All news articles for March 2014

Fish boning automation to reshape seafood industry

Cut to the next generation of whitefish processing

Marel says its new FleXicut trimming robot is set to reshape the whitefish industry. Removing whitefish bones traditionally requires a lot of skilled labour so automation cuts labour costs and improves handling and yields.

Cheese ripening can take from three weeks to more than a year

Ripen faster to boost profit

Cheesemakers can reduce ripening times on continental and Cheddar-type cheeses without negatively impacting shelf-life or quality by using Arla Foods Ingredients’ new natural milk protein.

Food waste cut by bakery firm’s shelf-life extender

Shelf-life extender cuts food waste

By Nicholas Robinson

A UK manufacturer and supplier of functional fats and oils to the bakery sector has targeted food waste with the launch of a shelf-life extender.

Morrisons owns around 90% of its estate, compared with Tesco and Sainsbury’s 65% to 70% ownership

The 'Morrisons effect' hits UK retailers

By Michael Stones

Morrisons’ £176M loss for the year to February 2 - the latest in a series of lacklustre financial reports from the UK’s major supermarkets - has focused attention on Britain’s changing retail landscape.

Rudge claimed the food industry is almost invisible to young people

Foodex 2014

Food industry is ‘almost invisible’ to students

By Michael Stones

The food industry is “almost invisible” to students, warns a young person taking part in the Food Manufacture Group’s Big Video Debate on skills, to take place on Tuesday (March 25) at the Foodex show near Birmingham.

Investment in the Cavaghan and Gray site will boost ready meal production by 10M a year

2 Sisters factory investment much needed

By Nicholas Robinson

2 Sisters' multi-million pound factory investment in its Cavaghan & Gray factory will help to restore investment to the business, which had fallen to seriously low levels in recent years, said a leading analyst.

Taplin predicts more logistic partnerships will be formed by retailers

Distribution partnerships a growing trend

By Laurence Gibbons

Distribution partnerships where retailers and food manufacturers share truck space with competitors will become a growing trend, predicts Roly Taplin, vice president of agrifood at DHL Supply Chain.

Food manufacturers should act now to avoid the new rules governing the handling and labelling of food allergens forcing up the number of food alerts issued by the Food Standards Agency

New guidance for manufacturers on managing allergens

By Rick Pendrous

New rules governing the handling and labelling of food allergens, which come into force later this year, could drive up the number of food alerts issued by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), unless manufacturers and others take urgent action.

The food supply chain needs to boost efficiencies ahead of the prospect of a retail price war

Boost supply chain efficiencies to beat retail price war

By Laurence Gibbons

The prospect of a supermarket price war – leading to lower supplier prices – makes it even more important to boost food and drink supply chain efficiencies, according to the European Food and Farming Partnerships (EFFP).

Chancellor George Osborne's Budget drew mainly bouquets from business leaders

Budget 2014

Budget greeted mainly with bouquets but one brickbat

By Michael Stones

Chancellor George Osborne’s Budget has been greeted mainly with bouquets, as business leaders praised action on energy prices and exports, while some expressed disappointment about his failure to cut fuel duty.

Cash in hand: George Osborne tweeted this photograph this morning with the message: 'Today I will deliver a Budget for a resilient economy – starting with a resilient pound coin'

Food industry investment tops budget wish list

By Laurence Gibbons

Support for investment and help to boost exports and cut energy costs are three topics topping the food and drink industry’s wish list from chancellor George Osborne’s Budget, to be delivered later today (March 19).

‘This has been a very challenging quarter,’ said 2 Sister's ceo Ranjit Boparan

Boparan Holdings losses widen to £27.5M

By Nicholas Robinson

Losses for Boparan Holdings, the holding company for 2 Sisters Food Group, have widened to £27.5M from £12.3M a year ago, as the company continued to cut costs and capital expenditure, a second quarter trading update has shown.

Food manufacturers fear for margins as a price war looms

Food firms could pay for supermarket price wars

By Nicholas Robinson

Morrisons has refused to confirm or deny suggestions it is preparing to slash suppliers’ prices, in a bid to combat discounters Aldi and Lidl, as top analysts predict food manufacturers could fall victim to a supermarket price war.

Saturated fats in dairy products like cheese have long been demonised

Dairy bosses welcome new sat fat study

By Nicholas Robinson

Dairy bosses have welcomed a new study that suggests saturated fats in foods like butter and cheese are not bad for heart health.

Sainsbury boss Justin King blamed the long shadow cast by the horsemeat crisis for halting the retailer's long run of like-for-like sales growth

Sainsbury reports LFL sales down ‘thanks to horsemeat’

By Michael Stones

Sainsbury has ended its nine-year run of like-for-like (LFL) sales growth, with news they fell by 3.8%, in the 10 weeks to March 15, partly due to the horsemeat crisis, says chief executive Justin King. 

Michael Portillo will be debating key industry challenges at 14:00 on the Centre Stage on Tuesday March 25

Foodex 2014

Food manufacturing topics centre stage at Foodex

By Michael Stones

Broadcaster and former politician Michael Portillo will join a stellar cast of industry experts for more than 20 live events on the Centre Stage at the Foodex show next week.

Osborne should help food and drink firms invest to boost the UK economy, Kapstein claimed

Osborne should use Budget to help food firms invest

By Laurence Gibbons

Food and drink manufacturers should be encouraged to invest in their businesses by new measures in chancellor George Osborne’s budget this week in a bid to boost the UK economy, according to a leading economist.

The Food Manufacture Group will host four Big Video Debates at Foodex next week

Foodex 2014

Food industry skills gap under Foodex spotlight

By Michael Stones

How food and drink manufacturers can attract 170,300 new recruit recruits by 2020 is the subject of one of four, free-to-attend Big Video Debates, to be staged at the Foodex trade event next week.

Tesco, Sainsbury and Asda will be forced to respond to Morrisons’ lower prices

Morrisons’ price cut strategy signals supermarket war

By Michael Stones

A supermarket price war is likely to follow Morrisons’ pledge to cut its prices, in a bid to combat discounters Aldi and Lidl, after the retailer posted a loss of £176M last week, according to leading analysts.  

David Cameron's GM advisers have said the government needs to clearly communicate the challenges facing sustainable food production

GM food row: industry must tackle food security ignorance

By Rod Addy

If government and industry are to overcome unfounded opposition to genetic modification (GM) technologies, they should clearly communicate the challenges facing sustainable food production, the Prime Minister’s scientific advisers have claimed.

BP Retail was named as one of Iceland's potential distribution partners

Iceland to share transport with another retailer

By Rick Pendrous

Food retailer Iceland is expected later this year to start sharing spare capacity on its trucks with another independent retailer. The move follows the success of a similar ‘backhauling’ arrangement between BP Retail and Nisa and their suppliers facilitated...

Discover the latest food and drink manufacturing equipment on display at Foodex - plus all the top industry news and views

Foodex 2014

Foodex show overview - at a glance

By Rick Pendrous

Final preparations are underway for Foodex 2014, the UK show for food and drink processing, packaging and logistics, which takes place at Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre (NEC) from March 24 to 26.

Rick Pendrous, editor, Food Manufacture

Foodex

Fortune favours the brave business

By Rick Pendrous

Groceries Code Adjudicator Christine Tacon highlighted a persistent problem within the UK’s food industry last month. She said “excessive risk” was being passed down the supply chain by overly powerful retail customers. As a result, some manufacturers’...

Gluten-free bread has enjoyed rising popularity in recent years

Gluten-free growth has shelf-life

By Nicholas Robinson

The UK’s gluten-free (GF) market could mature in the next two years, following US statistics suggesting the market there has already started to slow.

The quality of imported meat can be as good as British meat, says Allan

‘Buying British meat isn’t always best’

By Nicholas Robinson

Buying British meat and poultry is not always best and some overseas processors have better standards than UK and European businesses, an international meat processing boss has claimed.

FIR your questions answered part two – in pictures

FIR webinar

FIR your questions answered part two – in pictures

By Laurence Gibbons

The Food Manufacture Group assembled a crack-team of webinar speakers to help equip food and drink businesses with the information they need to prepare for the Food Information to Consumers Regulation, due to be enforced on December 13 2014.

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