Breaking News on Food & Beverage Development - North America EU edition

Poor flavour performance knocks Danisco annual results

22-Jun-2005 - 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.

Florida seeks solutions to OJ sales squeeze

22-Jun-2005 - 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.

Soy industry update

22-Jun-2005 - A new outbreak of soybean rust has been discovered, while the WTO's GM ruling has been delayed until October: just some of the stories in today's soy industry update.

Consumers trust food industry, claims survey

22-Jun-2005 - Accurate labeling is a vital marketing tool that must not be abused, if a new survey is to be believed, writes Anthony Fletcher.

Monday Comment

The Age of Consent for RFID

20-Jun-2005 - 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.

Wrigley hits US market with new flavors

20-Jun-2005 - Wrigley is looking to consolidate its position in the US gum market with a brand new range of summer flavors, writes Anthony Fletcher.

Leading UK sauce brands sold to Heinz

20-Jun-2005 - Ketchup giant HJ Heinz will become the number one sauce leader in the UK as the US firm announces an agreement to acquire a raft of leading sauce brands from French firm Groupe Danone.

Food ingredients industry roundup

17-Jun-2005 - This week's roundup covers ingredients companies relocating and expanding, firms in the courtroom and corporations finalizing new mergers and acquisitions.

Gum arabic agreement targets stable supplies

17-Jun-2005 - 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.

Coffee prices to stay under pressure as world supplies fall

15-Jun-2005 - 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.

People on the move

13-Jun-2005 - It's all change at the top at Archers Daniel Midland, while Con Agra has announced several hundred job cuts.

Food industry must adapt to ethical consumerism

13-Jun-2005 - 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.

Label properly or lose consumer trust, warns NHB

10-Jun-2005 - Food manufacturers must be more honest with consumers or risk eroding their trust, as a recent study into honey demonstrates writes Anthony Fletcher.

Ingredients business news

08-Jun-2005 - Ingredients companies including Cargill and Chr Hansen are expanding facilities and picking up acquisitions in order to meet growing global demand, writes Anthony Fletcher.

Nestlé apologises over baby milk in China

07-Jun-2005 - Nestle, the world's biggest foodmaker, has apologised to Chinese consumers after the country's safety authorities detected too much iodine in one of its milk-power brands.

Industry comment

Who is afraid of GMOs?

06-Jun-2005 - It is a perversion of the 21st century that while affluent societies continue the quest to slice the fat from their increasingly obese populations, five million children die from hunger each year, and more than 850m people go chronically hungry.

Ingredients industry people on the move

06-Jun-2005 - Kansas Wheat Commission administrator David Frey is off to Afghanistan, Symrise has a new CEO while Kyowa Hakko has appointed a new marketing manager in order to break the US market.

Naturex to buy US extracts firm Pure World

06-Jun-2005 - French plant extracts supplier Naturex said today it will buy US rival Pure World for around $37 million (€30m), or $4.30 per share in cash, reports Dominique Patton.

Sustainable vanilla from India reaches Danisco stocks

03-Jun-2005 - Diversifying supplies and managing risk for the world's most expensive, and popular, natural flavour, for the first time ingredients giant Danisco receives a batch of sustainable organic vanilla from an Indian monk, reports Lindsey Partos.

New nutrition labels damage small firms, says study

03-Jun-2005 - Standardized nutrition labels are dampening market competition by helping large food manufacturers gain an even sharper edge over their smaller rivals, according to a new Duke University study.

WHO tool assesses risk of unsafe chemicals in food

01-Jun-2005 - Helping the food industry to manage the risk of unsafe chemicals in food, a UN-backed initiative focuses on pinpointing the presence of a wide range of contaminants in retail foods.

Ingredients industry business roundup

31-May-2005 - ConAgra has agreed to pay shareholders millions in compensation, while Nestlé has announced plans to concentrate trading more of its stock in the US.

Ingredients industry appointments roundup

27-May-2005 - New appointments this week in the ingredients industry include a new director of marketing at Galaxy and a number of new department of agriculture positions.

Cargill races into number three pectin position on Citrico deal

26-May-2005 - Hydrocolloid industry sees competition step up a gear as US ingredients firm Cargill, for the first time, buys into the pectin market through the acquisition of Citrico, reports Lindsey Partos.