Business

05-Apr-2004 - Building up a market position through direct contact with the consumer and cashing in on the growing low carbohydrate fad, ingredients firm Arla Food Ingredients will see its low-cal, low-carb tagatose sweetener emblazoned on the packaging of a new range of juices, notably at supermarket titan WalMart.

ISP buys into UK encapsulation

02-Apr-2004 - US alginate firm International Specialty Products (ISP) continues to consolidate its position in the food ingredients sector announcing the bolt-on acquisition of UK ingredients company Hallcrest.

Fish processors tackle ads

01-Apr-2004 - Major processors of canned tuna in the US have described a recent ad campaign by environmental activists as being "an irresponsible and highly inflammatory tactic" that will scare consumers away from what they call a safe and healthy food. This is not the first time that the issue of fish safety has courted controversy, writes Anthony Fletcher.

Unilever Canada takes the 'trans' out of fat

24-Mar-2004 - The Canadian subsidiary of Anglo-Dutch giant Unilever Canada joins the growing ranks of manufacturers to cut the trans fatty acid content out of food products.

Enough soy?

23-Mar-2004 - Companies working with soy and soy derivatives face continuing price rises for the raw material as the US - a leading global producer and exporter of the crop - raises concerns about the 'unusually low soybean stocks level' and the industry's 'pace of adjustment to tight markets'.

Hosting hydrocolloids

19-Mar-2004 - Consolidation in the hydrocolloid industry, price pressure and 'functionality beyond texture' are on the agenda at the annual industry event to open in San Diego at the weekend.

IFF to hand out $20million in flavours case

18-Mar-2004 - Flavours giant International Flavors and Fragrances and subsidiary Bush Boake Allen must pay out $20 million in damages as an American court rules that a US popcorn factory worker sustained harm to his lungs from mixing flavouring oils. With more cases to be heard, the two companies could face massive hand-outs.

Fibre, a force for sales

12-Mar-2004 - Canadian firm SunOpta raises the stakes for high fibre ingredients by upping production and completing the second expansion phase at its Minnesota plant on the back of a surge in demand from food manufacturers.

Death toll from obesity catches up with tobacco

11-Mar-2004 - Deaths due to poor diet and lack of exercise have risen by more than a third in the last ten years, said the US government this week, citing new research that suggests obesity could soon overtake tobacco as the leading preventable cause of death, writes Lindsey Partos.

Raw material pricing will continue to knock food industry in 2004

08-Mar-2004 - Wheat, corn and soybean prices will remain high for much of 2004, warns the US agency Fitch Ratings, with the industry likely to see a continual shifting of higher ingredients costs onto the food manufacturer. But tough negotiations to 'lock-in' prices will mean continued squeezing of margins.