In a nutshell: The UK’s fourth largest brewer of lager and ale, employing 2,500 people. Turnover of £35.9m and profit of £3.4m.

The Confederation of Food and Drink Industries of the European Union (CIAA) has compiled a report on key data about the performance of the European food and drink industry, 2001-2004.

The Chilled Food Association (CFA) has published Guidance on the practical implementation of the EC Regulation on microbiological criteria for foodstuffs in conjunction with the British Retail Consortium.

Flavour in Food analyses how flavour is detected and measured. The book explains how humans convey their perceptions about taste compounds and reviews current practice in the sensory analysis of food flavour.

Authors Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones question why people assume leadership is something they do to others as opposed to viewing it as a relationship between the leader and the led.

Grocery logistics specialist Baylis Distribution has struck a three-year renewal contract with tex-mex giant Discovery Foods to provide a nationwide distribution service via a 3,000-pallet stockholding facility at its Wolverhampton depot.

Almost half of the suppliers surveyed in Food Manufacture’s latest on-line poll claimed they had been unable to build a business case for introducing shelf-ready packaging (SRP).

Northern Foods appears to have exhausted all legal avenues in its challenge to the government-backed application for protected name status for Melton Mowbray pork pies.

The British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) has rejected a claim by the farmers’ group the National Beef Association (NBA) that abattoirs were exploiting the ending of the over-30 month (OTM) restriction on cattle to push down beef prices.

Do we really think about waste as food manufacturers, or more importantly, as consumers?

Government-backed waste reduction initiative WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) still has £3.8m for initiatives to minimise domestic packaging and food waste. WRAP has aleardy helped fund projects at Coors, Heinz and Northern Foods. Log on to http://www.wrap.org.uk/innovationfund

Snack foods company Zetar posted a pre-tax loss of £188,000 on sales of £21.9m in the six months to October 31 2005.

St Merryn Foods, part of the Grampian Country Food Group, has approached farmers in the south west of England and Wales, which had been supplying the failed Lloyd Maunder lamb business, offering to take their output of new season and organic lamb.

The European Commission (EC) has published three guidance documents to help food companies understand new European Union (EU) food safety hygiene rules.

Asda is moving to the introduction of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology on pallets and cases. It has invited suppliers to join trials of the technology but said: "We haven't issued any mandate, but [Asda's parent company] Wal-Mart has said that it wants to roll out RFID in the UK and Canada this year and we want suppliers to work with us to explore the opportunities."

Bodycote Materials Testing has acquired Tetra Laboratories for an undisclosed sum. Set up less than a year ago, Grimsby-based Tetra Labs provides chemical, microbiological and nutritional testing for large food companies and retailers.

UK sales by Uniq in the last quarter of 2005 rose by 2.5% year-on-year to £85.1m. However, group sales in the quarter fell 7.2% to £215.8m and 3.9% year-on-year in the six months to October 1. Sales were hit by disposal of the Nordic business in August, Finnarts Bay's closure in October and the burning down of a Madrid factory in May.

An on-line tool enabling food manufacturers to keep up to date with environmental legislation has been launched by government-led website Netregs. The e-alert service has been set up in the wake of a survey revealing that 84% of small food and drink firms could not name a single environmental law, said Netregs

Heinz has sold the ethnic foods business of its recent acquisition HP Foods to Associated British Foods, in line with its focus on: ketchup, condiments and sauces; meals and snacks; and infant nutrition. The size of the deal has not been disclosed. The deal has been struck while Heinz's £470m purchase of HP is still being scrutinised by the Competition Commission.

Administrators at snacks giant Golden Wonder were drawing up a shortlist of offers for the business as Food Manufacture went to press. Premier Foods and a team led by former chief executives Paul Monk and Clive Sharpe were reported to be among over 60 potential bidders.

The supermarket cheese counter, so long held back by the reluctance of retailers to invest in innovative own-label packs, has seen a marked move towards differentiation and convenience.

Finnish scientists have developed a starch-based filling, coating and adhesive agent to replace conventional mineral and oil-based alternatives in paper.

The UK thermoforming market is so large and dynamic that no major European supplier can ignore it, according to Danish company Plus Pack.

Soaring energy prices on top of raw material and labour costs could see UK plastics packaging leading a Europe-wide process of consolidation in the sector, says RPC chief executive Ron Marsh.

Fage, manufacturer of premium brand Total Greek Yoghurt, has enlisted the help of top nutritional consultant Michael van Straten to endorse the brand as part of its healthy eating campaign for 2006. The consumer focused campaign will include the release of exclusive Healthy Eating Superfoods Plans developed by van Straten in addition to a news campaign of healthy eating and nutritional advice.

Ian White has joined Belgian ready-baked pastry case specialist Pidy as pastry sales chef.

Fair trade is fast becoming the buzz word on everyone's lips, not just those of consumers but also of ethical trade managers, buyers and human resources managers in the food industry, who are realising the importance of incorporating ethical trade principals in everyday businesses.

Like many sectors within food and drink, the red meat industry suffers from a poor image and has problems recruiting and retaining staff, let alone attracting people into the top jobs. Coupled with the constant pricing pressures manufacturers have to contend with and recent bad press, it might not seem the most attractive industry to enter if you're looking for a career in management.

The process to agree regulations governing health and nutrition claims is drawing to a close, with the proposals expected to be finalised early in 2006. The regulations are extensive, warns Pauline Munro, partner in the food and drink sector group at legal firm Pinsent Masons.

We all know children pay little attention to packaging. Food manufacturers should, however, as packaging can be a useful tool for competitive advantage and product differentiation.

Worldwide ingredients and functional foods supplier LycoRed has received official approval for the use of its natural tomato lycopene as a food colouring.

The UK division of colour specialist the GNT Group is hoping to strengthen its position in the market by re-locating to a larger facility.

The trend for organic products seems to be seeping through to the colours sector as worldwide caramel colour manufacturer D D Williamson launches its first certified organic caramel colour.

Gone are the days when consumers plucked products from the shelves without so much as a glance at the ingredients list. Now, thanks in part to some sensationalist media scares, packs are scrutinised and additives shunned, with E numbers often coming top of the hit list.

The risk of tainting food during the installation of new resin floors is just as great even if the flooring produces little or no odour, despite the 'taint free' claims made for some products, warns UK resin flooring supplier Degafloor.

Frozen own-label ready meals producer Headland Foods, part of the Prize Food Group, has found a cost effective solution to its cooling and heating problems by installing modern evaporative cooling at its factory in Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire.

Flowcrete Specialist Flooring has installed an ultra-hygienic floor at Cookieman's bakery in Esher, Surrey, which serves retailers across the UK.

Quest International, which has developed a novel air management system claiming to kill 99.7% of airborne bacteria and viruses, has completed a stringent validation process carried out by Campden & Chorleywood Food Research Association (CCFRA).

Last year a new company, Kingspan Controlled Environments, was launched to supply insulated panels for the cold storage and food preparation market. It followed Kingspan's acquisition in May 2005 of Advance Thermal Composites (ATC) and marked an expansion into the controlled environment sector.

Food production premises have never been under closer scrutiny. Not only are the legislators keen to ensure the safety of consumers, but the power of the major retailers to dictate how manufacturers run their operations is greater than ever.

Q: What was the first product you worked with?

Heinz, Northern Foods, Geest, and International Food Partners are to look at ways of developing less wasteful packaging. They are among a number of food and packaging companies and retailers to receive £500,000 of grants from the government's Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) to encourage them to invest more in environmentally friendly packaging.

Berries for better brains:

Why is beer better drunk straight from the fridge, but red Bordeaux best at room temperature? And what gives ice cream its special taste? Belgian researchers reckon they may have the answers having now discovered how our sense of taste changes with temperature.

Enzyme engineering, seed germination and microencapsulation techniques could become important new food technologies in the battle to develop new value added foods of the future, according to the results of a euro 16.2m, three-year research project in Finland.

While the biggest names in frozen food are bailing out of the nation's freezers faster than you can say 'nutrition mission', a certain plump, middle-aged lady has succeeded where the freezer cabinet's most trusted old seadog has failed.

We all like a good whinge about supermarket buyers, says the commercial director at one sizeable player in the frozen food market. "Most of the time it's just hot air. You know the kind of thing: 'They don't take a long-term view, they're commoditising my brands'. Most of the time, it means you're just not coming up with the goods. On frozen, however, the whingers have a point. It's massively traded, negotiation has gone out of the window and if you don't give the supermarkets what they want, you're on a hiding to nothing."

Practically all of the buyers interviewed for this feature have said that they are part of a team of people ensuring the best quality ingredients reach the production line on time, every time. The technical eyes for the white fish buying team at Unilever is Alan Ward and he works extremely closely with them, including accompanying them on their travels to far flung places.

KATH SMITH, MANUFACTURING SUPPORT MANAGER, WALKERS SNACK FOODS, SKELMERSDALE

Large swathes of suppliers face the axe under plans by Somerfield to rationalise its range in a bid to focus on more profitable lines.

Suppliers have cautiously welcomed Malcolm Walker's strategy to take Iceland back to its roots after the chain published a record set of Christmas trading figures and announced plans to sell off a chunk of high street stores to Marks & Spencer.

The British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF) is driving forward its initiative to tackle inefficiencies in the frozen foodservice supply chain by bringing the key players together to thrash out their problems in the coming weeks.

I hear that Somerfield is aiming to increase its suppliers' cost to serve. The retailer's proposition allegedly consists of a target to cut stocks, improve availability and reduce overall supply chain costs. Suppliers who do not play ball will have all minimum order quantities removed from their systems and Somerfield will order exactly what it needs, as and when it needs it.

Some drive systems can be difficult to clean to the levels of hygiene required by the food industry. Standard motors, for example, often come equipped with cooling fins and fans in which dirt and germs can accumulate. Poor accessibility makes cleaning such components difficult.

Seventy million gallons of fuel going up in smoke during the Hemel Hempstead fire is a highly visible reminder of the dangers of allowing sources of ignition to be present in hazardous areas.

Recycled glass could provide huge cost savings for manufacturers if used instead of sand as an effluent discharge filtration medium, claim those involved in recent trials at a north Yorkshire vegetable processor.

During the last few weeks of 2005 there was a flurry of activity in the area of registration of protected designations of origin (PDOs) and protected geographical indications (PGIs).

Flavours supplier Edlong has developed a cheap technique to improve the flavour of dairy products. Capsulong technology involves incorporating food ingredients into emulsions that can be used in water and oil based systems, reducing volatile loss during processing and making the flavours more versatile.

The appetite suppressant bandwagon is getting crowded as yet another ingredients manufacturer jumps on board. Belgium-based Orafti claims that BeneoP95 reduces hunger and prospective food consumption.

As we are in winter months with Christmas well behind us, few outside the food and beverage industry would appreciate that the product development activity for Christmas 2006 lines is well under way in many sectors.

Tetra Pak's Hoyer DeepBlue system for low temperature ice cream has revealed a window of opportunity for cost effective new product development.

It seems manufacturers are finally getting the idea that when it comes to functional food, consumers crave straight-talking. The latest trend sees processors using product names to send messages to consumers about the function of their product.

The scent of fresh sauces has been wafting out of Griffith Laboratories in Somercotes, Derbyshire, since the company invested in a culinary-inspired new product development project.

Lactose intolerant sufferers can now indulge in dairy with Arla's Lactofree, the UK's first dairy drink to taste of milk, but contain less than 0.05% lactose.

Omega-3 is being propelled further into the limelight as Young's Bluecrest Seafood launches its new Young's at Heart range. Naturally high in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, the product boasts Joint Health Claims Initiative (JHCI) approval for its ability to 'help heart health'. Young's believes this is the first time an entire range has been endorsed by the JHCI.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) is drafting a new set of standards governing the storage and distribution of groceries in a bid to address concerns about food safety and traceability in the wake of recent food scares.

Aimia Foods, Danone UK, Everards Brewery, General Mills, Hall & Woodhouse, Sainsbury, Kellogg, Loch Fyne Oysters, Macphie of Glenbervie, Masterfoods, Nestlé UK, Noel Chadwick, PepsiCo UK & Ireland, Tate & Lyle and Unilever UK have all reached the final stages of judging for the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) 2006 Community Partnership Awards.

The number of corporate failures in food manufacturing jumped 38% in 2005 as record numbers of businesses were forced to call in liquidators, receivers and administrators, according to a survey published by business information provider Experian.

The British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF) is holding crisis talks with trading directors at the UK's leading food retailers over concerns that relentless discounting risks destroying all profit in the £4bn a year retail frozen food sector.

Production is unlikely to start at Shetland's first legal whisky distillery until at least 2007 as hold-ups in the planning process continue to thwart progress.

Ice cream maker Hill Station should move into profit this year as it consolidates all of its production into one large facility at Cwmbran, South Wales, it predicted.

More than 25,000 jobs have been cut across Britain's manufacturing industry over the last three month as employers tried to offset the impact of soaring energy costs, according to figures from the Confederation of British Industry.

Scientists at one of Britain's leading basic long-term food research organisations will find out in the next couple of weeks whether they will lose their jobs.

The Incidents Task Force, set up last May by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in the wake of the Para Red and Sudan dyes contamination scandal, was expected to be presented as Food Manufacture went to press with new guidelines for preventing and responding to such incidents.

Own-label products are powering ahead at the expense of brands in supermarkets, according to the latest market research.

Cutting edge manufacturing technologies developed in conjunction with Britain's top research institutes will be among the features of the revitalised Foodex Meatex show at the NEC in Birmingham next month (March 19-22).

Arla Foods UK has launched a consultation with staff over the proposed closure of its Sheffield Park dairy at Uckfield, East Sussex in July following the sale of Arla's London Foodservice business to Dairy Crest. The plant employs 250 staff.

Elizabeth Shaw has joined a long list of UK manufacturers that have decided to outsource production and concentrate purely on sales and marketing.

The commercial potential of offshoring manufacturing to low-wage economies in central and eastern Europe was highlighted last month as the latest in a long line of UK food companies announced their possible transfer of operations there.

Help will soon be at hand for manufacturers with health and safety issues associated with having employees of different nationalities whose mother tongue is not English.

More jobs have been axed at plant baker Harvestime (2005) as administrators continue their attempts to secure a sale.

Jobs at all of the former Canterbury Foods plants were secured last month after administrators were able to sell them all as going concerns.

Coca-Cola has been given the green light by planners to build a new £53m factory in Northern Ireland - a move that will result in nearly 200 redundancies at plants across the country as a whole.

Urgent applications to vet health claims and novel foods could languish for months in bulging in trays unless the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is granted more cash to do its job properly, its bosses have warned.

The Indian company claiming to represent the most serious threat yet to Tate & Lyle's monopoly of the highly lucrative sucralose market said it was close to signing up a major distributor.

The British Meat Processors Association (BPMA) plans to set up a research project on salt replacement technology in pastry-based meat products that it hopes will attract funding from the government's LINK scheme.