Contrary to general perception, cooling using liquid nitrogen achieves a similar quality with meat products to that when carbon dioxide (CO2) is used, claims a new study from gas supplier Air Products.

Electronic systems for collection and storage of food safety assurance information look set to become the norm as certification standards owners such as US-based Safe Quality Food (SQF) and the British Retail Consortium (BRC) move to online data access in an attempt to reduce the costs of audits and speed access to information.

Glossy publicity campaigns can generate big business, but manufacturers often make the costly mistake of going ahead without consulting their production team.

It's approaching 5pm and looks of weary resignation are exchanged between staff at the bakery in HM Prison Lindholme. A prisoner has just scaled the roof of another building, prompting an immediate 'lockdown'. Hopes of a swift exit for staff and visitors alike rapidly dwindle as it emerges that traffic both in and out of the prison is temporarily on hold until the incident is dealt with.

When it comes to retail/supplier relationships, it's easy to focus on the activities of the major supermarkets. They have a high profile and are always perceived to be at the cutting edge of technological development. But there's a whole other tranche of business with unique challenges and opportunities: independent retailers.

There is something quintessentially British about chutney. It conjures up images of the British Raj's penchant for introducing exciting and mysterious new delicacies from the Indian subcontinent to the old country.

Manufacturers could make significant energy savings by making relatively simple and cheap modifications to their cold stores, blast chilling and blast freezing facilities to make them operate more efficiently. While the refrigeration used in retail displays and catering fridges offers the biggest potential for saving energy overall, manufacturing also has a lot to gain, according to the latest results from a three-year £1M research project.

United Central Bakeries (UCB) has improved the operational capability of its Bathgate factory by designing and installing a new chill/freeze refrigeration system with an innovative defrost solution.

Anglo Dutch Meats' (ADM's) manufacturing manager Oliver Wood has reduced running costs by over £12,000 a week since replacing an ageing nitrogen tunnel freezer for minced beef with an energy efficient Starfrost freezing system at ADM's plant in Eastbourne.

Lyons Seafoods has installed an impingement chiller to rapidly chill its cooked prawns as part of a large development at its Warminster site. A Frigopak Advantec chiller has been connected to existing Frigopak refrigeration plant and will operate at a very low temperature to accelerate the chilling process.

For most people, the thought of food adulteration conjures up images of Victorian England where everyday staples were often meddled with in order to keep costs down. Milk was frequently watered down, while chalk, plaster of Paris and even sawdust, were said to have been added to bread by bakers hoping to make their ingredients go a little further.

Few phrases send shivers down the spines of food and drink industry bosses more than 'product recall'. In handling anything from bacterial contamination to malicious tampering, get it wrong and the damage to a firm's budget and reputation can be severe. Well-handled incidents can boost public respect for a company and minimise losses and ideally systems should exist to prevent recalls or at least stop events from snowballing into a public issue. But there's often quite a gap between the theory and the practice.

I'd be surprised if all large food companies weren't using reverse auctions within two years, remarked Daniel Ball, business development director of e-sourcing specialist Wax Digital last year. He explained that many suppliers were interested in reverse auctions because it was a very transparent proposition, enabling them to check out the competition and avoid cost of sale.

Jamie Mitchell, md of Innocent Drinks, strides purposefully forward, acknowledging a football table to his right.

Child labour is not acceptable in the food industry. Neither is forced labour nor the many other forms of exploitation of workers. But it happens in various parts of the world.

The English Whisky Company has started operations, claiming to be the first and only registered whisky distilling company in England. It plans to produce a whisky to rival some of the finest whiskies on the market.