Growing consumer demand for nutritional foods will always be
tempered by demands for taste, said ingredients firm Cognis at last
week's IFT exhibition.
Job losses at the sweetener operations of ambitious ingredients
firm Cargill are imminent as the largest private firm in the US
appears to feel the squeeze of "market conditions".
If food manufacturers can achieve a better understanding of how
consumers interact with brands, then product development could be
less of a hit-and-miss affair, writes Anthony Fletcher in New
Orleans.
Measures to slow age-related disease and improve the quality of the
elderly must be investigated by government, said a UK report
yesterday, underlining the need for attention to growing numbers of
older people, reports Dominique Patton.
Cadbury Schweppes unit will recruit the brains of flavour
technologists at Senomyx through a new agreement to develop cutting
edge flavour ingredients to beat the competition in gum
confectionery, reports Lindsey Partos.
The world's number one caramel colour supplier DD Williamson drives
further into the profitable natural colours market, acquiring the
natural colours business of Artemis International.
Cranberry supplier Northland Cranberries gains from agreement with
rival Ocean Spray plus sale of branded juice business, reporting a
lift in income for the third quarter this year.
Cargill's pioneering Life Stage approach to developing and
marketing ingredients shows how the industry can better tune into
consumer demand, writes Anthony Fletcher from New Orleans.
As Chinese producers move in on western markets, the first response
by many established players is to protect and defend their previous
market positions. It's a doomed strategy.
Two major US bakeries are today adding white wholegrain bread to
their product ranges, targeting consumers who want the taste they
like while receiving the nutrition they need, reports Lorraine
Heller.
Acquisitive US ingredients firm Cargill leapfrogs into a leading
pectin position as the Citrico acquisition clears allowing pectin
products to fall into Cargill's portfolio, reports Lindsey
Partos.
Grasping the booming opportunities in the Chinese food and beverage
market, Japanese food conglomerate Kagome has linked up with
Chinese firm to bring vegetable and fruit juices to the market.
Organic production produces the same corn and soybean yields as
conventional farming, but consumes 30 percent less energy and uses
no pesticides, according to a revealing new study.
Food makers turn to wood-sourced vanillin as high oil prices
continue to put pressure on the price of petrochemical-based
vanilla alternatives, and natural vanilla stocks remain
vulnerable,writes Lindsey Partos.
A society that views food as taste-bud entertainment rather than a
basic of well-being was always bound to run into health problems.
But with obesity now afflicting 300m people, and diabetes set to
reach similar numbers within two...
Signing yet another deal to feed its seemingly insatiable appetite
for acquisitions, US ingredients firm Cargill makes a drive into
the whey derivatives market, reports Lindsey Partos.
Galaxy Nutritional Foods has entered into two definitive agreements
with Schreiber Foods for the sale of its plant assets and the
outsourcing of its manufacturing operations.
MGP Ingredients, Manildra Milling and the Kansas State University
Research Foundation (KSURF) have reached a settlement over an
alleged patent infringement involving food-grade starches,writes
Anthony Fletcher.
Balchem's acquisition of the encapsulation and agglomeration
business of Loders Croklaan shows that the company believes there
is a strong future in encapsulation technology.
This week's roundup of ingredients business news includes the
announcement of Chr Hansen's new owner and the establishment of an
innovative new organic ingredients business.
The US milk supply chain is still too vulnerable to a terrorist
attack, says new research, warning that stricter security could
save billions of dollars and thousands of lives, reports Chris
Mercer.
Ambitious ingredients firm Cargill reaches into its deep pockets,
strengthening its portfolio to food makers in China through the
acquisition of an academia supported food ingredients firm based in
Peking, reports Lindsey Partos.
Tighter supplies will lead to rises in prices for maize and coffee,
while the cost for rice, wheat, milk, oilcrops and milk will remain
stable or fall, according to the latest forecasts from the UN's
Food and Agriculture Organisation...
A roundup of recalled products in June shows the importance of
careful labeling, with the majority taken off the shelves because
of various undeclared ingredients.
The US District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday
resolved the final outstanding point in Roche's appeal over the
Empagran price-fixing case, ruling that the US courts have no
jurisdiction in the United States to...
A lawsuit targeting Kraft, General Mills and Dannon for dishonest
advertising over weight-loss claims has been attacked as a front
for animal rights extremists, writes Anthony Fletcher.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
This week's roundup covers ingredients companies relocating and
expanding, firms in the courtroom and corporations finalizing new
mergers and acquisitions.
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.
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.
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.
Ingredients companies including Cargill and Chr Hansen are
expanding facilities and picking up acquisitions in order to meet
growing global demand, writes Anthony Fletcher.
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.
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.
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...
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.
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...
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.
