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...
Toray Plastics has developed what it describes as a new line of
technologically advanced, value-added OPP and PET packaging films,
designed to achieve longer shelf life and easier handling.
Food makers need to write clearer food labels so that consumers can
easily understand the ingredients used in the food formulation,
finds a new report released in the UK this week.
Ending a long running lawsuit the US unit of UK starch and sugar
group Tate & Lyle will pay out £55 million (€89m) to settle an
anti-trust lawsuit on high fructose corn syrup, a popular sweetener
used by soft drinks giant Coca-Cola...
Scientists have moved one step closer to understanding how the
world could cut mounting obesity levels, charting a map of how the
'fat' hormone leptin travels through the body.
Family-owned US firm JM Huber has become the number one pectin,
xanthan gum and CMC supplier after yesterday agreeing to buy
leading hydrocolloid firm CP Kelco from merchant bank Lehman
Brothers, reports Lindsey Partos.
Food makers working on the European stage today are matching
consumer concerns over genetically modified organisms, largely
selecting non-GMO ingredients for their food formulations,
highlights a new survey.
The Australian food watchdog has issued a warning over a low-cal
sweetener that could harm consumers who are intolerant to the fruit
sugar fructose, advising these people to avoid the novel food
ingredient tagatose, produced by Arla...
Food makers operating in Europe shortly face new labelling rules
for food allergens on food labels, and as the US cleared its own
new rules yesterday, manufacturers present in the US market will
see parallel changes.
The GMA has said that while there are legitimate privacy
implications concerning RFID and EPC, the technology stills offers
manufacturers and industry significant benefits.
Competition for European suppliers of honey has ramped up with
Brussels clearing the way to end a two year ban on food imports
from China which should pave the way for cheaper raw materials for
honey formulations.
Welcomed by sweetener suppliers, scientists at the world's biggest
food ingredients exhibition claim this week that there is no
credible evidence to 'single out' the common sweetener high
fructose corn syrup (HFCS)...
Researchers at the University of Salford, Manchester, have
discovered a type of mint leaf, long used in traditional Chinese
medicine, that appears to destroy cancer cells.
Hanging as a persistent threat to the chocolate industry witches'
broom disease is capable of wiping out entire cacao crops and
sending the price of chocolate rocketing. Despite ongoing research
into the threat confirmed by the...
The thorny issue of the way in which the food industry promotes its
products to children is to be addressed by the UK's Food Standards
Agency. But will the latest government action plan - which is still
based on voluntary action...
Tough restrictions on the marketing of food products - along the
lines of those in place for many years in the tobacco industry -
are the best solution to the growing problem of obesity, claimed
researchers last week. But the food...
Food giants such as Unilever, Kraft and Campina have put in place
measures to achieve significant reductions in energy consumption,
underlining the trend towards growing corporate environmental
responsibility.
Danish ingredients firm Chr Hansen has benefited from the growing
demand by food makers for natural colours. Higher sales of natural
colours helped to lift profit figures in a third quarter that also
gained from the increasing popularity...
Although the market for honey in China has fluctuated in recent
years the country continues to be by far the leading producer in
the world. And with per capita consumption set to rise, a recent
report from Access Asia indicates that...
Pricing pressure on the global market for citric acid has forced
DSM of the Netherlands to lay off staff at its Citrique Belge unit.
And there's no sign of a recovery in the market, says an
independent ingredients consultant,reports...
Global warming is a real threat and needs to be addressed now,
argues BP group chief executive John Browne. He says that
manufacturers need to start taking steps immediately to reduce
carbon dioxide emissions in order to make a big...