Man made the cars/To take us over the world/Man made the train/To carry the heavy load ... This is a man's, man's, man's world/But it wouldn't be nothing/Nothing without a woman or a girl.

Oils and fats feature in a vast amount of food products - whether naturally occurring or added as ingredients for functional benefits.

The BRC Global Standard for Food Safety: A Guide to a Successful Audit offers firms the first comprehensive guide to preparing for the global standard audit.

Food Composition and Nutrition Tables (seventh edition) presents the huge amount of data needed for effective and accurate nutritional decisions in the production, marketing, and control of food products.

Campden & Chorleywood Food Research Association (CCFRA) has published a guide to help firms ensure that their heat- processed foods receive an adequate thermal process.

Gemü has developed a completely new automatic system for sterile sampling of pure steam condensate.

Dutch catering group Catering Houtop has become the first mainland European company to install Proseal's SP30 fully-automated sandwich packing system for the de-nesting, erecting and sealing of cardboard sandwich skillets.

An improved version of Cyklop's ES600a automatic pallet strapping system, the 720E, now incorporates an integrated friction weld strapping tool which operates from the same battery pack as the strap dispenser.

Kosme UK, supplier of bespoke, turnkey filling, labelling, packaging and conveying machines, has launched its high-speed, end-of-line Flypack shrink wrapper to meet demand for secondary packing.

CKF Systems was approached by Cadbury Bournville to provide a replacement case conveyor system for an existing system that was too steep to handle the descending cases in a controlled manner. The existing conveyor sent cases of chocolate bars at 36° down through two floors and through a very congested area.

Weber Marking Systems has introduced a label printer applicator for food and drink markets. The Model 5300 series features a number of major enhancements and innovations to offer maximum flexibility and versatility.

Within the fresh produce industry, quality and shelf life are vital. So when a potato and vegetable grower in Lincolnshire wanted a flexible chill-storage solution to meet the seasonal demands of Jersey and new potatoes, it called in Dawsonrentals to supply it with an inflatable chill store. With no access restrictions and quick installation, the inflatable chill store is flexible, helping potato growers and many other fresh food companies to meet fluctuating demand.

Fast, efficient and consistent size reduction of food processing waste is fundamental when it comes to achieving cost-effective disposal.

TomKey is an innovative USB computer memory stick for recording and displaying temperatures. Manufactured by AES Chemunex and available in the UK from Don Whitley Scientific, the device is designed to monitor cold-chain food transportation.

As part of a £3.5M expansion programme, Lyons Seafoods, one of the largest prawn and seafood processors in the UK, installed a fully-packaged plant room from Fulton Boiler Works for a new processing and packaging line.

TM Robotics has launched the Toshiba Machine TH350A, the smallest robot in its class, with high speed, high payload and built-in programmable controller.

Do you want to extend shelf life, use fewer additives, maintain fresh taste and nutritional qualities, and guarantee compliance with microbiological standards? Then high pressure processing from Interfood Technology could be the answer.

Manufacturer and supplier of chocolate covered wafers, chocolate tablets and mallow products, OP Chocolate, has decided to use Total UK's H1 food-grade lubricants throughout its manufacturing process operations.

Access doors manufacturer Bilco UK has introduced a range of industrial floor covers which provide access to underfloor services while blending in with the finish of the flooring in which they are laid.

A new Centri-Sifter centrifugal screener from Kason Corporation features a hinged end cover and three-bearing shaft that cantilevers for quick removal of internal components for cleaning.

Iceland-based Marel Food Systems has developed advanced tray loading systems designed for optimising efficiency and reducing labour costs in packing seafood.

FWB Products has launched a new range of gloves for the catering and food industry.

When pre-packed meat and sausage company, Aldenhoven of Germany wanted to detect any very small particles of metal getting into its sausage meat from the production line, it could not find suitable metal detection and separation equipment that was both easy to use and reliable.

Lamerholm has launched its ShockWatch range of temperature-sensitive environmental indicators. The sensors are designed to provide a reliable indication of temperature fluctuations for goods in transit and storage.

Sample preparation can be a bottleneck in most food laboratories. But there is now an answer from Camlab - the Omni Prep homogenising station. It streamlines the sample preparation process and removes time-consuming and tedious manual steps.

Campylobacter: the most common identified cause of food-borne disease. It has been found mainly in poultry, red meat, unpasteurised milk and untreated water. It doesn't grow in food, but it spreads easily so that only a few bacteria in a piece of undercooked chicken could cause diarrhoea and fever.

Cleanliness may be next to Godliness, but it is basic housekeeping for food manufacturers with the less lofty aspiration of not appearing in a Food Standards Agency (FSA) contamination alert. Between January and April, many notices announced that salmonella was found in manufacturers' seeds and seed products. Listeria was discovered in cheese. Glass, metal and rubber had sneaked into other foods. These episodes are embarrassing, but can lead to much more than a red face for manufacturers.

Heat transfer specialist the HRS Group has launched its modular MX corrugated tube heat exchanger for food processing applications.

Clegg Food Projects has started work on a scheme to create a new yoghurt production facility in Shropshire. Austrian dairy firm, the NOM Group, is investing £40M in production facilities - its first in the UK - and the company turned to Clegg for its expertise in construction and engineering solutions for the food industry.

High volumes and continuous output in a chilled environment put great demands on the barcode labelling system at Dairy Crest's national distribution centre at Nuneaton, Warwickshire.

DSM has introduced the Delvotest Accelerator for the fully-automatic testing of milk control stations and dairies for antibiotic contamination. Used in conjunction with Delvotest plates and ampoules, the Delvotest Accelerator significantly reduces the time and costs associated with testing milk for antibiotic contamination on a large scale and provides reliable and consistent results.

One Sunday morning in February 1989, the then Minister of Agriculture, John MacGregor, announced his intention to ban the sale of cheese made from raw, unpasteurised milk. But by July, after much lobbying from cheese suppliers, he had dropped the idea.

Thorntons' chief executive officer Mike Davies - a former Mars man - has much in common with Tesco boss Terry Leahy. Not in background (Brazilian rather than Scouse) or the football teams they support, but in their shared and passionate conviction that you will only ensure your firm's success by listening to your customers.

Hygiene inspectors in Britain's abattoirs received a reprieve from what some considered to be a potential death sentence at last month's Food Standards Agency (FSA) Board meeting when members voted against the option of privatising the Meat Hygiene Service (MHS).

How did you get into food development?

A breakthrough solution from National Starch Food Innovation will allow dairy manufacturers to maintain eating quality in yoghurts, while significantly reducing costs.

International flavour and savoury ingredients expert, Synergy, has launched a line of sweetness boosters for dairy applications.

Ingredients giant Danisco has started to produce Chymostar Supreme, a proprietary, fermentation-produced chymosin, which is designed for use in cheese production.

In response to consumer demand for sophisticated speciality cheeses, Dairygold Food Ingredients UK has launched the Taste Discovering Cheese brand.

High fibre products have been around for donkeys' years, but it seems that although two thirds of our survey's respondents have tried and enjoyed such foods, they are reluctant to put their hands in their pockets for the privilege.

The Caribbean islands might get their share of sunshine, but in the UK their food has been overshadowed for years. Britain has a history of West Indian immigration that dates back centuries, and according to data from the last census, Caribbeans account for 1% of the British population, making them the third largest ethnic group (Indian and Pakistani being the two largest). However, Caribbean food has not been popularised to anything like the same degree as Indian and Chinese cuisine, with the vast majority of Caribbean food sold as traditional fayre via niche outlets to people with Afro-Caribbean heritage.

Glance at Mintel or Datamonitor's global product databases and the number of ingredients combinations alone in soft drinks launched in the past year will have you reaching for a bottle of Lucozade.

Despite many attempts to increase UK ice cream sales and to make ice cream less seasonal and less dependent on the vagaries of the British weather, average consumption remains stubbornly stuck at around 11l a head.

You could be forgiven for thinking that the market for 'free from' foods is minimal - just 2.5% of the UK's population suffer from food allergies.

Worn out rubber soles and scuffed leather - we've all reached a stage where it's time to fork out for a new pair of shoes, but even though your old ones are a shoddy embarrassment, it can be hard to make the transition into unfamiliarity. Yes, you know that the design of a new shoe will be more up-to-date and that the improved structure will give you more support, but sometimes we get comfortable with second best. Strange as it sounds, the same can often be said of an IT system, so Food Manufacture asked Lawson Software and its customers how best to adapt to a new computer package.

As far as fish availability in supermarkets goes, it will no doubt come as a surprise to some that new reserach suggests the UK is pretty much ahead of the game.

It is the second year that Food Manufacture's Personality of The Year award has been part of the Food Manufacture Excellence Awards. The title goes to someone who has significantly contributed to the sector in the past year, possibly by transforming their own business or even by furthering the interests of the wider industry. Last year, the competition was fierce and this year's nominees present an equally fearsome array of talent. Helen Colley, md of Farmhouse Fayre was the 2007 winner. Her successor in this hall of fame will be chosen by you, our readers. To register your vote, visit the . But hurry! You will need to cast your vote by Wednesday, September 3!

Navigating around a freakishly-large fabric football in the entrance to the Mars UK headquarters and dodging Peter Shilton - who, bizarrely, is in the lobby publicising a sporting initiative - Fiona Dawson clutches a large furry M&M and gamely poses for some photos.

Sara Roberts, technical and operations director, Roberts of Port Dinorwic

It happened to lean and also to advanced planning and scheduling before that. Now it has happened to sales and operations planning (S&OP). Some of the firms that are offering implementation advice or technological solutions have hijacked S&OP. They have grown the approach into a potentially gigantic project. Businesses are consequently invited to focus on the bells and whistles, and thereby lose sight of the core ingredients.

Collaboration along the supply chain is re-emerging as a buzz phrase as suppliers and their retail clients try to squeeze further costs out. At least, that was the message that came out of a recent conference organised by warehouse automation specialist Swisslog at Gaydon in Warwickshire.

Food equipment companies Pursuit Dynamics and Air Products have joined forces to bring manufacturers a new option in cold fill sauce production. They are collaborating to offer the novel PDX Sonic and the Freshline continuous sauce chiller as an integrated single line production unit.

Nestlé Confectionery (UK) has opened a new £15M factory to manufacture its Aero chocolate brand. The factory, on which work began just over a year ago, will produce over 183M Aero bars a year when at full capacity this month.

Scientists at Imperial College in London are developing a new technology for fluid mixing which has potential applications for food and beverage processing.

In many foods gluten is a necessary functional ingredient, in others the gluten containing cereals (wheat, spelt, kamut, rye and barley) are key ingredients.

DSM has announced the introduction of Total Concept - a novel, integrated approach to egg processing.

Monitoring product temperature during processing is vital to ensure optimum viscosity in Macphie's new Ku-li branded range of coulis, which are packaged in squeezy bottles for ease of use.

With papers reporting that ingredients and energy costs are reaching record highs, it's no wonder that processors are looking to make savings wherever they can. And from a new product development perspective, there is a great need to reduce the cost of finished goods.

Peter's Food Service has teamed up with Fuller's brewery to create a very British 'Steak and Ale' pie, which features a blend of Peter's pastry and Fuller's London Pride ale.

Kanes Foods, based in the Vale of Evesham, has signed a contract with IT firm Micros for the provision of its lifecycle and supply chain management solution, Creations. Kanes will deploy Creations to help streamline its new product delivery process and help control costs.

Northwest-based Gibsons Foods has developed two new roll products for leading supermarket Morrison in response to the growth in popularity of the 'sub' format made popular by Subway food outlets. The addition of the new rolls, both priced at £1.79 marks the first launch of pre-packed subs as part of Morrisons' core sandwich range.

Consumers who are watching what they eat can now treat themselves without feeling guilty with Weight Watchers' new Belgian Chocolate Slices, Apple Crumble Slices and Mini Victoria Sponges.

Homing in on the functional food trend, Ocean Spray has launched a wave of products, which boast high levels of proanthocyanidins - flavanols that occur naturally in cranberries and which help protect the body against bad bacteria.

Those in search of exotic flavours need look no further as Roberts of Port Dinorwic, announces its summer menu.

Ireland's largest snack food manufacturer Largo Food Exports has launched a new popcorn brand in the UK market, just 18 months after investing euro 450,000 in a production and warehousing facility in Barnsley, South Yorkshire.

Disaster struck when Soya Health Foods' honey and vanilla flavoured breakfast soya milk had to be removed from shelves because the honey had an adverse reaction with its packaging.

The meat processing industry has objected to escalating inspection costs following the decision by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) Board to abandon plans to privatise the Meat Hygiene Service (MHS) in favour of its transformation.

The owners of Cobra beer have decided to switch production back to the UK just three years after outsourcing production to Poland, blaming rising transport costs and the strength of the Polish Zloty.

In May 2005 Tony Blair, at the Institute for Public Policy Research, said: "We are in danger of having a wholly disproportionate attitude to the risks we should expect to run as a normal part of life. This is putting pressure on policy-making, not just in government but in regulatory bodies, on local government, public services, in Europe and across parts of the private sector - to act to eliminate risk in a way that is out of all proportion to the potential damage. The result is a plethora of rules, guidelines, responses to 'scandals' of one nature or another that ends up having utterly perverse consequences."

There will not be a huge swathe of job cuts or significant restructuring in the UK following Mars's merger with Wrigley, according to the boss of its UK confectionery division.

Interest in sustainable organic cod remains high despite fish firm No Catch plunging into administration in February, with the sale of its brand expected within weeks.

Work has started on a £1.3M design and build project to increase food processing and warehouse capacity at Premier Foods' Bury St Edmunds production facility.

Eurobuns, the Milton Keynes-based bakery, has been acquired by Danish pastry specialist Lantmännen Unibake for an undisclosed sum in a move that will give the company its first production facilities in the UK.

Manufacturers remain woefully unprepared as product recalls surge, according to a report compiled by customer management expert Navigator Customer Management (NCM).

The food industry must exert more pressure on the European Parliament to get decisions based on science and risk rather than politics, professor Patrick Wall, chairman of the European Food Safety Authority, has argued.

Doubts have been cast over Marks and Spencer's (M&S's) strategy, following its decision to change its supplier of Italian ready meals and to stock 350 brands in store.

A new £25M automated packing facility in Nuneaton will help Dairy Crest slash food miles at a time when distribution costs are rocketing, according to chief executive Mark Allen.

Ice cream maker R&R has pumped £13M into developing its Crossgates ice cream factory near Leeds in a bid to expand its range and increase efficiency.

ISS Mediclean has become the first public sector caterer to be licensed with the Red Tractor logo. More than 40 UK staff hospital restaurants feature the marque on their menus to assure staff that only British meat and dairy products are served. The logo now appears on £7.5bn worth of UK food and drink.

The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health is offering a new Level 3 Award in Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) for Food Manufacturing, aimed at those responsible for training staff in food safety in the industry. Candidates acquire the skills to implement HACCP-based procedures and an accredited qualification.

Tesco has unveiled a range of 20 products that will carry the Carbon Trust's Carbon Reduction Label. These cover four categories: orange juice, washing detergent, light bulbs and potatoes. The footprint is measured using a draft standard being developed by the Carbon Trust and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in collaboration with the British Standards Institution.

PackCare, the WasteCare subsidiary specialising in the collection, reconditioning and recycling of commercial packaging, has expanded its service to food manufacturing and processing companies following the acquisition of E Pease and Son. It now claims to be the only firm collecting all types of industrial containers for a fixed cost from anywhere in the UK.

The Subway sandwich chain has won the British Sandwich Award (BSA). Dubbed the Sammies, the awards were launched 13 years ago to acknowledge key players in an industry now worth £5.25bn a year. Other winners include Melton Foods, which won BSA Sandwich Manufacturer of the Year and Morrison, which won Sandwich Retail Multiple of the Year Award.

Leatherhead Food International is keen to expand its research programme on probiotics and prebiotics to include work on bacteria in the mouth.

The bakery and confectionery sectors are well placed to withstand an economic downturn, according to the latest Food Manufacture market report.

Research on product stability, health claims for catechins and L-theanines and developing the aroma of its teas will be priorities for Unilever's newly opened Centre of Excellence for Drinks in Colworth, Bedfordshire.

Overcoming the drinks industry's resistance to eco-friendly initiatives remained a core challenge, said the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), as it unveiled the sector's progress on adopting lightweight bottles.

The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) is conducting an in-depth survey of processors, retailers and stakeholder groups to help crack down on major sources of food waste in the supply chain.

Greencore is aiming to build a US operation on a similar scale to its multi-million-pound UK business in the next 10-20 years, its new US boss has revealed.

French wine company La Gourmandière has designed a novel packaging solution: cigar-shaped wine tubes. An advanced oxygen-free filling process ensures that the wine's aromas and tastes are not modified and remain unaltered for months.

Tesco has announced the launch of its Saveris data monitoring system for use in the cold food chain.

A new group - the Manufacturing Business Advisors - has been set up to help small manufacturers increase profits.

Arla Foods is to close its dairy and distribution facility at Wythenshawe in Manchester with the loss of around 300 jobs.

Redundancies among the UK's senior executives in the UK's food and drink sector have hit a new high, according to figures from the Chartered Management Institute and salary survey specialist CELRE.

The prevention of product recalls by closer collaboration with the industry will be key to the Food Standard Agency's (FSA's) sustainable development (SD) strategy, said its head of strategic policy in Scotland, Bill Adamson.

More than 300 jobs at baker Tindale & Stanton hung in the balance as Food Manufacture went to press as administrators attempted to find a buyer for the business.

A sustainable, eco-friendly global food supply chain could be secured if the industry embraced developing technologies, according to Dr David Baines of Acumentia Consulting Group.

Farmers' leaders have raised the spectre that Britain's pig and poultry sectors could be "decimated" by spiralling genetically modified (GM)-free feed costs after a virtual ban on GM animal soya feed in the EU.

Tate & Lyle's monopoly of the sucralose market could face its first serious challenge following the entry of a new player able to produce industrial quantities of the sweetener without infringing Tate & Lyle's vast suite of patents.