Breaking News on Confectionery & Biscuit Processing

Campaigners welcome pledge from Australian firm on cocoa supply

08-Apr-2010 - World Vision Australia said it has taken the decision to pause campaigning activities aimed at chocolate-based product manufacturer, Arnott’s, for a six month period in response to the company publicly committing to addressing potential labour exploitation in its West African cocoa supply chain.

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Slimmer cans could lead to bigger waistlines

06-Apr-2010 - Soft drink makers could end up swallowing a £10m bill for no good reason by embracing the Food Standards Agency (FSA) recommendations for new slim-line 250ml drinks.

News in brief

Saputo closes milk and cream processing plant

02-Apr-2010 - Saputo is closing a plant in Ontario, Canada, which processes milk and cream products, and consolidating distribution activities in the greater Toronto area.

UK project aims to secure future cocoa supply

31-Mar-2010 - A UK research project aims to ensure the sustainability of future cocoa production through suggesting ways cocoa breeders can produce varieties more adapted to climate change.

News in brief

Nestle starts production at new Dubai plant

31-Mar-2010 - Nestle’s Middle East affiliate has started producing powdered milk, confectionery and wafer products, at its new plant in Dubai, which has a capacity of 100,000 tons a year.

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Making the food industry fair for SMEs

30-Mar-2010 - No race should have rules that favour the strongest competitors. But unless the capabilities and interests of SMEs are taken into consideration before the starting gun is fired for new food regulations, they will struggle to keep up and may have to drop out altogether.

Flavanols in cocoa again linked to CVD benefits

30-Mar-2010 - Small amounts of chocolate can lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease, according to a study by German researchers published in the European Heart Journal.

Cargill starts flavour production in China

25-Mar-2010 - Cargill has opened a new flavour facility in China, which is expected to enable it to better address regional demand and taste in Asia in a timely fashion.

News in brief

IFF blog opens window on company’s culinary world

24-Mar-2010 - International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF) has launched a blog, entitled A Taste of CulinEssence, intended as a platform from which the company’s chefs can share their culinary thoughts and news.

Global melamine standard would protect consumers, lower trade barriers

23-Mar-2010 - A global initiative to set an internationally-recognised standard for melamine in foods could harmonise efforts to detect future contamination and avoid unwanted trade barriers, said food safety officials.

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Supply chain transparency only answer to hostile campaigns

22-Mar-2010 - Food companies must ensure their supply chains are transparent and socially responsible in order to prevent backlashes from consumer activists and non-governmental groups on Facebook or Twitter, which could have costly brand repercussions.

Cost and consumer confusion: retail group decries new food label proposal

22-Mar-2010 - Changing food labels in the UK now 'makes no sense at all', asserts the group that represents food players such as Tesco.

Danish TV programme misrepresents cocoa farming, Caobisco

19-Mar-2010 - Representatives of the EU confectionery sector, Caobisco, has said claims made in a Danish documentary about child labour are a misrepresentation of the facts about cocoa farming in the Ivory Coast.

Packaging and flavours boost gum and mint sales

18-Mar-2010 - The gum, mints and breath fresheners market in the US has remained buoyant in the recession and has increased by over ten per cent since, according to new research from market analysts, which forecast that the category will continue to grow through to 2014.

Judge denies immediate ban on GM sugar beets

17-Mar-2010 - A judge has denied an immediate ban on the planting of Monsanto’s genetically modified (GM) sugar beets as it “would have a large detrimental effect on the United States’ domestic sugar supply and price.”

Barry Callebaut looks to Malaysia for alternative cocoa sources

16-Mar-2010 - Ambitious growth targets are fuelling leading chocolate supplier Barry Callebaut’s strategy to source cocoa from regions other than West Africa, with Malaysia the focus of the first stage of its cocoa production expansion plan.

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The HVP recall: Damage control déjà vu

15-Mar-2010 - Not again! It emerged last week that Basic Food Flavors, the company behind the ongoing HVP recall, knew its products were tainted with salmonella but carried on shipping them anyway. Déjà vu anyone?

Kraft CEO to miss UK political inquiry on Cadbury, report

15-Mar-2010 - Directors of both US food group Kraft and Cadbury are being called to account at a committee of UK politicians regarding the acquisition of the Dairy Milk maker tomorrow.

Even three-year-olds know brands: Study

12-Mar-2010 - Children as young as three recognize and have preferences for different brands, according to new research published in the journal Psychology and Marketing.

Research investigates what consumers see as 'natural'

11-Mar-2010 - An investigation into what the term ‘natural’ means for consumers has concluded that manufacturers wanting to position products as natural should use ingredients that have undergone physical rather than chemical processing, process less, and label chemical names rather than E-numbers.

Cargill calls for harmonized fair trade cocoa schemes

08-Mar-2010 - As Cargill expands its cocoa farmer training programme in the Ivory Coast this month, we caught up with managing director of Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate, Harold Poelma, to hear about developments in the sourcing of sustainably derived cocoa and his call for audit convergence among schemes.

Food marketers could read minds, say researchers

05-Mar-2010 - Brain scans could allow food marketers to learn about a product’s appeal – or lack thereof – while it is still at the design stage, according to analysis published in Nature Review Neuroscience.

New global monitoring tool identifies food safety offenders

05-Mar-2010 - A new monitoring tool presented at a recent EFSA conference has named China, Iran, Turkey, the United Sates and Spain as the top five offenders in food contamination between 2003 and 2008.

Cocoa prices dip on reports of buoyant supply

04-Mar-2010 - Cocoa futures in New York hit their lowest price since September yesterday on signs of increased production in Ivory Coast, which is the leading global supplier.