With the rise in organic processed food comes a leap in demand for
organic ingredients, but is it still early days for local
ingredients sourcing, asks 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.
There are worries that a district court ruling in Maine banning all
synthetic ingredients in products labeled organic could
significantly slow the sector's growth, writes Anthony
Fletcher.
National Starch believes that enabling food companies to label
their products as containing no or minimal additives or ingredients
is set to be a highly lucrative practice in the future, write
Anthony Fletcher.
The increase in ethical consumerism means that food makers should
seriously consider the commercial implications of eco-labels,
though tighter regulation is still needed, writes Anthony
Fletcher.
More transparency in the supply chain is required to satisfy
consumer curiosity about organic food and maintain demand, say
researchers, who claim shoppers are calling for more information
about quality, origins and authenticity,...
The growing organic business is gaining more attention from food
manufacturers. In an effort to understand better the benefits of
such products, Dean Foods and its WhiteWave Foods division have
donated $100,000 to the Organic Center...
Food makers sourcing organic ingredients from the West are
gradually turning to China as the ambitious country makes strides
in organic production, reports Lindsey Partos.
Food makers looking to sell organic products on a 'healthy' agenda
may face opposition from the authorities as the UK's Advertising
Standards Authority upholds two complaints against the country's
organic industry...
Europe's blossoming organic food production, already benefiting
from the world's biggest organic food research budget, is predicted
to grow fastest in the EU's new member states over the next few
years, presenting new...
Opportunities are ripe for food manufacturers using organic meat
ingredients, with a new report revealing the volume of organic meat
ingredients used in processed foods is starting to take market
share away from supermarkets,writes...
The UK has the second largest organic meat market in the world,
though processors need to step up their marketing activities if
they are to fully capitalise, writes Anthony Fletcher.
Relatively low Swedish prices of organic products can be seen as a
consequence of a well working distribution, well established
relations with the large retailers and high quality products.
House of Bread Franchising has finally decided to start producing
organic bread after a decrease in ingredient prices makes
production a viable business option, reports Philippa
Nuttall.
A new deal between organic food retailers and farmers may help to
bridge the gulf between low organic food consumption and rising
levels of organic farming in the Czech Republic and Poland,
writes Chris Mercer.
Europe creates an organic science network to improve the quality of
organic food and farming research as this sector of the food market
continues to soar in popularity in the European arena.
In line with growing consumer demand for organic products, Butter
Buds Food Ingredients has introduced a certified organic line of
natural butter, cream and cheese concentrates.
Czech shoppers are refusing to pay inflated prices for organic food
- something which may burst the bubble of the country's booming
organic farming industry, unless a sharp increase in government
subsidies can turn the situation...
The organic food industry is reporting high levels of growth, even
managing to edge in on conventional dairy market territory. But
organic producers are worried that sales will stall, after rising
production costs have left no room...
Organic food is not necessarily better for our health than
conventional equivalents, say food scientists speaking at a meeting
of the world's largest science society this week in the US.
Two years after the UK government launched an organic action plan
for the entire food supply chain, the country has seen a 46 per
cent rise in organic produce provided by UK farms.
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,...
A new Europe-wide project will devote a £12 million budget to
investigating the added-value that organic farming could bring to
food products. The qualitative approach will give a boost to an
industry starting to slow down in pace.
When food retailers and producers all over the world met at last
year's CIES industry summit, they were set five 'tests' by
celebrity speaker Bob Geldof to see if their company's business was
sustainable. Meeting...
Europe's organic food and farming sector got a major boost this
week with the adoption by the European Commission of a new action
plan to promote the sector. The challenge will be to ensure, and
maintain, consumer trust in premium-priced...
Eastern European countries are starting to experience major growth
in the organic food market on the back of growing domestic demand
and exportation to western Europe. Simon Pitman spoke to the
Organic Monitor to find out more.
A new report suggests that competition in the European organic meat
industry is increasing, as the market begins to suffer from
overcapacity. This follows another report that linked the
popularity of organic meat in North America...
Britain's supermarkets are not doing enough to support the
country's organic farming industry, buying in produce from abroad
despite sufficient supplies in the domestic market, claims the Soil
Association. But there are...
The European Commission will pour millions of euros into a new
project to ensure safety and improve productivity in organic food
supply chains across Europe.
Germans munch their way through more organic foods than the French
and British put together, so finds a new report from Mintel, that
reveals in Germany alone the organic market tipped €3.2 billion.
Price remains a key barrier to growth...
Leaked minutes from the UK government show that it is planning to
enforce different levels of GM contamination for different organic
food if GM crops are grown commercially in the UK, says UK organic
body, the Soil Association.
Danone, the French dairy product, bottled water and biscuits group,
may have said that it is not interested in acquiring any assets of
bankrupt Italian group Parmalat, but this does not mean that it is
not on the acquisition trail.
The British chomped their way through £1 billion worth of organic
products in one year, making the UK the number three outlet -
behind the US and Germany - for organic foods in the world.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) faces more opposition this
week, as the US Organic Trade Association (OTA) criticises the idea
of commercialising cloned animal produce without specific
labelling.
One year after new rules on organic standards hit the American food
industry one in ten Americans are eating more organic foods,
reports a US trend tracker - but price is still a barrier to new
converts.
Ireland took a closer look at its organic food industry last week
with representatives from the department of agriculture & food,
Bord Bia and the Western Development Commission (WDC) hosting a
forum for producers, processors,...
The new owner of Opta Food Ingredients is to sell the company's
45,000 square feet headquarters at a price of $4.85 million, said
Canadian company Stake technology this week.
As growth in the organic food industry starts to slow down in
Europe, the food industry is deliberating ways to boost sales. A
new project launched by the UK food safety agency could provide the
answers.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is planning to commission new
research comparing the nutrient value and pesticide residue content
of key organic and non-organically produced fruit and vegetables.
A new organic programme in the US has lifted sales of organic food
and drink while western Europe saw growth slowing down on 2002
figures. New report predicts drop in growth for industrialised
world, but acceleration in developing...
Strong growth in the US, but a slowdown in Europe marked the global
organic food and drink industry last year. Supply-demand imbalances
and trade barriers are some of the challenges the industry faces
today.
Growing consumer awareness about health issues and the potential
benefits of a healthy diet, mixed with concerns about genetic
engineering, have created an expanding market for natural and
organic products. A look at the Mintel Global...
The latest Fairtrade products to hit the UK market are organic
bananas, distributed by the British arm of Dutch company AgroFair.
The fruit is already being sold in one of the leading organic
supermarkets there.
Overcapacity continues to affect the organic food industry with a
new report from UK market analysts Organic Monitor that reveals
large volumes of organic meat products are coming into a market
that is showing slowing growth rates.
Two years after the merger of the Swiss co-operative retail group
with its 11 co-op suppliers, Coop Suisse has reported a 7 per cent
increase in sales for 2002 and double digit profit growth, boosted
in particular by strong sales...
Knocked by the Nitrofen scandal in 2002, the boom for organic foods
in Germany has stepped down a gear with sales stagnating. But as
production continues to rise and producer margins continue to fall,
there is pressure to increase...
