Breaking News on Dairy Processing & Markets

Processor hits back as Russia stokes Ukrainian cheese war

10-Feb-2012 - Russia announced on Tuesday that it had banned cheese imports from Ukraine’s three largest cheese producers due to the presence of vegetable oils, but one processor has hit back at the ban, while reports suggest the move could reflect higher political stakes.

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.

EDA secretary general says dairy saturated fats conference can challenge perceptions

08-Feb-2012 - A conference held today in Brussels will examine the issue of saturated fat in dairy products, where scientists and legislators will discuss how public health policies fit with the latest science, and EDA president Dr Joop Kleibeuker told DairyReporter.com the event would challenge negative perceptions of saturated fat in dairy products.

New probiotic strains will win health claims (but not for 10-15 years): Prof

03-Feb-2012 - Advances in genomics and understanding the human gut microbiota will lead to the discovery of probiotic bacterial strains that will deliver biomarker-measured health benefits – but it may take 10-15 years, according to a leading researcher.

Japanese dairy firms address consumer radiation concerns

03-Feb-2012 - Top Japanese dairy companies have announced that they are set to begin screening products for radiation at around 180 factories, in response to growing consumer concerns about radioactivity levels in food.

FDA takes action against unsanitary cheese factory

01-Feb-2012 - The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is taking action to halt production at a New York cheese manufacturing facility after numerous food safety failures.

Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act hits low-fat flavoured milk

01-Feb-2012 - The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has published regulations governing US school meal programmes that will eliminate low-fat flavoured milk from reimbursable meal options for children.

Silver-ion silicone boosts dairy processing safety – developer

27-Jan-2012 - A silver ion-laced silicone material that absorbs and destroys pathogens such as E.coli and Salmonella will ensure safety standards are met in the dairy sector, its developer has claimed.

'Our competitors will be laughing all the way to the bank': Fonterra savages mooted milk regulation changes

25-Jan-2012 - Dairy giant Fonterra has reacted angrily to New Zealand (NZ) government proposals that its member farmers provide more milk to competitors, insisting the move will ‘line foreign pockets’ and ‘handcuff’ the firm.

Spanish regulator condemns sterol-cholesterol ads

25-Jan-2012 - The Spanish manufacturer of a plant sterol drink has been told to amend cholesterol-lowering claims for being too ambiguous in dosage and making unsubstantiated disease reduction claims.

Belgian baby formula-linked Salmonella outbreak sickens 16 in Russia

24-Jan-2012 - Tainted powdered milk formula from Belgium has been recalled in Russia after more than a dozen babies were struck down with Salmonellosis.

‘Cheese makes you chubby’ New York billboards scream

20-Jan-2012 - The US-based Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) has taken shock tactics to consumers by posting two huge billboards in New York warning of what it claims are the obesity-related dangers of eating cheese.

Academics attempt to bridge probiotic science and marketing gap

18-Jan-2012 - “Currently, there is a gap between the point where the biomedical science ends (with the publication of a paper in a scientific journal) and the point where the business begins (with the claim for a health benefit).”

FrieslandCampina told to remove healthy foods logo from pack

13-Jan-2012 - Dutch dairy manufacturer FrieslandCampina has been cautioned about the use of a healthy foods logo from packs of its reduced fat ham and cheese.

Europe isn’t ‘squeaky clean’ warns expert, after new claims of Chinese infant formula death

13-Jan-2012 - A leading food safety expert has urged people to remember that Europe is not squeaky clean when it comes to scare stories, following the reported death of another Chinese baby from claimed infant formula consumption.

EFSA should review ’growing up’ milks before regulations change, says EU infant foods group

12-Jan-2012 - The European Union should put the brakes on any mooted changes to rules governing milks targeting 1-3 year olds until a scientific review can be conducted, according to the EU group that represents infant food makers.

Indian detergent scare reveals widespread milk adulteration

12-Jan-2012 - The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has spoken out on the results of tests that found nationwide evidence of substandard milk and even products with traces of detergent.

Campden BRI identifies food and drink industry challenges

11-Jan-2012 - Vigilance in supply chain management, risk assessment, efficiency and sustainability are the key challenges facing the food and drinks industry over the next three to five years, according to a new report from Campden BRI.

Canadian listeria cheese warnings reiterated in US

05-Jan-2012 - US health authorities have issued a warning in relation to a variety of cheese and dairy products potentially contaminated with listeria monocytogenes – weeks after Canadian officials recalled the same products.

Tainted milk and website prompt Mengniu share slide

04-Jan-2012 - Shares in China's largest dairy producer Mengniu Dairy Co.slumped at the end of last year, following a new scandal over milk tainted with a cancer-causing chemical and a violation of the firm's website by hackers who claimed it was "doing harm to its own people".

Cargill wins EU novel foods approval for omega-6 form ARA

04-Jan-2012 - Cargill is celebrating the European Union approval of a Mortierella alpine, algae fermented arachidonic acid (ARA)-rich oil, to be used in infant formula and formula for older children.

News in brief

Workers spread norovirus in the workplace

04-Jan-2012 - Workers infected with norovirus could put firms at risk of poisoning consumers through contaminated products, experts have warned.

Draft dioxin guidance could ‘cripple’ food sector, warns US industry

04-Jan-2012 - The US food industry is lobbying the Obama administration to ease pending federal guidance recommending that consumers severely limit their daily dioxin intake.

MEPs back PARNUTS amendments to prompt EU baby milk law reforms

03-Jan-2012 - Pro-breast feeding advocates and Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are throwing their support behind mooted amendments to the European Union PARNUTS Directive they believe can improve the safety, quality and marketing transparency of infant formulas and other products.