Breaking News on Dairy Processing & Markets

Bemis to sell cheese packing assets to seal Alcan deal

Bemis will have to sell Alcan cheese and meat packaging assets to secure its $1.2bn takeover of Alcan Packaging Food Americas.

Benco Pack launches FFS machine for mini milk portions

Working with its customer Nestle China, Benco Pack has developed a fully automated aseptic Form-Fill-Seal (FFS) machine for UHT milk cream miniportions.

Seventh Listeria death linked to Prolactal cheese

A seventh person has died after eating cheese made by Prolactal contaminated with Listeria, Austrian authorities confirmed yesterday.

High calcium intakes may improve male survival: Study

Intakes of calcium above the recommended daily levels may reduce the risk of dying from heart disease and cancer by 25 per cent, says a new study from Sweden.

Dairy avoidance health impacts poorly understood: NIH panel

A National Institutes of Health panel has called for more research into lactose-restricted diets to better quantify their public health impacts, as more people are choosing to exclude dairy from their diets.

EFSA chief: many dossiers in new batch of article 13.1 opinions "insufficient"

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) executive director, Catherine Geslain- Lanéelle, has told the Nutrition and Lifestyle conference in Brussels this morning that many of Thursday’s article 13.1 opinions have "insufficient evidence".

China melamine-tainted milk health threats assessed

Tens of thousands of Chinese children sickened by melamine-tainted milk showed signs of kidney damage months afterwards - with the potential for long-term harm a serious concern, said new research.

New DairyCo report assesses performance of milk processors

In an effort to push farmers to ask more of milk buyers, DairyCo has released a report detailing the financial performance and business strategy of the leading dairy processors in the UK.

Stora Enso launches lighter liquid packaging boards

Stora Enso has reengineered its Natura liquid packaging board to reduce raw material use and lower basis weight.

Weekly comment

Banning energy drinks is a doomed shot in the dark

Energy shot drinks have come under fire from German authorities which are employing an old-school prohibition logic that history has repeatedly dunce-hatted.

Danisco doubles freeze-dried cultures capacity at French plant

Danisco has doubled its freeze-drying capacity at Dangé-Saint-Romain, France, to support growing demand for ripening and protective cultures.

Lakeland prepares to move Irish milk drying facilities

Lakeland Dairies is preparing to close one of its processing plants in Ireland and transfer production to a new, state of the art facility in Bailieboro.

News in brief

Lidl issues warning about listeria contaminated cheese

Lidl has issued a second warning to German customers not to eat two Prolactal cheese products, after health authorities confirmed a link earlier this week to six deaths from food poisoning.

Science builds for cardiovascular benefits of dairy proteins

A combination of milk proteins may reduce hardening of the arteries, says a new study from Valio that support the cardiovascular benefits of the dairy peptides.

Dairy UK pushes for consolidation-friendly competition policy

Dairy UK is pressing politicians on the need to “rebalance competition policy” to permit further consolidation, claiming that this is vital to allow processors and producers to compete globally.

Reducing meat and dairy makes case for fortification

Reduction of meat and dairy intake on climate change grounds would pose nutritional concerns for some nutrients but better public health advice on alternative sources and fortification could bridge the gap, write nutritional and climate experts from the UK.

News in brief

Most melamine contaminated product destroyed, says China

China declared this week that most melamine-tainted dairy products have been destroyed over the past three months.

Prolactal “deeply shocked” by listeria cheese deaths

Austrian and German health authorities have revealed that six people died last year after eating listeria contaminated cheese made by Prolactal.

Lipid Nutrition gains US CLA food debut

Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) player, Lipid Nutrition, has launched its first GRAS (generally recognized as safe)-certified food in the US with a yogurt that has launched in the Minnesota area.

Bag-in-box specialist targets Russian market

DS Smith has set up a Russian subsidiary that will enable bag-in-box specialist Rapak to develop its position in the region.

Super fruit may boost shelf-life for probiotic yoghurt

Adding the pulp of acai to probiotic yoghurt may boost the shelf-life of probiotic yoghurt, as well as improving the fat profile of the functional food, says a new study.

GoldPeg develops dry cooker stretcher for mozzarella

GoldPeg has developed a dry cooker stretcher for the production of mozzarella and pasta filata that eliminates cook bath water from the manufacturing process.

Weekly comment

Do drink makers have stomach for anti-obesity fight?

Bravo! The beverage industry has responded enthusiastically to Mrs. Obama’s campaign to tackle childhood obesity - but there’d better be more than froth behind that sparkling rhetoric.

USDA issues final rule on organic dairy

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has unveiled new rules for organic livestock production, with the aim of setting consistent standards for pasture use across the dairy industry.

Saturated fats not linked to heart disease: Meta-analysis

Dietary intakes of saturated fats are not linked to cardiovascular disease, so says a meta-analysis of 21 studies from across the world.

News in brief

Dean Foods misses Q4 expectations

US dairy giant Dean Foods has blamed increased competitive pressure and commodity inflation for disappointing fourth quarter results.

Dairy players speak out on impact of volatility and deregulation

A European Dairy Association (EDA) seminar has illustrated how different actors in the dairy supply chain are being affected by price volatility and deregulation.

Study adds to 'compelling' CLA safety evidence

Daily intake of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) does not affect kidney and liver function, says a new study with humans that adds compelling support to the safety of the ingredient.

Danone improves sales on "reset" yoghurt prices

Price cuts have helped Danone recover from a dip in dairy sales at the start of the year to report a healthy increase in fourth quarter sales.

China forced to relaunch food safety crackdown

China is launching a new national food safety drive following a wave of recent damaging revelations over melamine-tainted milk products in the country.

Food industry robot sales beat records

Sales of robots to UK food manufacturers beat those to every other sector in 2009 for the first time, according to British Automation and Robotics Association (BARA) records.

Danone resubmits Actimel probiotic immunity health claim

Ten months after it withdrew its marquee probiotic submissions from the European Union health claims process for reconfiguring, Danone has fully re-entered the game by lodging a tweaked dossier for its drinking yoghurt, Actimel.

Codex committee drops processed cheese standards

The Codex Committee on Milk and Milk Products (CCMMP) has recommended that all Codex Processed Cheese standards be scraped.

Layered gels may help sugar reduction

By controlling the distribution of sugar in a gelled product, the overall sugar concentration may be lowered without affecting the perceived sweetness, says a new study from Sweden.

Chinese dairies shut down on melamine discovery

Chinese authorities have closed two dairies in the northern region of Ningxia following the discovery of a further 170 tonnes of melamine tainted milk powder, according to media reports.

Weekly comment

US military may enlist Omega-3s to boost performance but why wait?

“An army marches on its stomach.” This advice, from French military adventurer Napoleon, seems to have impressed the US military which is considering fortifying troops’ rations with omega-3 fatty acids. What is it waiting for?

EFSA health claim opinion

EFSA rejects Danone’s infant immunity prebiotic claim

Danone Baby Nutrition says the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) failed to engage in “direct scientific dialogue” in the lead-up to the agency’s scientists handing it a negative opinion for a prebiotic-infant immunity health claim in December.

Marel to sell Stork Food and Dairy Systems

Marel has announced that it is to sell subsidiary Stork Food and Dairy Systems to Dutch investor Nimbus as part of a strategy to focus on its core processing segments.

Environmental analysis breaks down milk packaging options

Life cycle analysis of different milk packaging options has revealed that minimising weight and recycling offer the biggest environmental benefits.

Get in for the pathogen kill with cold plasma technology

An increasing number of manufacturers are investing in cold plasma technology to kill pathogens in the air and on the surface areas of processing plants, reports sister title Food Manufacture.

Danisco makes dairy antimicrobial free from artificial hormone

Danisco has removed the growth hormone rBST from the supply chain for MicroGard antimicrobials in response to requests from its dairy customers.

Dairy farmers call for better risk management tools

European farmers have called for better risk management tools and the maintenance of EU market management measures at a hearing on the long-term future of the EU dairy supply chain.

How EU health claim rules affect TV and radio ads

The UK Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) has revised its guidelines to bring them in line with the 2006 European Union nutrition and health claims regulation (NHCR).

News in brief

Poll indicates British cheese makers will hit salt targets

A Dairy UK straw poll suggests that British cheese makers have hit government targets on reducing salt levels in their products.

Fonterra reveals expansion plans in China

Fonterra is planning to build two new dairy farms in China as the company struggles to keep up with increasing demand.

Dairy Crest plans overhaul of milk factories

Dairy Crest has earmarked £75m over three years in its latest trading update for spending on new equipment at its liquid milk dairies.

News in brief

China launches new melamine probe

China has launched a new investigation after the discovery of more melamine-tainted milk products.

Weekly comment

No bitter battle over salt science

Excess salt can cause hypertension, heart disease, death. That’s the scientific consensus behind public health campaigns to reduce consumption of sodium chloride in the diet. But not everyone reads the science as conclusive, and when it comes to minerals that are essential to human life, the voice of caution must not be drowned out.