All news articles for July 2014

Understanding the neuroscience of shopping could boost food and drink sales

Neuroscience could boost food sales

By Nicholas Robinson

Food businesses need to tap into neuroscience and understand how consumers make fast and unconscious decisions, if they are to improve their sales, says a marketing expert.

Nanotechnology offers great potential to the food and drink industry, said Steffi Friedrichs

Nanotechnology benefits: public needs reassurance

By Rick Pendrous

Nanotechnology offers great potential for use in the food and drink supply chain, but the public’s food safety concerns still need to be overcome, according to the head of the Nanotechnology Industries Association (NIA).

SmartFare ovenable packaging can handle temperatures of up to 220°C

Diving into ovenable board for premium ready meals

By Paul Gander

The imminent start to UK production of MeadWestvaco’s (MWV’s) SmartFare ovenable and printable board packaging highlights the barriers to launching a new format in a high-volume category, even for a major international supplier.

Severnside's Frijj line has benefitted from a £14M investment to double its output

Dairy Crest reveals its investment plans

By Nicholas Robinson

Capital investment is sexy and Dairy Crest has just come to the end of a four-year investment plan, which saw £75M spent across the company’s dairy operations.

The deal expands First Milk's agreement to supply milk for Nestlé's Kit Kat products

Dairy farmers to milk Nestlé Kit Kat deal

By Rod Addy

Nestlé has struck a deal with First Milk, expanding the dairy cooperative’s supply of fresh milk for its Kit Kat and Nescafé brands in the UK.

Strong food sales helped to offset the fall in general merchandise sales and the retailer's 'dot com fiasco', said analysts

Marks & Spencer’s food sales up - again

By Michael Stones

Marks & Spencer’s food sales rose by 4.2% in the first quarter of its financial year ending June 28, continuing to buck the trend of falling general merchandise sales, despite online problems.

Traffic light labelling infringes the internal market, claims Italy

Europeans challenge UK traffic light scheme

By Nicholas Robinson

The European Commission (EC) is investigating the UK's voluntary front-of-pack traffic light nutrition labelling scheme, following complaints from Member States (MS), which argued it influenced consumer choice and was an infringement of the internal...

Innovation holds the key to PepsiCo's success, said Mehmood Khan

PepsiCo: product innovation is the key to success

By Rick Pendrous

Global food and drink giant PepsiCo’s future success will hinge on it continuing to innovate, differentiate itself from the competition and raise its operational efficiency to grow its consumer base, according to the company's executive vice president.

Technology to extract protein from salmon waste has taken a leap forward

Fish waste proteins offer help to famine victims

By Rod Addy

Salmon waste could help treat famine victims thanks to novel technology – currently being trialled by Loch Duart – that can extract edible proteins from the leftovers.

Obesity experts sum up webinar messages

obesity webinar

Obesity webinar speakers sum up key messages

By Michael Stones

Calls to base Britain’s obesity debate on a more scientific footing and the urgent need to reformulate food and drink products were just two of the key messages speakers took from the Food Manufacture Group’s obesity webinar last week.

New research revealing 700 new cases of diabetes a day is 'a national health emergency': Diabetes UK

Over 700 diabetes cases/day is 'health emergency'

By Michael Stones

A new study revealing that more than 700 Britons a day are diagnosed with obesity-related diabetes constitutes a “national health emergency”, warns the boss of Diabetes UK.

British brands are trusted by international buyers

Overseas buyers are swooping on UK firms

By Nicholas Robinson

Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) of UK companies featuring overseas buyers increased by a whopping 71% in the first quarter of 2014, compared with the same quarter in 2013, according to Trefor Griffith, partner at financial advisory firm Grant Thornton.

Clothier: 'We are going to look at where we can go with green transport'

Wyke Farms invests £800k in packaging systems

By Rod Addy

Wyke Farms has invested £800,000 in shelf-ready packaging technology as part of its ‘100% Green’ initiative, and plans further eco-friendly projects, according to ceo Richard Clothier.

Richard Naish: it pays to tidy up your corporate act by eliminating defunct subsidiaries

Why it pays to clean up your corporate group

By Richard Naish

Food companies that have been incorporated for years are likely to have accumulated subsidiaries, some of which will be defunct. However, there are a number of benefits to cleaning up your corporate group.

Energy savings a plenty: the government's new ESOS project offers 'huge opportunities' to make savings, said the boss of JRP Solutions

free energy webinar

Energy scheme helps firms switch on to savings

By Mike Stones

The government’s new Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) – launched last week – offers food and drink manufacturers the chance to make significant savings, while demonstrating their green credentials, says the boss of the firm sponsoring the Food...

Fishy question: what should be the freeze date? At sea or after processing?

Agreeing frozen fish dates sparks hot debate

By Nicholas Robinson

Consumers could be put off eating fish, if new EU rules governing the labelling dates of frozen fish are not better defined, the British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF) has warned.

Is the adjudicator Christine Tacon doing enough to stop supermarkets abusing their power? Take part in our survey to find out

Supermarket abuse needs more action

By Rick Pendrous

Suppliers remain unconvinced that the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) Christine Tacon is doing enough to stop the big supermarkets abusing their power.

Supermarket suppliers reported falling victim to the price war between Britain's biggest retailers

Supermarket price war biggest problem for industry

By Rick Pendrous

Price wars between the major multiples are causing bigger problems for food and drink suppliers than anything they have experienced for many years, as the big four supermarkets battle it out with each other.

Warburtons has posted positive financial results despite difficult trading conditions

Warburtons’ offsets difficulties to secure growth

By Laurence Gibbons

Sales of wraps, sandwich thins and gluten-free products have helped Warburtons offset “difficult” trading conditions to increase turnover and operating profit in the 52 weeks to September 28 2013.

The HSE said the incident was entirely preventable

Logistics firm fined £12k for safety failings

By Laurence Gibbons

Yusen Logistics has been fined £11,000 and ordered to pay £1,067 in costs for safety failings after an agency worker fell from a loading ramp at its site on the Isle of Grain in Kent and suffered a broken thigh.

Nichols currently faces paying £8M in damages and up to £2M in additional costs as a result of the legal ruling

Nichols may appeal against £8M legal hit

By Rod Addy

Nichols may appeal against paying £8M in damages – way beyond precautionary funds it had reserved to cover itself – after being sued by a company in Pakistan.

Missed the obesity webinar? Simply register to hear four leading experts debate the roots and remedies of Britain's obesity crisis

obesity webinar

Give food science a chance: obesity webinar experts

By Michael Stones

Give food science a greater role in the debate about the roots and remedies of Britain’s obesity crisis, urged nutrition experts in their opening remarks at the Food Manufacture Group’s obesity webinar.

More than 2,000 people were expected to be made redundant originally

Asda announces 1,360 redundancies

By Nicholas Robinson

Asda’s 1,360 redundancies will help it adapt to the intense changes faced by UK retailers, ceo Andy Clarke claims, and follows a similar announcement made by Morrisons last month to cut 2,600 jobs.

Dairy Crest's announcement is good news to analysts

Dairy Crest seals infant formula deal

By Nicholas Robinson

Dairy Crest’s confirmed strategic partnership with the infant formula company Fonterra yesterday (July 3), as well as an announced £20M investment in its Davidstow site to manufacture lactose-based prebiotics, is “good news” to analysts.  

Contaminated irrigation water is a potential source

Norovirus risk from Chinese strawberries warning

By Nicholas Robinson

Strawberries from China will be subject to stiffer checks for norovirus and hepatitis A at EU borders, following an alert about contaminated produce from the EU's Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF).

Clothier: 'Ongoing journey'

Cheesemaker builds on eco-friendly difference

By Rod Addy

Wyke Farms is tackling anaerobic digestion after officially opening a £1.3M water recovery plant today (June 2), as md Richard Clothier seeks to make its “green message” a “unique point of difference”.

Don't miss your free place at tomorrow's one-hour, independent obesity webinar

Still time to register for free obesity webinar tomorrow

By Michael Stones

There’s still time to register for the Food Manufacture Group’s free, one-hour, independent webinar on the roots and remedies to Britain’s obesity crisis, taking place tomorrow at 1100 GMT tomorrow (Thursday July 3).

Tacon: Unless suppliers support me, I will go

Retailer watchdog will go without supplier support

By Rick Pendrous

Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) Christine Tacon has criticised food and drink suppliers for failing to complain about supermarket abuses of power, warning her office was threatened unless they were more forthcoming.

Health and safety must be a priority, even when cost is an issue

Health and safety comes before cost: 3M

By Nicholas Robinson

Supermarket price wars and cost-cutting should not interfere with food and drink businesses’ health and safety practices, products and services company 3M has warned.

Crisps, biscuits and crackers, among other foods, are all dietary sources of acrylamide

Acrylamide is a bigger cancer risk, says EFSA

By Nicholas Robinson

Acrylamide poses a bigger cancer risk to consumers – particularly children – than previously thought, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has warned.

Britain's top privately-owned food and drink businesses with the largest sales

Britain’s top private food and drink companies

By Nicholas Robinson

Brakes is Britain’s top private food and drink business, with annual sales of more than £3bn and profits of £140M, according to The Top Track 100 compiled by The Sunday Times.  

One of Greggs’s new-look stores

Greggs ‘on front foot’ as strategy pays off

By Rod Addy

Greggs’s strategy is paying off, according to Sahill Shan, analyst at N+1 Singer, as the food-to-go chain disclosed strong half-year (H1) figures, ahead of interim results next month.

Baker installs new printer for gluten-free site

Inkjet printer adds date codes on flow wrap

Traditional Scottish craft baker JG Ross has installed a small character continuous inkjet coder for the application of date codes and batch information to pre-printed flow wrap for its new gluten-free manufacturing facility at Portsoy in Aberdeenshire

Food firms can prepare for FIR with new kit

Quick changes for FIR compliance

Coding specialist Interactive Coding Equipment (ICE) is offering kit which it claims will help food companies prepare for the new EU Food information for Consumers regulation (FIR), which comes into force on December 13.

Tim Moulsdale: It's all about getting product out of the scale quickly

Control speed and quality in bagging

By Paul Gander

Vertical form-fill-seal (VFFS) for light product, whether crisps or salad, is one of those areas where line speed, handling and quality control have to be balanced against each other. In particular, how do you integrate metal detection without reducing...

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