Monsanto has completed its acquisition of Delta and Pine Land
Company (DPL) after agreeing to divest its US branded cottonseed
business so as to soften the competitive impact of the takeover.
Chr Hansen has announced plans to divest its coatings and
excipients business in order to focus on core activities in
cultures, enzymes, natural colours and flavours.
CSM has announced that it is selling its French frozen bread
operations to Neuhauser for €7.7m, a move that follows heavy
restructuring to improve efficiency of its European bakery supply
unit.
It does not matter so much whether protein is sourced from animals
or vegetables as whether it is of sufficiently good quality and has
the functional characteristics that enable it to be used in food
applications, scientists said...
A diet rich in B vitamins may decrease the risk of slim people
contracting pancreatic cancer, according to a meta-analysis, but
supplements may have the opposite effect.
Greater supply of organic milk in the US is encouraging product
innovation, according to Organic Monitor, while the opposite is
true in Europe, where shortages are still pinching.
Senomyx, a developer of novel flavor ingredients for the packaged
food industry, has been granted a patent for a technology that
makes foods taste sweeter, the US Patent and Trademark Office has
announced.
A new review of what influences children's food choices will help
food companies develop and market appealing products - and aid
bodies that regulate marketing practices, says publisher CCFRA.
In a bid to push processors and other manufacturers to reduce their
greenhouse gas emissions, the UK government yesterday unveiled a
proposal to put "carbon footprint" labels on all products.
The Singapore government this week launched a food innovation and
resource centre to grant processors throughout the country the
means to compete in the global food industry.
The shelf life of microencapsulated high oleic sunflower oil can be
boosted by combining natural plant extracts like broccoli sprout,
citrus and rosemary, new research suggests.
Novozymes is centralising its procurement facility in a bid to
ensure transparency and consistency, and make savings that it plans
to plough into more research and development.
Cows could be bred to produce only skimmed milk within the next
five years, researchers have said, offering a new way of meeting
consumer demand for lower fat dairy.
Prickly pear cactus pads, consumed regularly in Mexico, could
reduce blood sugar rises after a meal by up to 50 per cent,
suggests a new study that may have implications for diabetes
management.
Consumer interest in eating locally-sourced produce is encouraging
food manufacturers to develop ready-meals made with ingredients
sourced from the same region in which the product is sold, says
analyst Datamonitor.
Fortitech Asia Pacific has been appointed to manufacture a vitamin
and mineral premix containing Akzo Nobel's Ferrazone iron for
Pakistan's National Wheat Fortification Program - a contract that
underscores confidence in...
Scientists in Japan have identified a new source of hydrocolloid
from jute (Corchorus olitorius) that may open up
innovative applications for the industry.
The West Coast's thirst for energy drinks has driven nutrient
premix specialist Fortitech to open a new manufacturing facility in
Califoria set to increase the company's production for the Western
United States by 350 percent.
Food manufacturers can claim that products where unsaturated fatty
acids have replaced saturated fats offer a reduced risk of heart
disease, said the FDA.
Common preservative sodium benzoate, widely used in soft drinks and
other foods, is again at the centre of health concerns after
research emerged linking it to cell damage.
Negotiations are underway between private-equity groups over the
sale of French natural ingredients firm Diana-Ingredients,
indicating a positive view of the company's potential in the
marketplace.
The UK's Department for International Development is to invest £10m
(c €14.7m) in banking seeds of essential food crops over the next
four years, as part of an effort to preserve food sources for poor
farmers and maintain crop...
French sugar giant Tereos is entering into agreements with La
Societe des Sucreries du Marquenterre to counter the effects of
sugar reform on its operations, including taking over the latter's
sugar plant in Marconelle.
Burly sailors like Popeye may not be the only ones to benefits from
spinach, with new research suggesting that women who eat
spinach may have a lower risk of ovarian cancer than women who
don't.
Extracts from the exotic fruit guarana showed excellent antioxidant
and antibacterial properties, which could see the exotic berry
making a move into food preservatives, new research suggests.
Cheese processors in the UK have been handed tougher guidance on
hygiene, following EU claims that the country's food safety
authority was not doing enough to protect consumers.
Mitsubishi Corporation is to form a new diversified food science
company by amalgamating three of its subsidiaries, in order to
strengthen its R&D capabilities and expand globally by
combining customer bases and sales networks.
In the interest of global public health the world's cereals should
be fortified with iron, says the senior nutritionist of a US-based
non-profit health organisation.
Food processors could continue to pay higher prices for
Australian wheat after the country's government decided this week
to retain its controversial export monopoly on the grain.
Growth in the retail ethnic foods in Europe is outpacing overall
growth in the foods and drink sector, according to Leatherhead Food
International, offers new challenges and opportunities to
manufacturers and ingredient companies.
Cocoa husks, a waste product from the chocolate industry, could
offer a valuable source of dietary fibre for the low-calorie food
segment, Spanish researchers report.
A former Coca-Cola worker was sentenced to eight years in prison
this week for stealing and attempting to sell Coca-Cola trade
secrets to its rival, PepsiCo.
High-salt diets may encourage the growth of Helicobacter
pylori bacteria in the stomach, said to be the cause of
millions of cases of gastritis and peptic ulcer disease each year,
says a new study that may have added implications...
Agrana has reported its first set of annual results in which its
fruit segment outstripped sugar and starch as a source of revenue,
following a refocus in the wake of EU sugar reform.
Drinking a whopping ten cups of coffee a day or more could slash
the risk of developing Parkinson's disease by 74 per cent, suggests
a new prospective study from Finland.
Tate & Lyle has reported a strong full year 2007, the third
consecutive year of sales growth and a key one for repositioning
towards value added ingredients. But despite this, EU sugar reform
continues to prove a drag.
Biotech behemoth Monsanto has joined forces with gene technology
expert Chromatin to develop ways of increasing the
number of modified genes that can be inserted into crops such as
soybeans and corn.
Consumers in the UK have a low level of differentiation between
saturated and unsaturated fat, and are frustrated at the lack of
clear front-of-pack information on food products, a FSA study has
found.
Consumers prioritise freshness and taste over appearance when it
comes to selecting peanut products, according to a new UK study
commissioned by the American Peanut Council (APC).
DSM has received regulatory go-ahead for the use of Preventase in
the US, gaining GRAS certification and becoming the first enzyme
available to eliminate 90 per cent of acrylamide in baked goods.
Masterfoods' U-turn over its plan to reformulate its famous
confectionery brands using animal-derived whey sets a precedent
that will prevent any other food manufacturer from flying in the
face of the global trend towards the...
The continued success of probiotics will depend on finding ways of
protecting the friendly bacteria during processing, opening up
opportunities for food ingredients and biopolymers, experts say.
Leading cocoa producer Barry Callebaut has discovered the specific
bacteria responsible for flavour creation during extensive research
into cocoa bean fermentation - enabling the company to produce
better quality chocolate in the...