Ingredients players and food makers could expect some relief in soy
ingredients prices as soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade
fell yesterday, reports Lindsey Partos.
Number four flavours and fragrance group Symrise heads into the
second round of bidding for the food chemicals arm of German group
Degussa, reports Lindsey Partos.
The WTO's ruling on the illegality of Japan's import barriers on US
apples brings closer the possibility of both internationally
recognised standards and American trade sanctions.
Underlining the massive potential that exists for food makers and
ingredients players in China, new data reveals only about 30 per
cent of food in China is processed, compared to 80 per cent in
western nations, reports Lindsey Partos.
Health ingredients maker Acatris has sold its North American food
division, based in Canada, to better focus on the European market,
reports Dominique Patton.
Critics claim that the Connecticut governor's veto of the nutrition
bill will keep the state's school-aged children at increased risk
of tooth decay, obesity, and diabetes, writes Anthony
Fletcher.
A new molecular biology center could transform our understanding of
taste and smell perception and help the food industry tackle
pressing issues such as salt substitution, writes Anthony
Fletcher.
Nestlé is being sued in Puerto Rico by a local ice cream firm it
had agreed to buy, accused of deceit, fraud and breach of a
competition authority ruling, reports Chris Mercer.
Food and drink makers could soon expect cheaper sugar ingredients
with Brussels expected to publish its proposals on EU sugar reform
today, writes Lindsey Partos.
Weak figures from the flavour division and a testing European and
North American market knock end of year results for Danish
ingredients and sugar player Danisco, but Rhodia acquisition starts
to pay off, reports Lindsey Partos.
The Florida Department of Citrus is concerned that declining orange
juice sales across the northeastern United States could mark a
deeper trend, writes Anthony Fletcher.
The maker of a new functional beverage that claims to burn calories
by increasing metabolism says products with net negative calories
are the next step in the evolution of the diet drinks market. But
can consumers be assured that...
The image of secret radio chips planted inside the home from larder
to bathroom, transmitting data freely to Corporation Inc, is enough
to curl the toes of more than anti-capitalism activists.
A Californian environmental group has threatened to sue food
manufacturers unless they place acrylamide warning labels on
certain products, writes Anthony Fletcher.
This week's roundup covers ingredients companies relocating and
expanding, firms in the courtroom and corporations finalizing new
mergers and acquisitions.
Europe's food safety body backs proposals to introduce the concept
of Qualified Presumption of Safety (QPS) for the safety assessment
of microorganisms used in food production.
P.L. Thomas, the only US representative at the recent Gum Arabic
industry meeting in Sudan, tells Anthony Fletcher why the
international commitment to secure long-term supplies of gum Arabic
is such an important breakthrough.
Buffer stocks are the cornerstone of a new strategy unveiled to
stabilise price and sustain permanent supplies for gum arabic in
the world's top three producing countries, writes Lindsey
Partos.
The UK's food authority said this week that it will provide up to
£20,000 (€30,000) to pay for external scientists to produce more
dossiers for supplement ingredients not currently on the European
directive's positive list,...
US researchers open up potential opportunities held in the citrus
genome, helping to detect specific genes related to pathogen
resistance and to high flavonoid and nutrient levels.
Food and beverage makers looking to slash salt, as well as fat and
sugar, levels in their product ranges could benefit from a new
flavour system designed by ICI-owned firm Quest, reports Lindsey
Partos.
Making a calcium-fortified drink could get easier for companies
participating in a new study designed to investigate which of the
numerous types of calcium ingredients perform best in which
application, writes Dominique Patton.
Expectations of a fall in global coffee supplies of coffee will
keep up pressure on market prices, as fresh figures indicate world
coffee production will drop in 2005/06.
A raft of clinical evidence has linked consumption of omega-3 fatty
acids from fish oils to a reduced risk of sudden cardiac death, but
a new study suggests that in some patients with life-threatening
abnormal heart rhythms they may...
The Central America Free Trade Agreement narrowly passed its first
Congressional test yesterday, but only after concessions were made
to the sugar industry writes Anthony Fletcher.
New technology could soon make it cheap and easy to identify food
pathogens by tagging them with color-coded probes made out of
synthetic tree-shaped DNA.
Good news for prepared meal manufacturers with a recent study
concluding consumption of convenient, nutritious frozen dinners
could help dieters control portion size, reports Lindsey
Partos.
Cargill has developed an ingredient that enables manufacturers to
add the healthy benefits of whole grain nutrition to foods while
preserving the sensory qualities of foods made from enriched corn
flour, reports Anthony Fletcher.
The increase in ethical consumerism means that food makers should
seriously consider the commercial implications of eco-labels,
though tighter regulation is still needed, writes Anthony
Fletcher.
A study showing that sweet drinks have overtaken white bread as the
leading source of calories in the American diet may mean that the
nutrition gap is even wider than previously thought, reports
Jess Halliday. But according to the...
Television advertising gives children the wrong message about
healthy eating and is creating a generation confused about the
meaning of nutrition, writes Anthony Fletcher.
The prebiotic activity of different fibres will be measured and
compared in a new study designed to help food makers decide which
ingredient to select for their gut health products, reports
Dominique Patton.
The Soleris system could help food firms formulate new product
lines more rapidly by detecting microorganisms in nutritional
ingredients quicker, writes Anthony Fletcher.
Fresh from its acquisition of Solgar, the US' biggest supplement
maker NBTY said today that it has also bought the Canadian
supplement maker and distributor SISU, writes Dominique
Patton.
New research from the US backs growing evidence that food makers
wanting to slice acrylamide from their fried food products should
opt for lower cooking temperatures.
Ingredients companies including Cargill and Chr Hansen are
expanding facilities and picking up acquisitions in order to meet
growing global demand, writes Anthony Fletcher.
In a new extensive study set to fuel the ongoing debate about the
health benefits of milk, researchers find dietary calcium and
skimmed milk are linked to weight gain, while dairy fat is not.
Fresh basil, the most probable source of an outbreak of
gastrointestinal illness in Florida earlier this year, is now the
target of an FDA traceback operation, writes Anthony
Fletcher.
American Farm Bureau Federation president Bob Stallman agues that
the sugar industry is wrong to oppose the ratification of the
Central American Free Trade Agreement, writes Anthony
Fletcher.
Australia, the world's second largest wheat exporter, may be facing
up to a 30 per cent fall in its grain production this year, says a
report released yesterday by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural
and Resource Economies...