Ingredients
Strong performance from Carbery Group
Carbery’s ingredients division, which includes its dairy ingredients business and Synergy, its flavour operations, reports strong earnings in 2009. The dairy ingredients business performed robustly in sectors such as infant nutrition and performance nutrition across key geographical markets, says the firm, while Synergy performed strongly in established markets in the EU and US – but […]
ABF performance ‘exceeds expectations’
Associated British Foods says that “strong performances” across the business have helped boost half-year profits. The UK firm behind Kingsmill bread and Jordans cereals says performance across the group, which also includes Silver Spoon sugar and Twinings tea, exceeded expectations as it revealed a 20% rise in underlying pre-tax profits to £331 million (€377m). Meanwhile, […]
EFSA approval for stevia-based sweeteners
Stevia suppliers have welcomed the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) positive opinion on the safety of steviol glycosides – the sweet components of the stevia leaf – as food additives after the European Stevia Association (Eustas), Cargill and Japanese firm Morita all filed petitions seeking regulatory approval. EFSA said that stevia-based sweeteners were ‘not genotoxic, […]
BM Trada gains RSPO approval for palm oil certification
BM Trada Certification has become the first independent body to gain approval to carry out third-party certification under the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) Supply Chain Certification Systems. With a worldwide network of joint venture partners and representatives, BM Trada has more than 10 years’ experience of supply chain certification, working with the Forest […]
Call for UK trans fat ban
Banning artificial trans fats in the UK could prevent 11,000 heart attacks and 7,000 deaths a year, according to two senior doctors. Writing in the British Medical Journal, the authors, from the Harvard School of Public Health, said that bans introduced in Denmark and New York City have shown that legislation can work to significantly […]
Bigger fish to fry for Boparan
The Boparan Group has acquired one of the UK’s leading fish suppliers, Five Star Fish, in a deal that it says will secure jobs, while protecting the company’s future and ‘providing a stable backdrop for continued growth’. The purchase comes in the wake of Boparan’s recent acquisition of fish and chip brand Harry Ramsden’s and, […]
PureCircle’s half-year sales rise
Stevia sweetener maker PureCircle has reported rising half-year sales and earnings as the company’s client base continues to grow. The London-listed firm, which supplies ingredients to the likes of Nestle, Danone and PepsiCo, booked operating profit of £1.7million (£1.9m) for the six months to the end of December, up from £1.4m (£1.5m) a year earlier.
New saturated fat guidelines from FSA
Chocolate makers selling products in the UK will have to cut the saturated fat in their filled bars by 10% by the end of 2012, as a result of new recommendations from food watchdog the Food Standards Agency. The voluntary guidelines, unveiled after a public consultation with industry and health professionals last summer, also recommend […]
Country of origin labelling a step closer
Clear country of origin food labelling has moved a step closer after the European Parliament Environment and Consumer Protection Committee voted in favour of requiring country of origin to be labelled on meat, poultry, dairy products, fresh fruit and vegetables and other single-ingredient products. “This is a significant victory and I would like to thank […]
Martek extends Danone agreement
Martek Biosciences Corporation has extended its multi-year sole-source licence and supply agreement with Danone, a worldwide producer of infant nutrition products. Under the terms of the amended agreement, Martek will be Danone’s exclusive supplier of ARA for all of its infant formula and growing-up milk products until at least 31 December 2014, which is an […]
FSA’s ‘traffic light label’ rethink
The Food Standards Agency has unveiled plans for new front-of-pack (FOP) nutrition labelling which it says will ‘help consumers make healthier choices when they buy food’. In March 2006 the FSA recommended a set of principles for FOP labelling that would help consumers understand the levels of fat, saturated fat, salt and sugars in food […]
Another profit boost for ABF
Associated British Foods’ latest trading update has revealed yet another profits boost thanks to strong sales at its retail chain Primark. ABF says Primark sales rose 8% in the first half of the year, including a better than expected performance at Christmas and good growth from its Spanish stores. Meanwhile, ABF’s Twinings, Allied Bakeries and […]
Lidl warning over suspect cheese
German supermarket chain Lidl has issued a second warning to Germans not to eat Austrian cheese thought to be linked to deaths from food poisoning. “Lidl asks all customers to totally avoid eating the suspect products, says a warning on Lidl’s German website. German researchers believe contaminated Reinhardshof cheese was to blame for six deaths […]
Saturated fat message starts to sink in
The latest dietary survey by Food Standards Agency reveal that the UK is eating less saturated fat, trans fat and added sugar than it was 10 years ago. The National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) is the first comprehensive survey of people’s eating patterns since 2001. Saturated fat intakes in adults have dropped slightly to […]