Frozen

Smaller food brands face increased own-label threat

09-Jun-2011 - Manufacturers of lower-profile food brands could fall victim to the retailer-driven trend towards more own-label products over the next 15 years, according to a new report from financial services provider Rabobank.

Greencore faces capital quest to fund Uniq deal

07-Jun-2011 - Greencore will have to raise more capital via equity finance to complete any rumoured £100m takeover of Uniq, one analyst has warned.

Microwave snack that keeps the bread crispy

01-Jun-2011 - 
A Sussex butcher is on a mission to get his “revolutionary” new microwavable Welsh Rarebit stocked on supermarket shelves.

Frozen gluten-free for one

01-Jun-2011 - DS-gluten free has launched three new frozen ready meals: Cannelloni, Tortellini and Lasagna.

Offer us your ‘best price’, Boparan tells suppliers, as around half face chop

01-Jun-2011 - Northern Foods/2 Sisters Food Group began meeting suppliers yesterday, with the professed aim of shedding around half ‘‘over time’’ in a bid to boost supply chain efficiency and increase turnover to £3bn by 2015.

Findus averts Crispy Pancake shortage, Longbenton administrator fights for sale

31-May-2011 - The Findus Group says it is working hard to ensure a ''consistent and reliable'' supply of Crispy Pancakes following the decline of major contract supplier Longbenton Foods, as the latter's administrator fights to achieve a sale.

Heinz Aunt Bessie's factory back in action

26-May-2011 - Heinz has restarted one of the three production lines at its Aunt Bessies frozen potato factory in Westwick, Norfolk after a major fire three weeks ago, while the brand itself has appointed a new md.

Greencore cfo insists business is not for sale

24-May-2011 - Greencore cfo Alan Williams has told FoodManufacture.co.uk that he can "categorically confirm the business is not for sale", following a news report that said the €850m turnover convenience foods group had held talks with private equity firms over a potential sale.

Northern Foods proposes Leeds head office closure

19-May-2011 - Northern Foods is proposing to close it Leeds office and move the majority of staff to its ‘shared service centre’ in Wakefield, FoodManufacture.co.uk has learnt, as owner Ranjit Boparan starts restructuring his new acquisition.

Severe Heinz fire halts Aunt Bessie’s production

10-May-2011 - Heinz’s frozen and chilled foods facility near Norwich remains closed, after a devastating fire last Friday ravaged the portion of the site that produces Aunt Bessie’s potato products.

'Myth busting' McCain gives oven chips a makeover

09-May-2011 - Oven chip specialist McCain Foods' efforts to reformulate its product range combined with a targeted PR campaign has helped it to successfully navigate the healthy food storm that has engulfed the UK over the past few years, its corporate affairs director has claimed.

Loseley Dairy Ice Cream enters administration

09-May-2011 - The few remaining staff at Loseley’s ice cream plant in South Wales are expected to leave the site in the coming days following the company’s collapse last month, a company spokesperson has confirmed to FoodManufacture.co.uk.

New chicken bakes

01-May-2011 - Following the success of its Perfect for Chicken Yorkshire Puddings, Aunt Bessie’s has launched Perfect for Chicken in a Home Bake format.

News in brief

Easy Peasy for Ardo with new line

18-Apr-2011 - Frozen foods supplier Ardo UK is about to finish installing a new pea packing line at its Kent headquarters, following a £5m supply deal with Anglian Pea Growers.

Major IT meltdown puts the skids on Brakes

15-Apr-2011 - Foodservice giant Brakes has apologised to customers following a massive IT breakdown last week, which meant staff in warehouses could not pick food and send out orders.

Findus Group targets selective acquisitions

13-Apr-2011 - The Findus Group says it may well pursue “selective bolt-on acquisitions”, after it emerged that chilled and frozen foods giant’s owner is trying to renegotiate its banking covenants.

Omni-label aims to compare brands’ green credentials

11-Apr-2011 - A new label being piloted on chocolate could enable the sustainability of different food brands to be compared.

Frederick's Dairies admits Loseley interest

11-Apr-2011 - Frederick's Dairies says it could be interested in buying parts of South Wales ice cream firm Loseley, after a media report this week stated that private equity backer the Foresight Group had stopped funding the company.

Accidents ‘on the rise’

01-Apr-2011 - Forklift truck-related accident rates are likely to rise, according to Jungheinrich UK’s group health and safety manager, Peter Scott.

Arco buys consultancy and training firm

01-Apr-2011 - Safety expert Arco is now extending into safety management services with the acquisition of ARC Associates UK – one of the UK’s most experienced safety, health and environmental consultancy and training organisations.

Save your skin

01-Apr-2011 - Severed fingers, crushed skulls, exploding offal cookers and slips trips and falls: is it a House of Horrors freakshow? No, it's a list of just a few of the recent accidents in the food and drink manufacturing sector.

Wales is a winner on waste

01-Apr-2011 - Environment minister for Wales, Jane Davidson opened consultation on the ‘Food Manufacture, Service and Retail Sector plan’ for waste last month. She did so during a visit to Wales’s first commercial-scale anaerobic digestion (AD) plant at Premier Foods’s RF Brookes factory at Rogerstone Park, near Newport.

Stand-off

01-Apr-2011 - Geneva has a rich history. The earliest stages of St Peter's Cathedral there date back to 1160. A famous hotbed for Protestant revolutionary zeal in the 16th18th Century and home to church reformer Calvin, the European headquarters of the UN is also renowned for being the nexus of human rights activity.

First training course for leaner practices

01-Apr-2011 - A new qualification will hasten the take-up of lean manufacturing techniques, which some experts believe will be vital to the survival of the UK's food and drink sector.