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.
Four key factors will determine whether this week's EU discussions
regarding the sugar regime have been a success or a failure, says a
key industry body.
A low-calorie sweetener that tastes exactly like sugar and could
help control diseases like diabetes and obesity could be just round
the corner, according to a new study.
Ingredients giant Cargill has launched a new line of sweeteners
designed to reduce the number of calories in frozen dairy desserts
and sweetened bakery products such as cake, muffins and brownies,
without altering the taste.
The USDA has increased the levels of sugar that producers are
allocated to supply in a bid to avert total disaster following
hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
CSM's sugar beet processing plant in Hoogkerk, the Netherlands is
now fully online following the closure of the firm's Breda factory
earlier this year.
Refined sugar giant Imperial Sugar has announced a return to
operations at its Gramercy, Louisiana plant following the
devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina.
The Sugar Association wants the FDA to introduce more aggressive
labeling regulations that would split out the different sugars and
sweeteners on the nutritional facts panel, just as the labeling of
trans fats will be mandatory from...
Tate & Lyle has vowed to continue to pursue its ambitious
expansion plans despite warnings that proposed changes to the sugar
regime could begin to affect business as soon as 2007, writes
Anthony Fletcher.
Biodar's new line of microencapsulated vitamins and minerals for
kids' chewable applications could help improve diets and even save
food makers money, writes Anthony Fletcher.
Sales of diet candy more than quadrupled between 2000 and 2004,
fueled by better-tasting products, improved formulations and
heightened concern over weight gain in adults and children,
writes Anthony Fletcher.
Sweeping changes to Europe's subsidised sugar regime announced
yesterday will see sugar prices cut by 39 per cent paid to
companies that include sugar and sweetener suppliers Danisco and
Tate and Lyle, but will bring price relief...
Hungry food ingredients giant Cargill to enter Brazilian sugar and
alcohol production sector for the first time, announcing a new deal
to buy Açucareira Corona sugar mills.
Imperial Sugar received an offer of acquisition earlier this week,
while Cargill announced its intentions to further invest in
Brazilian sugar and General Mills had its rating outlook revised
from negative to stable.
Moves to reform the European sugar regime will accelerate after the
EU loses its appeal against a World Trade Organisation decision
that its handouts to sugar farmers are illegal, reports Lindsey
Partos.
Arla Food Ingredients seeks entry into the high growth European
sweetener market, making a bid for regulatory approval of its low
calorie, milk derived ingredient tagatose, reports Lindsey
Partos.
UK sugar and dairy powder firm Napier Brown Foods confirmed rumours
this week that it is in discussions that could lead to a possible
takeover, writes Lindsey Partos.
The Competition Commission (CC) today announced it has
provisionally cleared the completed acquisition by Napier Brown
Foods (NBF) of James Budgett Sugars (JBS), but voiced concerns
about the lack of competition in the UK sugar...
The US sugar association files a lawsuit against McNeil
Nutritionals, the supplier of successful sweetener Splenda,
following swiftly on from a complaint in November by US NutraSweet
supplier Merisant.
A record sugar cane crop has helped the Philippines become an
exporter of sugar after years of imports. It expects to sell
160,000 tons overseas this year, according to the country's Sugar
Regulatory Authority (SRA). Anand Krishnamoorthy...
Ireland's lone sugar processor Greencore Sugar is to cease
operating at its Carlow production facility in anticipation of the
pending EU reform of the sugar industry, Tom Armitage
reports.
Food and ingredients producer Greencore has warned early that its
Irish sugar business could be seriously damaged when the EU finally
implements its sugar reform, expected next December, writes
Chris Mercer.
UK-based freezing specialist Asymptote has discovered a technique
to prevent unsightly sugar bloom from spoiling food products and
manufacturers' profits, writes Anthony Fletcher.
AFSSA, the French food safety authority, has called for a
significant reduction of sugars added to processed foods alongside
stronger backing for foods containing wholegrains and high fibre.
Brussels will fight to appeal against a new decision by the World
Trade Organisation that rules the EU illegally subsidises exports
of sugar, ruling in favour of a legal challenge by Australia,
Thailand and Brazil, the world's...
Illegal production of refined sugar in Russia has had a devastating
impact on prices there, with 'underground' producers able to
undercut official processors by a substantial margin through the
use of much lower quality...
A new campaign to reduce sugar levels in foods and consumer diets
in order to tackle the national obesity problem is reportedly being
considered by the UK government, to run after the current attack on
salt is over, writes Chris Mercer.
Sugar producers from Serbia and Montenegro will once again benefit
from preferential access to the European Union market, following
the EU's recent lifting of a 15-month ban on duty-free sugar
imports from the country - a move...
The contribution that the common sweetener ingredient sucrose has
made to the growing incidence of obesity is the focus of a dispute
between the US sugar association and a New Zealand scientist.
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...
The European Union last week announced plans for a radical overhaul
of the EU sugar regime, a resolution that is likely to bring about
both applause and criticism from its New Member States in Central
Europe.
Long-awaited changes to Europe's heavily subsidised sugar regime
are on the way after the European Commission tabled a new set of
rules that could lead to cheaper sugar ingredients, writes
Lindsey Partos.
Artificial sweeteners may disrupt the body's natural ability to
'count' calories based on foods' sweetness, claim US researchers,
suggesting mouthfeel plays a crucial role in gauging calories and
casting a potential...
Cheaper sugar ingredients could be on the way for food makers as
rumours continue to circulate about the proposed new rules to the
EU sugar regime that could open up the protected European market,
prompting Danish sugar giant Danisco...
Cheaper sugar ingredients could be on the way for food makers in
Europe as draft plans for tough changes to the much criticised
sugar regime come to light.
Arla Foods Ingredients is to launch chocolate using tagatose
sweetner supplied by Spherix Incorporated for products to be sold
in the Australia and New Zealand markets.
Offices of bakery ingredients and sweeteners giant CSM were raided
yesterday by the Dutch competition watchdog NMa on suspicions of
price fixing in the firms sugar division CSM Suiker. In a parallel
raid, the NMa hit leading Dutch...
Manufacturers of sports supplements may need to reduce sugar levels
in certain products as new research from Japan shows that
preference for sweetness decreases after exercise.
Sugar prices look set to rise in the accession countries by up to
60 per cent, warns the European chocolate and confectionery body
CAOBISCO this week, predicting major set backs for food
manufacturers installed in the zone. The warning...
Sugar giant British Sugar helped boost six month results for its
parent, food and ingredients firm Associated British Foods, which
this week reported double-digit growth in profits. But
international agency Oxfam has criticised the...
Romanian sugar producers say they are facing possible collapse
because of suffocating sugar quotas which have been in place for
the last five years, in the run up to accession.
Scientists in the US are well on the way to developing sugar beets
with improved seedling vigour, higher sugar content, and enhanced
disease resistance.
Building on its position as a leading sweetner alternative in the
confectionery sector, ingredients firm Arla Food will see its
low-cal, low-carb tagatose sweetener emblazoned on the packaging of
a new range of juices, notably at...
Russian white sugar production from imported raw beet is reported
to be down by 23 per cent for the start of the year, as the sector
struggles against diminished supplies of raw materials and high
stocks of unsold processed sugar....
Acquisitions for UK food, ingredients and retail firm Associated
British Foods are key to reducing dependency of group profits on
ABF's leading revenue source British Sugar. This week the company
signs a deal with Unilever to...
