A popular food oil used extensively in food formulations is the
latest product-type to be pulled from the UK supermarket shelves as
the country's food watchdog identifies the illegal carcinogen Sudan
IV in a batch of palm oil...
Coca-Cola has at last settled a five-year European Union antitrust
case by promising to scrap controversial retail discounts and by
agreeing to share more display space with rivals.
Brussels will fight to appeal against a new decision by the World
Trade Organisation that rules the EU illegally subsidises exports
of sugar, ruling in favour of a legal challenge by Australia,
Thailand and Brazil, the world's...
Slovenia's wine makers, buoyed by the news of EU funding for their
vineyards, face a long struggle if they are to conquer foreign
markets and compete effectively against the titans of the world
wine business - but one man is...
Gel-forming additives used widely in jelly mini-cups have been
permanently banned within the European Union following a ruling in
the summer by the European Food Safety Agency that they constituted
a choking hazard.
In her introductory speech before the European Parliament last
week, farm chief designate Mariann Fischer Boel signalled that
sugar reform and defending EU products at WTO talks were among the
key challenges for EU agriculture over...
Six of the new EU member states are set to receive more than €20
million in EU funding so that they can improve and expand their
vineyards, helping them to make better quality wine and compete
more effectively in both their home markets...
This year's Czech harvest has been hailed as the best since 1993,
producing almost nine million tonnes of crops, showing that the
farming industry has recovered well from a poor 2003 and the
disastrous floods of 2002 - just in...
Steel packaging recycling in Europe increased by 1.3 per cent last
year to reach just over 2.1 million tonnes, though the EU15
countries remain way ahead of new member states.
Hungary's accession to the European Union has already led to
increased competition in the food industry there, prompting one of
the country's leading food manufacturers, Pick Szeged, to embark
upon a two-year restructuring...
The European Commission has fined French dairy Groupe Danone and
Dutch beer giant Heineken €2.5 million for colluding to control the
wholesale beer market in France.
Croatian food group Podravka says it is looking to expand
production at its Polish production facility to keep up with
demands in the Polish market and to increase exports to other EU
countries.
The majority shareholder in Danish vegetable oil firm Aarhus United
could soon place its considerable stake on the market, citing a
potential difference in long-term investment interests.
Revenues from Czech dairy exports might have increased by 30 per
cent in the first six months of the year, but the Czech Dairy
Association says it is increasing dairy prices, not higher volumes
due to accession, that is boosting the...
The European Union said yesterday that the proposed settlement
between Coca-Cola and the European Commission to end a long-running
antitrust case has still not been finalised.
Italy's antitrust authority says that it has fined packaging giant
Tetra Pak €95 million for not respecting a ban it had imposed in
Aug 1993, which barred Tetra Pak from acquiring Italpack.
A three year EU project funded by Brussels will seek to improve
understanding of the role phytoestrogens, found in a host of foods,
can play in reducing the risk of colon, breast and prostate
cancers.
Budejovicky Budvar, the Czech brewer, has taken a different tack in
its attempt to stop arch rival Anheuser-Busch from using the
contested brand name Budweiser. But the bid to stop the US group
from using the name for entertainment...
Competition for European suppliers of honey has ramped up with
Brussels clearing the way to end a two year ban on food imports
from China which should pave the way for cheaper raw materials for
honey formulations.
The alcohol policies of two EU Member States have been the focus of
differing judgements this week. Both France and Sweden claim that
their policies are designed to protect public health - but this, it
seems, is only acceptable when...
Cheaper sugar ingredients could be on the way for food makers as
rumours continue to circulate about the proposed new rules to the
EU sugar regime that could open up the protected European market,
prompting Danish sugar giant Danisco...
Cheaper sugar ingredients could be on the way for food makers in
Europe as draft plans for tough changes to the much criticised
sugar regime come to light.
Huhtamaki's Chinet range of moulded fibre foodservice plates has
just been certified for biodegradability - the latest step in an
industry-wide trend towards greener packaging.
Food manufacturers must continue to be on the alert for a red devil
as the list of products containing the potentially carcinogenic,
and illegal, red dye Sudan I is far from tailing off. Now the UK
Food Standards Agency is alerting...
Energy and sports drinks continued their rapid rise up the soft
drinks rankings last year, driven by new product launches and an
increasing trend towards convenience and on-the-go consumption. But
while most of the growth has come...
Europe's PET bottle recycling market increased dramatically last
year, but there are fears that a similar increase in exports abroad
may lead to less environmental regulation.
The acquisition of Rhodia Food Ingredients by Danisco has finally
been completed today, bringing the Danish ingredients group one
step closer towards its goal of becoming a leading supplier of
ingredients to the food industry. The...
The addition of 10 new Member States to the European Union on 1 May
has prompted Europe's tax officials to revive the thorny debate
over the harmonisation of alcohol duty rates - a debate which is
unlikely to be any more fruitful...
The Beverage Can Makers in Europe (BCME) has welcomed the advocate
general's conclusions in the EU Court cases regarding the German
packaging regime. He found that the discriminatory elements of the
German packaging order regarding...
A scientist at the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden has
demonstrated how manufacturers can make environmentally-friendly
packing out of garbage.
Investigations into whether Coca-Cola overshipped drink concentrate
to distributors in some markets in order to inflate its financial
results has intensified. A federal grand jury has been scheduled
and employees subpoenaed according...
On 1 May an historic moment marked the entry of ten countries and
75 million consumers into the European Union. Churchill's 'Iron
Curtain' has been consigned to the history books, heralding
democracy, stability and...
Earlier this month CAOBISCO, the body which represents European
manufacturers of sugar-based foods, came racing to side of the
businesses it represents in the accession countries. Once installed
in an enlarged Europe, the new Member...
European regulators have forced Germany to rethink its
controversial - and commercially damaging - deposit system for
one-way packaging, ruling that it contravened regulations on the
free movement of goods between EU member states....
Offices of bakery ingredients and sweeteners giant CSM were raided
yesterday by the Dutch competition watchdog NMa on suspicions of
price fixing in the firms sugar division CSM Suiker. In a parallel
raid, the NMa hit leading Dutch...
A group of Slovakian fruit juice producers has taken it upon
themselves to implement a voluntary system to help sustain levels
of quality for their products.
Coca-Cola is set to initiate talks with the European Commission in
an attempt to resolve an antitrust case against the group. This is
the latest difficult challenge to have emerged - Coca-Cola has
already had to deal with the Dasani...
Sugar prices look set to rise in the accession countries by up to
60 per cent, warns the European chocolate and confectionery body
CAOBISCO this week, predicting major set backs for food
manufacturers installed in the zone. The warning...
Sugar giant British Sugar helped boost six month results for its
parent, food and ingredients firm Associated British Foods, which
this week reported double-digit growth in profits. But
international agency Oxfam has criticised the...
Swiss drinks packaging equipment provider SIG Combibloc says that
the continuing growth of the soft drinks market in Hungary is
likely to support a period of growth that will last well into next
year.
Intensified competition in the ingredients marketplace and
disappointing orders for Cocoa Butter Equivalents (CBE) following
the new chocolate rules leads to job losses at Danish fats and oils
firm Aarhus United.
Days after EU ministers at the Agriculture Council huddled together
to chew over impending changes to the sugar regime, leading
sweeteners group Tate & Lyle tells the market that no surprises
are in store for 2005.
European customers are demanding greater assurances of quality and
hygiene in their food products. A recent conference on the
packaging of fish examined at what the industry was doing to meet
these concerns.
An energy drink marketed to boost mental performance has been
allowed to continue with its claims, after investigation of the
scientific evidence to back up the advertising statements,
writes Dominique Patton.
A lack of integration at a European level is 'severely hampering'
efforts to co-ordinate stakeholder efforts - food industry and
independent scientists - in the area of chemical contaminants in
food, warn Swedish scientists....
The European Commission has approved Air Liquide's proposed
acquisition of Messer Griesheim's industrial gas business in
Germany, the United Kingdom and the USA. The acquisition alters the
balance of power in Europe's...
The EU commission has approved Carlsberg's takeover of the German
brewer Holsten-Brauerei. The approval places the company one step
closer to the profitable German market writes Danny Vincent.
Per capita consumption of juice in eastern Europe is a healthy 13
litres, well ahead of that in other emerging markets, but there is
still some way to go before consumption levels reach those in
western Europe. But with a number of...
Expecting a higher uptake of vegetable fats by European chocolate
manufacturers following the new '5 per cent' chocolate rule, Danish
oils and fats supplier Aarhus United sees a drop in income for
2003, compounded by currency...
With the Commission proposal for changes to the EU sugar regime but
a few months away, Commissioner Franz Fischler explains why sugar
reform is 'unavoidable.'
