Perfection Foods to ‘quadruple’ jobs with Leicester site

26-Mar-2012 - Cake manufacturer Perfection Foods has confirmed that it is set to create hundreds of jobs at its new international distribution centre in Leicester in order to meet soaring export demands.

2 Sisters slams OFT for Xmas pudding concerns

23-Mar-2012 - Ranjit Boparan’s 2 Sisters Food has hit out at the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) for failing to understand the “competitive dynamics” of the own-label market after its acquisitions of Northern Foods and Brookes Avana have lead to competition concerns in the Christmas pudding market. 

UB quiet on salty snacks sale as sector rises

21-Mar-2012 - Jaffa Cakes maker United Biscuits (UB) has dismissed reports that it is preparing for the sale of its salty snacks business – ascribed a £500M price tag by some commentators – as “market speculation”.

Boparan Holdings to sell Xmas puddings business

20-Mar-2012 - 2 Sisters Food owner Boparan Holdings is considering the sale of one of its Christmas pudding businesses amid competition concerns arising from its acquisition of the Brookes Avana business from Premier Foods.

Bread folic acid fortification 'key to cut birth defects'

15-Mar-2012 - A group of top British scientists yesterday (March 14) called on the government to push ahead with the fortification of flour or bread with folic acid, as recommended by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) to reduce neural tube defects in unborn babies.

News in brief

New stores drive up Greggs’ sales by 6%

14-Mar-2012 - The UK’s largest bakery chain Greggs reported sales up 5.8% to £701M and profits up 1.1% to £53.1M last year after it opened 84 new shops.

Kellogg sugar claims ‘misleading’ rules ASA

08-Mar-2012 - The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has slammed Kellogg for making “misleading” claims on its Coco Pops website that sugar was unrelated to obesity or ill health.

New Walkers Shortbread factory to create 30 jobs

06-Mar-2012 - Walkers Shortbread plans to build a new 3,500m2 factory, which will create 30 new jobs alongside its existing facilities at Fisherton in Aberlour, Scotland.

Research to trigger gluten-free sales boom

05-Mar-2012 - Gluten-free food sales could balloon after fresh research from the University of Hawaii has identified a new condition known as gluten sensitivity, which responds positively to a gluten-free diet.

World View: this week’s global food news

02-Mar-2012 - China’s booming food and drink sector, the prospects for frozen bakery in Eastern Europe and the vast potential of the US dairy products sector feature in this first global news roundup selected from FoodManufacture.co.uk’s sister online publications around the world.

News in brief

United Biscuits first to hit total zero waste to landfill

29-Feb-2012 - McVitie’s maker United Biscuits (UB) has become the first major food manufacturer in Britain to achieve zero waste to landfill across all of its UK sites, the firm has claimed.

Feature

Mould breaker

27-Feb-2012 - With the growth in popularity of speciality breads, cheesy loaves are flying off the shelves. Alas, not all of those tangy toppings are intentional. Or, so say the UK's leading food research bodies, which are seeing the incidence of moulds in bakery goods on the rise.

New bun in the oven

27-Feb-2012 - European Process Plant (EPP) is making a new compact dividing and rounding machine that can process dough pieces as small as 11.5g up to a 330g.

High-pressure water cuts its cake

27-Feb-2012 - After introducing new frozen products that would have been difficult to cut automatically with conventional machinery, a UK cake manufacturer has invested in two waterjet cutting machines from Spanish firm, Metronics Technologies. The machines are equipped with KMT intensifier pump systems to power the pure, high-pressure water cutting process.

Bakestable choc gets an upgrade

27-Feb-2012 - In muesli, in tea or on a stick: the range of products containing chocolate is widening all the time, according to Herza Schokolade, which supports the baking industry with customised ingredients. Marc van Essen, key account manager at Herza, says: "More and more customers are asking for tailor-made chocolate pieces that will give them a head start over their competitors."

Feature

Man on the bake

27-Feb-2012 - Few people have been privileged enough to work on some of the UK's highest profile food brands. But Stiletto Foods md Jeremy Woods has sung the praises of products from Wotsits to Pot Noodle in various sales and marketing roles over the years. How appropriate, then, that before he entered the food industry, he was a singer in a rock band that made a bid for the big time.

Man still in hospital after Fox’s Biscuits explosion

24-Feb-2012 - A worker remains in hospital following an explosion at Northern Foods’ Fox’s Biscuits factory in West Yorkshire as the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) continues its investigation.

News in brief

Peter's Red Bull pie gets backing from Shirley Bassey

24-Feb-2012 - Welsh entertainment legends Dame Shirley Bassey and Max Boyce have backed plans from pastry manufacturer Peter's Pies to create a new energy-infused pie made with energy drink Red Bull.

Seven workers hospitalised after Fox’s Biscuits fire

22-Feb-2012 - Seven workers have been taken to hospital after a fire broke out at Fox's Biscuits plant in Batley at 10.45am today (February 22).

Kellogg welcomes ASA Facebook superhero ruling

22-Feb-2012 - Cereal manufacturer Kellogg has welcomed a ruling from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) allowing it to continue using a superhero-themed Facebook game to market a product campaigners claim contains too much sugar for children.

Real Bread Loaf Mark bakers pass 50

17-Feb-2012 - More than 50 bakeries have signed up to The Real Bread Loaf Mark, a label for additive-free bread.

Food and drink firms misunderstand apprentices

15-Feb-2012 - The role of apprentices in food and drink firms – particularly small- to medium-sized enterprises – is much misunderstood, David Williams, md of speciality baker Butt Foods told FoodManufacture.co.uk.

Premier Foods to close Hovis bakery – 82 jobs at risk

15-Feb-2012 - Premier Foods plans to shut its Hovis bread bakery in Eastleigh, Hampshire with the loss of 82 jobs.

Nestlé reveals consumer preference for snacks

14-Feb-2012 - The results of a Nestlé study revealing German consumers’ growing preference for snacks and on-the-go eating are equally valid in the UK and across Western Europe, according to the firm.