Ireland's dairy and ingredients giant, Glanbia, reported a dip in
sales and profits for its first half of 2006, stung by cuts to EU
support for the dairy sector.
Food and beverage makers could soon tap into a range of new
ingredients with a healthy twist as sugar and sweetener firm Tate
& Lyle launches a new venture capital arm to focus on
next-generation ingredients.
British sugar growers can breathe a sigh of relief after learning
that one of the country's foremost beet producers will not be
closing facilities as originally thought.
European sugar giant Suedzucker expects a revenue increase of 5 per
cent in 2006 / 07, underlining the group's confidence in the future
of the EU sugar sector.
Scientists at the University of Kent in the UK have
received€800,000 to study ways nanotechnology can improve the
safety and quality ofchilled and frozen foods.
The use of aluminium oxide is an effective and safe method for the
removal of fluoride from natural mineral waters, an EU scientific
body has concluded.
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.
Cargill Sweetness Solutions has welcomed the change in EU law
surrounding the sweetener erythritol, saying it will give food and
beverage manufactures across Europe greater flexibility in
developing their products.
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.
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.
The European Commission has raised export subsidies available for
butter for the second month running, bowing to pressure from member
states concerned at volatile markets.
Sugar giant Sudzucker must work hard to guard against falling
revenue this year despite internal restructuring programmes and
expansion into other food sectors, warn analysts.
Chocolate lovers are probably blissfully unaware of the intrigue
and intricacies currently afflicting the Italian chocolate sector,
says advocate Daniele Pisanello.
The European Commission's cuts to export subsidies for dairy
ingredients have survived a series of rows between Member States,
as tension grows on how the bloc can meet its commitments to the
World Trade Organisation talks.
Weak and stagnating prices for food, agricultural raw materials and
manufactured goods in 2005 could mean further bad news for
exporters this year, according to a World Trade Organisation
report.
The EC has cleared Cargill's acquisition of Degussa's food
ingredients business after ruling that the move would not stifle
competition within the lecithin market.
The food industry's debate on nutritional labelling has taken its
latest twist, with Sainsbury's suspending its membership of the
British Retail Consortium (BRC).
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.
The EU's packaging industry association has called on the European
Commission to crackdown on members states who break the rules under
the bloc's harmonised system of law.
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.
Commodity products like butter and skimmed milk powder are likely
to lose out to higher value products in Europe, as the Common
Agricultural Policy reform takes hold, predicts the European
Commission.
The European Parliament yesterday approved legislation deregulating
package sizes for most pre-packed products, but excluding staple
beverages and foods.
Soaring sugar prices are set to continue with supplies remaining
tight, despite increased production, according to the US Department
of Agriculture (USDA).
The European Commission has launched an open inquiry into lollipop
maker Chupa Chups to establish if a €35 million loan granted by
Spain's Catalonian government breaks EU competition rules.
The British pint of milk is unlikely to be at risk when the
European Parliament votes on proposals to change EU packaging laws
for consumer goods this week, says a spokesperson to
www.DairyReporter.com.
Ireland has the highest per capita consumption of chocolate in the
world, whilst the Danes consume the most sugar confectionery,
according to the latest figures.
Designated food "clusters" in the EU will receive a boost in
funding to help the bloc's researchers develop innovative foods and
processing techniques.
Sugar confectionery was the only sector to see a significant
decline in the first half of 2005 as UK exports of food and drink
grow 3.1 per cent indicating the industry is on track to break the
£10 billion barrier for the first time...
Kraft Foods, the US snack and dairy firm, has agreed to remove all
genetically modified ingredients from its products in China, in a
sign anti-GM attitudes are on the increase.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has received the primary
data for Ramazzini Foudation's recent study on the sweetener
aspartame and is commencing its risk assessment as a matter of
priority.
Scientific evidence indicates that the presence of the ink chemical
isopropylthioxanthone (ITX) in packaged foods does not pose a
health risk, an EU regulator said today.
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.
EU processors will have to wait longer to find out if they can
continue to use aspartame, after the EU's food safety regulator
said it had still not received evidence from an Italian research
centre indicating that the artificial...
A EU food safety committee is meeting in Brussels today to discuss
the contamination of milk and other products with a chemical used
by Tetra Pak in its packaging process.
If the EU keeps hiding its agriculture sector behind huge pay
cheques instead of devoting more time to food research funding, the
bloc's whimpering and wailing will only get worse.
The EU is confident that the sugar reforms announced last week give
producers a long-term competitive future, though firms such as Tate
& Lyle remain cautious.
