Dairy giant Arla’s decision to cut the price of milk paid to producers has prompted an angry reaction from the National Farmers Union (NFU) and a plea to buy British dairy products over the Christmas period.
The term ‘probiotic’ could make a re-appearance on pots of yogurt on sale in UK supermarkets, if Italy is successful in getting approval for its use as a ‘generic descriptor’.
It’s been another busy year for the Food Manufacture Group. We travelled the country to bring you the latest news and views online and in print and event formats about the hottest topics facing UK food and drink manufacturers in 2014.
Soup manufacturer Yorkshire Provender will create 30 new jobs next summer after investing £2.4M to double the size of its Melmerby-based factory to meet growing consumer demand for fresh soup.
The syrups and spreads market is expected to grow by 22.5% in the UK, fuelled by the popularity of jam and honey, according to research agency Canadean.
Sainsbury has joined forces with the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) in a bid to prevent labour exploitation, in the same week that two men were convicted of exploiting migrant food industry workers in Cambridgeshire.
Brits will consume twice as many calories as their wartime relatives did on Christmas day, according to research by food historian Dr Annie Gray and AB Sugar.
Speciality chemicals supplier Perstorp is among those investing in the bioplastics sector, where interest is growing in additives which are able to improve the performance of polymers such as polylactide (PLA) for packaging.
Boparan boss Ranjit Singh – ceo of the 2 Sisters Food group – has blamed the firm’s nearly £7M fall in like-for-like (LFL) operating profit on tough trading conditions.
The Real Good Food Company (RGFC) has blamed its row with British Sugar for its half-year loss and has referred the dispute to the European competition authorities.
Reduced sperm counts, dementia risks and the top food and drink trends for 2015 are just three of the 10 most read stories from Food Ingredients, Health & Nutrition (FIHN) this year.
Manufacturers face tougher legal restrictions on the levels of the carcinogen acrylamide permitted in food, after the failure of many parts of the industry to cut them by voluntary measures.
Insect proteins and fruit-sweetened confectionery are two emerging trends food manufacturers should monitor, according to a list of top 10 food trends for 2015, revealed at the Health Ingredients Europe (HiE) event.
Food and drink businesses that loosely use the term ‘natural’ on their products to make them appear healthy could soon be rumbled by untrusting consumers, experts have warned.
Vitamin E has a key role to play in reducing the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, fatty liver diseases and other health risks, experts at a recent symposium on vitamin E have said.
Action on Sugar (AoS) has slammed the manufacturers of “seemingly healthy” children’s fruit juices, juice drinks and smoothies, which can often contain more sugar than regular Coca-Cola.
Food businesses can more easily target elderly consumers who are prone to falling, following the authorisation of a vitamin D health claim by the European Commission (EC).
2 Sisters Food Group faces criticism from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) after BBC’s Newsnight programme revealed a letter to suppliers claiming they could wait over four months for payments.
Cuckoo aims to quadruple sales of its Bircher muesli brand to £500,000 by the end of 2015 by targeting expansion in foodservice outlets as well as boosting retail growth.
TV programme makers should feature food and drink manufacturing – Britain’s largest manufacturing sector – in their broadcasts, according to a senior government minister.
Small businesses should receive more government funding to help boost their online presence and prevent them missing out on £165bn of online sales, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).
The grocery market returned to growth in the 12 weeks to the end of December 7, with continued success for Waitrose and discounters Aldi and Lidl, according to Kantar Worldpanel data.
Renewed calls to attack health problems by taxing sugary drinks have been slammed by a leading nutritionist, who claims cutting portion sizes and sugar content and tackling irresponsible retail promotions would be better.
Glanbia Ingredients Ireland (GII) has opened its €7.8M (£6.2M) milk protein facility at its existing site at Virginia, County Cavan, which supplies the cream for Baileys liqueur among other products.
Food manufacturers and other firms should beware five unfair practices that larger businesses use to bully their suppliers, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).
Britvic aims to boost production and bottling for a range of brands, from Pepsi to Mountain Dew Energy, in a £25M investment at its factory near Pudsey, Leeds, in Yorkshire.
High-street baker Greggs predicted full-year profits will be ahead of analysts’ expectations, after posting own shop like-for-like (LFL) sales up by 5.2% for the 24 weeks to December 13.
A draft standard on packaging openability is allowing brand-owners and retailers, including Marks & Spencer (M&S), to compare and improve pack designs for less dextrous people.
Researchers from the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence at the University of York are working with local food manufacturers in Yorkshire and Humberside to find ways of deriving useful materials from food waste.
Food manufacturers have been issued with a five-point check list guide to the EU’s new food labelling rules, due to be implemented tomorrow (December 13).
A whopping 91% of UK local authorities now collect beverage cartons for recycling, the Alliance of Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE) has revealed.
Government action to improve cash support for small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is only a small step in the right direction, according to the Federation of Small Businesses.
Fears remain over the long-term viability of Ocado’s contract with Waitrose as the upmarket supermarket looks set to develop as a direct competitor to the online retailer, a leading analyst claims.
