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Riding the environmental ticket, UK conservative MP Tim Loughton this week joined Cadbury and the National Trust to cut down on packaging as foil-filled Easter approaches.
The UK’s Food and Drink Federation (FDF) has named Norman Soutar as the new chair of its Frozen Foods Group, as the industry drives to remind consumers of quality and innovation in the area.
National governments are increasingly taking the lead from Scotland in looking to clamp down on the sales and marketing practices of alcoholic drinks makers, throwing further uncertainty over their livelihoods, according to one trade group.
UK-based Dairy Crest says that it remains committed to branded dairy production despite its decision to offload its yoghurt operations that it ran as a joint venture Yoplait.
Pressure continues on the bakery industry to design solutions to combat food waste as figures reveal that UK consumers bin seven million slices of bread every day.
“If you don’t plan to plant a garden in Lake Wobegon in the spring, it means you plan to be planted yourself.”
In a break from artificial gum formulations, a consortium of Mexican co-operatives have used an organic gum base as the key natural ingredient for a new biodegradable gum set to spear soaring natural and sustainable food trends.
Dairy firm Müller Dairy UK must withdraw TV and print ads for a brand of its children’s yoghurt products after the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that they made misleading ‘natural’ claims.
Figures released this week suggest the popularity of bread and bakery products prevails with UK consumer spending rising to £3.8bn (€4.08bn) in 2008, but despite the growth, a push in innovation is crucial to arrest an overall contraction in consumer spending on bakery products.
The European Commission says it has obtained member state support for new draft regulations relating to the labelling and blending of rose wines in attempts to better compete on the global market.
India-based Tata Tea says that it is looking to develop a common brand identity for its core flagship beverage products, which include bottled water, as part of a wider shake up of its operations, suggest press reports.
Despite challenging economic times, confectioners and biscuit makers must maintain investment in innovation to stay ahead of the competition, attendees will hear this week at the upcoming FDF confectionery conference.
Following a fire last year that ravaged half of its factory, French crisp maker Sibell is set to be fully operational this month, following a €15m clean-up investment that has increased production capacity by 40 per cent.
Anonymity could be a secret weapon in green dairy production through a new scheme to publish and compare the environmental outputs and emissions from processors.
The over-50s have peculiar nutrition needs that, increasingly, are being catered to by functional foods makers as Shane Starling found out at a recent conference on the subject in Amsterdam.
With current tougher times in the economy impacting disposable income, a charity for past and present confectionery employees, Sweet Charity, affirms its key aim in 2009 is to raise awareness and reach out to more people in need in the industry.
Irish farmer’s groups have added their voices to growing dissent among European milk suppliers, claiming that some producers in the country potentially face an entire year of financial loses unless regulations are reformed.
The UK’s Food Commission is introducing a charter for celebrities who want to pledge they will not use their image to promote foods high in fat, saturated fat, sugar or salt.
Short of an earth-bound deity walking amongst us and miraculously multiplying our fish stocks, industry must invest more in alternative sources of omega-3 to meet nutritional needs.
The visit of UK minister Mike Foster to Cadbury’s Birmingham factory last week aimed to "renew a working commitment" with the chocolate firm and to discuss fair deals for cocoa suppliers in Africa, pushing the issue of Fairtrade chocolate further into the limelight.
Signs that even the Easter bunny is cutting back, with research conducted by BIGresearch for the US National Retail Federation finding Americans will spend less this year on their Easter confectionery and gifts.
Eastern European markets like Russia have been a key driver for brewers’ sales in recent years, though as governments in the West look to help prop up some economies in the region, beer is one area that may lose its fizz for multinationals.
Coca-Cola has announced that a proposed acquisition of the China-based juice manufacturer Huiyuan will not go ahead following failure to obtain approval from the China Ministry of Commerce (MOC).
UK Alcohol consumption has fallen by three per cent during 2008, according to figures compiled by the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA).
Innovation is increasingly being marked out as a way for private label firms to gain market share – and for big brand players to keep it.
With the US market for fruit-based smoothie drinks expected to undergo continued growth over the coming years, the reported interest of Coca-Cola in UK-based drink group Innocent could seem timely.
Major UK supermarkets have signed up to a new recycling logo for consumer packaging, aiming to present how much of the packaging can be recycled and where.
As the European Commission expects some short-term fall in demand for added value dairy products, one national trade association claims that cheese is well placed to meet various consumer needs during the economic downturn.
The nutraceutical soft drinks segment is expected to maintain growth through the economic downturn, with sales expected to rise at high single digit rate until 2013 due to a growing international focus by multinationals, says a new report.
Baker and snack makers should grab the opportunity to leverage their business through green credentials as demand prevails, says the UK's Carbon Trust.
Gum makers must continue initiatives for a sustainable solution to gum litter, with new research finding discarded chewing gum makes up more than three-quarters of the litter found on UK streets.
As UK authorities reportedly mull adopting minimum pricing on alcoholic beverages sold in the country, European drink makers claim they remain better placed to regulate the market than governments.
Sugar could be shedding its bad boy image to take a surprise spot on the public’s list of trusted ingredients, as manufacturers look to appeal to more savvy consumers.
Newly acquired packaging technology drives leading French cereal firm Soufflet to extend its Vivien Paille brand, launching a rice and milk snack targeted at 5 to 14 year olds.
European brewers claim they are playing a major role in pushing responsible drinking initiatives in the bloc through localised commitments to the EU Alcohol and Health Forum.
Doctors in Scotland voted narrowly against a motion to introduce a fat tax on chocolate, proposed by a medic who is concerned that chocolate has moved beyond a treat food.
Tackling the growing issue of portion size for final products, much work has been achieved in the confectionery sector to satisfy consumer demand and promote choice, says industry association.
UK chocolate company Cadbury will launch two Bournville variants to retailers from this month - Cadbury Bournville Old Jamaica and Cadbury Bournville Orange. Both are available in 180g bars which retail at £1.65.
Efforts by the confectionery industry to slash Easter egg packaging are paying off, engendering cost benefits and distribution improvements for manufacturers and retailers, says the UK's government-funded WRAP.
Inspired by The Economist's 'burgernomics' Big Mac index, French market analysts Gira Conseil have launched the 'buttered-ham sandwich' index, to compare prices of the country's enduring ham and butter sandwich, and in this challenging economic climate, to obtain a strong understanding of buying power in France.
Consumer watchdog Which? has renewed its calls for food manufacturers and retailers to do more to address sugar, salt and fat content and take a consistent, industry-wide approach to labelling to help people make healthily choices.
As Arla Foods drives ahead with plans to bolster its operations in whey and finished dairy products, the group says its latest acquisition highlights wider interest in the markets of Western and central Europe.
Dr Pepper Snapple has released an all-natural version of its iced tea which uses high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) instead of sugar, but has denied that it was driven by trends for natural ingredients or any consumer choice to avoid HFCS.
Quaker Oats fully embraces the health and wellness message behind its hallmark ingredient - wholegrain oats - re-positioning all of its products under one umbrella for the first time in its 130 year history.
Atlanta, Georgia-based Coca-Cola has tabled an offer for a minority stake in stalling UK smoothie maker, Innocent, according to press reports.
Danisco has named Stephane Constant as the new executive vice president to head up its sweeteners division. Constant will drive the overall strategy for the operating unit.
The Portman Group, an industry-led responsibility body says the number of complaints made under its code of practice for alcohol packaging has reached a decade-long high amidst growing concerns over drink branding.
Clutched to the president’s chest like a medal of nationalisation, Cargill Venezuela cannot be sitting very comfortably this week as it awaits the fate of its rice plant.
Despite today's overarching trend towards new and exotic flavours, when it comes to crisps, traditional flavours like cheese & onion and ready salted are best, generating strong sales and bolstering growth for snack makers despite the challenging economic climate, finds new research from trend trackers Mintel.
A new research project starting in Denmark this year could position the New Nordic Diet as the healthy diet of future, paralleling the much-vaunted Mediterranean diet in its benefits but with local, Northern European roots.
Spotting a market opportunity ten years ago, John Mudd set out to create an alternative to mass-produced crisps, building a business that today sees 2.5 million packs of Real hand-cooked crisps sold each week in the UK.
The food industry’s new sustainability roundtable will seek to unify all the green assessment methods now in use and under development, says the CIAA’s environmental director, rather than developing yet another approach from scratch.
The rules that govern agreements between retailers and suppliers could be strengthened under a new proposal by the UK’s Competition Commission (CC) to protect manufacturers and others from restrictive practices.
Cadbury’s commitment to source cocoa for its popular Dairy Milk chocolate bars is a strong signal that responsible sourcing is moving out of a niche and into the mainstream, and will introduce more consumers to the principal.
The influential UK-based consumer welfare advocate, Which?, has poured scorn on some functional foods, despite the fact 59 per cent of its highly sceptical members buy omega-3, probiotic and other functional foods.
The UK’s Food Standards Agency has added to its listing of companies that do not use the Southampton-six colours, including Cool Drinks company, Lakeland, Montgomeryshire Natural Spring Water products, Plas Farm Ltd, Rubicon Drinks, and Sunny Delight Beverage Company.
Owen Warnock, partner and food law expert at international law firm Eversheds, checks the fine print on calls for legislation in the UK regarding country of origin meat labelling.
“The new cartons stink.” Customer responses to new product developments seldom come clearer or more direct than that.
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