Canadian firm SunOpta last week signed an agreement with MicroSoy
of Jefferson, Iowa to market its toasted soy flake ingredients in
the North American market.
Food company J.M. Smucker said yesterday that it had found a buyer
for its US foodservice and bakery products businesses, plus its
Canadian Gourmet Baker operations.
Wheat prices are still open to risk as low global stocks provide
little buffer to surprise supply shocks but soybean prices should
remain low on record high global inventories, writes Lindsey
Partos.
Food companies are expecting a tough year in 2005 with competition
and price pressures in the food chain rising to the surface as the
key issues, reports Lindsey Partos.
Kettle Foods, have decided that 2005 is to be the year when the
humble potato chip takes on a guise never seen before by asking its
consumers what new flavor of chips they would like to see on the
shelves, reports Philippa Nuttall.
British snack makers will face the most testing period in their
recent history over the next few years as the war on obesity
gathers momentum, threatening to stall growth and devour smaller
manufacturers, reports Chris Mercer.
Brussels addresses the issue of consumer cynicism and fear of
agricultural biotechnology in European citizens, setting up a
thematic network on the safety risk assessment of genetically
modified food crops, the Entransfood project,...
Biotech giant Monsanto announced a smaller net loss for the first
quarter of 2005 than the same period last year thanks mainly to
increasing seed sales, but legal problems are still proving
expensive for the company.
Vietnamese rice exports have earned the country nearly $10 billion
in the past sixteen years, but despite this, the Vietnamese
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development says that there is
still plenty of room to further enhance...
The boss of UK starch and sugar group Tate & Lyle, currently
enjoying booming sales for its sweetener 600 times sweeter than
sugar, has hooked the European Businessman of the Year award from
leading US business magazine Forbes.
Food scientists continue the challenge to come up with food
ingredients suitable for consumers unable to eat wheat, rye or
barley-based foods because of a reaction to the gluten protein
found in these grains.
Danisco has launched a series of products aimed at helping the
baking industry cope with the move towards whole grain products
that is expected in the US in 2005.
An improvement in the quality of flour ingredients is the focus of
new research by US government scientists who are taking a closer
look at hundreds of different proteins in the wheat kernels.
Number one dextrose producer Corn Products International will drive
operations forward in Korea, buying up the remaining slice of its
Korean business from Doosan corporation.
The bolt-on acquisition of Rhodia Food Ingredients earlier this
year helps boost sales for Danish ingredients and sugar group
Danisco in an otherwise challenging 2004/05 first half.
Widespread procurement and more than 100 years in business help
French hydrocolloid producer Colloides Naturels International (CNI)
assure supplies for gum arabic amid global shortfalls in stock,
writes Lindsey Partos.
Against the backdrop of soaring prices for locust bean gum, getting
the best price for the customer is a challenge hydrocolloid
producers must meet if they want to ensure ongoing contracts,
reports Lindsey Partos.
China may become the first country in the world to operate the
commercial production of genetically modified rice, ushering in
cheaper and constant supplies for the popular food staple and
ingredient.
Nearly half of the world's vanillin supplies are sourced from China
but since tighter production rules arrived there a few years ago
there are now only two major Chinese producers left in the country,
reports Lindsey Partos....
China continues to pull on global commodities with demand for US
soybeans rising in 2004/05 by nearly 50 per cent on the previous
year, reports Lindsey Partos. China's total contracts for
soybeans reached 6.6 million tonnes by...
A breakthrough into the US market boosts the bottom line for UK
natural flavours firm Treatt that saw sales for the year across the
Atlantic rising by over 40 per cent to €10 million, parallel to a
sales dip elsewhere, writes Lindsey...
Supplies for a range of vegetable oils used extensively by the food
industry are slated to rise for 2004/05 year on stronger yields for
peanuts, soybeans and rape seed oil, building up global stocks to
about 390.5 million tons.
Global drawdown in cereal stocks, the essence of a raft of
ingredients, may turn the corner this year as a new report from the
UN food agency predicts world cereal production will hit a record
2.04 billion tonnes in 2004, an increase...
The announcement yesterday that DMV International and Arla Food
Ingredients could merge is a further example of how the rising
power and ongoing growth of the multiple retailers is putting
constant pressure on ingredients companies...
Two of Britain's biggest agriculture companies, faced with an
increasingly unstable market and rising costs, have announced they
will merge to insulate themselves and compete more effectively
through local grain markets, writes...
Small Swiss ingredients firm Veripan has linked up with food
production system giant Buhler to bring a bakery ingredient system
to a wider market and the opportunity for bakers to have a 'two in
one' service.
Price increases for key raw materials used by the food industry
threaten over the next 12 months as low global stocks remain open
to unexpected disruptions.
Tate & Lyle, the world's only maker of the increasingly popular
sweetener sucralose, must prioritise needs of existing customers as
demand for the additive 'far exceeds our expectations.'
Swedish speciality fats and oils firm Karlshamns builds up supplies
of pumpable fats and liquid margarine as industry spikes demand for
convenience fats, reports Lindsey Partos.
Japanese aspartame supplier Ajinomoto will ramp up production of
its sweetener on the back of growing demand for low calorie food
and beverages, the Tokyo-based firm announced this week.
Looking to new market gains in the UK, US and Australia, German
ingredients group Degussa has revamped its line of bakery cream
systems to target food makers with a competitive package.
Looking to new market gains in the UK, US and Australia German
ingredients group Degussa has revamped its line of bakery cream
systems to target food makers with a competitive package, writes
Lindsey Partos.
Maker of the low-cal, low-carb sweetener tagatose teams up with the
number four flavour house Symrise to trial new flavour systems that
could bring cost savings to food manufacturers in their flavour
formulations, writes Lindsey Partos.
Daily helpings of brown rice, wholegrain bread and cereals could
reduce the risk of developing the increasingly common health
condition of type 2 diabetes.
Understanding the genetic make-up of rice will help scientists to
map the genomes of corn and sorghum crops, say US researchers, at
at time when scientists are keen to promote the gluten-free
benefits of sorghum in food formulations.
The Corn Refiners Association released its 2004 annual report on
Wednesday, focusing attention on the 'healthy' aspects of corn and
away from negative opinions of corn-derived products.
Despite a fall in prices, the cost of wheat-based ingredients is
likely to remain under pressure on the back of ongoing low global
stocks, risks to Australian and Canadian production and a possible
restocking from China.
Number one cultures supplier Chr. Hansen is up for sale as its
major stakeholder decides to pull away from the ingredients slice
of the company to focus on the pharmaceutical unit. The move will
make the company's still growing...
Food makers can expect to see the price of hydrocolloids continue
to move upwards as suppliers, knocked by squeezed commodity
supplies coupled with higher energy and transport costs, pass rises
onto the market.
Danisco Flavours has said that it will double its flavour
production in Asia with the construction of a brand new production
facility at its existing emulsifier and functional systems plant in
Penang, Malaysia.
Red wine has potent bacteria fighting properties, suggests new
research from scientists in the US that examined the impact both
red and white wines could have on a range of common food pathogens.
Increasing competition on the xanthan gum market leads Danish
ingredients firm Danisco to cut jobs at the recently acquired
Rhodia Food activities in France.
Convenience foods eaten on the run continue to experience strong
growth as individuals skip the union meal for a solitary event but
new findings from the US suggest that the security of a family meal
could help steer adolescent girls...
High energy costs bite into margins for the number one pectin
player CP Kelco with the company passing the prices onto the
market, announcing increases for a range of hydrocolloids in its
portfolio.
A new Danish farm to fork food strategy urged the Danish Parliament
to free up funding to investigate the key role biotechnology could
play in designing better tasting, safer, foods, and ultimately the
opportunity for higher quality,...
California’s adoption of AB 418 to prohibit Brominated Vegetable Oil, Potassium Bromate, Propylparaben and Red Dye 3 has led other U.S. states to follow...
Confused about prebiotics? You’re not the only one! Food developers wanting to work with prebiotic dietary fibre are faced with an abundance of products...
As consumers seek increased value and experience from food and beverages, the industry relies on research to predict category trends. Studying trends that...