Breaking News on Beverage Technology & Markets

FDA carbendazim measures reassessment refusal meets industry backlash

20-Feb-2012 - The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has refused to move on allowable levels of carbendazim in orange juice product imports – meeting disapproval from the US industry.

Thermo Fisher puts ‘global’ carbendazim orange juice issue to the test

20-Feb-2012 - Thermo Fisher Scientific says it has internally validated a faster and more accurate new method for detecting residue levels of carbendazim in oranges and orange juice than one technique now being used by the US FDA to test Brazilian imports.

New EU organic wine rules are ‘best political compromise’, trade body

14-Feb-2012 - The EU’s Standing Committee on Organic Farming (SCOF) has agreed new rules for organic wine that it claims will raise its profile within the bloc and worldiwde, in a move welcomed by a prominent group representing organic producers, despite the latter’s warning about ‘challenging’ new sulphite reduction targets.

US OJ carbendazim measures may violate international trade pacts – import law firm

13-Feb-2012 - US imposed carbendazim-related orange juice import measures could be in violation of international trade agreements, according to a US imports legal consultancy.

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Unfair ‘junk food’ label risks making dog’s dinner of industry

13-Feb-2012 - Anyone who has spent any appreciable amount of time working in the food industry realises that the issue of ‘junk food’ marketing to children is a hydra that rears two heads for every one cut off.

Carbendazim in OJ shipments of no “particular concern” to EU

09-Feb-2012 - The presence of carbendazim in imported orange juice and concentrate is of no “particular concern” to health officials in Europe, despite continued measures in the US.

Nestlé defends Nesquik website as CFC demands ASA action on ‘cynical’ child marketing

09-Feb-2012 - Nestlé has leapt to the defence of its Nesquik milk-based drinks brand, after the Children’s Food Campaign (CFC) lodged a ‘super complaint’ with the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), complaining that well-known beverage and food brands were targeting children with 'cynical junk food marketing' practices online.

Experts slam ‘naive’ calls to regulate ‘toxic’ sugar

07-Feb-2012 - Calls for increased taxation and tighter regulation of sugar, to bring it into line with alcohol and cigarettes, have been branded ineffective, flawed, and naive, by academic experts and industry in Europe.

Brazil trade body questions carbendazim double standards after US OJ breaches import limit

06-Feb-2012 - A Brazilian orange juice trade body has called for a stop to ‘double standard’ carbendazim measures after US officials declined to take action against US-manufactured orange juice containing the banned fungicide.

News in brief

Austrian prosecutors drop Hitler spirits probe

06-Feb-2012 - Austrian prosecutors have dropped a legal case that followed complaints about alcohol being sold online that carried portraits of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and swastikas on labels.

Daily dose of diet soda may increase heart attack risk: Study

02-Feb-2012 - People who drink diet soft drinks could be at an increased risk of suffering from heart attacks or stroke, according to new research findings.

Hawaiian task force to examine link between sugary drinks and health

01-Feb-2012 - Hawaiian governor Neil Abercrombie has said he won’t push for a soda tax this year – but he will establish a task force intended to reduce Hawaiians’ consumption of sugary beverages and try to find a solution to childhood obesity.

Brazilian orange juice detained after positive carbendazim results

30-Jan-2012 - US food safety officials have denied entry to 11 shipments of orange juice products, including five from Brazil, after carbendazim was found in import samples.

Nestlé wages war with Mead Johnson over nutritional drinks bottles design

30-Jan-2012 - Nestlé and Mead Johnson - two of the biggest guns in infant nutrition - have become embroiled in a row over the design of bottles used by both firms to package their nutritional drinks.

News in brief

You say ‘Viagra’, we say ‘Viaguara’: Polish firm impotent after EU court flick off

26-Jan-2012 - Polish firm Viaguara is suffering from something of an identity crisis after the EU General Court rejected the company’s appeal over trademark registration of the name.

FDA yet to find any trace of carbendazim in orange juice

23-Jan-2012 - The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is yet to find any trace of carbendazim in imports of orange juice since promising to block entry to shipments containing the fungicide.

News in brief

Hong Kong 'liaising' with US over carbendazim in orange juice

20-Jan-2012 - Food safety officials in Hong Kong are continuing to liaise with US authorities over carbendazim levels in orange juice – despite tests on the beverage returning negative results.

Australasia follows US lead on carbendazim in orange juice

19-Jan-2012 - Food safety authorities in Australia and New Zealand have taken steps to ban the sale of orange juice containing carbendazim – mirroring measures taken in the US.

Cargill welcomes EU barley beta-glucan-cholesterol claim as innovation driver

19-Jan-2012 - Agrofood giant Cargill is alerting the world to look out for more food labels bearing its Barliv-branded barley beta-glucan in 2012 after winning a positive cholesterol-lowering opinion from the European Union science agency last month.

End to soft drink ‘parity pricing’ could help ease obesity epidemic: expert

17-Jan-2012 - A UK expert claims that a suggested 10% tax on sugar-sweetened soft drinks in the UK would be an ineffective means of tackling a rising obesity epidemic, but that an industry-led end to ‘pricing parity’ between sugared and sugar-free soft drinks could have a positive effect.

EU orange juice industry on notice after carbendazim test warning

17-Jan-2012 - The European orange juice industry has been put on notice by Brussels – with a warning that Brazilian juice imports could face carbendazim testing if US officials find high levels of the fungicide in shipments.

Orange juice fungicide row highlights flaws in US pesticide regime, says expert

16-Jan-2012 - The orange juice/carbendazim row currently engulfing the US orange juice market “highlights the questionable way that Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulate pesticides in foods”, according to one food law attorney.

US juice trade association fights Brazilian fungicide fallout

11-Jan-2012 - The US Juice Products Association (JPA) has moved to allay consumer concerns that orange juice produced in the country is unsafe, after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it was blocking some Brazilian imports found to contain the substance.

Blanket tax on ‘liquid candy’ soft drinks would give US health kick, Columbia study

10-Jan-2012 - A penny-per-ounce tax on sugary soft drinks would ‘substantially reduce obesity, diabetes and heart disease amongst US adults’, according to a new study by academics at Columbia University.