Regulation & Safety

12-Jan-2012 - UK chocolatier Thorntons has been fined £20,000 after a worker broke her finger while operating a wrapping machine that was improperly guarded.

Chocolate giant submits cocoa flavanol-blood health claim to EFSA

10-Jan-2012 - Barry Callebaut has submitted an article 13.5 health claim dossier to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) linking cocoa flavanols and healthy blood flow.

News in brief

Sales ban lathered on chocolate doppelganger

09-Jan-2012 - The European Commission has ordered a sales ban on a bar of soap deemed to be too similar to a chocolate bar.

Revolymer seeks collaborators as Rev7 degradable gum base gets EU novel foods approval

04-Jan-2012 - UK-based polymer firm Revolymer has gained novel foods approval in the EU for a gum base that degrades faster than conventional bases and is seeking commercial partners to launch chewing gum products in the EU.

News in brief

Undeclared sulphites prompt Baraka Apricot Candy recall

02-Jan-2012 - US based UBC Food Distributors has recalled 400g cellophane wrapped, product of Lebanon Baraka Apricot Candies after they were found to contain undeclared sulphites as preservatives.

Natural flavours ‘identified in nature’ to have major industry impact – report

02-Jan-2012 - EC regulations implemented last year that require natural flavouring substances to be identical to something found in nature will greatly impact the industry, according to a report assessing the new regulation.

Exclusive interview

Beneo board: “Let us not forget that functional food responds to a clear demand of the consumer”

20-Dec-2011 - In the first part of this exclusive interview, Beneo Group executive board member, Yves Servotte, explains how European Union health claim rules have informed strategic thinking at one of Europe’s biggest and most vocal ingredient vendors.

Comment

Lobbyists, start your engines: Can a new health claims formula be won in the European Parliament?

12-Dec-2011 - Five years ago the European Union nutrition and health claims regulation (NHCR) became law. Around the bloc, hopeful EU healthy foods and supplements stakeholders submitted more than 44,000 health claim applications.

News in brief

EC extends deadline on major sugar takeover

07-Dec-2011 - The European Commission has been given more time to investigate German sugar company Südzucker’s bid to acquire a 25% stake in British commodities trading company ED&F Man and the deal's impact on competition.

EC proposes different cadmium levels for milk and dark chocolate

02-Dec-2011 - The European Commission has proposed higher maximum cadmium levels for dark chocolate as more of the heavy metal is found in chocolate with high cocoa content.

Study claims chewing gum can reduce daytime tiredness

30-Nov-2011 - British researchers have conducted a study that suggests chewing gum can combat daytime sleepiness.

Nestle ‘sure’ child labour occurs in supply chain as company allows probe

30-Nov-2011 - Nestle has become the first food company to allow the Fair Labor Association (FLA) to investigate whether children are working on cocoa farms supplying its factories as the company said that it would almost certainly be the case.

Xylitol chewing gum could cut ear infection risk in children– study

28-Nov-2011 - Researchers at the University of Toronto have published a study review that claims chewing xylitol- based chewing gum five times a day can reduce acute middle ear infections (AOM) in young children.

Caobisco calls for extended buffer stocks to combat supply fluctuations

24-Nov-2011 - The Association of the Chocolate, Biscuit and Confectionery of Europe (Caobisco) has called for buffer stocks to be extended to cover the supply of commodities like wheat, skimmed milk powder and butter oil as part of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reforms.

German court raps Ferrero on vitamin content labels

23-Nov-2011 - Italian confectioner Ferrero has been ordered by a German court to change the labelling on its Nutella brand or face €250,000 fines per individual case.

Novel Foods Exclusive

First yeast-derived beta glucan approved as novel food in EU

22-Nov-2011 - Health ingredients firm Biothera has been granted novel foods approval in the EU for its immune health ingredient yeast beta glucan and said there were prospects for manufacturers in a variety of food formulations.

Special Edition: Stevia

Coca-Cola to expand stevia offering in EU; no plans to drop aspartame

21-Nov-2011 - Coca-Cola said it has no reason to drop the artificial sweetener aspartame from its low or zero calorie beverage brands in the European market as it welcomes last week’s approval by the European Commission for the use of the natural sweetener stevia in drinks and foodstuffs.

Novel Foods Exclusive

Wrigley gains novel food approval for magnolia bark extract in EU

21-Nov-2011 - Gum giant Wrigley has been granted novel food approval in the EU for an extract to be used in chewing gum and mints that will allow it to introduce new products with perceived breath-freshening benefits.

Special Edition: Stevia

Is a re-assessment of EU stevia usage on the cards?

17-Nov-2011 - Post-market monitoring of stevia use levels in food and drink products could see the European Commission broaden the current authorised food categories, claims a stevia trade body.

Cadbury upholds purple reign in colour trademark row with Nestle

16-Nov-2011 - Cadbury has acquired a UK trademark for a shade of the colour purple on chocolate bar packaging following a legal dispute with major rival Nestle.

Decision on food and drink Ecolabel some months away

07-Nov-2011 - A decision is not expected until spring 2012 on whether the EU Ecolabel would be extended to food and drink products, reports the EU, following the publication of a feasibility study last week.

News in brief

Beware of gummy bears found under the influence...

31-Oct-2011 - The US-based Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board (ABC) has warned parents of children involved in trick-or-treat to be wary of potential adulteration of gummy bears or other confectionery with alcoholic drinks such as vodka.

Continued volatility expected for EU sugar market but deregulation could ease supply shortfall – report

25-Oct-2011 - Instability in the European sugar market is set to continue in the near future though further deregulation anticipated for 2015 could help bakery and confectionery manufacturers, according to a report from financial services provider Rabobank Group.

Mars goes UTZ certified in Netherlands to kick off sustainable cocoa pledge

24-Oct-2011 - Mars chocolate bars in the Netherlands are to carry UTZ certified marks from Feburary 2012 as Mars sets targets for its cocoa to be fully sustainable worldwide by 2020.

EU food and drink sector backs Brussels decision to end sugar quotas

13-Oct-2011 - The EU food and drink manufacturing sector has welcomed Brussels decision to abolish the EU sugar quota system by 2015, claiming it will allow a more market-focused sugar regime.