The European Commission gives the all clear for private equity firm
PAI to buy the food ingredients arm of Danish firm Chr Hansen,
writes Lindsey Partos.
The world's number one caramel colour supplier DD Williamson drives
further into the profitable natural colours market, acquiring the
natural colours business of Artemis International.
UK-based food processors who use poultry in their products are
likely to face more safety regulations after a government report
singles out chicken meat as the largest contributor to
Campylobacter infections in the country.
The first wrangling over EU sugar reform proposals by agriculture
ministers saw protests and a passionate debate in Brussels
yesterday, but the opposition looks increasingly isolated,
reports Chris Mercer.
US starch product supplier Penford Food Ingredients targets growing
demand for rice starch, for the first time adding a variety of rice
starches to its current portfolio of potato, tapioca, and corn
starch products,reports Lindsey...
The European Commission's plan to relax the bloc's rules on mad cow
disease provides hope to food companies that they will have wider
access to beef suppliers, including those in the UK.
Food makers will benefit from new findings that deepen our
understanding of how the human brain distinguishes between
different types of taste, writes Lindsey Partos.
Alginate specialist International Specialty Products (ISP) expands
and consolidates its food stabiliser portfolio, acquiring the
technology and customers of UK business Creative Food Systems
(CFS), reports Lindsey Partos.
Supplies of live poultry, poultry meat and eggs from the UK will
continue to flow to EU countries while the UK battles with a
disease that can wipe out entire flocks.
Irritable bowel syndrome consumers are significantly more likely to
have elevated food-specific serum IgG4 antibodies to wheat, beef,
pork and lamb than healthy volunteers, researchers report.
Cargill's pioneering Life Stage approach to developing and
marketing ingredients shows how the industry can better tune into
consumer demand, writes Anthony Fletcher from New Orleans.
As Chinese producers move in on western markets, the first response
by many established players is to protect and defend their previous
market positions. It's a doomed strategy.
Food scientists in Russia have developed a new, safer preservative
for meat and fish that they claim improves resistance to harmful
bacteria and could extend shelf-life by up to 50 per cent, offering
opportunities to food makers,...
In a move that is bound to add more heat to the dispute among EU
states over genetically modified organisms, the Europe's food
safety regulator has approved a number of products for use within
the bloc.
Reports from a fresh Italian study alleging aspartame could pose a
cancer risk are not in harmony with the extensive research that
exist on aspartame, say suppliers of this popular sweetener.
Laughing gas - or nitrous oxide - produces chocolate with better
bubbles and a more intense melt-in-the-mouth flavour, claim UK
researchers,writes Lindsey Partos.
Private equity moves deeper into food ingredients industry, with
European equity provider ABN AMRO Capital buying up ingredients
distributor IMCD from AlpInvest Partners, reports Lindsey
Partos.
A new tool for food developers, Europe's food risk agency
recommends the launch of a harmonised food database across the EU
to shed light on favourable and adverse effects food ingredients
may have on our health.
Acquisitive US ingredients firm Cargill leapfrogs into a leading
pectin position as the Citrico acquisition clears allowing pectin
products to fall into Cargill's portfolio, reports Lindsey
Partos.
Campina will merge its European dairy businesses to insulate
against retailer pressure and take advantage of growing consumer
demand for branded, added value dairy products, reports Chris
Mercer.
Grasping the booming opportunities in the Chinese food and beverage
market, Japanese food conglomerate Kagome has linked up with
Chinese firm to bring vegetable and fruit juices to the market.
Food makers designing ready meals would be wise to consider the
over fifties, after fresh research reveals they are driving a hefty
slice of the market,reports Lindsey Partos.
BakeMark UK, subsidiary of Dutch ingredients firm CSM, is hoping to
cash in on the rapidly growing UK market for Indian foods,
announcing yesterday the launch of a new Indian snack product.
Whiskey and beer producers across the UK may benefit from a £1.8m
research project aiming to identify, and improve, the genetic
make-up of barley, one of their most commonly used raw materials,
reports Chris Mercer.
Fuelling the debate on salt consumption levels, a US researcher
claims to have uncovered the mechanisms by which high salt diets
can trigger exercise-induced asthma.
Biodar's new line of microencapsulated vitamins and minerals for
kids' chewable applications could help improve diets and even save
food makers money, writes Anthony Fletcher.
Food makers turn to wood-sourced vanillin as high oil prices
continue to put pressure on the price of petrochemical-based
vanilla alternatives, and natural vanilla stocks remain
vulnerable,writes Lindsey Partos.
With potential impact on food makers, scientists in the US have
uncovered new details of how smelly things create signals in the
nose that eventually go to the brain.
Food makers opt for the latest darling of the sweetener industry,
sucralose, for their new products with fresh data showing this
sweetener gained ground over aspartame and Acesulfame K in new
launches using sweeteners, for the...
Dutch food and pharma group DSM completes the last step in shedding
its bakery portfolio, selling its stake in the South African yeast
products manufacturer Rymco,writes Lindsey Partos.
A demonstration of the growing popularity of, and ongoing
opportunities for organic ingredients, successful Swedish retailer
IKEA said it will replace standard foods with organic varieties.
New opportunities for natural colour suppliers arise as the UK's
Co-op chain bans a raft of food colours, along with the flavour
enhancer, MSG from all its own-brand food products,reports
Lindsey Partos.
A society that views food as taste-bud entertainment rather than a
basic of well-being was always bound to run into health problems.
But with obesity now afflicting 300m people, and diabetes set to
reach similar numbers within two...
A strong sales increase for Ukrainian brewer Sarmat reveals how the
country's beer market is growing strongly in Russia's shadow and
adds new evidence to the popularity of 'local' brands, writes
Angelina Drujinina.
Russian firm Sanserite will import new, Spanish wines aimed solely
at Russia as demand for foreign wine increases thanks to rising
consumption, higher disposable incomes and a declining domestic
wine industry, reports Angela Drujinina.
Following Wal-Mart's announcement it plans to expand operations
into the rest of Europe, furniture retailer Ikea said it will move
into the grocery market with its own-label products next year.
While the UK slowly recovers from its largest ever food recall,
reports from Australia reveal chocolate maker Masterfoods has
pulled a massive three million chocolate bars from the shelves
after extortionist threats.
A new laboratory designed to improve the quality of barley and oats
could have major implications for makers of breakfast cereals,
beverages and bakery goods.
Barry Callebaut, the world's largest supplier of bulk chocolate,
plans to cut costs in Europe as the Swiss firm posts a fall in
revenue for nine month figures.
Signing yet another deal to feed its seemingly insatiable appetite
for acquisitions, US ingredients firm Cargill makes a drive into
the whey derivatives market, reports Lindsey Partos.
MGP Ingredients, Manildra Milling and the Kansas State University
Research Foundation (KSURF) have reached a settlement over an
alleged patent infringement involving food-grade starches,writes
Anthony Fletcher.
The area sown to wheat and barley over the last season in the UK
has decreased, said the HGCA last week, yet there is no apparent
cause for concern as good yields may still produce a strong crop,
reports Lorraine Heller.
The discovery in Ireland of another probable case of variant
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) might turn some consumers away
from their meat, but perhaps they can be assured the country, and
the EU, seem to be winning the battle to...
The lack of food science recruits in the UK is unsustainable if the
country wants to remain a centre for innovation and avoid becoming
the food industry's global admin office, says the head of Britain's
most prestigious...
Europe's food safety watchdog continues to wade through its risk
assessment of 1000 flavouring substances, with the latest batch of
ten requiring more data to complete the safety evaluation.
