Breaking News on Confectionery & Biscuit Processing

Government should urgently raise sugar quotas: Report

29-Oct-2009 - Food and agricultural consultancy Promar has added its voice to those calling on government to raise sugar import quotas, saying that uncertain supplies lock in high costs for manufacturers and consumers.

Chewing gum may keep appetite at bay - study

29-Oct-2009 - Chewing gum can help to reduce calorie intake and burn up energy, claims a US study.

Barry Callebaut to help steer cocoa programme

28-Oct-2009 - Chocolate maker Barry Callebaut’s decision to join the UTZ Certified sustainable cocoa programme will bolster efforts to scale up the project and help to get all parts of the supply chain on board, claims the non-profit group.

Tate & Lyle to sell stakes in Saudi and Egyptian sugar refineries

27-Oct-2009 - Tate & Lyle has reached an agreement to sell its minority stake in sugar refineries in Saudi Arabia and Egypt to Saudi-based sugar refiner Savola, the companies have said.

Investors put price on Cadbury, Kraft deal - report

26-Oct-2009 - One of the leading investors in Cadbury has revealed he would consider a bid from Kraft if it were in the region of 820p per share, according to recent media reports.

Weekly comment

Tackling E.coli – legislation or self-regulation?

26-Oct-2009 - Everybody wants food to be safe - but the recent slugging match over how best to protect US consumers from E.coli-tainted meat highlights whether legislation or self-regulation is the answer to mending the country's flawed safety system.

New generation appeal serving Tangerine well

26-Oct-2009 - A strategy to revamp ‘cult’ sweet brands thought lost to bygone eras has resulted in sales doubling for a UK confectionery company in 2008.

Special edition: Healthy chocolate

Regulation: the rules governing healthy chocolate

23-Oct-2009 - In the final part of our series on healthy chocolate, NutraIngredients scans the regulatory landscape to see how the movement towards healthy cocoa offerings is being affected by the rules in some of the lands they are proliferating in.

Consumer response to health claims varies by country: Study

23-Oct-2009 - Italians are unswayed by healthy messages and images on foods, whereas the Finnish respond to medical pictures and British consumers are more likely to buy foods making even a weak health claim, indicates new research.

Ethical food purchases set to rise

23-Oct-2009 - UK consumers are likely to become more interested in purchasing ethically produced foods as the country emerges from recession, according to research from IGD.

Chocolate proving winner for Nestle

22-Oct-2009 - Growth in sugar confectionery weakened but the chocolate sector continued to perform well for Nestlé, according to the global food giant’s third quarter results.

Special edition: Healthy chocolate

Supply: Sourcing heart healthy chocolate

22-Oct-2009 - In the third part of a special series on the health benefits of cocoa polyphenols, NutraIngredients looks at the sourcing and supply issues associated with ensuring antioxidant levels in chocolate.

Pressure on Kraft as Cadbury upbeat on results

21-Oct-2009 - Cadbury’s upwardly revised revenue forecasts are a strong defence to the bid from Kraft, claim industry analysts.

Special edition: Healthy chocolate

Markets: functional chocolate finding its feet

20-Oct-2009 - In the first of a four-part special series, NutraIngredients.com dips its investigative strawberry into the world of healthy chocolate and finds a relatively embryonic sector still finding its way but buoyed by ever-more cocoa polyphenol science, exciting product innovation and increasing public interest.

Choc makers should look to China and India, says report

20-Oct-2009 - Developing regions will drive demand in the global chocolate sector which is predicted to have the fastest rate of growth of the global confectionery market during 2009 and 2013.

Preschoolers’ diets mimic unhealthy adult eating

20-Oct-2009 - Many American preschoolers do not eat any fruit or vegetables in a given day and most eat too much sodium and saturated fat – a situation reminiscent of adult habits, according to Nestlé-sponsored research.

Shoppers still prepared to pay for healthier foods, says research

19-Oct-2009 - Consumers are prepared to pay more for foods that note health attributes on packs, and are becoming more aware and sophisticated in their attitudes to diet and food labelling, according to research from Tate & Lyle.

Kraft sale could help with Cadbury bid - report

19-Oct-2009 - Kraft may look to sell its brand Maxwell House to generate a higher offer to Cadbury, the world's second largest confectionery group, claim media reports.

Chocolate manufacturers go pink for cause

19-Oct-2009 - US confectionery giants have been customising their wrapping or chocolates in support of breast cancer awareness month, while advocates caution consumers over the increasing number of pink products.

Weekly comment

Branded Corn Flakes are great for branding

19-Oct-2009 - Will we all be waking up bleary-eyed to bowls of tattooed Corn Flakes any time soon? Probably not, but by suggesting that we could, Kellogg’s has hit on a winning marketing ploy.

Nostalgia boosts UK food market growth

16-Oct-2009 - Nostalgic and ‘retro’ foods have helped drive continued sales value growth in the UK food and beverage market even as the country entered recession, according to a new report from Leatherhead Food Research.

Lower phosphate and potash prices slash Cargill’s Q1 earnings

14-Oct-2009 - Cargill has reported a 65 percent drop in earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 2010 from the same period last year, partly due to the company’s investment in phosphate and potash suppliers The Mosaic Company.

Weekly comment

Soda tax: A lot of froth over freedom

12-Oct-2009 - Is taxing soda really an evil plan to curb your individual freedom? Conspiracy theories aside, perhaps it’s simply a sensible scheme to tackle obesity when personal choice has failed.

ADM opens Ghana cocoa plant

12-Oct-2009 - ADM has officially opened its new cocoa processing plant in Ghana, planned to boost its ability to provide cocoa products from a single source.