All news articles for November 2014

The sweets, branded Pran Pudding, contained a banned gelling agent

Southall firm pays the price for hazardous sweets

By Rod Addy

LB Enterprises faced legal costs of £604 after Ealing District Council’s food safety team seized 16.2kg of hazardous sweets at the premises of its supermarket Quality Foods.

2 Sisters saw net losses of £143.3M, but growth in like-for-like operating profit, pre-tax profit and sales

2 Sisters Food Group hit by costs of £163.5M

By Rod Addy

Costs and charges of £163.5M increased 2 Sisters Food Group’s debts across the past full financial year, according to results just posted by parent company Boparan Holdings.

Haribo faces the horror of possible strike action

Haribo faces GMB strike ballot

By Rod Addy

Haribo faces a GMB strike ballot, less than a week after the trade union announced that a similar vote at United Biscuits’ Jacob’s factory at Aintree had supported industrial action there.

Smooth operator: Robots offer the UK food industry clear benefits but update remains disappointingly low

Better hygiene compliance for food packing-line robots

By Paul Gander

Robotics suppliers have made a strong case for food industry acceptance with a new generation of hygiene and washdown-compliant pick-and-place systems, but the jury is still out as to whether this will translate into new sales.

Manual trucks can be converted for automatic warehouse operation

Warehouse automation in stages

By Rick Pendrous

The historic reluctance of third-party logistics providers (3PLs) to invest in warehouse automation is changing as technological advances enable a flexible, staged introduction which allows costs to be controlled, claimed the boss of one forklift truck...

DuPont claims better crispiness and shelf-life with its Danisco range

In search of the right bite

By Nicholas Robinson

Nutrition and health specialist DuPont says its Dansico ingredients range provides bakers with the solution to longer-lasting crispiness in bake-off bread.

Quinoa is grown in the Andes and is increasingly popular among UK consumers

Rising demand for ancient grains

By Nicholas Robinson

For many years now, the ‘ancient grain’ has been expected to take Europe by storm. Nicholas Robinson discovers what’s been happening

Waitrose is part of the John Lewis Partnership

Waitrose trials dietary advice in stores

By Rod Addy

Waitrose is offering shoppers access to in-store dietary advice on a trial basis in a bid to help consumers with a range of concerns, including food allergies.

The strain of bird affecting the Yorkshire duck farm has yet to be identified. But it officials said it posed 'a very low risk' to human health

Bird flu breaks out on Yorkshire duck farm

By Michael Stones

Britain’s first case of bird flu for six years has been confirmed on a duck farm in Yorkshire, after a contagious strain of bird flu was detected on a poultry farm in the Netherlands.

200kg of food was seized

Illegal meat, cheese and other food seized

By Rod Addy

Authorities have seized 200kg of food, including meat, cheese, fish, honey and apples, identified as illegally imported into this country from Eastern Europe.

A tobacco-style regulation could improve children's health

Tobacco-style regulation needed on ‘unhealthy’ foods

By Laurence Gibbons

A tobacco-style regulation should be introduced to reduce children’s exposure to “unhealthy” food products and help to protect and promote healthy diets, according to health campaigners and consumer advocates.

Don't miss your licence to thrill at the food and drink manufacturing Oscars

Food manufacturing Oscars awarded this Thursday

By Michael Stones

Final preparations are underway for our James Bond-themed Food and Drink Manufacturing Excellence Awards (FMEAs), which will take place this Thursday with TV star Mark Durden-Smith at the Park Lane Hilton Hotel in London.

Food firms should share the amount of food they are wasting and work more collaboratively with food redistribution charities to tackle food waste

Five-step plan to beat food waste

By Laurence Gibbons

Food waste charity Hubbub has launched a five-step manifesto to help food manufacturers tackle food waste.

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service attended the blaze

G&J Jack fish factory saved by fire service

By Rod Addy

G&J Jack fish factory has escaped disaster thanks to the prompt actions and expertise of the local Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, which battled a blaze at the Fraserburgh plant.

Use in-pack absorbers carefully to ensure baked goods don't dry out

Oxygen absorbers to extend shelf-life

By Paul Gander

In-pack oxygen absorber labels are able to provide valuable additional days of shelf-life for baked goods, in particular, where manufacturers are keen to eliminate preservatives from their recipes, says a UK supplier of flow-wrap systems.

It is unclear whether FODMAPs will be as popular as gluten-free

New way to tackle IBS

By Lynda Searby

As a growing number of intolerance sufferers beat the bloat with FODMAPs, is there an untapped opportunity for food manufacturers? Lynda Searby investigates

KK Fine Foods makes a range of frozen ready meals for foodservice and retail customers

Deeside’s KK Fine Foods to create 90 jobs

By Rod Addy

KK Fine Foods is creating 90 jobs on Deeside Enterprise Zone in a £4.2M investment – its largest to date – supported by the Welsh government and Finance Wales.

Bakkavor makes a range of chilled breads, from garlic breads to ciabattas

Bakkavor invests in chilled breads facility

By Rod Addy

Bakkavor revealed plans for a multi-million pound investment in its chilled bread plant at Crewe as it reported results up to the end of its third financial quarter (Q3).

Uren provides ingredients including fruit and vegetables to food manufacturers in more than 30 countries

Management takes over natural ingredients firm

By Rod Addy

Uren Food Group has undergone a management buyout (MBO), ending more than a century of family ownership for the natural ingredients firm, which is based at Neston, Wirral.

Consumers are expected to spend £5.3bn on food and drink for Christmas

Christmas food and drink spend to reach £5.3bn

By Laurence Gibbons

Savvy consumers will visit various retailers this Christmas for food and drink shopping, with total grocery spending expected to rise 1.5% from last year to £5.3bn, Webloyalty has claimed.

Tate & Lyle's 'clean-label' starch is the latest in a raft of launches

Making use of simpler ingredients

By Rick Pendrous

Tate & Lyle’s (T&L’s) launch of its Claria functional ‘clean-label’ starch is the latest in a raft of supplier introductions that appeal to consumer demand for foods that make use of store cupboard ingredients.

Scientists are recreating 170-year old beer from a shipwreck

Shipwrecked beer recreated by scientists

By Nicholas Robinson

A 170-year old beer found in a shipwreck is to be recreated by the Finnish-based brewery Stallhagen and the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland.

Dundee Cake is set to join the 62 food and drink products which have already been granted protected name status

EU Protected food names: interactive map

By Laurence Gibbons

Dundee Cake looks set to become the next food product to receive Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status after Scotland’s food secretary Richard Lochhead launched a national consultation to consider the application.

The latest developments in ingredients will be showcased

Health and ingredients show to reveal latest trends

By Nicholas Robinson

Next month's Health Ingredients Europe (HiE) and Natural Ingredients (Ni) shows are an ideal opportunity to catch up on the latest trends and new products on the market, says Nicholas Robinson

Gluten-free bread could be about to become softer

More need for gluten-free starches

By Nicholas Robinson

In response to an increase in consumer demand for gluten-free (GF) baked goods, ingredients firm Ingredion has launched a range of GF texturising starches.

Sainsbury said more than 50% of added retail space in the next four years will be in convenience formats

Analysts respond to Sainsbury results

By Rod Addy

Analysts have cautiously welcomed Sainsbury’s trading figures for the first half of its financial year, but claim the supermarket chain has a “mountainous challenge” ahead of it.

Morrisons employee Andrew Skelton will stand trial in December

Morrisons employee charged with fraud

By Laurence Gibbons

Morrisons employee Andrew Skelton has been charged with fraud following an investigation into data theft at the retailer earlier this year.

Castellano's Charcuterie makes premium charcuterie products

Tulip snaps up Castellano’s Charcuterie

By Rod Addy

Tulip has bought Castellano’s Charcuterie, the award winning, Bristol-based, charcuterie business from owner, Vincent Castellano in a move that will boost its reach into retail, deli and foodservice sectors.

Water scarcity and extreme weather conditions are the biggest environmental threats facing the food and drink industry

Three ways to defend your business against climate change

By Laurence Gibbons

Food and drink manufacturers should be more transparent, resilient and collaborative to protect themselves from an impending water shortage and future extreme weather conditions, according to a leading environmentalist.

Girls were often put off studying science and maths by its boring image and lack of role models, said Edwina Dunn

Study science and maths for ‘fast track’ career

By Michael Stones

Young people who study science and maths at A’ Level can expect a fast-track career in business, said the chair of a new campaign to promote the subjects among school children.

Fosh: 'strong employer collaboration'

Government ups support for food industry skills strategy

By Rod Addy

The government has increased support for a skills strategy proposed by the National Skills Academy for Food & Drink (NSAFD) that will initially see food science become a priority area for apprenticeships.

Studying STEM subjects will help youngsters get on in life, said education secretary Nicky Morgan

Nestlé backs maths/science plan to lure engineers

By Michael Stones

Nestlé is backing a new three-year plan, called Your Life, designed to encourage school children to study science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM subjects) in preparation for a career in manufacturing.

Morgan hopes the competition will unearth a life-changing invention

Search is on for top 100 creative young minds

By Laurence Gibbons

A competition to reward creative young minds has been designed to “significantly increase” the number of students studying maths and physics at A Level over the next three years.

UB makes Jacob's Cream Crackers, as well as other products, at the Aintree site

Jacob’s Cream Crackers plant faces strike threat

By Rod Addy

Strikes loom at United Biscuit’s Jacob’s Cream Crackers plant at Aintree after bosses there suspended company sick pay and sparked fears production would be shifted elsewhere, trade union GMB has warned.

Jeremy Cooper, chief executive, Freedom Foods

Freedom Food’s five-year plan

By Nicholas Robinson

Without his five-year plan, Freedom Food’s future wouldn’t be so bright, its new chief executive Jeremy Cooper tells Nicholas Robinson

Cherry Valley Foods chalks up sales of £45M from its duck processing operations

Faccenda buys duck processor Cherry Valley Foods

By Rod Addy

Faccenda Foods has agreed to buy Cherry Valley Farms’ duck processing business Cherry Valley Foods by the end of December 2014 in a move that broadens its portfolio of poultry processing operations.

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