Breaking News on Confectionery & Biscuit Processing

Brits’ love of chocolate feeds sales growth

09-Oct-2009 - British people spend more money on chocolate than any other Europeans – and sales continue to grow, according to new figures from Mintel.

News in brief

USDA grants $1.6m for organic trade research

09-Oct-2009 - The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded $1,666,000 to the Organic Trade Association (OTA) for projects that tackle trade issues for organic products.

Firmenich plans post-recession with partnerships, innovation

08-Oct-2009 - Sweet goods, snacks and soups were amongst the categories that performed well for Firmenich in a recession struck year in which sales fell 4.3 per cent overall

Recession not driving ethical spending underground

06-Oct-2009 - Tighter purses are not turning consumers away from ethical shopping with interest in all things sustainable or humane thriving despite the recession, according to market researcher, Packaged Facts.

Weekly comment

Bad day at the EU health claims office

05-Oct-2009 - October 1 was not a good day for many in the functional foods and food supplements business in the European Union as the meaning of life under a highly restrictive health claims regime came more into focus.

News in brief

Cadbury family member attacks Kraft bid

05-Oct-2009 - A member of the Cadbury family has attacked the Kraft takeover bid and promised to mobilise family opposition.

Survey shows huge lack of salt content awareness

05-Oct-2009 - The UK’s Food Standards Agency is launching a new campaign to encourage people to check salt levels on food labels, as 77 per cent of people are not aware that bread and breakfast cereals are amongst the most laden products.

Weight management shifts from ‘food minus’ to ‘food plus’: Euromonitor

02-Oct-2009 - The market for foods and beverages that claim to address weight management is set for a shift in focus – from the omission of certain ‘bad’ ingredients to the addition of other ‘good’ ones, suggests Euromonitor.

Food insecurity increases US children’s risk of obesity, says study

02-Oct-2009 - New research from the American Dietetic Association has found a "paradoxical correlation" between obesity and food insecurity – defined as lack of access to food, or nutritionally adequate food – in young American children.

Could sweets every day as kids make adults aggressive?

01-Oct-2009 - As new study suggests that eating sweets every day in childhood could make adults more aggressive, the food industry warns against trivialising of complex social issues.

Kraft given November deadline for Cadbury bid

30-Sep-2009 - The UK’s Takeover Panel has announced a deadline of November 9 for Kraft to make a bid for Cadbury or to say that it does not intend to make an offer.

Quotas ignore industry's sugar price plea

29-Sep-2009 - The USDA has set sugar import quotas at the minimum level required under World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements, despite pleas from industry to increase quotas in an effort to pull down prices.

Weekly comment

The benefits of a probiotic witch hunt

28-Sep-2009 - Get your pitchforks ready! There are evil-doers out there! We’ve been conned: Probiotics don’t work. Dannon’s settling out of court, EFSA’s rejecting health claims, and the media is starting a witch hunt.

Cocoa price spike may favor Kraft over Cadbury

28-Sep-2009 - World cocoa prices have just hit record highs sparking suggestions that the resulting cost changes could aid the Kraft bid for Cadbury.

Kraft reportedly prepares hostile bid for Cadbury

28-Sep-2009 - Kraft Foods is reportedly preparing a hostile bid for Cadbury three weeks after the confectionery company rejected a £10.2bn ($16.7bn) offering.

Taste tipped to top the agenda at Stevia World Europe

28-Sep-2009 - Ahead of the Stevia World Europe conference in Frankfurt in November, business research firm KnowGenix has compiled a report detailing the quality, sustainability and taste issues that stevia still faces.

News in brief

Cadbury boss makes veiled attack on Kraft’s brand of capitalism

25-Sep-2009 - Cadbury CEO Todd Stitzer told a fair trade conference in London on Thursday that taking away its “principled capitalism” would destroy Cadbury’s appeal, according to the UK’s Guardian newspaper.

Cadbury tells Kraft to bid or back off

24-Sep-2009 - Cadbury has approached the UK’s Takeover Panel, asking it to impose a deadline for Kraft to make an offer.

PepsiCo imports fail Chinese quality control

23-Sep-2009 - Global drinks giant PepsiCo is one of a number of western companies whose imported food and beverage products have failed Chinese quality inspection tests, reports Shanghai Daily, one of the country’s two leading English language newspapers.

News in brief

McNeil launches tabletop sugar and stevia blend

22-Sep-2009 - McNeil Nutritionals has launched a new all-natural, low-calorie tabletop sweetener containing a blend of sugar and stevia.

Weekly comment

Are health claims curbing freedom of speech?

21-Sep-2009 - The US FDA is being sued over its health claims regime – actions that are unlikely to succeed according to most pundits – but they raise serious questions about healthy food messaging and free speech that are being felt globally.

Sweetening the perception of HFCS

18-Sep-2009 - The Corn Refiners Association has said it is very pleased that Dr Barry Popkin has revoked an earlier theory about high fructose corn syrup’s link to obesity – but how much can industry do to mend its reputation?

News in brief

Imperial Sugar fits packing equipment at rebuilt plant

18-Sep-2009 - Imperial Sugar has confirmed that all its packaging equipment is now on site at its Port Wentworth site in Georgia as rebuilding nears completion.

Cadbury confident despite Kraft bid

17-Sep-2009 - Cadbury has given a confident presentation of its stand-alone strategy in the midst of speculation that the company is unlikely to hold onto its independence following Kraft’s failed take-over bid.