cereal
Bright future for Weetabix
China’s Bright Food has this week completed the acquisition of its controlling stake in Weetabix. The deal, which was first announced back in May, gives Bright a 60 per cent stake in Weetabix, which also owns the Alpen and Ready Brek brands. The remaining 40 per cent of Weetabix belongs to private equity group Lion […]
Grange ups pouch pack productivity
Contract packer Grange Packaging and Distribution is producing pouch packs for Kellogg’s and Fox’s Biscuits, thanks to its new Vegatronic 4000 continuous film motion, VFFS (vertical, form, fill and seal) packaging machine. The high-speed machine from Ilapak is producing snack packs for Fox’s Rocky packs and Kellogg’s cereals. Grange first installed an Ilapak Vegatronic 4000 […]
RSSL to carry out FSA allergen survey
Reading Scientific Services Ltd (RSSL) has been chosen by the Food Standards Agency to carry out a survey of allergen advisory labelling in the UK. The survey aims to provide a better understanding of whether this type of labelling relates to the actual level of allergen present in foods sold on the UK market. It […]
Mixed results in acrylamide survey
The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) says results from a recent study reveal an increase in acrylamide levels in certain baby foods. The study, which looked at levels of process contaminants acrylamide and furan in a range of UK foods, showed an upward trend in acrylamide levels in processed cereal-based baby foods (excluding rusks), but […]
Food and drink exports soar by 11 per cent
Food and non-alcoholic drink exports rose to over £12 billion (€14bn) last year, according to new figures. The previous year’s results (2010) proved a landmark for the industry when figures broke through the £10 billion (€12bn) barrier, but the 2011 results show performance is up by 11.4 per cent on 2010. Export growth has been […]
Clint’s in charge of crumb control
A hitherto automation-defying process has finally been brought up to date with the development of a Mitsubishi Electric Solution. Clint Johnson, of Control Freaks, has developed a machine for producing biscuit crumbs, breakfast cereal and snack foods – replacing a labour intensive manual process with one that, he says, guarantees consistent results. “The basic process […]
Mycotoxin survey results published
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has published the results of a survey looking at levels of mycotoxins in food. The majority of the samples tested contained levels of mycotoxins below the legal limits, and only one sample had mycotoxin above the legal EU limit. Overall, the results of the survey are reassuring and do not […]
EFSA publishes latest article 13 opinions
EFSA has just published the fifth series of article 13 opinions, adding an additional 536 claims to the 2,187 claims published to date. A remaining group of 35 claims will be published in July. The European Commission and Member States will then consider EFSA’s scientific advice in deciding on the possible authorisation of such claims […]
Kellogg in R&D deal with EnWave
Kellogg has announced that it has signed an R&D agreement with EnWave ‘to measure the nutritional and commercial benefits’ of its nutraREV food dehydration technology within a product area including cereal and cereal bars. “The Agreement provides an exclusive period of up to 12 months for Kellogg to test nutraREV with an option to license […]
Chia seed: views sought
The Chia Company, based in Australia, has applied to the Food Standards Agency for approval to market chia seed in baked goods, breakfast cereals, and fruit, nut and seed mixes. The company currently has authorisation, under the novel food regulations, to market chia seed in bread products at a maximum level of 5%. Chia (also […]
Retailers lead recycling breakthrough
Shoppers will soon be able to recycle thin plastic packaging such as bread bags and cereal liners thanks to an agreement between the country’s biggest supermarkets and the On Pack Recycling Label (OPRL) scheme. Stores which collect plastic bags for recycling will now accept clean plastic film packaging in the same facilities, the British Retail […]
Cancer concern over recycled cereal boxes
Leading food manufacturers are changing their packaging because of health concerns about boxes made from recycled cardboard. Researchers found toxic chemicals from recycled newspapers had contaminated food sold in many cardboard cartons. The chemicals, known as mineral oils, come from printing inks. Cereal firm Jordans has stopped using recycled cardboard and other firms are to […]
GRAS status for AstaPure
Algatechnologies’ natural astaxanthin product AstaPure has obtained GRAS (Generally Recognised As Safe) status from the FDA for use in food and beverages applications. “Our AstaPure brand has been successfully applied for several years as an active ingredient in dietary supplements, foods and beverages in Japan,” says Efrat Kat, director of marketing and sales at Algatechnologies. […]
Natural binding system from WILD
Flavour firm WILD says its new ‘all-natural binding system’ based on juice concentrates creates crunchy cereal bars and contains no additives – making it the first that allows for clean labelling of such products. “Until now, manufacturers have had to use several additives when making cereal bars, and these commonly appeared on the label as […]