UTC Power has released an improved version of its flagship
PureComfort cooling, heating and power system that allows
manufacturers to achieve greater energy efficiency along the
production line.
German retail chain Metro Group is set to follow its RFID test
scheme with a full rollout, something that will affect hundreds of
suppliers around Europe.
The plastic rigid food packaging market in North America reached
about 10.3 billion pounds in 2003 and is expected to increase to
over 13.6 billion pounds by 2008 at an AAGR (average annual growth
rate) of 5.8 per cent, according...
Cognex has launched a new suite of hand-held industrial ID readers,
designed to make traceability within food production more efficient
and easier to access.
Could environmentally-friendly biodegradable containers made from
wheat starch eventually replace traditional polystyrene-based
products? Only if the price is right, reports Anthony
Fletcher.
A new breed of software called RFID middleware will allow suppliers
to take advantage of the long-term benefits of RFID implementation,
according to a new report.
UK firm Bunzl claims that the impact of the Atkins diet has been so
significant that even packaging groups such as itself have seen
their profits affected.
Increasing demand for on-the-move snacking - and a penchant for a
little indulgence - among UK consumers has prompted BakeMark UK to
extend its Petit Crolines range of bitesize snacks to include a
fruit assortment.
US demand for produce packaging is projected to increase 5.1 per
cent per annum (including price increases) to $3.6 billion in 2008,
claims a new report.
A surge in global demand for silicon-based products has seen Dow
Corning's production in H1 2004 increase by more than 15 per cent,
and the company is planning further expansion.
With the market for certified organic products continuing to grow,
demand for organic hydrocolloids has also expanded - prompting the
leading supplier of hydrocolloids to the US food industry to launch
an organic version of its guar...
An enlarged EU containing a consumer base of some 450 million
should provide plenty of opportunity for market expansion,
according to a recent food industry seminar.
Earmarked as the next major competitor to soybean as a high protein
source, lupin flour, a food ingredient used in pasta and bread
products, has attracted attention from food safety officials in
Australia following reports of severe...
Hershey Foods Corporation has won the first round in the fight for
the association of its nutrition bars with the popular low-carb
dietary regime, Zone Diet, in what promises to become one of the
fiercest intellectual property disputes...
Crown Food
Europe is installing a new production line in Timashevsk,
Russia to produce 83mm diameter food cans for Bonduelle, the
European leader in processed vegetables. The move is part of
Bonduelle's attempt to maximize...
Traditionally eastern Europe has tended towards the consumption of
canned vegetables as a source of fresh foods during the long and
often harsh winters. However, frozen and chilled vegetables are
gaining increasing popularity in the...
APV Baker is supplying equipment to produce a wide range of
breakfast cereals at a major new plant in Germany. Food producer
Nordgetreide is opening the new facility near Saarbrucken - an
ideal location to serve the western European...
Landec Corporation, a US-based developer and marketer of
technology-based polymer products for fresh foods has been given
patenting from the European Patent Office for its banana packaging
technology - a move that is likely to give...
Packaging provider Superfos has gained hygiene standard approval
from the Institute of Packaging and the British Retail Consortium.
With the UK public being the leading per capita consumers of
convenience foods of Europe, the move...
Reasearchers from the Food Safety Consortium at the University of
Arkansas have devised a means of using grape and green tea extract
to eliminate certain side affects of irradiated chicken - a move
which could help make irradiated...
Air Liquide, a leading provider of modified atmosphere packaging
(MAP) technology, has launched an upgraded version of Aligal gases
packaging for food and beverage producers.
The market for fats and spreads in eastern Europe is rapidly
diversifying, whilst rapidly expanding. Furthermore the latest
product launches from the Mintel databases in this segment indicate
that functionality is becoming increasingly...
US processing giant Smithfield Foods has increased its share of
Spanish pork processor Campofrío Alimentación to 22.4 per cent from
15.2 per cent, further strengthening its influence in Europe's
ever-consolidating meat processing...
Manufacturing output growth in the UK slowed in the three months to
July, but the overall position continues to improve in most regions
according to the latest Regional Trends Survey published this week
by the CBI and Experian.
Intralox claims that its new 7.5" Sideflexing Flat Top belt should
allow manufacturers to carry out retrofits of high-maintenance
steel chains and fragile plastics chains on curved conveyors much
more easily.
A leading consultancy argues that if companies install
cross-functional planning across their operation and rationalise
their supplier base, they can make savings of 30 per cent on
procurement operations, achieve 60 per cent higher...
Vitamin-enriched products made by Kellogg, the world's biggest
cereal maker, have been blocked from entering the Danish market by
a new policy for assessing the safety of fortified foods.
Cooking sauces have been identified as one of the main driving
forces behind the rapid growth of the sauces and condiments market
in central and eastern Europe in recent years. This week's look at
the Mintel database reveals...
The future viability of the UK's organic food production sector is
highly uncertain, but those operating in the industry must show
greater self-reliance and better marketing know-how, according to a
new report.
The growing popularity of the low-carb diet among US and UK
consumers is squeezing supplies for speciality ingredients used by
food makers to target this new market and driving ingredients firms
to roll out alternatives. Looking to...
Weighing and packaging specialist Ishida Europe has consolidated
its presence in the German market through the establishment of a
full subsidiary company, Ishida GmbH.
British retailer the Co-op has long prided itself on its ethical
principles, holding firm to the co-operative principles of acting
for its members and customers rather than shareholders. These
principles have seen it lead the way...
UK supply chain management firm Exel has won a five-year £150
million contract with Nisa-Today's, the UK's largest buying
consortium for independent retail and wholesale companies.
A new report claims that the current financial squeeze on food
suppliers is as much to do with consumer preferences as it is to do
with the might of retailers - a debatable point, writes Anthony
Fletcher.
Soft drink and snack maker PepsiCo might not spring immediately to
mind when thinking about healthy food products, but the US company
clearly believes it has a role to play in this fast-growing market
- and has added a new logo to...
Following further reported outbreaks of avian flu in China, Vietnam
and Indonesia, the European Union has said that it will extend its
ban on importing poultry products from Asian countries until 15
December, leaving the regions poultry...
A leading consultancy firm has warned that the widespread adoption
of RFID could open up the door to a range of potential scams,
resulting in huge losses for retailers and manufacturers, writes
Anthony Fletcher.
Quadrant Engineering Plastic Products (QEPP) has launched a new
line of food compliant materials (FCM) that will allow food
manufacturers to meet the European Union's Directive 2002/72/EC on
food-contact materials.
A lack of time and increasing incomes levels are the main reasons
for the huge increase in the ready meals and chilled food sectors
in eastern Europe. This week's product launches tracked by Mintel's
GNPD database are testimony...
Toray Plastics has developed what it describes as a new line of
technologically advanced, value-added OPP and PET packaging films,
designed to achieve longer shelf life and easier handling.
UK bakery ingredients firm BakeMark continues to drive deeper into
'value-added' ingredients, designing a new premix for food makers
looking to target the growing low-carb food market.
Prosecutors in the US have indicated that the Ahold insider trading
investigation, which has seen four former executives of the retail
group's North American subsidiary US Foodservice charged with
fraud, could eventually implicate...
UK businesses that attempt to increase profits at the expense of
the environment have been told that they face tougher fines. As in
previous years, a significant number of high street names were
taken to court last year, including...
UK-based technology firm Flying Null says it can offer wine and
spirit manufacturers complete traceability with what it claims is
the world's thinnest chipless smart tag.
