Vion reviews its organic chicken business
The UK’s second largest poultry supplier is conducting a review of its organic chicken business which could result in it exiting the sector.
Archives for October 2, 2011
Waste matters
Would you buy a bottle of whisky called anaerobic digestion? Probably not. But it was out there, for a time, compliments of the Bruichladdich distillery in the Hebredean Isle of Islay, Scotland. You can still pick up a bottle online for just under £100.
Product recalls increase in freefrom sector
Recalls of free-from products are rising rapidly as the market grows to meet demand.
Online grocery sales 'will double in five years'
Despite Ocado's well-documented recent struggles, the market for online grocery sales in the UK continues to remain vibrant, according to the IGD think tank.
Check in to the myth-busting Food Hospital
Personalised nutrition is set to receive a boost with the broadcast of a new primetime Channel 4 TV series this autumn.
Wave goodbye to E numbers
Hydrosol has been researching clean-label alternative stabilisers.
Making a mountain out of a muddle
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' (DEFRA's) press release on its Guidance on Date Marks spawned a welter of media stories that confused an already confused picture. But we can blame the press release. It did not clarify that...
Sainsbury: making systems work better
UK retailer Sainsbury has revealed that it will shortly be inviting further suppliers to join it in its ongoing adoption of global data synchronisation (GDS).
Man with muscle
Most people would not start a new business in a recession. But Stuart Ferretti, owner and director of The London Fine Meat Company (LFMC) is not most people. In the 12 months since he launched the firm, he has rapidly increased turnover by focusing on...
Weigh to handle sticky product
Ishida Europe says its enhanced Weigh-batcher can easily double fresh meat and poultry weighing speeds while maintaining good in-tray presentation for retail.
E.coli outbreak linked to poor hygiene
News has emerged that an eight-month outbreak of E.coli across the UK made 250 people ill and resulted in one person dying.
Samworth says 2012 targets 'may be a step too far'
Chilled convenience manufacturer Samworth Brothers is working to cut the levels of salt and saturated fat in its food products, despite not making a pledge to do so under the government's Public Health Responsibility Deal (PHRD).
MSG sales growth flags amid negative publicity
Sales growth in monosodium glutamate (MSG) is slowing globally due to negative publicity, despite trade in the ingredient booming in the Far East, according to Leatherhead Food Research.
UK sustainable stearin supply to ease in 2012
The UK shortfall in sustainable palm oil fractions is set to ease considerably within a year, according to baked goods manufacturer Ginsters.
Late payment directive could cut business failures
A new EU directive to be implemented in the UK next year could free up more than an estimated £24bn held in outstanding late invoice payments, according to the Forum of Private Business (FPB)
Industry fears for Tesco's price drop
In what signalled the start of a new price war among the major multiples, Tesco announced late last month that it was planning to make £500M of price cuts across its stores. This has sent shivers down the spines of many manufacturers.
Plastics sector is still 'fragmented'
The rigid plastics packaging sector remains relatively fragmented, with significant potential for further consolidation, RPC group chief executive Ron Marsh has told Food Manufacture.
Cover new ground
What is food packaging for? A simple question. Its job is to contain the food and keep it clean, safe and secure until it is used. It should be easy to handle from production through to distribution and sale. It should enable consumers to identify the...
Food industry ‘will see dip in agency workers’
The number of agency workers hired by the food industry is expected to dip with the arrival of new labour regulations that come into force this week.
£1.1M loss casts shadow over Minsterley site
Last month's news that Uniq's Minsterley desserts plant in Shropshire lost a further £1.1M over the past six months has raised further questions about the troubled facility's future viability.
Bread that rises naturally to the occasion
CSM UK has formulated Arkady RKD Clean - a bread improver for breads and rolls with additive-free descriptions. The product is designed to condition and improve the dough rheology to achieve a more process-tolerant dough. It does not contain stabilisers...
Raise the bar
Now in his 90s and bright as a button, Giancarlo Vanini, ICAM's former head of sales, still drives to its office and helps out, having worked for the company since it began in 1946. Anyone who meets him can tell there's nowhere else he would rather be....
Show of support for FareShare's new depot
Tillery Valley, the national meal provider to the healthcare, education and local authority sectors, was one of the first companies in Wales to support the recent opening of the national food poverty and food re-distribution charity FareShare's Cardiff...
Control at critical control points
Mettler-Toledo Safeline has launched a new due diligence enhancement for its metal detection systems to strengthen control and security at critical control points (CCP) on food processing and packing lines.
One simple hygiene rating for all to display
All food businesses - including both foodservice outlets and manufacturers - will eventually be expected to have a food hygiene rating, which will be made available to the general public for scrutiny.
Fit for fishing
Grimsby has been associated with fish since Viking days. The first training probably occurred then. Today, it's provided by the Humber Seafood Institute (HSI) part of the Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education.
Metal innovation fuels growth in soft drinks
Led by higher-margin niches such as health and wellness and energy products, the soft drinks industry is maintaining a brisk pace in metal packaging innovation.
Call to reduce energy density of food
Energy density reduction must play a bigger part in food businesses' nutrition strategy and become a key consideration in the nutrition guidelines they develop, according to the food and drink grocery think tank IGD.
UK software systems lag behind the US
Britain's food and drink processors are failing to embrace the improved operational efficiencies provided by 'middleware' such as manufacturing executions systems (MES), says a leading vendor in the field.
Pump up meat moisture
Clean-label ingredient developer and supplier Ulrick & Short has developed a range of cost-saving, functional phosphate replacers. The products are designed to improve the overall texture and moistness of meat and poultry.
Chutneys 'go natural' in time for Christmas market
The English Provender Company (EPC) is rolling out a new product range and packaging, based on the theme of natural ingredients.
Life on the bread line
I will have been working here four years this autumn. I started as general manager of The Pastry Case, our pastry business, and moved to this role 18 months ago. Prior to that, I worked for Northern Foods for about 13 years, which is where I started: on...
Criticism builds for Sustain campaign
Sustain's Real Bread Mark has been criticised by the plant baking industry for potentially demonising necessary additives and failing to recognise work already achieved to deliver clean-label bread.
Danish fat tax divides UK opinion
News that Denmark is to become the first country in the world to introduce a tax on foods with saturated fat, in a bid to foster healthy eating, has sharply divided British opinion.
Yearsley invests £2.2M in solar cold stores
Yearsley Group, one of the UK's largest cold storage and distribution providers, has installed solar panels at two of its cold stores in England in a project that has cost the firm £2.2M.
Child-friendly probiotics aim for immune health
Anlit Advanced Nutrition, Israel has collaborated with Frutarom to develop a child-friendly probiotics supplement for immune health.
CenFRA launches automation and robotics e-learning course
Bringing yourself up to speed with the latest thinking in automation and robotics food and drink manufacture will be a bit easier and cheaper, following the launch of a new novel e-learning package.
High protein loaf to hit shelves within months
Ulrick & Short is working with a plant baker on loaves containing a super-performance wheat protein that could hit retailers early in 2012.
Enter the matrix
National Starch's former European marketing manager Laura Goodbrand described the challenge of producing clean-label food as a "matrix". "You can't simply pull one ingredient and put another one in," she says. "Each one is part of a matrix. It's like a...
New action to raise Olympic standards
Any food business that fails to rectify hygiene deficiencies in its operations will, from next April, risk being served with a Remedial Action Notice (RAN), potentially forcing it to stop working until improvements are made.
Firms begin their excellent adventure as shortlist announced
The shortlist has been announced for the 2011 Food Manufacturing Excellence Awards, following assessment by an independent panel last month.
Eastern promise of frozen chips
Chilling and freezing specialist GEA Eurotek has reported "a bumper serving of order wins", which it attributes to China and India's increasing appetite for French fries.
New microbials on the specialist food block
Biocatalysts has had a "tremendous response" to its newly launched microbial PGE products: Flavorpro C, Flavorpro K and Flavorpro L.
Cold pasteurised juice goes on sale in the UK
The UK’s second high-pressure processed (HPP) juice has been introduced with an exclusive retail launch through Waitrose recently.
Welcome to the big chill
Samworth Brothers' chief executive Brian Stein will have the satisfaction of looking back on 16 years of successful leadership of the chilled foods manufacturer when he passes on the reins next year. Stein has helped create a hugely successful business,...