Five years ago the European Union nutrition and health claims regulation (NHCR) became law. Around the bloc, hopeful EU healthy foods and supplements stakeholders submitted more than 44,000 health claim applications.
German consumers are turning health conscious and are looking to confectionery that is low sugar, fair trade and organic, according to investment group Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI).
Latvia’s largest confectionery producer, Laima, has announced plans to increase its export proportion from 40% to 52% over the next three years, with intentions to target new markets outside of Europe.
Ingredients firm Wild has launched a range of exotic fruit flavours for jelly gums as it claims there is potential for firms to offer products that are distinct from competitors.
Sugar prices for the coming year are forecast to fall by 12% as the market records a surplus for the first time in three years, according to financial service provider Rabobank.
The Association of the Chocolate, Biscuit and Confectionery of Europe (Caobisco) has called for buffer stocks to be extended to cover the supply of commodities like wheat, skimmed milk powder and butter oil as part of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy...
Coca-Cola said it has no reason to drop the artificial sweetener aspartame from its low or zero calorie beverage brands in the European market as it welcomes last week’s approval by the European Commission for the use of the natural sweetener stevia in...
Gum giant Wrigley has been granted novel food approval in the EU for an extract to be used in chewing gum and mints that will allow it to introduce new products with perceived breath-freshening benefits.
The European Commission has launched an in-depth investigation over the proposed acquisition of the world’s second largest sugar trader ED&F MAN by Europe’s largest sugar producer Südzucker as it fears it could impact competition in Central Europe...
A decision is not expected until spring 2012 on whether the EU Ecolabel would be extended to food and drink products, reports the EU, following the publication of a feasibility study last week.
Instability in the European sugar market is set to continue in the near future though further deregulation anticipated for 2015 could help bakery and confectionery manufacturers, according to a report from financial services provider Rabobank Group.
Nestlé’s sales for the nine months to the end of September rose 7.3% to reach CHF60.89bn (€49.24bn), slightly short of expectations, but its positive European performance blindsided analysts.
The EU food and drink manufacturing sector has welcomed Brussels decision to abolish the EU sugar quota system by 2015, claiming it will allow a more market-focused sugar regime.
German ingredients group Südzucker reports a sharp rise in profits for the first half of its financial year, citing gains from its sugar and fruit segments as being particular growth drivers.
A recent GM honey ruling could have huge cost implications for the European food industry, with the UK’s food safety agency calling for greater clarity from Brussels on the interpretation of the European Court of Justice’s decision.
A call from the Netherlands to end European import duty on sustainably produced palm oil has been welcomed by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). The proposal is designed to encourage the uptake of sustainable palm oil by offsetting some of...
In anticipation of stevia approval in Europe, leading producer, PureCircle, has announced that it is setting up its European headquarters in the UK to support customers in their launches throughout the region.
The EU is set to abolish the system of sugar production quotas for the bloc as well as guaranteed minimum prices from 2016, according to a Brussels source.
A decision is awaited from the Commission on the use of Sunset Yellow FCF (E 110) in non-alcoholic flavoured drinks following a revised exposure assessment from EFSA showing some children in the UK could still be over the ADI levels for the additive.
The European Commission will consider boosting the availability of sugar at its next tonnage tender meeting on August 25 after sharp rises in prices and calls from food manufacturers for it to increase sugar quotas or abandon them.
Research conducted by stevia partners Cargill and Associated British Foods subsidiary Silver Spoon has found UK consumers are keen for natural alternatives to artificial low-calorie sweeteners.
The long journey to European Union acceptance for the natural, intense sweetener, steviol glycoside, shortened significantly yesterday when the EU’s 27 member states backed its safety at a European Commission (EC) committee meeting.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has confirmed it has access to 112 studies about aspartame, most of which were conducted in the 1980s, which had been feared lost.
Sales of chocolate rose by nearly 19 per cent in Italy in the four years up to 2010, driven by the trend towards premium, but also higher selling prices, finds a market review from Leatherhead.
The European Commission has defended its decision to release thousands of tonnes of sugar on to the market after accusations that the move would have a detrimental impact on the yeast industry.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has denied a suggestion by two MEPs that it may have lost data relating to a previous safety evaluation of the high intensity sweetener aspartame (E951) and that it failed to examine it properly in the first place.
Confectionery manufacturers in Germany are faced with sugar supply gaps and dramatic price rises despite EU regulatory intervention on the crucial food ingredient, argues the German chocolate and confectionery industry association.
European Commission measures to open a further 200,000 tonne import quota for raw or refined sugar at zero import duty and the possibility for further imports at reduced import duty via a tendering system have been backed by member states.
A host of major food companies will be among those eagerly watching developments after antitrust officials from the European Commission raided a number of container liner shipping firms over suspicions that competition rules had been breached.
Cargill’s takeover of Schwartauer KVB has been cleared by the European Commission, giving the US giant the green light to phase in the operations of the German semi-finished cocoa supplier.
The United States lists sodium on nutrition labels while salt is more common in the European Union. Salt and sodium are not the same, and a standardized term would only cause confusion.
Country of Origin Labelling (COOL) discussions exposed ignorance among Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) about the food manufacturing and supply chain, said Nick Stuart, Biscuit, Cake, Chocolate and Confectionery (BCCC) sector group chairman.
UK based Revolymer said it hopes to launch its less sticky and degradable chewing gum brand REV7 in Europe by the end of this year following EFSA’s recent positive novel foods opinion for its Rev-7 gum base polymer.
All is not well down on the novel foods farm. If food innovation in Europe is to thrive anew, MEPs and the Council need to get past the recriminations over the failed talks and remove the troublesome question of cloned foods from the negotiating table.
Last ditch efforts to salvage the novel foods regulation were derailed yesterday after the European Parliament and Council failed to reach agreement over the issue of cloned animals – with each side blaming the other for the impasse.
EU food industry representatives have termed ‘premature’ the proposal by the European Commission (EC) to allow 650,000 tonnes of out of quota sugar exports from October.
Barry Callebaut has a contingency plan in place in light of ongoing Ivory Coast turmoil and has stepped up production at its cocoa processing facilities elsewhere to meet its customers’ needs.
A European Commission initiative to release 500,000 tonnes of out of quota sugar onto the EU market has been backed by member states in the EU sugar management committee today.
Sugar supplier to the bakery and confectionery industry, Ragus, said it expects further commodity price hikes and contests whether proposed EC intervention on import duty tariff reductions would have the desired effect on the deficit in the EU market.
Cocoa prices have remained stable over the past two weeks despite the Ivory Coast export ban with industry analysts citing good industry supply cover and access to plentiful crop from Ghana as factors for the lack of price volatility.
The food and drink sugar users lobby has warned the European Commission that any further delays in intervention to remedy the sugar deficit in the market could result in even greater supply repercussions this autumn.
Leading cocoa supplier, Archer Daniel Midlands (ADM), has confirmed that it is keeping its cocoa processing plant in Kumasi, Ghana open in spite of challenges related to acquiring light crop beans for processing.
The European Commission, in a policy about face, said it may open the import quota or allow the sale of out-of-quota sugar into the bloc - a move that would bring relief for bakers and other food makers set to negotiate new sugar contracts.
Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) is currently assessing the impact of an explosion that occurred on a production line at its cocoa processing facility in Wormer, Netherlands, which was followed by a short, intense fire.
Lack of clarity on the implications for the cocoa industry of the financial penalities imposed by the EU on the Ivory Coast has prompted trade representatives in the bloc to seek additional information from the Commission.
