Weekly Comment

WTO's failure is food industry's loss

The short sighted failure of greedy WTO trading partners to achieve any sort of meaningful agreement on global agricultural tariffs is bad for Europe's food industry.

Plastic recycling boosted by legislative targets

Driven by tougher waste legislation and set EU targets, the recovery of plastics in the bloc is growing steadily, according to a new report by Applied Market Information (AMI).

EU plots path out of commodities

The current supply glut on the EU butter market will be solved by more producers leaving the sector, says a Commission report, again predicting a move away from commodities across...

Omega-3, heart health evidence is strong, says review

Omega-3s from oily fish and supplements can reduce the risk of cardiac and sudden death, and possibly stroke, says a new review from the US.

Laser system offers cheaper, faster pathogen detection

A pathogen detecting system that uses scattered laser light can cut costs and speed up safety checks for food processors, researchers developing the technology claim.

Dairylea: the cheese with more salt than the sea

Some children's cheese brands contain more salt per 100g than the Atlantic Ocean, says a UK campaigns group study, piling more pressure on manufacturers to slash the salt.

Dairy groups upset at WTO talks failure

Failure to reach an agreement on global trade has upset dairy industry officials from the EU and beyond, creating more uncertainty about the future of the sector.

Dairy Crest deal offers hope for the British milkman

The distant clink of milk bottles at 5am may be a thing of the past for several British neighbourhoods, but Dairy Crest's bid to create the UK's largest doorstep delivery...

Record ingredient sales at Fonterra after good milk year

New Zealand dairy co-operative Fonterra sold almost a tenth more milk-derived ingredients this year than the previous 12 months, pushing its overall revenue up 6 per cent to NZ$13 billion...

WTO food talks end in suspension and failure

Pascal Lamy will demand a suspension of the Doha round of agriculture talks this week, after WTO members failed to reach a meaningful consensus.

Ice cream firms ride Britain's summer heatwave

Ice cream sales have shot through the roof in Britain over the last week thanks to an almighty heatwave, leaving producers working flat out to meet consumers' insatiable demand.

New Tate & Lyle ingredient targets low calorie dairy products

Tate & Lyle has launched a new sweetener solution for dairy desserts, which claims to allow manufacturers to cut around a third of calories and half of total sugars from...

Dairy Crest buys Arla's Express Dairies in UK

Dairy Crest has signed a deal to buy the doorstep milk delivery business of rival Arla Foods UK, claiming the prospect of cost savings outweighs falling demand in the sector.

Opus Dei, Parmalat and a dead Italian banker

A Milan banker linked to the collapse of Italian dairy firm Parmalat has been found dead, after disappearing on his way back from a meeting of conservative Catholic group Opus...

Dairy Crest shares soar, chief exec retires

Dairy Crest's shares rose to their highest point since early March Friday morning, after the group reported in-line trading and the retirement of its chief executive.

Glanbia builds protein business in China

Irish dairy ingredients firm Glanbia is building a presence in the Chinese market with its expertise in heat-stable proteins.

JHCI review aims to inform EFSA on health claims

The UK's Joint Health Claims Initiative (JHCI) has conducted a review of its own guidance on health claims submissions, with the aim of helping the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)...

UK dairy industry risking meltdown, warns NFU

Britain's dairy industry must pull together and soon to overcome a critical earnings problem that threatens to cause disaster across the sector, a report from the National Farmers' Union warns.

French activists fined after Lactalis dairy attack

Protestors who stole €2,000-worth of milk and cheese from a Lactalis dairy factory and then handed out the products free in local villages, said they would continue the fight against...

EU should consider capping the CAP, says commissioner

Mariann Fischer Boel, EU commissioner for agriculture, said Monday that the commission could consider putting limits on the Single Payment Scheme if it is found that the scheme is not...

Chinese dairies catch on to probiotic bacteria

Chinese dairies are jumping on the probiotics bandwagon, with a spate of new products containing the healthy bacteria being launched in recent weeks.

Anchor butter attacked by Dairy Crest, NFU

Dairy Crest has got backing from the National Farmers' Union for new adverts attacking rival butter brand Anchor, which is shipped frozen to Britain from New Zealand.

Vinamilk set to seek new investors

Vietnam's biggest dairy, commonly called Vinamilk, is set for a change of ownership, after the government revealed plans to reduce its controlling stake in the company.

EFSA consults over animal feed additives risk

Europe's food safety watchdog has launched a public consultation on the risks to the environment posed by various additives in animal feed, as part of a plan to draw up...

Weekly Comment

Sex, pills and bad information

The Internet is offering a wealth of information to more and more people, but also an avenue for irresponsible businesses to exploit consumer health concerns.

Cost pressures knocking EU milk prices

Farmgate milk prices have continued to fall across the European Union and most rapidly in France over the last year, new figures show, increasing tension between producers and processors.

EU poised to block New Zealand butter imports

The European Commission has hinted it may ban all new import licences for New Zealand butter, according to dairy co-op Fonterra, rounding off a bad week for kiwi butter in...

Unilever's revolutionary GM ice cream protein challenged

A group of scientists has claimed that Unilever's genetically modified (GM) fish antifreeze protein for ice cream should not be approved without further comprehensive tests.

UK scientists lift lid on how taste and aroma works

Nottingham University researchers have reported improvements to the method of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of the brain to give scientists a more "natural" insight into the perception of taste...

FSA issues voluntary allergy labelling guidance

The FSA has published guidance designed to help UK food firms improve their labelling advice for people with allergies.

Last ditch struggle to save global food trade talks

The WTO is in crisis following the dismal failure of last week's agriculture talks in Geneva.

Soluble fibre could boost cheese making

Adding soluble fibres, guar gum and pectin, to skimmed milk could speed up the coagulation time, improving cost efficiency, and impart nutritional benefits, say Irish researchers.

Nestlé launches premium ice cream brand in China

Swiss food maker Nestle has launched the premium ice cream brand Movenpick on the Chinese market, where it says it sees growing demand for luxury food products.

Lactalis slams Sodiaal in French milk price row

Rows over farmgate milk prices have intensified in France, with leading French dairy processor Lactalis accusing its rival Sodiaal of irresponsibly cutting the price it pays to producers.

Low-fat dairy may cut diabetes risk for women

A diet rich in low fat dairy could cut the risk of type-2 diabetes for women by over 20 per cent, says a new study from Harvard.

Scientists research nanotechnology use for chilled, frozen sectors

Scientists at the University of Kent in the UK have received€800,000 to study ways nanotechnology can improve the safety and quality ofchilled and frozen foods.

Branded milk still lifting Wiseman sales

UK dairy processor Robert Wiseman said sales were up two-and-a-half per cent in its first quarter thanks to a new milk supply contract and continued branded milk growth.

No proven link between diet and learning, says FSA

There is not enough evidence to say that certain foods can benefit children's ability to learn, says Britain's food safety watchdog, underlining the case against Dairy Crest's omega-3 milk adverts.

Consumers snub Arla's Mini30 milk

Arla Foods is scrapping its lower calorie Mini30 milk in Denmark only six months after the product was launched, because consumers do not like the taste.

Bright future for Chinese cheese

China's biggest domestic cheese producer, Bright Dairy, has invested in a new production line for sliced cheese to increase its profits from this growing, niche market.

Fonterra reports record sales rise

Fonterra, the New Zealand dairy co-operative, said it sold more dairy ingredients this May than in any other month ever, as it continues to expand on the world dairy market.

Atomizer reduces space needed for particle breakdown

A new atomizer fitting can help plants reduce costs and improve efficiency, its developer claims.

Weekly Comment

Cadbury's mistake

Chocolate has a nice feeling to it - tasty, fun, luxurious and slightly sinful. This is comfort food, accessible to all and epitomised in the recent film, Charlie and the...

WTO heads EU dairy agenda

Most of Europe's dairy industry will have eyes fixed on World Trade Organisation negotiations over the coming weeks, but there will be time too for lobbying on short-term market support...

Origo finds cholesterol cutter in dairy

Start-up Origo Biosciences has discovered the presence of an anti-cholesterol immunoglobulin in milk and is investigating its commercialisation as an ingredient for functional foods that may, one day, give plant...

Arla re-starts cheese production for Middle East

Arla Foods has re-started cheese production for the Middle East dairy market, but warned the move did not represent significant progress in beating the boycott there.

Infrared sterilisation provides controlled heat

New carbon infrared emitters released for the European market provide another means of sterilise products through controlled heating.