Northern Foods, which is currently going though a major restructuring programme involving the disposal of large parts of its business, has signed what is thought to be one of the first multi-union national learning agreements in the business.

The gauntlet has been thrown down to the food industry by a leading UK academic, who has asked: 'What exactly do you want from food science graduates?'

The Careers in food & drink 2007 directory is predominantly editorially led, providing an insight into the various sectors within the industry, and highlighting the many career opportunities available.

Written by management consultant Keren Smedley and career coach Helen Whitten, Age matters: employing, motivating and managing older employees attempts to address age discrimination issues.

According to the Spreads in the UK report compiled by industry analyst Research and Markets, packaged food manufacturers face a 'double-edged sword'.

The handbook of organic and fair trade food marketing uses case studies from Yeo Valley and Duchy Originals to analyse successful marketing of both fair trade and organic foods.

Scanvaegt's multi-head weigher, the ScanCombinator, now comes with patent-pending automatic feed adjustment (AFA) technology to ensure a consistent flow of products to the weighing unit and give greater processing accuracy and low maintenance costs.

Flooring specialist Kemtile has completed a project at Jessie Oldfield Bakeries in Trafford Park, Manchester. It replaced a 20-year old floor with 300m2 of Kagatec hexagonal tiles. It also installed a drainage system and refurbished mixing room and wash area floors.

D2 Food Systems has launched a fully automatic pre-glued sleeving system for the convenience food sector specially designed with a small footprint for maximum space-saving benefits.

Product give-away has been virtually eliminated in the new R series of multi-head weighers, claims Ishida Europe. With weighing speeds of up to 200 weighings a minute, efficiency levels of close on 100% are achievable for the single-discharge 14-head compact weighers, says the company.

Leak-Master Mapmax is the latest micro-leak detection system from Witt Gas Techniques for detecting leaks in rigid and flexible modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) packs.

RTS Flexible Systems, provider of robotic and automation systems for the food industry, has developed an innovative solution to the picking and packing of food products into variety packs. It uses the company's PixCell technology to combine the speed and flexibility of 120-cycle-per-minute vision-guided robots with its VIP line-balancing software and RTS gripper designs. The system promises a return on investment of under two years.

A range of hand-held 'dip and test' allergen test kits has been introduced by Tepnel BioSystems. The Rapid 3-D kits enable food manufacturers to undertake real-time in-situ tests for the presence of six major food allergens: hazelnut, almond, shellfish, casein, peanut and gluten.

Clean-Trace, the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) surface hygiene test from Biotrace International has proved to be the most repeatable in a recent independent study carried out by Cara Technology. When placed against three competing products in the study, Clean-Trace showed itself to be the most repeatable.

Specialist chocolate manufacturer Classic Couverture has installed three Krohne Optimass Coriolis mass flowmeters to improve the accuracy of measuring ingredients during production. The flowmeters measure precisely the amount of ingredients added.

Union Food Machinery and Equipment (UFM)) has launched a new family of high capacity Laska bowl choppers, including 200 litre, 330 litre, 500 litre and 750 litre models. The new machines will meet customer demand for versatile chopping equipment since they are ideal for chopping meat, poultry and fish as well as producing pastes, bases and stocks for sauces, soups and gravies.

Depositing equipment manufacturer Turbo Systems has won new business and solved customers' mixing problems by fitting an agitator to its range of volumetric depositors. An agitator is the ideal attachment for customers wanting to deposit semi-solid or particulate products such as soups, sauces and crepe mixtures.

Syspal's innovative new Euro-bin Tumbler gently rotates a 200 litre Euro bin to mix ingredients. Since there are no paddles or blades, the Euro-bin Tumbler significantly reduces the chance of product damage when mixing delicate ingredients such as pasta.

Tetra Albatch is the gentle batch processing system for the prepared food industry designed to improve batch processing for highly viscous and particulate products.

What have the ThrustSSC land speed record, brain scans and a pair of ladies' tights got to do with the food industry? The answer is that they have all contributed to better ingredient mixing and blending.

The new arrival at Langley Distillery isn't difficult to spot. Built in 1994, Jenny is just a baby compared to some of the other stills, which are over a century old. But what she lacks in maturity, she makes up for in size.

There is a buzz in the air at Peter Hunt's bakery as md Grant Inkpin announces: "The traditional pie is shrinking". This isn't the sort of news you'd expect a bakery that specialises in pies and pastries to be celebrating. But Inkpin doesn't miss a trick. "Hand-held pies and eating on the hoof are growing," he reveals.

Tony Hynes has personal views on front of pack nutrition labelling, but as the boss of a major supplier of own-label convenience food to all the major multiples, he's diplomatic enough not to share them.

The recent move by Asda to pay under 18s the same hourly rate as older workers has opened a debate on whether there should be changes to the national minimum wage rules to equalise pay rates and whether youth pay rates can be legally challenged under new age discrimination legislation.

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has decided to re-investigate Scottish dairies' market practices. In September, it issued a statement of objections to six Scottish dairies - Ballantyne, Grahams, Quothquan, Renfrew, Scottish Milk Dairies and Robert Wiseman Dairies. Its provisional view was that they had infringed Chapter I of the Competition Act 1998 by engaging in price-fixing, exchanging confidential information and market sharing.

Consumers, we are told, won't trade up on frozen food. It's commoditised, cheap, and stuck in a time warp. But it doesn't have to be, says Wensleydale Foods founder Elizabeth Guy. "Look at ice cream. You've got products there that go right across the price spectrum. Why don't we have that on ready meals?"

MARK PICCONI, FACTORY MANAGER, WARBURTONS, ENFIELD

I lost an argument three months ago over the frequency with which stocks should be reconciled between a manufacturer and his new third-party logistics provider (3PL).

The difference between 'JIT' (just in time) and 'JTFL' (just too f**king late), as some manufacturers politely refer to their supply chain planning systems, can be depressingly small.

Improvements in aluminium oxide (AlOx) and silicon oxide (SiOx) barriers for clear flexibles have persuaded Mondi Packaging to invest in a new single-serve food pouch.

As Mars Drinks prepares for the launch of its Moment du Chocolat microwave beverage, its contract packer, Mailway Packaging Solutions, is already planning for larger volumes.

A new national initiative to reduce glass waste from the wine industry by encouraging bulk imports looks set to win support on the basis of costs, but smaller importers may be reluctant to entrust filling to untried UK contract fillers.

The move to relocate increasing volumes of packaging production overseas, much of it following the food industry itself, is putting the entire supply chain at risk, says the outgoing chief executive of the Packaging Federation (PF).

Customer service, flexibility and innovation are the stated goals of many manufacturers. But how can they actually be achieved?

The one cent radio frequency identification (RFID) tag may not be here yet, but item level tagging of products will come a step closer next year when production of cheaper printed polymer RFID tags begins in Germany.

Having written two columns, I feel you are getting to know me, so I'll introduce my family.

Last month the Food and Drink Federation revealed that £1.5bn worth of products were being dramatically reformulated to eliminate trans fats; and ingredients firms are eager to move with the times.

Evidence is mounting that the consumption of botanicals may delay the onset of cancer, providing a vast opportunity for food manufacturers to market the health benefits of their products.

New Zealand dairy group Fonterra has developed a new manufacturing process that has the potential to extend the shelf-life of yoghurts with live and active cultures.

Young's Seafood has introduced Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) accredited Wild Alaskan Pollock to its frozen Chip Shop range of battered fish fillets.

Kate's Cakes of Ashington, West Sussex has launched a new range of premium muffins and cookies.

It's not very often that large food manufacturers work together on a project, especially if they're in competition with each other. But Premier Foods and RHM have broken the mould and joined forces on Practical Development, an initiative to preserve the future of the industry.

The relaunch of RHM's McDougalls Upper Crust premium family and individual pie range is by no means just a packaging redesign. Catching on to the consumer trend for more wholesome foods, the company has reformulated its existing range with 'just like home-made' ingredients and removed all trans fats.

The scent of Sicilian Style Calamari Pie is the latest aroma to waft out of the kitchen at Simple Simon's Perfect Pies in Biggar, Scotland.

Slovenian food manufacturer Droga Kolinska, has launched new mineral water brand Donat Mg into the UK.

Filled Naan breads are so popular that ethnic bread producer Honeytop Speciality Foods decided to take the concept one stage further with the production of filled doughballs.

Flavours firm Quest's new 'Linking sensory data to acceptance' (LISA) method can accurately predict worldwide taste preferences in record time, claims the company.

There's nothing new about mind-altering foods; hippies and Hippocrates all dabbled in the odd mood-enhancing mushroom. But the idea that manufacturers could build a whole new category based on ingredients that make you happier, calmer, sexier, livelier and even more intelligent, is pretty far out ... isn't it?

In the October issue, I referred to the Animal By-Products Regulations 2002, which are in the course of amendment because they contain flawed provisions. Various draft proposals have been circulated for comment during the past three months.

Sir

Sir

Mackays is moving its base from Carnoustie to a larger, more modern site in Arbroath, Angus, over the next two years to meet growing demand.

Business representatives met the government earlier this week (October 30) to try to kill off a proposed amendment to the Companies Bill, which would force the disclosure of commercially-sensitive supply chain information.

Zetar has added to its burgeoning confectionery and snack foods empire with the acquisition of chocolate- and yoghurt-coated fruit and nut firm Salamanda in a £2.25M deal.

Millions of pounds are being wasted every year through inadequate demand planning and forecasting in the food industry, according to a report from grocery think tank IGD.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) describes it as 'an epidemic' and one of the greatest health challenges of the 21st century for Europe. 'It' is obesity. The WHO predicts there will be 150M obese adults and 15M obese children in Europe by 2010 if no action is taken.

Even the class dunce knows that calcium is good for your bones, but in a society where convenience and health are still battling it out for the top spot, there is a mass deficiency of this crucial mineral.

Glasgow distiller Whyte & Mackay (W&M) is considering unsolicited bids from potential purchasers, including the boss of India's United Breweries Group, Vijay Mallya.

More cases of bread contaminated with needles and glass have prompted experts to question whether food firms are using their online metal detectors properly.

The European Commission (EC) has agreed to tougher sanctions to prevent unauthorised genetically modified (GM) rice entering the EU after emergency measures agreed during the summer failed to work.

Firms in a supply chain scheme, run by the government-backed environmental improvement service Envirowise, have identified savings of more than £4.5M in the past 12 months, by using returnable transit packaging, efficient logistics and smarter packaging.

A taskforce set up by the government's Nanotechnology Research Co-ordination Group (NRCG) said that new testing strategies would be needed to address potential health risks from the use of nanotechnology in food and cosmetics.

The agreed new owners of United Biscuits (UB) have reassured staff that they would plug the company's £213M pension deficit, but have said nothing about long-term job security at key plants, including in Rotherham, Halifax and Ashby-de-la-Zouch.

Fleet managers could achieve substantial savings by taking part in a government survey designed to benchmark participants against the best on the UK's roads.

As a nation renowned for its stiff upper lip we're not normally very good at talking about embarrassing subjects. But that seems to be changing when it comes to gut health - an area where over one third of the UK population regularly suffers a disorder. Not surprisingly, manufacturers are cashing in on consumers' desire for wellbeing and their awareness of the benefits of gut friendly bacteria.

Independent family brewer Batemans of Lincolnshire is to sell its traditional British beers in Russia through Stolichnaya Trading. Victory Ale, Combined Harvest, XXXB and new Autumn Fall will appear beside products from outlets such as Fortnum and Mason in the upmarket Russian retail chain Globus Gourmet.

Northern Foods reported a 1.1% decline in sales in the 26 weeks to September 30, with a 6.7% slump in sales from the flour milling, speciality bread, chilled pastry and cakes divisions earmarked for disposal. Sales at divisions it will retain were up 3.5%. Central costs were on target to be cut by £12M a year by 2007/8, it said.

Cadbury blamed recent hot weather for poor confectionery sales in the UK, but said its overall confectionery market share remained strong, despite a dip in chocolate sales after the recall of chocolate lines in connection with a salmonella scare in the summer. Birmingham and Herefordshire councils were still investigating the incident before deciding whether to prosecute the company.

The former dairy co-operative Milk Marque has used a large part of the £15M freed by its conversion to a private company to buy the natural and organic foods wholesaler Community Foods, for an undisclosed sum. Community's annual sales of snacks and other lines total nearly £55M. It has about 88 employees.

Golden Wonder expected no job cuts at its Scunthorpe factory after the transfer of Nik Naks and Wheat Crunchies to United Biscuits (UB) in Ashby-de-la-Zouch and Teesside. UB bought the brands several months ago but Golden Wonder has produced them under contract while UB prepared for the move. Golden Wonder was sold to snack firm Tayto after going into administration earlier this year.

A management team at sauces and soups manufacturer TSC Foods, led by md Brian Dahl and finance director Bill Morran, has acquired the company from the private equity firm Gourmet Invest.

Better efficiency will be the primary reason for food and drink manufacturers investing in plant, machinery and buildings in the next year, rather than to meet rising demand, according to the latest industrial trends survey by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).

Tate & Lyle has hoisted a 'for sale' sign over its European starch business in a radical bid to reduce its exposure to low-margin commodity-driven ingredients.

Hero Foods will stop selling its Fruit2day drink in the UK after the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned claims that the product contained two portions of fruit.

Bosses at ice cream maker Hill Station said they were confident of finding extra cash to support growth plans, despite failing to secure additional funds from existing backers.

Six dairies facing Office of Fair Trading (OFT) penalties for price and market fixing in the Scottish fresh processed milk sector now face a £15M damages claim from rival firm Arla and its subsidiary Claymore over lost business.

Coors has announced a further 200 job cuts at its flagship Burton-on-Trent brewery just seven months after a spring cull which slashed 213 jobs in March.

Fact: cholesterol is a killer. Well, no, actually, not in moderation.

The Office of Fair Trading wants comments by November 8 on its proposal to let the processing equipment group Tetra Laval buy part of Carlisle Process Systems provided it sells its Wincanton brand cheese equipment operation, to Moody, to avoid a substantial cut in competition in the cheddar cheese equipment market.

The sector skills council Improve has launched a virtual careers adviser on its website. Dunkan is a gingerbread man who tries to help people find the right career in the food and drink sector by asking people "a series of fun questions".

The Anaphylaxis Campaign, a charity which supports people with life-threatening allergies, has issued a draft certification standard and rules for the management of allergens by manufacturers and caterers, for consultation until November 30. A standard, funded by the Food Standards Agency, could cut 'may contain' labelling.

A study exploring ways to reduce the administrative burden that competing supermarket electronic product specification systems place on manufacturers should be completed by the end of the year. The project, by RedSky IT, is looking at systems on the market to see if there are ways of simplifying and standardising them.

The airline caterer LSG Sky Chefs' Gatwick unit has re-opened following the final phase of a multi-million-euro refurbishment. The 8,400m2 building will be operating at 60-65% capacity.

Exports of British food and drink could top £10bn this year for the first time since 1996, said the Food from Britain (FfB) consultancy.

Apprenticeships in food and drink manufacturing and meat and poultry processing have been overhauled from this month to make them more relevant for workers and more convenient for employers.

The food coatings firm Witwood Food Products has opened a £500,000 factory in Thailand in response to rapid growth in the region over the past 18 months.

A state-of-the-art £5.5M seafood institute dedicated to squeezing extra value out of fish could be up-and-running late next year following a cash injection from the European Regional Development fund and the North East Lincolnshire Council.

Sources both within and outside the Food Standards Agency (FSA) said they were "not remotely surprised" by the FSA's failure to find a permanent chief executive.

The European Commission (EC) looked set to withdraw a threat of legal action against the UK's Food Standards Agency (FSA) after the FSA agreed to issue enforcement authorities with revised EU dairy hygiene rules on October 20.

Trade union bosses were due to meet prime minister Tony Blair, as Food Manufacture went to press, to highlight the plight of workers facing redundancy following a swathe of job cuts in the food industry in York.

What's a more compelling consumer proposition? An overpriced drink claiming to reduce your risk of developing bowel cancer in 40 years, or a yoghurt that will reduce bloating in 14 days?