Being the biggest does not mean being the best, it appears.
Europe's largest food retailer Carrefour has announced that it will
not meet its sales targets for 2004 after a second poor quarter
from its French hypermarket division.
Progress towards tackling the obesity epidemic could come from a
new study which has found that a compound commonly found in red
wine boosts the activity of an identified gene which cuts the
growth of new fat cells.
UK sugar and dairy powder supplier Napier Brown Foods will buy up
glucose supplier James Budgett Sugars in a deal announced this week
worth £17.5 million (€26.2m).
UK-based Northern Foods, one of the biggest suppliers to UK retail
giant Marks & Spencer, wants to establish new conditions before
agreeing to proposed price cuts and margin improvements, writes
Anthony Fletcher.
Two of the UK's troubled supermarket groups head up this week's
round up of news from the European retail arena. Neither Marks
& Spencer nor J Sainsbury have had much to be happy about in
recent months, and, frankly,...
Hanging as a persistent threat to the chocolate industry witches'
broom disease is capable of wiping out entire cacao crops and
sending the price of chocolate rocketing. Despite ongoing research
into the threat confirmed by the...
The thorny issue of the way in which the food industry promotes its
products to children is to be addressed by the UK's Food Standards
Agency. But will the latest government action plan - which is still
based on voluntary action...
US giant processor Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) and currently the
world's number three food group will ramp up production capacity at
four of its key processing plants at the company's North American
Oilseed division.
Initiatives by food makers to push food products that can tap into
the growing health concerns from consumers have found support from
a new study that backs ongoing research to suggest a healthier diet
and lifestyle can potentially...
A long-term soy diet may not pose an increased risk of breast or
womb cancer among postmenopausal women, as some people have feared,
suggests new research carried out on monkeys.
Leading chocolate ingredients supplier Barry Callebaut is targeting
the European chocolate and cappuccino vending mix business with the
acquisition of cappuccino mix company AM Foods from Nordic dairy
firm Arla Foods.
Banana producers, processors and ingredients users could see new
opportunities in the market as an ancient banana showing strong
beta-carotene levels comes to light on a small Pacific island.
Urgent improvements in livestock tracking systems are needed if
public health and the well-being of food production are to be
protected, according to a UK House of Commons Public Accounts
Committee report published this week.
Food scientists continue in their quest to investigate the presence
of the potential carcinogen acrylamide in everyday food products
with Swiss researchers calling for further research into the
processing conditions of gingerbread,...
American wine consumers believe wine bottles should still be sealed
with a natural cork, despite the claimed technical benefits of
screw-caps and synthetic corks, although they appear to be more
willing to consider alternative closures...
Philip Green, the billionaire retail entrepreneur, has renewed his
bid to take over ailing clothing-to-food group Marks & Spencer
amid an increasingly bitter battle of words with opponents of the
bid.
Heinz of Poland has confirmed that its production facility in
Pudliszki in the west of Poland is undergoing production trials for
Heinz products that are currently manufactured in western Europe,
suggesting that big change could be...
Rakvere Lihakombinaat, an Estonian meat processing business owned
by the Finnish HK Ruokatalo group, says it is mulling plans to
start exporting its meat products to the vast Russian market,
according to a Ruokatalo manager in charge...
The Central Bank is expecting deflation of food prices in the
summer months, while prices will grow in September through
December, but at a lower pace than in April when the growth was
much higher than expected creating uncertainty...
Cross-segment product launches are nothing new in the food
industry, but the pace of new product development appears to have
quickened in recent years as manufacturers seek to leverage the
strength of their brand by reinventing it...
Girls are more likely than boys to be overexposed to adverts for
alcoholic beverages in magazines, although the figures for both
genders are worryingly high, according to a recent study carried
out by scientists in the US. But is...
Opportunities for the synthetic kiwi flavour market have opened up
after findings from a small study in the UK show that the kiwi
fruit appears to be a significant food allergen capable of causing
severe reactions, particularly in...
Lifeway Foods, a manufacturer of cultured, probiotic and functional
foods, has agreed to acquire a privately-held gourmet cheese
producer based in Philadelphia.
Milk powder fortified with vitamins and minerals, as well as milks
with prebiotic and probiotic bacteria, can prevent major, often
fatal, childhood diseases such as diarrhoea and pneumonia, and have
a significant impact on growth,...
Obesity levels in the US and Britain are among the highest in the
world, and it is not surprising, therefore, that it is in these two
countries that the debate over how to tackle the problem - and who
is to blame - is the most advanced....
The increasingly popular supplements of soy isoflavones do not seem
to help lower cholesterol, improve bone mineral density or benefit
brain function after menopause, new research suggests.
US ingredients supplier Cargill has moved deeper into the
value-added juice market by selling off a large slice of its
Brazilian juice operations to two local companies.
Scientists have developed new tests to detect nut allergens in
processed foods that could help food makers adhere to the tough new
European rules on food allergens to be enforced later this year.
Investigations into the dumping of shrimp on the US market has
caused major price rises in the joint health ingredient
glucosamine, a shrimp derivative. But if prices stabilise at these
levels, they could make higher quality glucosamine...
As food developers and marketers are aware, bright colours hold a
strong appeal with children. Jumping on the back of this phenomenon
Danisco in the US has launched a new flavour concept to add to
milk.
Sun Interbrew has confirmed the sale of its 99 per cent stake in
OJSC Bavaria to the brewery management for an undisclosed sum, in a
deal that goes against the companies policy to continue its rapid
expansion onto the Russian beer...
Chumak, a leading producer of edible oils in the Ukraine, is to
receive a $15 million (€12.2m) loan from the EBRD to help it buy
equipment and extend its commodity purchasing capabilities.
US agri-giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) has stepped up
production of its trans-fat alternatives driven by increasing
market demand - and before new labelling rules come into force.
Organic seeds, the primary sources of organic ingredients, are the
focus of an FAO backed meeting that kicked off in Rome yesterday,
with the politically charged debate on co-existence between GM
crops and organics high on the agenda,...
Dutch ingredients firm Sensus has carried out new research to prove
the prebiotic effect of native inulin at only 5 grams, allowing
food manufacturers to make prebiotic claims on a relatively low
dose.
Syngenta, the last biotech company to retain a significant
genetically modified (GM) presence in the UK, has announced that it
is closing its laboratories due to the poor business outlook for
the technology, reports CORDIS.
Diets high in fruits, vegetables, reduced-fat dairy products, and
whole grains are linked with smaller gains in Body Mass Index (BMI)
as well as waist circumference, say researchers in the US.
Danish bread and cake firm Hatting has expanded into the growing
Russian market, investing millions of euros at a new production
facility in the Moscow area.
Danish ingredients firm Chr Hansen has benefited from the growing
demand by food makers for natural colours. Higher sales of natural
colours helped to lift profit figures in a third quarter that also
gained from the increasing popularity...
British children aged 7-14 receive a massive £1.5 billion in pocket
money each year, spending a large share of this on food and drink.
But with manufacturers scaling down their marketing efforts amid
accusations of contributing to...
Belgian retail group Colruyt this week reported
better-than-expected results for the 2003/04 financial year after a
predicted price war failed to materialise.
Burcon and Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) have completed the
technical phase of the commercialization of Puratein and Supertein,
canola proteins, expected to have a wide range of applications in
the food and nutraceutical industries,...
In the wake of a row that broke out earlier this month over the
most common food ingredient in the world, manufacturers in the UK
have laid out further plans to cut salt in food products.
British supermarket chains have traditionally focused primarily on
food products, spurning the hypermarket-style mix of food and
non-food items managed so successfully by their French
counterparts. But all this has changed in recent...
Danish firm Palsgaard has ramped up production of its food
emulsifiers for chocolate makers as demand has risen on the back of
global approval and a growing interest from the chocolate industry
to cut costs, writes Lindsey Partos.
