Horsemeat: learning the lessons of an avoidable crisis
WRBM
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Cutting greenhouse gas emissions in the dairy supply chain should become easier thanks to a new benchmark certified by the Carbon Trust and detailed in a report funded by levy-funded dairy farming organisation DairyCo.
A private equity firm remains the strongest candidate for a bid for chilled foods giant Greencore, according to city analysts, as the firm prepares to switch over to the FSTE 100 next month.
Premier Foods has challenged the young manufacturers of the future to show-off their skills next month and create a new dessert for the Queens Diamond Jubilee or the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Associated British Foods will see sugar profits soar this year as a result of increased production and lower processing costs, according to city analysts.
Premier Foods has refused to comment on speculation that it has agreed a new deal with its lenders after the firm’s share price rose 6.5% to 12p yesterday (28 February).
Food manufacturers have adopted a cautious approach to the Schmallenberg virus, which causes abnormalities to livestock, despite the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) claim that the scare poses a minimal risk to humans via the food chain.
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.
Fresh food manufacturer Bakkavör has blamed a key contract loss from retailer Asda for its decision to cut 140 jobs at its English Village Salads (EVS) business in East Yorkshire.
Chilled foods manufacturer Hain Daniels has claimed that its Covent Garden Soup “Win a Farm” competition was fair and legal despite some entrants becoming outraged after no winning-prize was awarded.
Soaring cider sales, thanks to innovative product design, meant the beverage now rivals the popularity of lager, according to a new report from market research group Mintel.
The role of apprentices in food and drink manufacturing and the challenge of attracting new young talent dominated debate this month on the industry’s Linkedin forum The Food and Drink Manufacturing Network – powered byFood Manufacture.
Philanthropist and digital technology guru Bill Gates has highlighted the role of improved data collection in the battle against world hunger.
A Cheshire jam manufacturer could lose thousands of pounds of new business because EU regulations have left it without a legal name for its product.
Sir,I suspect some of your editorial comments regarding the Public Health Responsibility Deal (PHRD) need to be taken with a pinch of salt! (See Editor's view, p3 Food Manufacture February 2012.)
Manufacturers have been thwarted in their efforts to improve the healthy nature of products by incremental reformulation by the European Parliament (EP).
Craemer will display a selection of products from its range of hygienic pallets and containers.
W+D Langhammer offers a wide range of standard components for use in pallet transportation. Individually planned conveyor units can be put together to meet specific requirements.
Tailored to individual business needs, Autostore, from Central Systems & Automation, controls the physical movement and storage of goods and resources across warehouse, distribution centre or cold store operations.
The logistics services available from the Widdowson Group will be on display within the UK Warehousing Association Pavilion at FoodEx.
A sophisticated bag sealing system for food will be shown by Innoseal UK at the Foodex Exhibition.
Machines for applying liquid coatings to a variety of foodstuffs will be on display by Saturn Spraying Systems, which uses its patented spinning disc technology to apply coatings in sectors as diverse as bakery, biscuits and confectionery; meat and fish; and fruit and vegetables.
A fully electrical tray sealer, operating at 75 packs a minute, will be shown by Packaging Automation (PA).
Linerless labelling specialist Ravenwood Packaging will be exhibiting the very latest in linerless adhesive backed labels and its efficient, 'planet-friendly' labelling systems, used primarily in the chilled foods sector.
A full range of Cassida synthetic lubricants will be on display by Fuchs Lubricants (UK)'s stand.
System software for food and drink manufacturing productivity improvements will be a central theme on Idhammar's stand.
Lubricant manufacturer Rocol will be exhibiting its NSF 3H & H1 multi-purpose grease for incidental food contact.
ISS Facility Services will showcase its range of specialist cleaning and hygiene services for food manufacturing.
Aetna UK will show its best selling Rotoplat 507 pallet wrapper, along with information on the full range of its other machines, including the Robot S6 produced by Robopac, part of the Aetna group.
Plastic high-barrier convenience food containers that are suitable for double-seaming, retorting and microwaving, will be the highlight on Rexam's stand.
Systems Integration (SI), a leading supplier of software and hardware for the food processing industry, will be showing its Integreater system.
Riggs Autopack will show a range of its depositors. The company supplies a hygienic semi-automatic depositor for small- to medium-sized food producers.
The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) has launched a series of apprenticeship roadshows across the country to encourage food manufacturers to take on more apprentices.
Processing equipment specialist Handtmann will exhibit a variety of machinery for vacuum filling and portioning for meat, dairy, bakery and seafood applications.
Interfood Technology will be introducing technological developments in processing equipment and ingredients.
Reiser will feature live demonstrations of its processing and packaging equipment designed for the meat, food and bakery industries.
Ishida Europe will showcase its weighing and quality control equipment. Highlights will include the latest additions to its checkweigher and X-ray ranges, plus advanced weighing systems for typically hard-to-handle sticky and fresh products.
The main focus of the Stevens Group stand will be the company's traceability suite, which helps to eliminate weighing errors and improve batch consistency, while providing accurate traceability and reducing paperwork.
The food factory build and maintenance expertise of KDH Projects will be highlighted on its stand at Foodex.
The Superdry container desiccant moisture absorber will be displayed by JS Desiccants.
Soya offers wide-ranging functional properties that many food manufacturers are beginning to take advantage of within their products. Serbian soya processor Sojaprotein will be exhibiting its portfolio of products for the food sector.
Foodex 2012, the UK show for food and drink processing, packaging and logistics will take place at Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre (NEC) from March 25 to 27.
Specialist plastics packaging technology business Petainer has developed its 'greenest ever' refillable bottle - further improving the sustainability of what it claims is already one of the most environmentally-friendly forms of beverage packaging.
While food safety is an ever-present concern, the sustainability of packaging has grabbed all the attention in recent times. But it comes as little surprise that expensive green packaging alternatives have fallen down the priority list as cost pressures have kicked in. Allied Bakeries was a rare example of a major bakery claiming 100% recycled packaging in the last 12 months (its Kingsmill Little Big Loaf and Crusts Away packs are now made from packaging off-cuts).
A compact traysealer, together with innovative vacuum packs in both tray-sealing and thermoforming will be highlighted on the Sealpac stand at the Anuga Foodtec show, which takes place in Cologne in Germany from March 27 to 30.
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.
High-speed tray sealers which make use of a full vacuum system are now available from heat sealing specialist Proseal. While the company's existing equipment can deliver gas flushing for modified atmosphere packaging applications, the new GT1V has been developed for products such as meat and poultry where residual gas levels need to be less than 1%.
Oxfordshire-based brewery Loddon has undergone a complete rebranding exercise with the assistance of brand and packaging design consultancy We Are Pure.
Screen and filtration specialist Russell Finex has launched a high-performance low profile vibrating screen for safety screening liquids and powders.
French food processor Farmor has invested in a second RevoPortioner from Marel Townsend to cope with increased production.
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.
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.
Faced with a static market for his potato crop, a Lancashire farmer decided to manufacture crisps.
The Meyn-Ishida alliance has designed, supplied and installed a new 10,500 birds per hour (bph)plant for Russia's largest poultry producer, Zao Prioskolie - one that could expand to 12,000bph.
Designed for the fish processing industry, Landia pumps with extra cutting blades are helping Greenock-based pet food producer Rossyew convert Scottish Salmon by-products into speciality oil and protein ingredients for pig, poultry, pet and aqua feeds.
Specific IT linking production to the supply chain is no longer a luxury, and no longer just for the largest multi-site businesses. For a small operation, the right system with the right features can be a huge differentiator, helping to open doors to downstream customers.
Dairy Crest last year selected Nottingham-based consultancy Coriolis to work with on a £3.1M expansion project at the dairy's cold store facility at Dove Valley Park at Foston, just off the A50 between Stoke and Derby.
The financial squeeze placed on manufacturers by their powerful retail customers is putting many productivity projects involving capital investment at risk, it has emerged.
Chr Hansen has launched a product designed to enable winemakers to manage malolactic fermentation in high-pH, high-alcohol wines without producing biogenic amines such as histamine during fermentation.
Three companies (Marigot, AllinAll Ingredients and Naturis) have joined forces to develop a new brine system that offers a clean-label alternative to using phosphates in poultry.
Beneo is presenting a range of new sweetening solutions, including a new chewing gum that features Beneo’s Palatinose (isomaltulose) combined with Stevia for the first time.
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."
National Starch Food Innovation is promoting the use of its functional starch-based solution Precisa Pulp 02 can in a variety of juice bases, including peach, apricot guava, pear, and mango. The goal is to aid the creation of cost-optimised beverages that meet consumer demand for exotic juice drinks.
US firm TIC Gums is bringing its gum arabic replacement product to the confectionery industry in Europe. The firm says its Ticapan 311 coating system will bind sugar and sugar alcohol syrup in confectionery coating and panning applications and claims its performance is comparable to that of traditional gum arabic at approximately 20% less costs.
Innova Market Insights has reported an increased number of global food and drink launches that feature floral ingredients. In the first 10 months of 2011, such launches rose by 7% – compared with the same period in 2010 – to a number that is now over four times the level recorded five years previously.
"Dismay." "A blow for consumers and industry alike." "A bitter pill for food operators." Just a few industry responses to Members of the European Parliament's (MEP's) recent rejection of the revised nutrition claims list.
Responding to a growing trend in the international beverage industry, Chr Hansen has launched I-Colors: a range of instant natural colours for powder soft drinks in single-shot sleeves.
LycoRed has launched a range of natural, vegetarian, red and orange colours with non-migrating properties for fruit preparation. The new line is based on tomato lycopene and natural beta-carotene and covers a full-spectrum of colour possibilities from red to yellow.
More than nine out of 10 of us are concerned about artificial colours, and almost eight out of 10 consumers are willing to pay a premium for foods made with natural colours, according to research conducted by Nielsen on behalf of Chr Hansen.
Sleaford Quality Foods is overcoming tough challenges in the global supply chain as it seeks to source and process dried and dehydrated foods for foodservice customers and other manufacturers.
UK trade body Dairy UK has called on the nation’s government to do more to communicate the positive health benefits of dairy products, and warns that the current focus on reformulation risks ‘putting many consumers off eating dairy foods’.
Logistics specialist Norbert Dentressangle (ND) is targeting €1bn (£848.6M) in freight forwarding sales within five years, according to Dave Barron, global commercial director for Norbert Dentressangle Overseas (NDO).
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.
Carlsberg UK is to build a £20M bottling plant at its Northampton brewery, which will create 60 new jobs
This business started under the name 'Sleaford Trading Company' in 1968 importing and distributing dehydrated vegetables. As it has grown, it has expanded into various dried and canned products. In 1980 Sleaford was the first company to move on to this industrial estate. By the time we changed the name to Sleaford Quality Foods in the mid-1990s to reflect our emphasis on quality, we were making £5M in sales.
Multi-national food and ingredients firm Vion Foods was fined £16,000 after a worker was blown from the top of a shipping container while moving corrugated metal sheets.
Calls continue for the food industry to take responsibility for tackling obesity as if, by implication, the consumer is deemed to be less able to take it on themselves.
Kellogg's move to snap up the Pringles brand from Procter & Gamble (P&G) for a cool £1.7bn was one of the biggest announcements of the past month.
Unilever workers in the UK took their dispute over the food giant's decision to close its final salary pension scheme to the company's headquarters in Rotterdam last month.
The Raycon X-ray product inspection system from S & S Inspection uses the latest low-energy X-ray source and sophisticated image processing to identify metallic and non-metallic contamination, flavour clumps and missing components at up to 600 items a minute.
Quality control (QC) will be a central feature of QCL's stand, with a variety of systems to meet the needs of the dairy sector.
Selo will focus on technologies that integrate meat and poultry and packaging, together with those which maximise shelf-life, increase efficiency and add value.
Due diligence is central to demonstrating that food products are both safe and legal. An item of equipment that is widely used to achieve this aim is the online metal detector - especially when it features simple and reliable operation.
Online food safety and hygiene learning packages have been launched by William Reed Business Media (WRBM) (the publisher of Food Manufacture and The Grocer) to meet the needs of food businesses that require a flexible and more cost-effective approach to training their staff.
Chilled foods look set to receive a further boost in sales following Sainsbury's decision last month to change its labelling to advise shoppers they can freeze many foods right up until the 'use by' date. Sainsbury's move is likely to be followed by other retailers. If so, it would make chilled foods even more attractive to waste-conscious, cash-strapped shoppers.
Birds Eye Iglo chief executive Martin Glenn aims to spearhead a frozen food renaissance building on the category's current success, but acknowledged its consumer image had been slow to improve.
Retail promotions will become far more focused on individual shoppers than they are now thanks to new oportunities created by smart phone technologies, according to the md of Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE).
The publication of the Department of Health's (DoH's) finalised Calorie Reduction Pledge for the food industry last month has met with a mixed reception.
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.
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.
Premier Foods’ Power Brand plan is vital to reduce debt and restore banking confidence, according to city analysts, as talks with the firm’s lenders continue ahead of its scheduled covenants test next month.
UK food and drink manufacturers have welcomed Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg’s £1bn boost to the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) intended for firms looking for investment funding.
Youngsters aged between 16 and 21, teachers and career advisors are to be welcomed into food and drink factories this summer in a bid to attract a new generation of young talent.
Appointing an adjudicator to police the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP) would help to remedy the growing problem of late payments owed to food and drink manufacturers, according to the Food and Drink Federation (FDF).
Self-diagnosis of food intolerance using online tools has led to soaring sales in the UK free-from food market, valued at an estimated £300M last year.
Two charities for the UK food and drink industry have confirmed that they will be merging later this year in a bid to increase support for workers in the sector.
The requirement for “active farmers” under the latest proposals to reform to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) could hit those who derive most of their income from activities other than farming, such as food manufacture, an expert has warned
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).
Food manufacturing giant Kraft has confirmed that UK chocolate firm Cadbury had generated sales of about £257M ($400) since its controversial takeover last year.
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.
UK food and drink manufacturers have pledged their support for Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg’s plan to encourage 16- and 17-year-olds who are not in work, education or training (NEET), back into earning or learning.
Acquisitions totalling nearly £350M last year have boosted Irish food giant Kerry Foods profit potential in emerging markets, according to city analysts, after the firm revealed a strong performance in its latest set of financial results.
Indie rock legends The Charlatans may have created a new breakfast snack after Kellogg revealed that a cereal made especially for singer Tim Burgess could be rolled out in the future.
Smart phones will be central to the way tomorrow’s young, 'Generation Y' shoppers interact with food and drink products on sale in supermarkets, according to new research commissioned from the grocery think tank IGD by Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE).
A happy Easter at Premier Foods will depend on the firm’s covenants test with its banks at the end of next month, according to city analysts.
Stockport-based food firm EHL Ingredients plans to invest £30,000 to upgrade production processes and distribution in a bid to grow turnover to £5M this year.
Kraft Foods has cut manufacturing waste by half across its global business over the past seven years.
Suppliers reporting abuses of power under the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP) might need “a witness protection programme”, according to business guru Digby Jones.
The acquisition of Argyll-based Loch Fyne Oysters by Scottish Seafood Investments (SSI) will bring significant new funding, which will allow the firm to crack fresh export markets, according to its new owners.
Macclesfield-based manufacturer of food tray-sealing machines Proseal has been fined £3,500 after an employee lost two fingers in a lathe.
The Irish government’s role in maintaining a healthy domestic market is vital to growing the country’s food and drink exports, according to Food and Drink Industry Ireland (FDIE).
Environment-friendly synthetic meat has moved a step closer with the publication of research detailing how Dutch scientists used stem cells to create strips of muscle tissue.
UK food and drink manufacturers will play a key role in contributing to the recovery of the UK economy, said agriculture minister Jim Paice.
Strong sales to Europe last year have driven the UK to become a net exporter of lamb but key challenges remain, according to the English Beef and Lamb Executive (EBLEX).
Prime Minister David Cameron has welcomed the creation of 30 new jobs at PepsiCo’s Quaker Oats factory in Scotland after the firm announced a £14.4M investment in the site, partly to meet increasing export demand.
More than 50 bakeries have signed up to The Real Bread Loaf Mark, a label for additive-free bread.
A cancelled contract from Morrisons was responsible for vegetable and fruit producer Del Monte’s plan to close its York factory with the loss of 140 jobs, a union official has told FoodManfacture.co.uk.
Chocolate manufacturer Mars has confirmed that it will cut the calorie content of all of its chocolate products to 250 calories or less in a bid to make its snacks healthier for consumers.
Former workers at sweet manufacturer McCowan’s have been awarded more than £200,000 in compensation after the firm was found guilty of failing to meet legal obligations before going into administration last year.
Danish dairy co-operative Arla Foods is to start recruiting 700 staff to work at its £150M super dairy in Aylesbury Buckinghamshire after construction began at the site last week.
Prime Minister David Cameron has pledged his support for a minimum alcohol price.
Sainsbury’s chief executive Justin King has hit out at proposals to create an adjudicator to police the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP), arguing that it would not be in consumers’ interests.
Cereal manufacturer Kellogg has dismissed accusations from consumer watchdog Which? that some of its cereals are too high in sugar content after the campaign group accused the firm of targeting children with unhealthy products.
UK consumers’ growing demand for value-for-money spiced by the occasional luxury has impacted results at confectionery giant Nestlé after the firm predicted a cautious outlook for this year.
Irish chilled foods manufacturer Kerry Foods has confirmed the death of a worker at its Staffordshire factory after a man suffered a heart attack in the early hours of Valentine’s Day.
Cereal maker Kellogg has agreed a £1.7bn ($2.7bn) deal with consumer goods group Procter and Gamble (P&G) for its Pringles canned crisp business after it was revealed that the firm had ended its previous deal with Diamond Foods.
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.
Workers at consumer goods giant Unilever are taking the row over changes to their pensions overseas after Unite the Union accused ceo Paul Polman of “executive greed” and double standards.
European Union (EU) sugar quotas significantly inflate consumer prices and should be abolished at the earliest opportunity in 2015, James Lambert, ceo and executive chairman of R&R Ice Cream, has told FoodManufacture.co.uk.
Chocolate manufacturer Thorntons has defended its decision to rebalance its business in a bid to restore profitability following a slump in profits during the all-important Christmas period.
Premier Foods plans to shut its Hovis bread bakery in Eastleigh, Hampshire with the loss of 82 jobs.
Apprenticeships are the key to maintaining the competitive advantage of Scottish food and drink firms, according to industry experts.
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.
Prime minister David Cameron’s support for the idea of introducing a quota for women in top business jobs has been rejected by the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink (NSAFD).
Fire has halted production twice in three days at Kellogg’s Bryn Lane facility in Wrexham, North Wales
Farm Group’s decision to go into administration threatens 133 jobs and has saddled Dairy Crest with £4M of bad debt.
Manchester United Football Club’s (MUFC's) official ethnic meal supplier plans to become the largest producer of Asian foods in the UK with the creation of a new factory capable of producing up to 100,000 meals a day.
A Cornish microbrewery is battling tax inspectors for survival as they try to recoup £10,000 of backdated revenue from it for allegedly wrongly selling one of its creations as a beer.
Dairy foods firm Dairy Crest has increased its bad debt provision by £4M after one of its customers Quadra Foods called in the administrators.
Robotic sampling of meat quality on slaughterhouse production lines could be commercially available next year, as a result of a £1M research project.
The food industry must get much more closely involved in public health issues if we are to deal with the problems of obesity the nation faces, the co-chair of the government’s food Public Health Responsibility Deal (PHRD) Network has argued.
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have objected to the European Commission’s (EC's) proposal for an approved list of Article 13.1 claims, urging more consideration of what should be included in the list.
Rising demand in the Middle East and Russia is prompting the Scottish Salmon Company to invest £40M in 10 new fish farms that will create 100 extra jobs within five years.
Irish chilled foods manufacturer Kerry Foods has snubbed Unite the union by refusing to talk with the organisation over the proposed 337 job losses at the firm’s factory in Grimsby.
Coca-Cola is partnering Dutch-based technology firm Avantium in the production of bottles made from an, as yet, uncommercialised bio-based polyester.
An increase in the price for iso-glucose, driven by strong sugar prices, has boosted results at Tate & Lyle, according to city analysts, following the firm’s latest trading update.
Total Scottish exports will reach £12.5bn within five years, fuelled partly by soaring food and drink sales to the Middle East, predicts the Scottish government.
Greencore has made an encouraging start since its acquisition of chilled foods business Uniq, according to city analysts, after the firm posted its most comprehensive financial results since the takeover.
Smirnoff manufacturer Diageo’s recent export success will be a tough act to follow for UK firms, according to city analysts, after the drinks giant revealed that 40% of its sales now come from emerging markets.
The government has been slammed for spending huge sums on trying to reduce the weight of people across the population rather than focusing attention where it is needed most - on those who are seriously obese.
Weight management and healthy ageing products could be among the fruits of Food for Health Ireland's (FHI's) continuing milk mining project, which was launched more than two years ago.
Senior consumers offer massive market potential for ingredients suppliers and food processors that few firms have so far successfully realised, according to Aine Hallihan, Carbery head of research and development.
Salad and lettuce manufacturer Natures Way Foods (NWF) has announced the opening of a new £15M factory at Chichester Food Park in West Sussex.
Müller’s takeover of Robert Wiseman dairies is now complete after the firm announced that the £280M offer from the German yogurt maker was “unconditional in all respects”.
The decision by chilled foods group Greencore to transfer its share currency denomination from euros to sterling has further increased its value to potential investors, according to city analysts.
Leading manufacturers Britvic and Nestlé have started recruiting for their 2012 apprenticeship programmes in a bid to support the Food and Drink Federation’s (FDF) pledge to double the number of industry trainees by the end of the year.
Operational and supply chain efficiency improvements are more important now than they have ever been, as pressure to cut costs increases, it has emerged.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) chairman Jeff Rooker has confirmed that no new salt reduction targets would be set beyond those already established for England for 2012.
Savoury snack manufacturer Intersnack has taken another step in its plan to secure market leadership in the UK nut sector after confirming the appointment of a new general manager at its Haverhill site.
Chilled foods giant Kerry Foods has been slammed by Great Grimsby MP Austin Mitchell after the firm announced that 337 jobs were facing the axe following a review of its frozen meal business.
Rapid growth in prebiotic galactooligosaccharides (GOS) has been driven by the expanding middle class in the Asia-Pacific region, according to Sarah Staley, vice president, business development at Friesland Campina
More than half (55%) of manufacturing firms are planning to outsource maintenance to help supply increased demand, according to research commissioned by trade fair organiser EasyFairs.
Focusing on added-value products will help the UK dairy sector to meet rising global demand and avoid short-term fluctuations in commodity prices, according to industry experts.
A series of nationwide roadshows designed to highlight the opportunities for apprenticeships with UK food and drink manufacturers has been launched by the Food and Drink Federation (FDF).
Canned cola, canned sports drinks and chocolate confectionery are the fastest growing grocery categories, worth an addition £196M in sales last year compared with 2010, said market research firm SymphonyIRI Group.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has put microbiological food safety, including the prevention of campylobacter, E.coli, listeria and norovirus, at the top of its list of priorities for 2012.
A total of 135 jobs at Scottish bakery Kingdom Bakers hang in the balance after the firm’s receivers announced that it has received six enquiries from potential buyers.
Pot Noodle manufacturer Unilever is remaining defiant in the row over changes to its pension scheme after the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) confirmed that talks with the unions would start later this week.
Irish chilled foods giant Kerry Foods has confirmed that 337 jobs could be cut at its Grimsby factory as a result of increasing competition and tumbling sales in the ready meals market.
The row over changes to the pension scheme at Marmite manufacturer Unilever has taken a step closer to reconciliation today (February 3) after the Anglo-Dutch consumer giant agreed to resume talks with the unions.
Premier Foods has further strengthened its Power Brand plan today (February 3) after announcing that it will integrate its marketing function into the firm’s commercial structure.
Higher milk prices and a fall in the price of cream have hit profits at Dairy Crest, according to city analysts, after the firm announced a drop in profits for its dairies business.
UK food and drink manufacturers are still over-reliant on the use of migrant labour despite huge steps being taken to increase the availability of British workers, according to the sector skills council Improve.
European giant Intersnack is challenging PepsiCo and United Biscuits brands in the UK as it prepares to dramatically increase its profile, with a seven-figure investment in UK production.
BakeAway – the manufacturer of chilled doughs for home-baking and food service – has made its new £2M facility in Corby, Northamptonshire fully operational, creating 40 new jobs.
UK and European food and drink representatives have slammed a vote by Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) today which rejected the revised nutrition claims list intended to make food reformulation easier.
A Salmonella Newport outbreak has affected 30 people in the UK, causing one confirmed death, according to the Food Standards Agency (FSA).
Supermarket chain Morrisons is set to create 400 jobs at its Bridgwater manufacturing site as the firm seeks to combine its packaging and distribution operations.
The row over changes to the pension scheme at Anglo-Dutch consumer giant Unilever is set to intensify next month after Unite the Union compared the firm’s latest set of “mind-blowing” profits with its pension policy.
Loopholes in the law may save probiotic yogurt manufacturers from having to remove products from sale when the new EU nutrition and health claims legislation comes into effect.
Novel concepts for forklift trucks (FLT) are emerging to the point where little seems impossible and new designs and products are appearing from virtually every forklift supplier.
UK sales of pre and probiotic yogurts are expected to show strong growth with spending predicted to reach £15.78 per head by 2016.
Supermarket chain Morrisons, the only major multiple retailer to operate its own meat processing factories, has struck a deal to acquire a 9,755m2 meat processing facility in Winsford, Cheshire from Vion UK.
Nestlé has pledged to make more chocolate products with Fairtrade cocoa when fresh supplies become available.
Linde Gases has launched a new high-capacity compact cryogenic spiral freezer designed to boost frozen food productivity, reduce the amount of liquid nitrogen used in the freezing process and lower maintenance and sanitation costs.
Weetabix is investing £16M in UK processing this year and rolling out a lean production programme across its factories after trialling it at Burton Latimer in Northamptonshire.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is threatening to withdraw inspectors from abattoirs and primary cutting plants that fail to deal with a culture of bullying, which is said to be "endemic" across the industry.
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