The Pomegreat juice drink range has expanded with two new flavours. Brand owner RJA Foods hopes the firm’s continued innovation will hold consumers’ interest in the heart health brand, which currently sells 2.1M litres a month.

The Campden and Chorleywood Food Research Association (CCFRA) has produced The Manufacture and Integrity of Seals for Packaged Foods – a new review designed to help food technologists better understand this complex topic. The publication emphasises the vital issue of storage conditions and explains which temperatures are compatible with which types of packaging. It also discusses the consequences of seal failure, such as spoilage, loss of visual appeal and loss of consumer confidence in the product. Seal defects are illustrated in a selection of colour images.

The second edition of Crisis Management in the Food and Drink Industry analyses real life food scandals, including Sudan 1 and bovine spongiform encephalopathy, to identify the most practical ways to handle a crisis. The book also looks at how to protect company reputation, the benefits of ‘due diligence’ and how to prepare for the unthinkable.

While companies are competent when it comes to coping with day-to-day tasks, business change projects can prove to be more of a challenge. Project Delivery in Business-As-Usual Organizations shows companies how to enhance performance by understanding the value of project management. The author explores frameworks for improving product delivery and the complexities of business change. The publication also analyses techniques and tools for portfolio structure and the problems faced when applying a management programme. Other issues, including the importance of timing when introducing a fresh approach are highlighted in the conclusion.

Geoffrey Webb, senior lecturer in nutrition and physiology at the University of East London, School of Health and Bioscience, explores common themes and principles within the nutritional supplements market in Dietary Supplements and Functional Foods. Supplements are assessed on their contribution to the prevention and treatment of disease and there is also discussion on specific supplements and functional foods, such as vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and probiotics. The book is designed as a reference for students and professionals in nutrition, dietetics, food science and technology.

Manufacturers and ingredients suppliers have until April 7 to register their interest in joining a Leatherhead Food International (LFI) project looking at the benefits of prebiotics. The study will focus on microflora activity in the gut and metabolite formation. Results will be exclusive to participants.

Vimto was the star performer in Nichols’ rejigged portfolio of soft drinks brands last year, growing 6% in the UK against a falling market and helping boost overall soft drinks sales, including the newly acquired Panda and Sunkist brands, by 32.6%. Overall, the group reported profit up 11.4% to £7.2M before tax, exceptional receipts and charges, on sales up 29.4% to £51.5M.

Heinz is to replace 61 IT systems with a single enterprise resource planning system from SAP in a bid to improve information flow. The system will go live at Heinz’s beans and soup factory at Kitt Green in Wigan at the end of April and then at plants in Kendal and Telford in Shropshire in October.

John Harwood has been appointed interim chief executive of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) until a permanent replacement for Jon Bell is found. Harwood established the Learning and Skills Council for England and headed the London Borough of Lewisham and Oxfordshire County Council. More recently, he was interim chief of Cumbria County Council.

Results from the second ECR UK Christmas availability survey showed overall availability of 45 Christmas lines in leading supermarkets was 92.2%, up on last year’s figure of 90.3%. The best results were in beers, wines and spirits at 95.2%. The worst performer was frozen food at just 84.1%.

Trendy celebrity diets and more public awareness of food allergies are fuelling a boom in the ‘free-from’ food market, which has grown over 300% since 2000 to £90M, said research firm Mintel. It said that the gluten- and wheat-free market had grown particularly. It predicted that the total market would more than double by 2010 to £195M.

Robert Wiseman Dairies has acquired the fresh liquid milk business of Torrington-based Definitely Devon for £800,000 and obtained a licence to sell milk under the Definitely Devon brand. The firm supplies 20Ml a year and was jointly owned by Torridge Vale, a local milk co-operative, and the Co-operative Group.

Dairy Crest has been fined £17,000 and ordered to pay £4,348 in costs by magistrates after Huntingdonshire District Council hygiene inspectors found a “serious and established mouse infestation” at its Fenstanton depot. The company admitted that food from the depot could be unfit for human consumption and that the depot had been kept in poor repair.

Oswestry-based pizza base firm Fresco Foods is planning to invest £750,000 on new equipment this year following a management buyout by new md Peter Jones. It will buy automated kit to increase production capacity from 130,000 units to 250,000 a week and a spiral freezer, said Jones: “We’re anticipating year-on-year sales growth of 15%.”

Around 200 workers at Global Cake Company in Bridlington were facing the prospect of redundancy as Food Manufacture went to press, with owner Schwan’s Consumer Brands expecting to announce an ‘asset only’ sale. The frozen desserts maker, which has been hit by a declining sales, was acquired by Schwan’s following the collapse of Hibernia Foods in 2003.

As more and more food manufacturers train their factory floor staff in health, safety and hygiene techniques to NVQ 1 and 2 levels, the requirement to upskill supervisory staff and middle management also grows. NVQ 3 qualifications, foundation degrees or courses in continuous improvement are all available to employers, but what works best in terms of value for money?

It's a familiar tale of woe: by 2010 there will be a potential deficit of 150,000 workers in food and drink manufacturing. But how are these vacancies going to be filled when unemployment is low and school leavers can't be enticed into the industry? The answer, as Jack Matthews, chief executive of the industry's sector skills council Improve and chair of Food Manufacture's HR Forum sees it, is for the industry to look at how it uses the existing workforce. And one crucial aspect of this is the way future leaders are identified and nurtured.

Plenty of phrases spring to mind when you look at the career trajectory of Caroline Whitfield, but 'glass ceiling' is probably not one of them. Sporting a law degree from Oxford and an MBA from Insead, she sailed into jobs at two blue chip companies and set up her own consultancy business before she exited her twenties. She went on to found Blackwood Distillers, a premium spirits business that broke through the million pound sales barrier before its third birthday, sells product in more than 30 countries and is on the verge (stalled building warrant application notwithstanding) of building Shetland's first ever malt whisky distillery.

Have we outgrown hand-wringing articles on women in business? Absolutely not, says Blackwood Distillers founder Caroline Whitfield. "The annual, 'why aren't there more women in food manufacturing?' feature will only become patronising when the women actually start showing up there," she points out. "Right now, I don't look around and see hordes of highly successful women in the food industry, do you?"

Recruiting the right person for the right task can be a difficult and expensive business, so the promise of someone that can not only carry out the job in hand but also increase company profits might sound too good to be true. But that is what Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs), a business support solution from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), claim to offer.

Many organisations launch improvement programmes based on good intent, lots of energy and the use of some good tools and techniques. Yet too often these fail to deliver the expected long term gains.

Developed to meet the market demands for innovative open-mouth bagging systems, the Chrono-Fill PBS 500 was developed through a collaboration between Chronos Richardson Group and Premier Tech Systems.

A novel new three-model range of packaging machines -- the Omni range -- is being marketed under the Shanklin brand and distributed by Sealed Air.

Poultry processor Moy Park has installed five Ishida WPL 5000 weigh price labellers and ordered two more for its factory in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, in one of the first orders for these recently-launched machines in the UK.

End of line packaging systems supplier Endoline Machinery claims its 310 series of fully automatic pick and place machines offer a further advance in efficient, yet versatile machine design.

An automated solution for bulk packaging of fresh products with variable individual unit weights has been developed by RTS Flexible Systems, which ensures that tighter tolerances are achieved on the 'give-away allowance'.

Bag-in-box packaging specialist Rapak, part of DS Smith Plastics, will be showing a range of its filling equipment at the Anuga FoodTec show in Cologne this month.

Ink jet and laser marking equipment provider, Domino, has launched a multi-head base for its high-resolution C-Series printer range. It can run up to four high-resolution piezo print heads from the C1000 to C6000i and is compatible with Domino's full range of ink colours.

London based Bighams Global Gastronomy and Riverside Bakery have installed new equipment from Packaging Automation to meet their production needs.

Master of the mint chocolate, Bendicks of Mayfair, likes to describe its confections as "the chocolates with a touch more thought". But the 75 year-old Winchester company is also putting a touch more thought into the way its chocolates are packaged.

German plate heat exchanger specialist GEA Ecoflex will be introducing new models at this month's Anuga Foodtec exhibition in Cologne, which have specific applications within dairy processing. The NT 100 X and the two new designs NT 50 X and NT 50 M supplement the company's existing NT product line.

Dairy mixing and filling systems are now available from CC Automation since being appointed the sole UK and Ireland agent for German manufacturer Miromatic.

The Cheese Company, part of Milk Link, has opted for an energy efficient turn-key compressed air solution at its Lockerbie creamery. The installation will simultaneously provide compressed air to both the creamery and Arla Foods' new 150M litre dairy facility being built alongside it.

Luxury ice cream maker Mackie's, based in Aberdeenshire, has placed an order for a new ice cream production line, worth in excess of £350,000, with Carlisle Process Systems (CPS). The equipment is needed to meet increased demand, which has seen production of ice cream triple over the past 10 years.

Last year's report by the National Farmers' Union (NFU) on the state of the UK dairy industry would have struck a chord with anyone involved in most other manufacturing sectors in the country. According to the NFU's 'Vision for the Dairy Industry', both dairy producers and processors need to address and improve efficiency levels across the whole supply chain. Essentially, the industry stands accused of lacking strategic direction and investment.

In the world of Tex-Mex cuisine, James Beaton is a god among men. Well at least that's what his PR agency says. Put it this way, if you've eaten a wrap for your lunch today, you've got Beaton to thank for it, for it was he who unleashed the tortilla on the unsuspecting British public just over a decade ago, and the rest, as they say, is history.

As staff at Ferndale Foods recently discovered when Asda terminated a contract at short notice, the road to perdition in food manufacturing can be surprisingly short if your eggs are all in one basket. Indeed, insolvency may be lurking around the corner for even the most successful businesses if bosses take their eyes off the ball for a moment, points out the man who has just walked away with the Society of Turnaround Professionals award for private company turnaround of the year.

Three years ago the future looked bleak for Brittons -- poor sales had sent the pasty and pie maker into administration, and left 60 workers jobless. But today it's a different story. Sales are booming and the company is working with two major retailers and in talks with a third -- not bad for a one-time "regional backwater producer", says md Steve Hathaway.

An ingredient associated with cancer is every food manufacturer's nightmare and, while UK consumers are currently oblivious to the danger, the industry isn't taking any chances.

You'd think it would be pretty easy to differentiate between what constitutes waste in the food industry and what doesn't, wouldn't you? Unfortunately, you'd be wrong. As with most things these days, it's not that simple.

I love my job. It probably sounds a bit sad, but it's what I've always wanted to do. I moved into this role two years ago, and one of the key things for me from the start was engaging staff right across the business to support the drive for continuous improvement, because the leadership team can't do everything.

The Americans call it LTL (Less Than full Load) distribution. It requires a shared user network to enable it to operate at an affordable cost to the user, delivering anything from one to 20 pallets to customers across the country. In 1975, there were five national providers of LTL distribution for groceries delivering to retailers with orders consolidated across many manufacturers.

A new online freight exchange has been launched in a bid to reduce empty running and increase vehicle utilisation.

The race is on to sell the remaining assets of cold storage and distribution firm Celsius First after Yearsley Group snapped up depots in Glasgow, Grimsby and Wisbech, plus a managed distribution contract run out of a depot at Hams Hall near Birmingham.

Yeo Valley has joined the move to smarter, uniform branding for organic ranges in its new designs for liquid milk.

Buyers of corrugated cases and trays are being faced with price increases of between five and 12% as costs in the energy-intensive paper industry spiral upwards.

Essential processes in packaging manufacture, from can coating to ultraviolet printing and plastics barrier coating, could be undermined by European Union (EU) regulations likely to become law by the end of the year.

Bad news is rife about food manufacturing's poor performance and the pressure on companies from powerful supermarkets. And all too often we are told how far behind the automotive sector food firms are.

Portadown apple processor MacNeice Bros is one of 13 Northern Ireland (NI) companies to benefit from £3.46M in grant aid from the European Union's agricultural processing and marketing grant scheme.

Unilever Best Foods has refurbished a steam boiler plant at its Burton-on-Trent site, which produces over 660,000 jars and cubes of Marmite and Bovril each week. The work was carried out by Wellman Robey as part of a euro 10m facelift at the factory under the direction of Lorien Engineering Solutions (Food Manufacture, February 2006, p40).

It's been a while since I touched on claims, mainly due to the fact that we have been awaiting the second parliamentary reading of the proposal on nutrition and health claims made on foods.

Ingredients supplier Puratos has launched a new ingredients system that makes bakery products taste fresher for longer.

Edible hydrocolloid coating materials can be effective in reducing fat uptake in battered fish, according to a new report.

What makes a good development chef? It's a question I'm asked nearly as often as: Do you know where I can find a good development chef?

The cheese market has witnessed an array of new ventures this month, with companies taking cheese outside of the sandwich arena and embracing the indulgence and convenience sectors instead.

Ice cream processors are using Thai flavours to make ice cream more versatile.

Unilever is aiming to raise the value of the £85M fish finger sector by £4.1M with its hand-held Birds Eye Mini Fish Fingers.

Ingredients manufacturers need to play a more direct role in the new product development (NPD) process, especially where functional foods are concerned, according to a leading supplier of omega-3s.

A novel serving concept called the Bread Bowl has put ethnic bread manufacturer Butt Foods in the spotlight.

Consumers are still hungry for locally produced food, but suppliers often fail to research their market and are ill-prepared for dealing with major retailers.

Mrs Unis Spicy Foods is aiming to open another factory at Peffermill Industrial Estate in Edinburgh next month, exactly a year after the previous one burned down.

Farmhouse Fare is building a 930m2 extension to its factory in Clitheroe, Lancashire, to meet growing demand for its premium chilled puddings.

Moves by leading supermarkets to spend millions cutting the retail price of milk have prompted fears that they will try to recoup the money from other suppliers.

Icelandic fresh prepared food giant Bakkavör is back on the acquisition trail in the UK, less than a year after snapping up Geest and Hitchen Foods.

Manufacturers have blasted moves by Marks & Spencer (M&S) to cut payments to suppliers as "completely scandalous" at a time when costs are spiralling due to soaring energy prices.

Uniq is reducing the permanent headcount at its loss-making Minsterley desserts factory as part of a recovery plan designed to return the plant to profit within the next 18 months.

UK food manufacturers will not be issued with US-style mandates from Asda or Tesco demanding they label cases with radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, the firms' IT bosses pledged.

The remit of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) will have to be completely redefined unless plans to freeze its budget are scrapped, bosses have warned.

Results from the second ECR UK Christmas availability survey showed overall availability of 45 Christmas lines in leading supermarkets was 92.2%, up on last year's figure of 90.3%.

The UK consultancy Hartington China said that it expected to begin building a food and drink import/export and processing centre in China by early next year.

A compromise on controversial nutrient profiling in the proposed European Union (EU) nutrition and health claims regulation could be in sight.

Organic children's ready meals manufacturer Miniscoff has virtually doubled output, thanks to advice from the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS).

Allied Bakeries has introduced tamper evident packaging for loaves produced at its Orpington factory in Kent after a year-long sabotage campaign.

The death knell has finally rung for the Yorkshire-based Ethnic Food Action Group, which lost financial backing from its main funder last month.

The government-funded Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) announced a major initiative to reduce the amount of glass waste in the UK by encouraging importers and retailers to bulk import wine and bottle it here in lighter bottles.

Livingston-based bakery and dessert manufacturer Patisserie UK is aiming to triple in size following a management buyout (MBO) by new md Johnnie Roden.

Organisers of a seminar to help food and drink companies raise skills levels have been left frustrated after being forced to cancel the event due to lack of interest from manufacturers.

UK food and drink manufacturers have been attacked for failing to invest in the latest high-efficiency equipment, unlike their counterparts overseas.

Waste reduction is the top priority for businesses looking to cut costs this year, according to the results of Food Manufacture's latest on-line poll.

Dairy Crest has been in emergency talks with unions to avert strike action since it revealed a plan to close its final salary pension scheme to new employees after April 6.

Small firms are missing out on opportunities for reassurance about their food's microbiological safety by not tapping into valuable web resources, claimed a food safety expert.

A campaign group of health professionals has accused the Food Standards Agency (FSA) of caving in to pressure by "bloody-minded" processors over salt in products and failing to save 15,000 lives a year.

More radical changes could be on the cards at Northern Foods after its chief executive admitted that it "simply cannot carry on producing products that make little or no margin".

Manufacturers of food products containing omega-3s should stand their ground and ride the current media storm surrounding the health benefits of fish oils, claimed nutritionists.

Chilled food producers using vacuum and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) could face big cost rises as the government tightens controls designed to prevent outbreaks of botulism, a potentially fatal disease.