Research published this month suggests that some cocoa and
chocolate products have a very high flavanol content, a factor
which makes them good at protecting the body against cardiovascular
disease. But all chocolate products do not...
Gel-forming additives used widely in jelly mini-cups have been
permanently banned within the European Union following a ruling in
the summer by the European Food Safety Agency that they constituted
a choking hazard.
A rise in global stocks of wheat after a 30-year low will offer
continued relief to the tighter prices experienced by the food
industry in previous years, but the food chain still needs to stay
on the alert.
Confectionery manufacturers are increasingly turning to other food
categories to drive growth, building on the strong brand awareness
of their products to garner additional profits, suggest market
analysts Euromonitor.
Teenagers frequently opt for healthier drinks if given a choice,
claims the UK's food watchdog, after testing the response to
vending machines that offer fruit juices and milk in British
schools.
Cargill, the largest private firm in the US, will link up with
biotech giant Monsanto to bring food makers an alternative source
of soybean oil, used to reduce the artery-clogging trans fats in
food products.
An editorial in the British Medical Journal this month that
concludes criticisms of aspartame are 'unfounded' adds fuel to the
ongoing debate surrounding this popular sweetener used widely in
food and beverage applications.
Foods of the future may well be anchored in individual taste
profiles as fundamental research by scientists at the Swiss food
giant Nestlé details the diversity of bitter taste receptors in
monkeys, chimpanzees and humans, writes...
The need of ingredients and equipment suppliers to reach Russian
food manufacturers is becoming increasingly urgent, but in the
absence of established B2B advertising channels, few avenues have
been open. Now a new alliance between...
Prices remain steady for cocoa, despite news that the start of the
new cocoa harvesting season from the world's biggest producer,
Ivory Coast, has been delayed due to a dispute.
AIM Global, the association for and worldwide authority on
automatic identification and data collection, has issued the AIM
RFID Mark, a standard way to clearly show the presence of an RFID
transponder, its frequency and data structure.
The loss from a security breach of just one shipping container
could cost companies up to $1 trillion, according to an alarming
new report from Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.
UK wheat quality has been pushed even further below the national
three-year average, according to the first survey of wheat
harvested during the worst period of the UK's summer rain,
confirming fears that bad weather will place...
A new gum tax in Ireland proposed to help street cleaning could add
5 to 10 cents to the price of a packet of gum, potentially curbing
growth in a chewing gum market which has been revitalised by sales
of healthy and oral hygiene...
Artificial sweeteners will lead the growth in the food additives
market on the back of rising consumer demand for functional foods,
closely followed by nutraceuticals and food preservatives, but
flavours will remain, by far, the largest...
US-based packaging distributor Hughes Enterprises argues that
attention to packaging is vital in ensuring total supply chain
safety, reports Anthony Fletcher.
Research from the US suggests that women could have a sweeter tooth
than men - good news for confectionery manufacturers looking to
roll out new products with a feminine slant but less so for women
seeking to keep control of their...
Damage from Hurricane Ivan that struck the US last week could send
prices for peanuts, a common confectionery ingredient, rising as
reports suggest that virtually all of the nation's 2004 peanut crop
could be at risk.
Chocolate makers could see savings from new research that sets out
to tackle the common problem of fat bloom, an unsightly white
powdery film that forms on the outside of chocolate, writes
Lindsey Partos.
Leading UK biscuit and snack manufacturer United Biscuits (UB) has
begun transporting products in recyclable flat-pack boxes in order
to achieve cost savings and waste reductions.
The European Commission is funding a project to find out how food
labelling and advertising policies could be used to stem the rapid
rise of obesity in many member states.
Almost all innovation in the UK's food industry is being driven by
the three key themes, according to a new report, with those meeting
criteria for all three likely to score the biggest hit in the
marketplace.
Ahead of new rules on the labelling of trans fatty acids in the US
due in 2006, biotech group Monsanto has designed low-linolenic
soybeans that can make a soybean oil for food firms looking to
eliminate trans fats in food formulations.
Despite tough new rules on GM food labels, food makers will stick
to non-GM alternatives as new evidence from the UK shows British
consumers will continue to refuse to buy foods containing biotech
ingredients.
Confectionery giant Mars is one of several food companies
collaborating on a new research project designed to provide more
information about phytonutrients, beneficial compounds found in a
range of products, including chocolate.
Britons are already the Europeans most likely to skip meals on a
regular basis - a trend which has made them the snacking champions
of Europe - but a new report suggests that irregular mealtimes are
likely to become even more widespread...
Product mix difficulties meant that Spanish sugar confectionery
producers were unable to match increased volume sales with a rise
in revenues in 2003. The children's confectionery market, in
particular, failed to meet expectations...
Ongoing demand for healthy products helped Irish food and
ingredients firm Kerry to a strong first half performance. And with
recent acquisitions pushing it into other high growth sectors,
there is little to stop the group from making...
One of Spain's most traditional Christmas delicacies,
turron, could be in short supply this year after a
disastrous harvest for the key ingredient, almonds.
More research has underlined the heart health benefits of dark
chocolate, shown in a Greek study to improve healthy blood flow and
prevent clots forming.
Dutch ingredients company DSM revealed yesterday that its muscle
recovery ingredient PeptoPro will be marketed in a new range of
products worldwide by Europe's biggest sports nutrition company
Haleko.
Convenience stores and hypermarkets - formats at opposite ends of
the retail spectrum - will be the main drivers of growth in the
British food retail market over the next five years, according to
grocery think tank IGD. The UK market...
Europe's food safety body has concluded that jelly mini-cups made
with a range of food additives derived from seaweed and certain
gums, from xanthan gum to calcium alginate, could constitute a
choking risk, reports Lindsey Partos.
Canadian company, IdeaPacked Communications, has developed new
labelling technology for the nutraceutical and dietary supplements
industry. It is said to provide a more efficient and cost-effective
means of multi-functional labelling...
Increased harvests for key food commodities could suggest a
near-term easing up of price pressures for ingredients companies
and food manufacturers but an overall draw-down in global stocks
means prices are still extremely vulnerable,...
Ambitious Israeli flavours firm Frutarom has bought the European
natural fruit preparations business from the world's number two
flavours player just months after completing on the Swiss botanical
extracts firm Emil Flachsmann.
While universally welcomed by food manufacturers, retailers and
consumer allergy groups alike, one aspect of the new European
directive on food allergen labelling has proved unpopular and is
now slated for amendment- the labelling...
Supply chain management firm Menlo Worldwide has added a warehouse
management system with radio frequency identification (RFID)
capabilities to its offering in order to help suppliers and
manufacturers meet the traceability requirements...
US cereals and snacks group Kellogg is to centralise its European
operations in a new office in Ireland, giving it a major presence
in the market with the world's highest per capita consumption of
ready-to-eat cereals, writes...
The complex issue of carbohydrate labelling fired up by the
low-carb trend will move up a gear next month when the FDA is
expected to release proposed rules on how information about
carbohydrates should appear on the nutrition facts...
Vitamin-enriched products made by Kellogg, the world's biggest
cereal maker, have been blocked from entering the Danish market by
a new policy for assessing the safety of fortified foods.
Brussels invests in the fat issue backing a five-year programme to
investigate the most effective way dietary fat change could impact
the current worldwide obesity epidemic.
Japan-based engineering firm Teikoku Piston Ring has developed a
hologram identification label that brings anti-counterfeiting
packaging to new levels.
US ingredients giant ADM saw double-digit sales growth for the year
but overall profits were dragged down by a recent payout of
millions of dollars to leading food and beverage manufacturers to
settle a lawsuit linked to the popular...
UK confectionery firm Glisten Confectionery has gained a stronger
foothold at the higher end of the confectionery market after food
ingredients business Kiril Mischeff sold its House of York toffee
brand to the Blackburn-based firm.
Two of the biggest chocolate makers in the UK are to launch
products which will directly compete with some of each other's
biggest brands - an indication, perhaps, that the rich vein of new
product innovation of the last few...
