Breaking News on Confectionery & Biscuit Processing

Vietnam pushes for cocoa market growth

18-Sep-2007 - Vietnam looks set to become one of Asia's primary cocoa producers, with the government pledging to invest 40 billion dong (€1.8m) in the country's burgeoning cocoa trade, according to local news reports.

No let-up expected in ingredients price rises

18-Sep-2007 - Food ingredients prices rose at the fastest rate since 1998 in August, says a new report released just as ministers warn that the worst of the hikes is yet to come - a particularly for meat.

Weekly Comment

Arnie and the clones

17-Sep-2007 - Cloned foods have not yet made it to our grocery aisles, but in the advent of such a rollout consumers must have a defined right to decide if they want to swallow the technology or not.

News brief: Confectionery roundup from around the world

14-Sep-2007 - This week's confectionery round up with a Thornton's sales recovery, vodka chocolates and an internet-storming gorilla…

Confectionery giants cut use of artificial additives

14-Sep-2007 - In the wake of a damning scientific report on the health effects of artificial additives, Cadbury Trebor Bassett and Mars UK today said they are cutting the chemicals from their products.

Immigration proposals aimed at filling industry skills shortage

13-Sep-2007 - EU immigration ministers meeting in Lisbon this week are currently working on a unified immigration programme to fill gaps in the bloc's workforce, a decision that will be crucial for the food and drink industry.

Healthy eating boom sweetens Glisten's profits

12-Sep-2007 - Sales and profits for UK based confectionery and snacks manufacturer Glisten have benefited from its focus on the healthy options market.

Organisations accuse UK regulator of industry bias

12-Sep-2007 - Three consumer organisations have accused the UK regulator of having "misled" the public and of being in the pocket of manufacturers over its approach to a major study on food additives.

Could biofuels do more harm than good? OECD asks

11-Sep-2007 - European ministers will today discuss whether propounding use of biofuels is justified given their impact on food prices, and whether first generation technologies are causing more environmental harm than good.

Confectionery exhibition highlights premium trends

11-Sep-2007 - The growing demand for luxury, fortified, natural and organic confectionery is the focus of this year's All Candy Expo.

Sugar-free impacts overall confectionery markets, says Palatinit

11-Sep-2007 - Palatinit is taking heart from market data indicating strong potential for the sugar-free confectionery market in Europe, as it steps out of a diet and diabetic-only niche and into the mainstream.

Weekly comment

Hooked on Es

10-Sep-2007 - This comment was amended to correct a statement about bans of additives in other countries. Some of the chemicals were previously banned by Norway, Austria and Australia but those bans have since been removed. Allura red AC, tartrazine and sunset yellow are allowed in the US, while quinoline yellow, carmoisine and ponceau 4R are not. None of the colour additives are currently banned by Australia, which lifted a ban on quinoline yellow in 2003. The country does not permit tartrazine to be used in medicines.

News brief: Barry Callebaut, Ferrero and death by chocolate

07-Sep-2007 - A roundup of a few more confectionery stories from this week; Barry Callebaut, Ferrero, and potential death by chocolate.

Kraft resets its focus to drive down costs

07-Sep-2007 - Kraft Foods will drive down costs by $1bn (€732m), rejig its global portfolio, and exploit its sales capabilities, in a bid to make the company more profitable, the company's top executive stated at a conference this week.

Glisten moves into healthier confectionery market

07-Sep-2007 - UK-based Glisten has acquired 50 per cent of the Skinny Candy brand in a bid to expand its portfolio to meet the demand for healthier confectionery products, the company said today.

Weekly comment

Food prices and the death of the productionist model

04-Sep-2007 - Last week saw a string of communications about food price rises: first warnings were aired about wheat, then meat, then dairy. It's a vertiginous view from the heights of the commodity markets, and it's clearer than ever before that we need to re-jig our basic food supply systems if we are to feed the world in the future.

Mars follows dark chocolate trends

04-Sep-2007 - Mars has launched two new products in US under its M&M's brand in a bid to cater to consumers looking for "healthier" chocolates.

Nestle campaigns for benefits of dark chocolate

04-Sep-2007 - A new Nestle-backed campaign in Australia is promoting the health benefits of dark chocolate to doctors, dieticians and nutritionists.

New Zealand pushes for traffic light labelling

04-Sep-2007 - The New Zealand government should impose "traffic light" health labels on foods and beverages, recommends a parliamentary committee.

Lindt boss gets sweet tooth for Godiva

04-Sep-2007 - Lindt & Sprugli boss Ernst Tanner claimed the company is looking to buy Campbell's chocolate business Godiva, in an interview today.

News briefs: Wrigley, Hershey, China

03-Sep-2007 - More ConfectioneryNews.com stories, in a nutshell: Wrigley strengthens European focus; Hershey enters credit agreement; and further problems for Chinese products.

Study suggests you can be addicted to chocolate

31-Aug-2007 - Scientists from the University of Oxford claim they have found similarities in brain activity between those addicted to drugs and those addicted to chocolate.

News Focus: Health and Wellness

Nestle pursues human nutrition through acquisition strategy

30-Aug-2007 - The third in a series of FoodNavigator-USA.com articles on the health and wellness approach of major US companies examines Nestlé's increasing focus on research and development as a means to improve human nutrition.

China is still number one for expanding firms

30-Aug-2007 - China is still the number one location for manufacturers and retailers looking to expand their businesses in an effort both to tap into the fast growing China market and as a means of establishing low-cost global manufacturing bases, according to a new study by service consultants, Deloitte & Touche.