The first agriculture and fisheries council meeting under the
Austrian presidency of the EU, held today in Brussels, will set the
agenda for food industry reform in 2006.
Scientists have devised a way of using 'live' bacteria in yoghurt
to deliver medicine that can prevent HIV infection, potentially
opening up a new avenue for probiotic dairy development.
Milk from cows fed on soybeans and fish oils contained up to three
times more conjugated linoleic acids (CLA), says a US study,
suggesting new opportunities for functional dairy development.
Britain's dairy industry wants the government to extend its school
milk subsidy to secondary schools, after it emerged an extra €11m
in funding might still be available from the European Union.
It is ten years since the first large-scale planting of genetically
modified (GM) crops. Food Navigator looks at both sides of
the argument to assess the future of the technology and its
implications for the European food industry.
The dairy group's new, lower calorie milk technology may help it
re-gain ground on its home Danish milk market, after dropping
almost 10 per cent in market share and losing another supply
contract to a smaller rival.
I am beginning to feel like a freak among journalists. Good or bad,
my reporting is the product of hours of questions, fact-hunting and
often-times editorial debate. Yet, despite this rigour, every day
we receive emails from people...
Two of the world's largest dairy firms, New Zealand's Fonterra and
Europe's Arla, are looking to increase their operations in the
Polish dairy industry, according to a recent report.
Designated food "clusters" in the EU will receive a boost in
funding to help the bloc's researchers develop innovative foods and
processing techniques.
Consumer watchdog Which? has questioned the efficacy of probiotic
products, claiming that there is no reliable research to prove that
they can help general well-being.
Britain's dairy sector will hold a special, industry-wide meeting
to discuss how it can defend school milk subsidies, after a report
commissioned by the government said they should be scrapped.
Britain's Milk Development Council said it plans to start a new
health campaign for milk targeted at health professionals and the
media as well as consumers.
Joining the European Union may have created as many pitfalls as
opportunities for Poland's dairy industry, says a new report,
warning the sector may struggle to deal with production quotas.
Lancashire will soon become the latest British cheese to get a
marketing makeover as Britons renew their interest in regional
cheeses and trade up for variety.
The EU's food industry association is calling for a raft of changes
to proposed laws, calling some of them unworkable and misleading,
including those that would regulate additives and enzymes,
flavourings, additives, chemicals...
In a bid to meet World Trade Organisation demands, the European
Commission plans to make it easier for non-EU companies to gain
geographical indications (GI) protection for speciality brand
names.
The UK dairy industry has leapt to the defence of school milk
subsidies in Britain after a report commissioned by the government
said they were wasting money and should be scrapped.
The international demand for dairy products has eased slightly and
prices for supplies are likely to moderate in the next several
months, according to a new report.
Kraft Foods, the US snack and dairy firm, has agreed to remove all
genetically modified ingredients from its products in China, in a
sign anti-GM attitudes are on the increase.
The last-minute deal to scrap export subsidies by 2013, agreed at
last week's WTO meeting, has been greeted with a sense of
inevitability and caution in Europe's dairy sector.
Probiotics, unheard of a year ago, are now being added to more and
more products in China, and look set to see rapid growth in demand,
according to key supplier Chr Hansen.
Plans to put milk and dairy products into UK school vending
machines next year, backed by the government as part of its healthy
eating drive, offers new opportunities to dairy firms.
A new law allowing American schools to sell milk anywhere at any
time instead of just at the canteen may help milk processors to
fight back against soft drink dominance.
Government proposals to change the way money is collected from UK
dairy producers for industry-wide initiatives will cut funds and
bring less efficiency, says the Milk Development Council.
The oft-said adage that there are two things people don't want to
see being made - sausage and legislation - falls apart at the doors
of the EU's parliament.
Carbery believes that its new corporate structure will enable the
dairy ingredients giant to tap growing demand for added value
products and provide a one-stop-shop for manufacturers.
The New Zealand dairy co-operative has bought a 43 per cent stake
in one of China's biggest dairy processors, as the world's dairy
giants scramble for position in one of the most promising markets.
If the EU keeps hiding its agriculture sector behind huge pay
cheques instead of devoting more time to food research funding, the
bloc's whimpering and wailing will only get worse.
While Nestlé's chief executive continues to query the motives
behind the Italian government's seizure of million of litres of its
baby milk, details are emerging that infant formula from Royal
Numico and SMA Nutrition may...
The fallout from the discovery that isopropylthioxanthone (ITX) had
contaminated some of Nestlé baby milk products in four EU countries
continues, with the company maintaining that there are nohealth
consequences while Italy has called...
British dairy representatives will meet with the Office of Fair
Trading to try and solve their differences, as one official admits
retail price initiatives are a no-go.
Innovative dairy ingredients are increasingly being used in
nutritional-focused applications and are showing significant growth
rates according to a new study.
A dairy research body in Australia will get $300,000 of government
money to examine bioactive material in milk that could be used to
develop novel functional foods.
Dutch dairy co-operative Campina has got clearance from Russian
authorities to expand its dairy drinks production in Moscow as
demand for fresh dairy soars.
US dairy processors will probably not to have to pay much more for
their milk if global liberalization of the sector occurs, according
to a study by the US department of agriculture (USDA).
The FSA's backing of a 'multiple traffic light' (MTL) labelling
initiative comes a day after the UK food industry promised a
voluntary guideline on daily amounts (GDA).
Britain's Office of Fair Trading is losing support among dairy
industry officials, who claim the agency does not understand the
sector and has been far too heavy-handed.
