Safety and innovation were on the agenda this week, when the head
of French dairy group Lactalis met with the Croatian vice president
to discuss the company's plans for rejuvenating the country's dairy
sector.
Tetra Pak plans to tighten its grip on China's growing beverage and
dairy markets with a €60m state-of-the-art packaging materials
plant in the country, it announced Tuesday.
The US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) risk assessment on meat
and milk from cloned animals is based on "flawed assumptions
and misrepresented findings", according to an independent
review.
One of Britain's top universities for food science says interest is
growing in the subject, offering the industry hope of beating a
severe shortage of recruits.
News that a variety of GM corn produced signs of liver and kidney
toxicity in rats should be a wake-up call for better testing and
more transparency from biotechs, if GMOs are to be accepted by
increasingly sceptical consumers.
All adverts for food and drink in France must now carry healthy
eating messages or companies will face fines, under rules launched
by the government to tackle obesity.
For the first time, researchers say they have direct evidence that
Europeans' bodies evolved to digest milk much later and more
rapidly than previously thought.
For those not joining in the Valentine's Day festivities, boosting
omega-3 intake to ward off the possibilities of depression may be
slightly premature, suggests a review.
EU legislators yesterday voted in favour of proposals to introduce
a controversial five-stage hierarchy of priority for the bloc's
waste management policy.
Nestle announced it has opened a factory in Brazil to supply milk
powder and coffee to low income families there, in yet another sign
of ethics becoming big business.
The European Commission is expected to drop a court case against
the UK over dairy hygiene practices, following an inspection of the
country's industry, this publication understands.
Confectionery equipment supplier Packaging Automation has seen its
latest enhanced filling and sealing machine upping factory output
and improving performance, according to customers.
Here we go again. Yet another technology in its infancy is likely
to be introduced into the food supply, while industry remains
cautious and consumers divided.
Drinkable yoghurt is the world's fastest growing food and beverage
product, ACNielsen reports, suggesting manufacturers should target
this sector more aggressively.
Signs that EU milk quotas have outlived their usefulness grew
stronger this week after the bloc's agriculture commissioner openly
criticised the system in front of industry officials.
The days of industrial farming and food production are coming to an
end as we turn to fresh, healthy and environmentally sustainable
products, the head of the UK Soil Association told food and drink
industry leaders last night.
Complaints by food suppliers and producers about mistreatment at
the hands of large retailers have still not been backed up, says a
report on the UK grocery chain probe.
Here we go again. Industry-sponsored studies into the nutritional
benefits of food and drink products are biased. Don't believe
anything that has an industry sponsor.
Confidence rippled through the UK dairy industry this week after EU
officials said they expected rising demand and higher market prices
both in and out of Europe this year.
As a youngster I was brought up on a healthy diet of tuna fish
sandwiches and Disney - making my new year's resolution for 2007
the toughest yet. That's right, I'm giving up tuna and who knows,
even cod.
Fermentation of dairy with a mix of lactic acid bacteria and a
Streptococcus strain could selectively reduce the protein
responsible for cows milk allergy, researchers have reported.
EU food safety officials will hold urgent talks to thrash out a
strategy on food from cloned animals, after it emerged the calf of
a cloned cow was being raised on a UK farm.
Dairy and farming groups were holding urgent meetings Wednesday
after claims the offspring of a cloned cow was growing up on a UK
farm, sparking fears its produce may enter the food chain.
Rows over the possible superior health benefits of organic food
have swamped the headlines in the UK, as new figures show organic
milk sales again rose strongly in 2006.
The battle of wills between the UK food watchdog and industry
heavyweights over nutrition labelling threatens to destabilise the
balance of power between industry and government.
South Koreans are consuming greater quantities of cheese as foods
like pizza, cheeseburgers and sandwiches become more popular among
the younger generation.
Women who regularly consumed at least one serving of full-fat diary
every day gained about 30 per cent less weight than women who
didn't, says a study from Sweden.
Plans to allow milk and meat from cloned cows to enter the food
chain have moved a step closer in the US after the country's food
safety watchdog issued draft guidance for the industry and opened a
formal consultation.
The food industry has lost another member of a rare species - a
woman in management - after Nelly Wenger left her job as managing
director for Nestlé Switzerland due to ill health.
Experts on EU agriculture policy will attend a meeting in the UK
early next year, organised by the country's dairy industry to
kick-start the build up to new reforms.
The Confederation of Food and Drink Industries of the EU (CIAA) has
outlined its strategy in lobbying EU legislators in the upcoming
year on environmental policies and international trade issues.
A consumer boycott across the Middle East on dairy products made by
Arla Foods has set the firm back two years in the region, and
allowed rivals to gain ground.
China's biggest dairy group Yili is investing further in the
ice-cream market, revealing a plan to spend CNY215.5 million
(€20.8m) on two new ice-cream production facilities.
UK dairy firms are being urged to capitalise on a resurgence in the
country's food and drink exports, through a new project with the
Food From Britain organisation.
There's no way but out for heart-damaging trans fatty acids, and
procrastinators in the food industry will achieve nothing by
delaying reformulation other than lagging behind in the game as the
rest of the world waves goodbye.
Talks to get UK dairy farmers a better deal with supermarkets are
expected to intensify over the next couple of weeks, as new figures
show nearly 1,000 producers have quit the sector in the last year.
The development of a global carbon trading scheme and investment in
biofuels were two central strategies put forward by the UK
Chancellor on Wednesday to halt climate change.
The use of thin-walled packaging for food products is growing in
Europe, with demand in the chilled sector for the format increasing
at the fastest rate, according to a new report.
