Datamonitor.
At the end of a successful year for Estonian food retailers, all
indications are that the number one player is now the Saastumarket
chain of discount stores - however, the market still remains
fragmented.
A new article raises concern that the banning of antibiotics in
food animals may harm both human and animal health. The report,
published this month in the Journal of Antimicrobial
Chemotherapy, argues there is little to no scientific...
Number one global flavours and fragrance player Givaudan is feeling
the weight of acquisitions, currency conversions and higher raw
material costs, taking a SF68 million (€43m) charge in 2003 and
axing 300 jobs.
This month sees the launch of the biggest research project that the
EU has ever funded in the seafood sector. Spanning the entire
chain, millions of euros poured into the programme will track the
consumer-driven fish to fork concept,...
Union members are picketing some 200 or so Migros supermarkets
across Switzerland today to protest against poor working
conditions. Not surprisingly, the co-operative retailer has refuted
the claims.
The US food watchdog this week issued a 'tentative final rule' that
amends the current GRAS status for a fish oil used in food
ingredients, to control consumer intake of omega-3 fatty acids.
As the days of blindingly fast growth in the Russian beer industry
begin to ebb away the market is starting to show signs of maturity.
In turn it is the premium and super premium sectors that are
increasingly showing signs of promise...
Speciality ingredients continue to deliver improved results for
wheat-based ingredients supplier MGP Ingredients with the company
this week raising its estimated revenue for the year on the back of
higher than expected sales.
The adoption of a bill in Germany last week enforcing European regulations on genetically modified
food and feed has done little to calm unease among many consumers.
Carlsberg's high profile - and somewhat unexpected - acquisition of
Holsten, unveiled earlier this week, was not the first major
takeover in the German beer market, but it certainly will not be
the last, either.
Tesco, the UK's biggest supermarket group, has decided how to spend
the first £53.7 million of the £810 million cash pile it unveiled
earlier this month. While the group has made clear its intentions
to grow its international...
Europe's food industry faces increased recalls and further costs as
a Commission clampdown yesterday extended rules on illegal
carcinogenic red chemical dyes to include curry powder.
Last summer's hot weather had a major impact on sales at Thorntons,
the British confectionery retailer and manufacturer, but the
company had a lot more to be happy about when it came to Christmas.
The Supermarket Code of Practice, designed to regulate the way in
which British retailers do business, has been criticised once again
by a number of consumer and producer organisations for failing to
do enough to curb the power of...
Stiff competition amongst western European beer producers is
continuing to drive growth in the Romanian beer market, as all of
the country's major producers reported significantly higher sales
for 2003, culminating in a 12 per...
Danone has announced plans to increase the production capacity of
two of its Russia-based dairies. The move has been influenced by
the company's increase in profits in the country, which is
currently expanding at an estimated...
Major investment is starting to show dividends for the Russian
brewery and restaurant group Tinkoff, after the company announced
that turnover had increased from $8.3 million in 2002 to $33
million in 2003. The ever-increasing wealth...
As fierce opposition to genetically modified plants continues
across the globe, findings from a breakthrough study in the UK
suggest that foreign DNA can survive to the small intestine,
providing fuel to the anti-GMO fire.
A US delegation, which is in Japan this week to convince the
country to open the gates to US beef imports, may have its plans
scuppered as the Japanese farm ministry says it is very wary of
more BSE cases in the US.
Investigations by the Spanish competition authority, the SDC, into
the price of fresh fruit and vegetables has confirmed that most
retailers regularly include a substantial mark up on these products
but that this is in line with the...
Somerfield, the UK supermarket group, is continuing on
the road to recovery after several difficult years following its
acquisition of the Kwik Save chain.
A cancer-causing red dye found in chilli powder or chilli products
has contaminated over 120 food products on the supermarket shelves
in the UK, a figure set to climb as the UK's food watchdog
continues to track the movements...
MAP80 Systems, a Prisym Group company, has included RSS (reduced
space symbology) barcodes in its labelling and identification
software. The aim is to help manufacturers prepare for EU
legislation on food traceability coming into...
Two more cattle herds in Washington State, US were quarantined over
the weekend as the number of animals linked to a cow infected with
mad cow disease increased.
Top line growth for suppliers to the food industry will have to be
delivered through innovation and focused branding strategies, finds
a new report, at the same time stressing that emerging markets
could threaten the ingredients industry.
With tough rules on new store development curbing the growth of
hypermarkets in Spain - designed to protect traditional retailers -
most of the dynamism in the market has come from supermarkets,
which have, ironically, been just as...
Buying entry into the nascent European trehalose sweetener market
last year from British Sugar, US company Cargill will welcome
claims from scientists this week that the ingredient could ease
Huntington's disease.
Londis, the
UK-based symbol group which is currently at the centre of a
possible bidding war between a number of rival groups, has reported
Christmas trading figures which show that the uncertainty at
boardroom level had little...
UK government adopts protectionist principles to safeguard
Scotland's salmon industry and calls on Ireland to join forces in
tackling market dilution through cheap imports.
Agilent Technologies has launched a simplified method for detecting
sulphonamide antibiotics in pork. The company claims that the
method reliably measures sulphonamides at lower than half the
European Union and Canadian regulatory...
A WHO report on obesity prevention, which would urge governments to
promote healthy foods, is under threat from food makers supported
by the US administration, said consumer groups last week.
Dutch retail group Ahold is continuing the sale of non-core assets as
part of its restructuring plan - and in a bid to plug the €1
billion gap in its accounts left by a major accounting fraud.
Across Europe, governments have been working flat out to calm
public fears about the dangers posed by the current avian 'flu
crisis in Asia. The EU does not import any poultry from Vietnam,
South Korea or Japan, the countries...
According to USDA records, no BSE tests were carried out on
commercial cattle in Washington State in the first seven months of
2003. United
Press International under the Freedom of Information Act
obtained the USDA records...
In a bid to win back slashed beef sales, the FDA's head honcho will
travel to Japan today to discuss recent events linked to the first
case of mad cow disease in the US.
Leading isoflavone producer Novogen has launched a research centre
that will provide consumers and the media, increasingly drawing
attention to isoflavone supplements, with the latest information on
the plant-derived compounds.
Beer sales in most of western Europe rose strongly last year as
consumers across the Continent looked for any means possible to
cool down during the heatwave in July and August.
Putting paid to media lip-service and the 'wildly false picture' it
has painted, EU Commissioner David Byrne defends European proposals
to clarify health and nutrition claims on food products.
The Russian government recently lifted import duties on soybeans,
corn and fishmeal for nine months starting 25 January, reports the
American Soybean Association, opening the way for soy movements in
the East.
Laws on GMO traceability for food companies operating in the
European Union moved up a gear on Friday with the Commission
clearing a new system of coding for all GMO varieties.
