Breaking News on Confectionery & Biscuit Processing

Christmas Feature

Does Christmas bring you out in bumps?

Not everyone is a fan of Christmas. For some the very thought of it brings them out in a cold sweat - or even an allergic reaction.

Christmas Feature

The festive food frenzy

0600 hours, 24 December - touched down on planet earth, life force appears rounded and inert.

Christmas Feature

Evolution of the Christmas dinner

Humble pie, stuffed peacock and sugar mice have left our Christmas tables seemingly never to return. But what was it that forever pushed such dishes from our hearts and feasting?

US army develops tooth-cleaning gum

American soldiers could soon benefit from tooth-cleaning chewing gum. An army research team has developed an active ingredient that can be included in gum to keep mouths clean when toothpaste and brush are out of the question.

Christmas feature

The sum of chocolate

Chocoholics rejoice: 2005 was the year it became clear chocolate really is good for you. But before Christmas ushers in a race to cram the candy, reflect a moment on where the benefits truly lie, and where they don't.

Christmeas feature

Anyone for a reindeer roast?

All those who still believe in Santa, stop reading here. For his sledge-pulling reindeer, Dancer, Prancer, and Rudolph, have long been consumed in a tasty stew.

More support for dark chocolate's heart benefits.

A daily treat of dark chocolate can improve overall heart health and reduce the risk of heart disease, say researchers from Zurich.

Wrigley fined for price fixing

The Romanian Competition Council has fined Wrigley Romania and 26 connected companies €5.5 million for introducing minimum prices on its products, which was seen to be a measure that is in violation of EU law.

New custom made caramel filling system for food ingredients group

The UK's leading manufacturer of weighbridges, Weightron Bilanciai Ltd, has developed a custom made caramel filling system to diversify products for the food ingredients division of the Healy Group.

Christmas feature

Wassail away your Christmas

Forget the family 'bored' games this Christmas. It's time to get down to the local orchard with a slice of toast, a loaded gun and a big bowl of steaming Wassail for some real festive tradition.

Christmas feature

The chemistry of delicious

If only they taught chemistry in schools as it happens at Christmas tables across Europe. For here lies the secret of delicious. Come next weekend, the centrepiece from north to south will be a roast. A British turkey, a German goose, a French roast beef: all amount to a grand fiesta of chemical reactions that few other methods of cooking can match.

Chocolate cheese lifts Fonterra in Asia

Early success for Fonterra's chocolate-flavoured cheese in Taiwan has the firm planning to expand the product across Asia in an attempt to "re-define cheese".

World's first edible chocolate comic to be launched

Fresh from airing its photographic chocolate technology on the BBC's Dragons Den, Chocpix looks to have more innovation up its sleeve. At the ISM show next month, it will be unveiling the world's first edible comic.

ADM launches bright red cocoa powder

ADM Cocoa hopes to enable manufacturers to differentiate products and deliver uniquely attractive foods through the launch of a bright red cocoa powder.

New confectioner targets expats

Ma Cameron's, a new confectioner of traditional Scottish sweets, is not only looking forward to its first Christmas but also hoping to rebuild the native confectionery industry through taping into a unique market - expatriates.

Glisten expand both at home and away

UK-based confectionery group Glisten has acquired Lyme Regis Fine Foods Limited and announced details of an office in Rotterdam with the aim of increasing foreign sales.

Cadbury and Kraft both look to Eastern Europe

Cadbury Schweppes is to invest £70 million in building a manufacturing facility in Poland, whilst Kraft has moved production from Norway to Lithuania.

Weekly Comment

The shimmer of patent valuation

Complex webs of assumptions are spinning a lie about the real value of today's companies, lulling directors and shareholders alike into a false sense of value creation.

New Palsgaard emulsifier promises viscosity and yield

A newly developed citric acid ester of mono- and di-glycerides promises to replace lecithin in chocolate applications where the main functionality is to lower the viscosity and yield value.

UK food industry welcomes EU obesity strategy

The UK food industry has called the EC green paper on the promotion of healthy diets a 'sensible, integrated effort to tackle food and health issues'.

Inulin chocolate innovator seeks partners

FGH Consulting has developed methods for using inulin to make low glycemic index, low calorie and high fiber confectionery and other food products that are suitable for diabetics. As its first chocolate bars come to market, the company is seeking partnerships with other food companies in the same field.

USDA agrees to extra sugar imports to stem shortage

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced it will allow extra sugar imports into the country in an effort to prevent market shortages after hurricane damage to sugarcane crops, delayed sugar beet harvests, disruptions in refinery activities and transportation problems have severely restricted the nation's sugar supply.

Palatinit sees further growth in sugar-free candy

Palatinit believes that its Isomalt sugar replacer is well-positioned to tap the growing sugar-free functional confectionery market.

Cargill furthers interest in European chocolate market

Cargill is to increase production at its industrial chocolate plant in Mouscron, Belgium thanks to a €17 million (US $20 million) investment.

Weekly Comment

The reach of lobbying

The oft-said adage that there are two things people don't want to see being made - sausage and legislation - falls apart at the doors of the EU's parliament.

Tate & Lyle expands ingredients empire

New acquisitions announced today by Tate & Lyle underline the UK group's strategy of achieving a truly diverse added value ingredients portfolio.

Organic market set to enjoy steady growth over next 20 years

The organic industry is set to enjoy good growth over the next twenty years, according to a new study by the nation's Organic Trade Association (OTA), which forecasts that by 2025 organic products will be considered "commonplace."

ChocoMed launches first functional chocolates

After two years of development ChocoMed, a subsidiary of House of Brussels Chocolates, is launching its first health and wellness products using chocolate bars as the delivery medium.

Tate & Lyle targets better industry understanding

Tate & Lyle believes that developing a better understanding of food manufacturing concerns will enable the company to deliver better ingredient solutions.

Orion expands into southeast confectionery markets

South Korean snack maker Orion Corp broke ground today on a new confectionery plant in Vietnam, which will supply markets across Southeast Asia.