All news articles for January 2018

Tate & Lyle has appointed Nick Hampton as its new chief executive

Tate & Lyle appoints new chief executive

By Gwen Ridler

Food ingredients manufacturer Tate & Lyle has appointed former PepsiCo executive Nick Hampton as chief executive, with affect from April 1.

Charles Reed, group md of William Reed, on a previous Farm Africa expedition

Food industry leaders prepare for African charity trek

By Mike Stones

A team of senior food industry leaders – including Charles Reed, group md of William Reed, publisher of the Food Manufacture Group – is preparing for a charity trek to scale Mount Elgon, an extinct volcano straddling the Uganda-Kenya border, in a bid...

FDF members have cut their carbon dioxide emissions by 51%, according to the organisations Ambition 2025 report

FDF members beat sustainability targets

By Gwen Ridler

Food and Drink Federation (FDF) members have significantly improved on their sustainability targets – including those for cutting carbon dioxide and water use – set out in its Ambition 2025 plan, according to the organisation, as it launched a new online...

Premier has dispelled rumours that it is to sell its Batchelors brand to Nissin

Premier Foods dispels rumours of Batchelors sale

By Gwen Ridler

Mr Kipling manufacturer Premier Foods has quashed rumours that it plans to sell its Batchelors brand to key shareholder Nissin Foods Holdings, after media reports claimed a deal between the two companies was about to be agreed.

Tea’s up at Wessanen in Beaminster. Left to right: Tony Buckton and Daniel Parr from Wessanen UK with Piet Honig, Piramide brand manager for Wessanen

Wessanen brews up extra tea capacity in Dorset

By Michelle Perrett

Wessanen, the food company that owns Clipper Teas, has invested £1.25M in new equipment for its tea factory in Beaminster, Dorset, allowing it to manufacture all of its tea brands from a single site.

Healthy snacks brand Graze adopts a ‘Test & Learn’ approach when it introduces new retail packaging formats

Graze reveals strategy for launching new products

By Paul Gander

As better-for-you-snacks brand Graze prepares to rollout new sharing bag formats, extending its reach from the checkout to central aisles of the supermarket, the company has revealed the ‘Test & Learn’ strategy it follows when introducing new packaging...

The FSA believes third-party hygiene audits need to be more robust

Food Standards Agency reforms are not a ‘secret mission’

By Rick Pendrous

The Food Standards Agency’s (FSA’s) reforms under its Regulating Our Future (ROF) programme are about making the Agency “fit for purpose” and not a “back door” way of shifting the full cost burden of inspecting food businesses onto the industry while...

Prime Minister Theresa May has pledged to cut all avoidable plastic waste within 25 years

Food leaders hail Prime Minister’s environmental plan

By Mike Stones

Food and farming leaders have welcomed Prime Minister Theresa May’s new 25-year environmental plan, which sets out proposals for sustainable economic growth, including measures to curb the use of plastics.

The Ncn’ean distillery plans to use locally-sourced wood in its new boiler

Distillery installs wood chip boiler

By Rick Pendrous

The newly opened Ncn’ean distillery on the Morvern peninsula in Scotland has committed itself to environmentally friendly production by choosing locally-sourced wood as the primary power source for its new 850kW woodchip boiler system.

There has been a ‘redefinition’ of portion sizes, says Mars director Rob Verhagen

FiE 2017

Halt portion-size ‘super-inflation’ to curb obesity

By Noli Dinkovski

Food and drink manufacturers need to halt the “super-inflation” of portion sizes if the global obesity epidemic is to be addressed, a senior innovation director at confectionery giant Mars has claimed.

The new biogas plant will produce 200kW of power and 230kW of heat

Balmenach distillery installs £3M anaerobic digestion plant

By Rick Pendrous

Balmenach, one of Speyside’s oldest whisky distilleries and the home of Caorunn Scottish Gin, is set to become one of Scotland’s greenest distilleries with the announcement last month that work had started on a £3M biogas project to significantly reduce...

Brexit has focused the need for more NFCU powers, says food crime boss Andy Morling

Food Crime Unit needs up to £5M more to investigate fraud

By Rick Pendrous

The National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) would only take on investigatory powers on top of its intelligence gathering activities if it received ministerial support and between £4M and £5M a year of extra government funding, it emerged at the Food Standards...

Food and drink recalls in the UK more than doubled in 2015/16

Food and drink recalls more than double in 2015/16

By Michelle Perrett

The number of food and drink product recalls in the UK grew by 62% in 2015/16 driven by the impact of new EU labelling legislation, the Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) report has revealed.

The next 12 months of trade talks with the EU will be critical

Brexit

Post-Brexit trade talks set to start soon

By Rick Pendrous

The next 12 months will prove pivotal in determining whether the UK can negotiate a favourable free-trade deal with the EU that meets the needs of food and drink manufacturers.

Burts's md David Nairn has ambitious growth plans

Burts buys popcorn maker Savoury & Sweet

By Rick Pendrous

Burts Potato Chips has purchased Leicester-based popcorn and healthy snacks firm Savoury & Sweet for an undisclosed sum in its first acquisition since the company was founded in 1997.

Salmonella cases have risen by 3% across the EU since 2014

Salmonella cases across the EU are increasing

By Michelle Perrett

Salmonella cases have increased by 3% across the EU since 2014, according to a new report compiled by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

Wyke Farms md Richard Clothier said the  Oscars showcased world class manufacturing and innovation

FMEAS

The Food Manufacture Excellence Awards reflect world class manufacturing

By Mike Stones

The Food Manufacture Excellence Awards (FMEAs) reflect the nation’s world class manufacturing standards and its ability to thrive in global export markets after Brexit, says Wyke Farms md Richard Clothier in this exclusive video, filmed after last year’s...

Environment secretary Michael Gove would support the imposition of tariffs on imports of food and drink post Brexit

Food tariffs if Brexit ends up on WTO terms

By Michelle Perrett

The government would support the imposition of tariffs on imports of food and drink post Brexit to protect UK producers, despite it increasing prices for consumers, environment secretary Michael Gove revealed to MPs last month.

Michael Gove has enlisted the help of food manufacturers to plan a new ‘gold-standard’ for British food and farming

Oxford Farming Conference

Food firms help DEFRA plan new ‘gold-standard’ produce scheme

By Mike Stones

Food manufacturers and farmers are helping government devise a new “gold-standard” scheme that measures food quality, in a bid to boost exports after Brexit, environment secretary Michael Gove revealed at the Oxford Farming Conference yesterday (January...

Food firms should open up about their needs: logistics boss

NFT

Food firms should be open about their needs: logistics boss

By Noli Dinkovski

Food manufacturers should be open about their needs to third-party logistics firms if they want to receive the best market insight and value, the newly-appointed boss of NFT Distribution Operations has claimed.

Brexit trade talks: a bumpy road or war?

Opinion

Brexit trade talks: a bumpy road or war?

By Rick Pendrous

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose, as our French neighbours might say. It’s a quote that could have been made to reflect my comments here: given all the arguments and posturing that have occurred over the past year, what has really changed?

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