Legislation governing the production and marketing of products
aimed specifically at Russian children needs to be completely
overhauled or the nation could face serious health problems in the
future, suggests new research, Angela...
Contributing the biggest revenue stream to Givaudan, the flavours
unit posted sales of CHF 1.6 billion (€1 billion) sales in 2004,
representing stagnant growth on a like-for-like basis in Swiss
francs.
The sale of Chr Hansen's ingredients arm gains pace with reports
suggesting the unit could fetch nearly €1 billion ($1.31 billion),
writes Lindsey Partos.
Ambitious Irish ingredients and flavours firm Kerry sees costs
rising for the year and sales inching up by just over 1 per cent
for 2004, the company reports today.
Europe's food watchdog continues to trawl through its risk
assessment of 1000 flavouring substances, with 38 substances out of
51 requiring more data to complete the safety evaluation.
The news this month that the world's number one drinks giant Coca
Cola has linked up with Tate & Lyle's Splenda sweetener in a
new branding venture could signal the beginning of a new wave of
ingredient - manufacturer...
United Confectioners, Europe's biggest confectionery holding group
which unites Russia's 15 leading producers, saw its 2005 order book
swell after its recent participation in Berlin's Green Week
exhibition, with exports...
Major food commodity processor and ingredients supplier Archer
Daniels Midland (ADM) will expand cocoa operations in Brazil to
match expansion of current product lines, the firm said this week.
Mariann Fischer Boel, the EU's recently appointed agriculture
commissioner, has claimed that sweeping EU agricultural reforms
will provide UK farmers with a "better balance of support",
while forging a more competitive...
Non-nutritive sweetener neotame is on the agenda in Europe as
scientific experts meet today in Brussels to discuss the food
additive up to 13,000 times sweeter than sugar.
Race for the next high margin ingredient continues as the UK maker
of Splenda sweetener signs off $46 million over the next five years
to invest in "next-generation food and industrial ingredients".
The British arm of Nestlé has become the latest food producer to
revamp its nutrition labels, yet the country's food industry is on
rocky ground by entrenching its support for guideline daily amounts
against the government's...
Democrats Tom Harkin and Eliot L. Engel wrote a hard-hitting piece
in the LA Times on Monday about the human cost of the chocolate
trade, but the cocoa industry has hit back by reaffirming its
commitment to responsible farming.
DSM, the largest food fermentation company in the world (in value
terms) sees its combined food units beating industry growth for the
year, but bakery still under pressure, reports Lindsey
Partos.
The number of imported chocolate products into Switzerland has
increased for the fourth year running - but will the EU's looming
CAP reforms soon bring this burgeoning trend to an end, asks Tom
Armitage.
Several recently published studies have revealed the nutritional
benefits of peanuts and USDA figures released last week show that
there is no shortage of supply for food manufacturers.
Growth in the US agricultural sector over the next decade will be
reliant on growing international economic activity to support gains
in consumption, trade, and prices, according to the USDA.
Companies seeking to do business across the Atlantic face
significant hurdles if the United States and European Union do not
work to remove non-tariff trade barriers, claimed Coca-Cola chief
executive Neville Isdell.
Tate & Lyle's Splenda brand in the news again this week as
McNeil Nutritionals, the table-top supplier of this increasingly
popular sweetener, takes the US sugar industry to court.
Seizures of conterfeit food products and medicines entering the EU
increased by 77 per cent from 2002 to 2003, according to the
European Commission. Foodstuffs seized included sweets, waffles,
chewing gum and even apples.
Set to see sugar profits dip with incoming European sugar reform,
Danisco's announcement last week to acquire enzyme player Genencor
is the latest in a string of acquisitions that will go some way to
bridging the sales gap, writes...
Food in the pre-harvest stage is more vulnerable to contamination
than food in the processing and packaging stages of production,
because of environmental variability and our inability to control
it, according to a new report released...
Recently devolved Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have already
established a strong bargaining position in the development of EU
policy, particularly in agriculture, likely to affect how the UK
handles CAP reform in the future,...
Marketers of fast moving consumer goods in Russia may now think
twice about using free samples to promote their products, following
a decision to tax them. Angela Drujinina reports.
Peter Mandelson, the newly-appointed EU trade commissioner, is
considering launching a review of the EU's stringent food hygiene
regulations in an attempt to tackle growing accusations that its
policies are protectionist and...
External signals override natural signals that we have eaten
enough, but is it all a question of education, ask US researchers,
exploring methods to tackle obesity.
United Confectioners Holding has initiated a complex
standardisation programme across its product range, a fact that
will allow products at different factories to be manufactured to
the same stable quality and taste, Angela Drujinina...
Europe and the US continue to dominate demand in the €4.5 billion
flavours market, but Asia Pacific region is quickly catching up
thanks to high single-digit growth, reveal figures from a new
report.
The US sugar association files a lawsuit against McNeil
Nutritionals, the supplier of successful sweetener Splenda,
following swiftly on from a complaint in November by US NutraSweet
supplier Merisant.
Several of the UK's leading multiple retailers are failing to help
consumers make healthy eating choices, despite increasing action
from the government to tackle the rising levels of obesity and
dietary-related health problems,...
The Spanish government is to provide funding for confectionery
producers wishing to promote their products this year. But the cash
is reserved for companies and organisations seeking to improve the
image of sugar confectionery products,...
Danish ingredients giant Chr Hansen is about to launch an intensive
research and marketing campaign across Eastern Europe to learn more
about local taste preferences and beat the opposition to one of the
world's most promising...
The European food industry could see a unified version of labels on
foodstuffs, and accompanying cost-savings, as Europe's executive
arm calls for standardised labels across the EU, writes Lindsey
Partos.
Pricing rounds in the tough sweeteners market draw to a close with
UK starch and sweetener supplier Tate & Lyle expecting a slight
fall in margins for Europe.
Tough European legislation on junk food advertising to children
could become a reality, if the food industry fails to produce an
effective self-regulatory framework to help society deal with
increasing obesity in children.
Growth in Asian and South American markets boost sales for colours
firm Chr Hansen, counterbalancing a fall in revenue in North
America for the first quarter of the year.
Toothfriendly Sweets International, a non-profit making association
which champions the health benefits of sugar-free confectionery,
has announced it has received charitable status for its work -
something which sugar-free confectioners...
Number one natural colours firm Chr Hansen makes inroads into the
lucrative Chinese market, this week unveiling a new food colour
factory to meet a rise in local demand, and marking the first step
in a raft of investments in the region.
As Europe's food agency finally makes the permanent move to Italy,
a framework plan for 2005 consolidates the key objectives for the
EU's major risk assessor.
Food companies are expecting a tough year in 2005 with competition
and price pressures in the food chain rising to the surface as the
key issues, reports Lindsey Partos.
Aluminium packaging giant Alcan is investing $55 million to build
and equip two new Russian plants - a clear indication that foreign
firms are beginning to take notice of the Russian packaging market,
writes Anthony Fletcher.
As food ingredients suppliers take a stake in the burgeoning
Chinese market new figures released by the United Nations confirm
foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to Asia and the Pacific
rose by a massive 55 per cent in 2004 on...
Markos Kyprianou, the new Commissioner for Health and Consumer
Protection in Brussels, will continue in his predecessor David
Byrne's foodsteps, pushing to maintain high levels of food safety
in the EU.
The boss of UK starch and sugar group Tate & Lyle, currently
enjoying booming sales for its sweetener 600 times sweeter than
sugar, has hooked the European Businessman of the Year award from
leading US business magazine Forbes.
Chocolate consumption in the UK is slowing down as health and diet
concerns impact sales, a trend which has created opportunities for
major players to roll out sugar free and low carbohydrate products,
according to market analysts...
Prices for cocoa remain relatively volatile as political unrest in
Ivory Coast, that produces some 40 per cent of global cocoa crops,
keeps the market nervous.
Prices for the popular hydrocolloid gum arabic used in a range of
food applications have doubled in 12 months as political turmoil
and poor stocks leave the market exposed, writes Lindsey
Partos.
Restricting the diets of mice reduces the build-up of plaques in
the brain that are linked to Alzheimer's disease, according to a
new study that offers further evidence of the benefits of calorie
restriction.
