The roll call of food products contaminated by the harmful illegal
red dye Sudan I continues with the UK's food watchdog finding the
potential carcinogen in two product lines on sale in the country.
Mercadona, the biggest Spanish supermarket group, is to increase
its investments by more than 50 per cent this year as it seeks to
spread its portfolio of stores across the country and build on its
excellent performance in 2003.
Rich red palm oil could be an efficient and cost effective way of
increasing vitamin A levels in the regions south of the Sahara in
Africa, suggests new research.
Early last week the German government passed a bill codifying
European Union legislation for the cultivation and export of
genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into national law. Following
suit, the UK government seems set to give...
The UK’s Office of Fair Trading (OFT) last week fell short of
confirming what food producers, farmers and lobby groups have been
saying for the last year – that the Supermarket Code of Practice is
failing to curb the power of the...
Kraft Foods says it is preparing to launch the international
chocolate brand Milka in Russia in an attempt to further increase
its slice of the confectionery market there.
A gathering of Russian ice cream producers in Moscow this week has
revealed the latest production and sales figures for one of the
country's most important food sectors. And it seems that demand for
the comfort product is still...
A new emulsifying agent from US-based TIC Gums is being touted as
more cost-effective that existing products and the first of a new
generation of emulsifying agents.
US scientists have created purple tomatoes that include
anthocyanins, the antioxidant pigments in red wine believed to
prevent heart disease but not normally found in domestic varieties
of the fruit.
The thorny issue of imposing taxes on fatty foods in a bid to
reduce levels of obesity raised its ugly head in the UK once again
this week - but was almost immediately dismissed as unworkable.
Britain's Tate & Lyle group and the US-based McNeil
Nutritionals are to change the way they handle production, sales
and marketing of sucralose, the sweetener developed jointly by the
two companies, following the recent opening...
Scientists in the US have for the first time identified a fresh
product as the source of an outbreak of human Yersinia
pseudotuberculosis infections, a recent medical report says.
Scientists in Denmark are to investigate whether a radical
suggestion from the US about turning the 'food pyramid' on its head
- and therefore eating more foods such as rice and bread than is
traditionally considered healthy...
Men at high risk of heart disease could consider adding soy protein
to their diets to reduce their chances of developing the disease,
the world's biggest killer, report researchers.
Supermarkets have invested a great deal of time and money in
improving the quality of service that they offer to their customers
in recent years, and this has become as much a way of
differentiating between fascias as the products...
Continued demand for its amino acid supplement Amino Vital was one
of the main drivers of growth for Japanese monosodium glutamate
seasonings and sweeteners group Ajinomoto in the first nine months of 2003.
Monsanto will have to wait a little longer to find out if it will
be granted permission by the European Union authorities to import
its genetically modified (GM) maize NK603 into the trading bloc.
Carrefour, the French company which is the world's second largest
food retailer, has this week opened its first hypermarket in China
for nearly two years after finally ensuring that its operations
there comply with Chinese regulations.
Sainsbury's already tarnished reputation took another serious knock
this week when the company bowed to shareholder pressure and
decided not to appoint its preferred candidate to the post of
chairman designate.
Irish dairy firm Glanbia is to invest €15 million in a new
innovation centre to develop functional foods and health
ingredients, Ireland's Minister for Agriculture and Food Joe Walsh
revealed yesterday.
slators in Brussels are currently preparing to decide whether to
allow genetically modified products to be sold in the European
Union, but most of the 15 Member States have also carried out their
own research into the pros and cons...
Experts in Asia are predicting that the bird flu outbreak is
threatening to evolve into a situation similar to that of the
recent SARS outbreak, as the disease appears to show no signs of
abating. Meanwhile in Europe strict measures...
The European Commission recently convened researchers, experts and
decision-makers from all over the world to discuss ways to increase
international cooperation in the battle to combat highly
transmissible animal diseases such as...
Compared to other central European nations, the presence of foreign
retailers in Hungary is relatively low, with the likes of Tesco,
Delhaize, Tenglemann, Rewe and Auchan among the few western
companies already present there. And...
The European research commissioner Phillipe Busquin has extolled
the virtues of a new EU-funded study that aims to turn around 4
million tonnes of tomato by-products into proteins, sugars, fibre
and oils.
Hilton Foods has invested €9.4 million in a start-up program that will see a new plant built in Drogheda in Ireland. The plant is expected to create 175 job opportunities and meat produced in the factory will be supplied to Tesco UK.
As processors in Poland and other accession countries race to
comply with EU food safety regulations, the EU Commission has said
that it will be prepared to further extend deadlines in an attempt
to help companies bring facilities...
FYR Macedonian food processor Zitoluks has secured an €8 million
loan from the EBRD to extend its production facilities and enable
it to work alongside Greek food group Filippou.
The Russian sugar industry has suffered under the weight of poor
logistics, erratic raw supplies and a lack of financing. We spoke
to a leading industry analysts to find out how the industry is
facing up to these challenges and what...
Eating more wholegrain foods could help people reduce their chances
of developing metabolic syndrome, say researchers, analysing the
role of carbohydrates on insulin resistance and the prevalence of
the metabolic syndrome in a large...
Leading Russian dairy and juice processor Wimm-Bill-Dann has
confirmed that Emerging Markets Growth Fund has raised its stake in
the company to 5.6 per cent.
French yeast giant Lesaffre is driving deeper into the US market,
announcing a link up this week with crop processing titan Archer
Daniels Midland to break ground on a new yeast plant in the US.
Sourdough bread containing select bacteria may be tolerated by
patients with a rare digestive disease that causes gluten
intolerance, say Italian and Irish researchers. The new research
could provide new opportunities for food producers...
Another milk marketed to help consumers sleep better goes on sale
in the UK this week, where a third of all adults are said to be
affected by sleeping problems.
European scientists will meet today to decide the fate of a
genetically modified corn developed by US biotech giant Monsanto. A
positive outcome from the committee would end Europe's five year
ban on GM crops, attacked by a host...
Belgium's Orafti group is investing €165 million in a second
chicory-extraction plant in Chile to respond to fast-growing demand
for inulin and oligofructose.
Exalted of late for their antioxidant health benefits, fruit
berries continue to show growth in a range of food applications.
Fruit ingredients stalwart J.O. Sims has launched a new Canadian
produced berry onto the market marking...
New research into the cultivation of cereals on semi-arid land
could lead to less fertiliser use, claim scientists in Spain who
looked into various production methods to up yield.
A low-fat diet may help men with aggressive prostate cancer better
fight their disease and live longer, according to researchers who
showed that a diet low in polyunsaturated fats slowed cancer growth
and increased survival times...
The European Parliament adopted an own initiative report on 11
February, calling on the Commission to focus more on the
sustainability of agriculture in the Sixth and Seventh Framework
Programmes, and not technology for food production,...
Costcutter, the York-based convenience store operator, is the
latest company to throw its hat into the ring in the Londis
takeover battle. The symbol group confirmed last week that it was
"actively targeting" 1,200 Londis...
Scientists in Japan believe they have developed a means of
controlling viruses in farmed fish and shellfish - a problem that
has continued to plague the sector and which often leads to a heavy
reliance on preventative drugs.
Australian soy product maker So Natural Foods has enlisted the help
of Olympic gold medallist swimmer Ian Thorpe to market a new
functional food range on its home market and in Asia.
Pricer, the
Swedish company which specialises in electronic shelf label (ESL)
systems for the retail trade, saw its losses deepen last year but
remains confident that increasing numbers of supermarket operators
will make the...
Grown in 113 countries and the staple food for over half the
world's population, rice is the globe's most popular food that
shapes religious festivals, customs, cuisine and celebrations. But
at a conference this week dedicated...
Ahold's plans to dispose of its entire Latin American store network
have been stalled for some time by delays in the core markets of
Brazil and Argentina - but this could soon be about to change.
Frutarom Switzerland, the recently acquired Swiss arm of Israeli
flavours group Frutarom, has pulled on synergies from its new
parent to launch a new line of grapefruit flavours, the first in a
range of citrus flavours.
Oxoid, one of the leading manufacturers of culture media
anddiagnostic products for the food and drink industry, will be
acquired by Fisher Scientific International.
