Horsemeat: learning the lessons of an avoidable crisis
WRBM
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The Scottish government has launched a consultation on the roles, responsibilities and functions of Scotland’s new food safety body.
Finsbury Food Group has sold its free-from business to Genius Foods for £21M to focus on its core bread and cake business ̶ and reduce debt.
Chancellor George Osborne could spring a huge surprise when he announces his budget on March 20 by raising short-term borrowing to stimulate much needed growth in Britain’s stagnant economy, the head of economics at the HSBC has said.
The Edrington Group – the maker of Famous Grouse whisky – has been ordered to pay a £40,000 fine, after safety breaches forced two workers to flee a warehouse fire.
The government should cap VAT for beers sales in licensed premises at 5% in order to boost trade and “create thousands of jobs”.
The boss of Tesco Philip Clarke has promised to buy more British meat and to introduce more stringent testing procedures, as the National Farmers Union (NFU) warned the horsemeat scandal had brought the UK food industry to “a pivotal moment”.
A worker has been airlifted to hospital with serious injuries after falling through the roof of Nestlé’s beverages factory in Dalston, Cumbria.
The boss of the world’s biggest food company Nestlé, Paul Bulcke has blamed the horsemeat scandal on a criminal minority, who threatened to undermine trust between consumers and the food industry.
Tesco has denied union claims and widespread media reports that plans to reorganise its distribution network will put up to 1,600 jobs under threat.
Associated British Foods (ABF) is locked in row with Oxfam about what the charity claims is the “veil of secrecy” the food manufacturing giant allegedly uses to hide the “human cost” of its supply chain.
Higher food prices and food price speculation should be welcomed, the boss of the world’s biggest food company Nestlé told the audience at the City Food Lecture at London’s Guildhall this week.
Pork producer Tulip has appointed Chris Thomas as its new ceo, with effect from May 15.
Food firms which make vegetarian ready meals are battling to meet retailer demand in the wake of the horsemeat scandal.
The product recall in mid-January when equine DNA was found in supermarket burgers has rapidly turned into an international scandal exposing complex cross-border supply chains.
Ethnic food manufacturer and wholesaler Euro Foods was fined £6,000 and ordered to pay £12,000 costs after being found guilty of potentially fatal food adulteration in court recently (February 12).
Furniture giant IKEA has become the latest retailer to be drawn into the horsemeat scandal, after tests in the Czech Republic revealed traces of horsemeat in a consignment of meatballs made in Sweden.
Confectionery manufacturer Thorntons plans to close a further 40 stores in this financial year, as it continues to focus on “significant growth” in multiple-channel sales via supermarkets and Thorntons Direct online.
The continuing horsemeat scandal could benefit premium food retailers at the expense of value outlets, according to city analyst Shore Captial.
The vast majority of food and drink manufacturers expect to lift staff wages this year, but a growing proportion of their employees rate a positive working environment above money, according to a survey by recruitment consultant Michael Page.
A Huddersfield pie manufacturer has been found guilty of health and safety breaches that killed a factory worker in a gas oven explosion.
2 Sisters Food Group is getting its business ready to create up to 500 new jobs throughout 2013 as a result of winning significant new business, including a multimillion-pound contract to supply poultry to Sainsbury.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has revealed that 99% of nearly 3,600 tests for the presence of horse DNA on processed meat products have proved negative.
Celebrity chefs, including Loyd Grossman, Albert Roux and Heston Blumenthal, have backed a report from pressure group Sustain, which warns the government has wasted more than £54M on failed schemes to improve hospital food.
A mid-Wales beef burger producer, whose website boasts “full traceability”, has told FoodManufacture.co.uk he was “gutted” to learn his beef burgers contained 1% or more of horse meat.
A sweet manufacturer has been ordered to pay £6,375 after a worker’s hand was crushed when he tried to clear a jammed machine.
A senior executive at Iceland has launched a stinging attack on the mainstream media for its coverage of the horsemeat scandal while branding the rogue suppliers responsible for the outcry as “lying, cheating, robbing b*****ds”.
Britain’s biggest food manufacturer Premier Foods has reported growth in power and grocery brands but tough going for its bread division, in its full year financial results for the year to December 31 2012 published yesterday (February 21).
Own-label chilled food manufacturer Bakkavör said consumer confidence had been dented by the horsemeat scandal, while reporting a 5.4% increase in like-for-like sales in its full-year results ended December 29 2012.
Premier Foods’ full-year results for the year ended December 31 2012 divided City analysts but all agreed its debt mountain continued to give cause for concern.
Police and the Health and Safety Executive are investigating the death of two farm workers in the 20s, who fell unconscious in an apple packing shed on a Conservative peer’s country estate in Hampshire.
Last year was packed with surprises for the food and drink manufacturing sector, according to business guru Paul Wilkinson.
Food safety officials in England, Scotland and the EU have all revealed measures to step up the detection of food fraud, in the wake of the horse meat scandal.
The horsemeat scandal has caught big retailers “with the their underwear down” and it was still too early to predict the full implications of the crisis, a leading food policy commentator has told FoodManufacture.co.uk.
Iceland chief executive Malcolm Walker has apologised after making disparaging comments about the Irish on a BBC TV documentary about the horse meat scandal.
Morrisons’ bid to profit from the horse meat scandal will provide a ‘short-term bounce’ rather than a long-term turnaround, say City analysts.
Winning Sainsbury’s liquid milk contract has put Dairy Crest on track to reach its dairies division target of 3% operating profit margin, according to City analyst Panmure Gordon.
Nestlé has started recruiting for the 400 jobs created by the £110M expansion of its coffee manufacturing facility in Tutbury, Derbyshire.
The world’s biggest food company Nestlé has been drawn into the deepening horse meat scandal, after it was forced to remove beef pasta products in France, Spain and Italy when they were revealed to contain horse DNA.
KB Natural Foods is recalling three batches of its own-label pre-packaged cashew nuts and almonds because of a rodent infestation.
Charging the private sector for European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) work will not generate enough cash and compromise the agency’s independence, a European Commission working group has found.
The Authentic Food Company has reported a 10% rise in sales and a 15% hike in profits in its latest financial report.
A three-year contract to supply liquid milk to Sainsbury has been won by Dairy Crest after a competitive tender.
The horse meat scandal underlines the need for short, traceable supply lines, according to Scotland’s cabinet secretary for rural affairs.
Sources close to the Prime Minister have slammed supermarkets for their “silence” over the horse meat scandal, as the Food Standards Agency (FSA) prepared to release results of widespread meat testing on Friday (February 15).
Nearly 99% of 2,501 tests on beef products ordered by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to reveal the presence of horse DNA have proved negative, the agency confirmed last Friday (February 15).
The food supply chain must stop “chasing price” to avoid crises such as the horsemeat scandal and to make it fit for purpose as the global population booms, according to a new report.
Britain’s biggest food manufacturer Premier Foods could be forced to compromise its recovery plan by selling key power brands to boost its troubled balanced sheet, according to a leading City analyst.
The Scottish government has urged retailers to buy Scottish meat, following the recent horse meat scandal.
Calls for a tax on fizzy drinks and a TV watershed for advertising high fat foods from the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AMRC) have been slammed by the soft drinks industry and advertising representatives.
The blame game over who was responsible for the deepening horse meat crisis intensified over the weekend, as a former chief adviser accused the government of “disembowelling” the Food Standards Agency (FSA), while the boss of supermarket chain Iceland blamed local authorities’ cut price buying plans.
Applying the Lion mark to egg-based products would reassure consumers and boost sales, according to British Lion Eggs Processors (BLEP).
Food manufacturing bosses and retail chiefs have joined forces to hit back at government criticism that the food industry "remained silent" over the horsemeat crisis.
More than 12.5bn eggs – the equivalent of 625,000t of egg products – have been laid by hens kept in battery cages that were outlawed over a year ago, according to the British Lion Egg Processors (BLEP).
Union bosses are seeking urgent meetings with the new owners of Heinz after it was snapped up by a consortium led by US investor Warren Buffett in a shock £18bn deal.
Health officials in England and Scotland have rushed to re-assure the public after the Food Standards Agency (FSA) confirmed yesterday (February 14) that six horse carcasses containing the veterinary drug phenylbutazone, or bute, may have entered the food chain in France.
Britain’s beef farmers have identified the continuing scandal of horse meat in processed meat products as an ideal opportunity to promote UK produce, supplied to Assured Food Standards which guarantee its quality and authenticity.
The British meat industry is “lucky” to have loyal customers and needs to manage its reputation carefully in the wake of the horse meat scandal, according to the boss of the lamb and beef farmer levy-paying body EBLEX.
Justifying capital expenditure (Capex) in today’s tough economic environment is probably more difficult than ever. For many food and drink manufacturers, many investment plans have been put on hold – apart from the most essential items.
Manufacturing bosses have issued a cautiously optimistic outlook for 2013 - but have called on retailers to accept price rises.
Bakery ingredients manufacturer Zeelandia has made two new technical appointments, in a bid to increase their focus on customer requirements.
Retail giant Tesco ran into more horse trouble this week, after one of its delivery vans collided with a horse on a road near Banbury.
Upmarket retailer Waitrose has revealed plans to build its own frozen meat factory, in a bid to help restore consumer confidence in meat products.
More than a third of shoppers are less likely to buy processed meat products after the horse meat scandal, according to a survey of 6,000 consumers by the research group GMI on behalf of Kantar.
Newport crisp manufacturer Sirhowy Valley Foods has been ordered to pay nearly £15,000, after a worker lost his thumb in an unguarded machine at its factory in Crumlin, Newport.
Environment secretary Owen Paterson clashed with his shadow Mary Creagh, as he updated MPs on the latest developments in the horsemeat scandal earlier this week (February 11).
As each day seems to bring new revelations about the extent of the horse meat scandal, we capture, in quotes, the views of leading British newspapers. Most focus on the role of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) ̶ with many questioning its future.
Associated British Foods (ABF) is embroiled in a tax dodging row with the charity ActionAid over its sugar-producing subsidiary in Zambia.
Police and officials raided a UK slaughter house and a meat firm yesterday (February 12), as EU agriculture ministers prepare to hold a crisis meeting on the scandal in Brussels later today.
Sustainability charity Forum for the Future has appointed Mark Driscoll as its new head of food.
A new study has revealed that InFat - a vegetable-based fat for infant formula with a similar structure to breast milk - provides beneficial effects for the health and well-being of formula-fed infants.
Britain's poultry producers and processors are being squeezed by the combined impact of the high cost of feed and higher welfare standards in the UK.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has called for a uniform approach to allergy guidance labelling on food and drink products.
Mounting calls for Britain's food and drink manufacturers to be more closely regulated to cap the levels of salt, fat and sugar in their products are likely to lead to a government consultation to delay making any difficult decisions before the next general election, according to a legal expert.
UK branded chocolate sales will show growth over the next three years, according to a new report by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and Mintel.
Leading food industry companies are backing the Food Vision Summit – the two-day event dedicated to revealing future trends in the global food industry − due to take place in Cannes, France, between March 20–22, 2013.
Consumers’ appetite for assured, quality beef has remained “robust”, despite the horse meat scandal , says the English Beef and Lamb Executive (EBLEX).
The falling cost of DNA sequencing is leading more companies to invest in bioinformatic studies – which analyse genetic information – to aid research and development
New research suggests that, although glass packaging will face fierce competition from other materials over the next decade, it is already retaking ground lost in some categories and showing stubborn resistance in others.
Food manufacturers are facing a skills time bomb as many engineers edge towards retirement, there is little new blood in the pipeline to replace them.
Food and drink manufacturers should involve consumers in the development of new scientific techniques and technologies at a much earlier stage, if past mistakes are to be avoided, according to consumer watchdog Which?
British and European governments have been advised to “think like criminals” in the battle to uncover how thousands of tonnes of beef products came to be contaminated with horse meat.
Food manufacturers have been attacked for their reluctance to endorse the hybrid front-of-pack nutrition labelling scheme on packs, despite it winning the support of the major multiples and the UK government as the best means of helping consumers to make healthier food choices.
Revelations that Findus lasagne contained up to 100% horse meat are an attack on “the integrity” of British food and underline the need for the Red Tractor logo, warns the National Farmers Union (NFU).
The authenticity of all processed meat products was called into question yesterday (February 7), after the Food Standards Agency (FSA) ordered all food businesses to test all their beef products, in response to news that some Findus beef lasagne contained up to 100% horse meat.
Few would-be food engineers are “willing to really roll up their sleeves” and engage with unskilled and semi-skilled operators, the boss of Nestlé in the UK and Ireland said.
The British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) has urged its members to review their meat sourcing policy, after Findus lasagne was revealed to contain up to 100% horse meat.
Supermarket giant Morrisons is under fire from its suppliers for the late payment of invoices, which, they say, the retailer is blaming on a faulty computer system, FoodManufacture.co.uk can exclusively reveal.
With their slippery scales and staring eyes, fish are often avoided by squeamish consumers. Lorraine Mullaney seeks packaging solutions
Packs that are difficult to open are of far greater concern to most consumers than environmental issues such as perceived over-packaging, according to new research.
McAdam Foods – the Irish meat supplier blamed by ABP for supplying beef products contaminated with horse DNA to its subsidiary Silvercrest Foods – has disputed the claims and named its Polish suppliers and a second Hull-based firm Flexi Foods.
Polish firm Food Service ‒ one of the suppliers at the centre of the storm surrounding meat imports which were allegedly contaminated with horse DNA ‒ has protested its innocence in response to questions from FoodManfacture.co.uk.
A 'next generation' plastic milk bottle called Infini has won international accolade for Milton Keynes-based Nampak Plastics.
Interfood Technology has formed a dedicated packaging division called Packaging Solutions.
A breakthrough in packaging for ambient ready meals that contain raw meat, vegetables and sauces is being claimed. It involves the use of a film technology that can extend shelf-life from eight weeks to up to 12 months.
Russell Finex's new Gated Outlet has been designed to enable more efficient product screening and enhanced productivity.
The installation of Oliver Douglas' standalone Panamatic 800 washing system has enabled Discovery Foods to maintain a high-volume throughput of tortillas and wrap breads while optimising manpower at its Milton Keynes site.
2 Sisters Food Group's Five Star Fish company recently won a contract to supply Morrisons with cod, haddock and plaice with chilled breaded coating. It needed to produce to bulk with minimal handling and store in limited quantities to preserve the food product colour and highlights, which are key to consumer appeal.
Complex production lines and installations can often see key components located at different ends of a machine, in different rooms, or even on different floors.
Siemens Industry has launched a versatile weighing module for the Simatic S7-1200.
As part of its growth programme, food supplier and packer Hider Food Imports installed two Ishida DACS-W checkweighers with integral metal detectors.
Increasing numbers of food manufacturers are turning to electrostatic technology to reduce costs and boost quality, according to Spice Application Systems (SAS).
More and more food processors are turning to pasteurisation to extend the safety and shelf-life of ready-to-eat food, according to Unitherm Food Systems.
A three-dimensional moulder, that enables food companies to create complicated 3D shapes never possible before at the speeds required, is one of the first new technologies to emerge from Crafty Machines - a new company set up by Adrian Marshall, the brains behind technical innovation company Crafty Tech.
DSM Nutritional Products has acquired the OatWell brand of beta-glucan ingredients from CreaNutrition, the subsidiary of Swedish Oat Fiber (SOF). SOF will produce the OatWell products at its factory in Bua, Sweden.
An alliance between Chr Hansen and Fresh Beverages International will enable manufacturers of non-refrigerated beverages to add probiotics to their drinks.
Last month saw Crosse & Blackwell's first move into meatballs with the launch of a pork meatball range under its 4Kids brand.
An artisan ice cream maker has responded to the boom in ethnic food consumption by making a new range of Asian-flavoured ice cream and sorbets for the foodservice market.
Taura Natural Ingredients has unveiled a range of 'natural' concentrated fruit pieces for artisan chocolatiers and bakers.
Entrepreneur Henny Hales used her food industry background to design Roar Porridge Pods, in a bid to satisfy consumers' fast-growing demand for a healthy but convenient start to the day.
Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) has given its Glacéau Vitaminwater brand a stevia-based makeover
Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) will be showcasing the latest additions to its deZaan range of chocolate and cocoa products at this month's Gulfood 2013 in Dubai.
Police on both sides of the Irish border have been asked to investigate the latest twists in the horse meat scandal, while the Food Standards Agency (FSA) will publish the results of the DNA testing of meat products in a bid to boost consumer confidence.
City analyst Investec has criticised the “revolving door” at Premier Foods, after another key member of its management team left the firm this week.
Increasing competition from own-label, as well as more attention to consumer preferences, is helping to usher in fresh packaging innovation in herbs and spices.
Dairy Crest has pumped £1.1M into new facilities at its Foston site in Derbyshire to promote greener ways of working.
ABP Food Group, the parent company of Silvercrest Foods – which supplied beef burgers contaminated with horse DNA to Tesco, Burger King and the Co-operative Group – has named Irish meat trader McAdam Food Service as its meat supplier.
The multiples are letting down manufacturers and ignoring consumer trends by failing to adequately display or provide enough space for frozen foods.
Food and drink manufacturers need to pay greater attention to devising genuinely distinctive shapes for new products in order to strengthen their intellectual property (IP) rights through trademark protection.
Cake maker Finsbury Food Group has reported relatively flat sales for the half year to December 29, up marginally to £103.3M compared with £102M for the same period of the previous year and in-line with management expectations.
Food manufacturing and consumer goods giant Unilever has demonstrated skill in navigating choppy global waters by delivering a solid performance in its fourth quarter results to December 31, with sales up by 10.5% to €51.3bn and profits up by 7% to €4.9bn.
In November 2012, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) announced the start of a review of the impact of the EU on the UK or, in eurospeak, a 'review of the balance of competences' - a somewhat opaque term to which the voter in the street is unlikely to relate, even if they are aware of the initiative. The FCO described the review in more user-friendly terms as an 'audit of what the EU does and how it affects the UK'.
The next 5-10 years will present a significant challenge for global business, with a new event promising to help business leaders navigate the ‘biggest period of global change since the industrial revolution’.
Imports from China, South East Asia and the Middle East are posing the greatest food safety risks to UK consumers at the present time, it has been claimed.
Food packaging company Crown Food Europe plans to cut 116 jobs at its Worcester site.
Cheese's salt content is bad for its image but it's there for a good reason, reports Michelle Knott
Since December the increasing clamour among the chattering classes for greater regulation of the food industry to curb the obesity epidemic has become more shrill.
'Natural' will continue to be the dominant force in food and beverage product development in the coming year, according to the latest edition of New Nutrition Business's trend-spotting report.
Frozen is fresher, more sustainable and better value, Brian Young tells Gary Scattergood
Despite politicians promoted in last year's government reshuffle quickly grasping the key issues in food and drink, MPs are still using the sector as a "whipping boy" over public health issues, say its bosses.
Four months after joining Premier Foods, its chief operating officer Geoff Eaton has left the firm, on the same day (February 4) its new ceo Gavin Darby, joined the debt-laden food manufacturer.
The food safety watchdog, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) is considering legal action after the Ministry of Justice revealed meat pies and pasties supplied to prisons in England and Wales were labelled and served as Halal but contained traces of pork DNA.
Uncertainty hangs over the future of 112 Silvercrest workers, after Burger King, Tesco and the Co-operative Group severed contracts with the supplier, according to the union Unite.
Britain’s biggest food manufacturer Premier Foods has confirmed the completion of the sale of its sweet pickles and table sauces business to Mizkan for £92.5M in cash.
European manufacturers’ association FoodDrinkEurope (FDE) has urged food businesses to adopt allergen management systems that consider all operations − from raw materials sourcing and manufacturing to packaging of the finished product.
Microbiological food safety − including campylobacter, E.coli, listeria and norovirus – tops the list of five priorities for 2013 identified by the Food Standards Agency (FSA).
The Scottish government has revealed plans to launch a food hub to match food manufacturers with suppliers of Scottish produce.
Increasing demand for Asian snacks has led to an expansion of food manufacturing that will create 100 jobs at Euro Foods in the West Midlands.
Burger King’s announcement that it has switched to German and Italian beef suppliers in the wake of the horse meat scandal is the latest in a line of broken food industry pledges to ‘buy British’.
Meadow Cheese has appointed Michael Harte as its new md.
Dalehead Foods has unveiled a new multi-million pound abattoir and production facility in Spalding, Lincolnshire, which it hopes will boost British pork exports to the US.
Meat firm Cranswick has bought a former fish auction house in Hull – creating 100–120 new jobs – after winning a £30M contract from Asda to supply fresh pork.
Meat firm Cranswick has fought off still competition to win a £30M contract to become Asda’s main fresh pork supplier.
It was “extraordinary” that Tesco didn’t know its value burgers contained 29% horse meat bearing in mind the stringent quality controls it applies to “misshapen fruit”, a leading MP claimed.
Food giant Nestlé has chosen the UK for the global launch of its new digital scanning system, designed to provide customers with smartphone access to information about the nutritional profile and environmental and social impacts of its products.
Meat firm Cranswick has offset rising pig prices to deliver “impressive growth” in the three months to December 31, according to City analysts.
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