Body Shop International has donated its shares in Fairtrade
chocolate enterprise, The Day Chocolate Company - giving the money
back to the cocoa farmers who originally founded the business.
New imaging techniques are being developed that could be used to
monitor the onset of the common and costly problem of chocolate
bloom - and confectionery manufacturers are being invited to
pioneer the process.
Tate and Lyle has announced the launch of Meritab - a new direct
compressible dextrose that can be used in confectionary,
nutraceutical and pharmaceutical applications.
The chairman of Kraft Foods, the world's second biggest food
company, Roger Deromedi, has launched an attack on EU and US trade
barriers that are driving up the price of commodity ingredients
such as sugar and coffee.
IndulgeInChocolate.com, an online gourmet chocolate business, has
extended its line of top-end products in order to tap growing
demand for quality treats.
Chocolate and drinks group Cadbury Schweppes will spend A$24.5
million (€14.3m) on an expansion at its chocolate factory in
Tasmania, it announced last week, citing growing demand for its
chocolate bars in Australia
Chewing gum has been one of the most impressive growth segments
within the confectionery market, and the recent All Candy Expo
shows that it is still innovative.
This month's All Candy Expo in Chicago saw an impressive range of
dark chocolate launches, suggesting that innovation is still
possible in this well-established segment.
Sugar prices on China's futures market fell sharply this week as
the government announced that it would auction 552,000 tons, mostly
from its reserve stocks, to stabilise prices.
Extracts from mangos are a rich source of dietary fibre, both
soluble and insoluble, with good antioxidant properties and can
easily be used in bakery products to boost public consumption, say
Latin American researchers.
Agrana, which claims to be the leading sugar and starch producer in
Central and Eastern Europe, plans to expand its activities towards
the Western Balkans.
The board of directors at Wrigley has declared a regular dividend
of $0.256 on each share of common stock and each share of class B
common stock for the three-month period beginning 1 August 2006.
ABF's offer to acquire 51 per cent of Illovo, Africa's largest
sugar producer, underlines how the new EU sugar regime has forced
European sugar producers to think truly globally.
Hershey's expansion of its health and nutrition initiative
underlines the extent to which chocolate makers are keen to tap
into consumer health concerns.
Palsgaard, which has launched a range of ingredients designed to
ensure the stable production of low-fat and cost-effective ice
cream coatings, explains why emulsifiers are so important.
Chocolate lovers are probably blissfully unaware of the intrigue
and intricacies currently afflicting the Italian chocolate sector,
says advocate Daniele Pisanello.
A French chocolate industry body has recognised CIRAD for its
pioneering work within the cocoa commodity chain and its
groundbreaking research into cocoa.
A federal court has dismissed a lawsuit brought by McNeil
Nutritionals, the marketer of Splenda, against the Sugar
Association, accusing it of false advertising.
Norwegian researchers are developing a new chewable capsule for
omega-3, primarily aimed at small children who have trouble
swallowing normal capsules.
Food and beverage firms making premium products will cope best with
the current surge in price of both Chinese and imported sugar, with
higher margins to cover the rise in costs.
Drastic cost cutting and nutritional products has boosted House of
Brussels Chocolates chance of making a profit, according to its
latest financial results.
Greencore, the ingredients and food service group, said EU sugar
reform would force it to pull out of the sugar sector this year,
effectively spelling the end of sugar processing in Ireland.
Danisco says that the finalisation of the new EU sugar regime and
the recently announced transitional measures will not affect the
firm's planned efficiency drive.