A new machine designed to decorate bakery and confectionery
products with up to 150 different items has been launched by
Russia's Ekma-Konfi engineering group. The versatility, reliability
and cost effectiveness of the technology...
Tate & Lyle, the world's only maker of the increasingly popular
sweetener sucralose, must prioritise needs of existing customers as
demand for the additive 'far exceeds our expectations.'
At 3.15 million tonnes world tea production in 2003 beat 2002
supplies but prices remained firm reflecting season variability,
reports the UN food and farm body, adding that China has pushed up
green tea supplies.
Swedish speciality fats and oils firm Karlshamns builds up supplies
of pumpable fats and liquid margarine as industry spikes demand for
convenience fats, reports Lindsey Partos.
Food processor Lakeside has adopted revolutionary self-heating
containers from OnTech for coffee, tea, cocoa and soup in a bid to
dominate the innovative on-the-go food market.
Amcor, the world's top manufacturer of plastic bottles, has ousted
its chief executive after former staff in Australia were suspected
of being involved in an illegal operation to drive up box prices.
Anthony Fletcher reports.
Retailers and suppliers are increasingly turning to high quality,
speciality breads to try and jazz up Britain's dormant bread sector
and raise profits by inspiring consumers, writes Chris
Mercer.
Interstate Bakeries, which filed for bankruptcy amid mounting debts
and falling sales less than a month ago, has announced plans to
close another of its US bakeries. But streamlining alone will not
solve the problem, argues Chris...
Dutch firm Arla Foods Ingredients launches a new milk protein onto
the competitive dairy protein market, positioned as an alternative
to caseinates in salami formulations.
Driving research in the area of chemical contaminants, nutrition
and microbiology the UK's food agency is calling for scientists to
fulfill a batch of new research requirements.
An illegal red colour identified in a popular food oil prompts a
recall in the UK, the latest in a series of similar moves by the
country's food watchdog.
Japanese aspartame supplier Ajinomoto will ramp up production of
its sweetener on the back of growing demand for low calorie food
and beverages, the Tokyo-based firm announced this week.
Alcoa Closure Systems International has begun commercial production
of Vino-Lok, its 'glass on glass' closure system for wine bottles
that it developed as an alternative to corks and synthetic
stoppers.
Last week Alcoa began commercial production of Vino-Lok, its
glass-on-glass wine closure system. Has upmarket wine finally found
an alternative to the screw cap? asks Kim Hunter Gordon.
Foreign companies' profits in China may have increased rapidly in
the past four years, but they remain modest in comparison with
other countries with smaller markets and slower growth, according
to a surprising new report. Anthony...
Plastic packaging firm RPC has overcome sharp rises in
polypropylene and polystyrene prices to report a 9 per cent rise in
interim pre-tax profit to £12.4 million.
This week's round-up of people on the move includes Kraft's new
board member, Alcoa's new vice president and a rumour that Unilever
is considering changing its top management.
Looking to new market gains in the UK, US and Australia German
ingredients group Degussa has revamped its line of bakery cream
systems to target food makers with a competitive package, writes
Lindsey Partos.
China has been the dominant supplier of many herbs, spices and
ingredients to the Russian market for the last 10 years, but a
reduction in Chinese crop areas to make way for more profitable
products has given local growers from the...
US-based processor MGP Ingredients has initiated two
energy-efficiency projects as part of its overall programme to
achieve significant cost savings across its operations.
Pursuit Dynamics has signed an agreement with the UK subsidiary of
Coca-Cola Enterprises to supply innovative fluid processing
technology for the production of soft drinks.
A premium biscuit manufacturer in Italy has ordered a new
customised oven system from baking equipment specialists Spooner
Vicars to help it progress in an increasingly competitive market,
writes Chris Mercer.
A new report shows that with Polish consumption trends beginning to
fall into line with the rest of Europe's, the packaging sector
represents a key opportunity for innovation and investment,
writes Anthony Fletcher.
Food and ingredients giant Unilever has signed a deal to sell its
frozen pizza and baguette business to German firm Dr. Oetker as
part of a five-year strategy to lift profits by focusing on big
brands, reports Chris Mercer.
CSM, the Dutch food ingredients company continues to shed non-core
activities, signing off its stake in natural alcohol supplier
Koninklijke Nedalco in a €24 million deal.
Plans for EU sugar reform are unfair and would only benefit the
biggest producers, say 10 member states as new discussions split
opinions across Europe,reports Chris Mercer.
Krones the world's biggest manufacturer of beverage bottling lines
and packaging machinery, has signed a pact designed to secure and
upgrade the future of its facilities in Germany.
Patak's, the leading player in the £67.3 million UK Indian sauce
market, has packaged its quick-cook Spice Express sauces in a new
350g Rockware jar with super-deep twist cap.
Leading Swiss chocolate manufacturer Chocolat Frey has installed a
high-speed robotic packaging line, as part of an ongoing attempt to
consolidate product quality and productivity amidst a declining
Swiss chocolate market, Tom Armitage...
Diets low in foods containing folate and carotenoids may be a major
contributing factor to the high rate of heart disease in Central
and Eastern Europe, say researchers.
A new report analysing IT budget and spending trends suggests that
many firms separate, to their detriment, IT investment from
investments in production capabilities.
Baugur, the Iceland-based retail group, has made a new proposal for
Britain's Big Food Group (BFG), a move that would almost certainly
mean the break up of the group but strengthen its main supermarket
banner, Iceland, writes...
Plans for EU sugar reform are unfair and would only benefit the
biggest producers, according to 10 member states including
Slovenia, Hungary and Latvia, as new discussions split opinions in
eastern Europe, reports Chris Mercer.
A new bakery capable of producing up to 70 million bread loaves per
year is set to be built in Moscow by Swedish firm Cerealia to serve
the growing convenience food industry with cosmopolitan products -
and by-pass customs duties,...
Tetra Pak's updated environmental policy, which will come into
force 1 January, underlines both the strength of green consumer
pressure and the direction in which the packaging industry is
moving.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions provider SSI has
integrated Vecta's sales intelligence software with its TROPOS ERP
solution to include supply chain, production and distribution
management tools for food and beverage...
A Russian ingredients company is finding it hard to meet growing
demand for its egg protein products because of problems finding
buyers for the by-product - powdered egg yolk. Angela Drujinina
reports.
Lock Inspection Systems has developed the X-treme metal detector
liner, designed to withstand intensive washdown environments found
in meat and poultry processing.
Food manufacturer Campbell Soup has installed global product
lifecycle management (PLM) software to achieve cost savings in an
operation that generates annual revenues of $5 billion.
Bread with reduced carbohydrates is unlikely to become a long-term
trend but the bakery sector could do more to capitalise on the
rising interest in fibre and wholegrains, suggests an analyst.
Understanding the genetic make-up of rice will help scientists to
map the genomes of corn and sorghum crops, say US researchers, at a
time when scientists are keen to promote the gluten-free benefits
of sorghum in food formulations.
A major private label supplier, which plans to launch low-fat,
low-carb and gluten-free products to meet growing consumer health
demands, says flexibility in production and a variety of income
sources is vital in the blossoming UK...
Scientists have unveiled the first artificial throat for the food
industry that could lead to reduced development costs and faster
flavour development for food makers, writes Lindsey Partos.
