Breaking News on Dairy Processing & Markets

New institute formed to plan and fund dairy R&D

Dairy Management has formed the Dairy Research Institute to improve funding and support for research into nutrition science, product development and sustainability.

Special Edition: Plant Efficiency

Consultant reveals the secrets behind water efficiency

Food and drink processors can achieve savings of up to 30 per cent on their water and effluent bills without even having to resort to major capital investments.

DairyReporter.com goes mobile

From today, you can access DairyReporter.com from your mobile phone.

New Zealand opens doors to European raw milk products

The EU has welcomed a decision the New Zealand government to open up its domestic market to raw milk products from the EU.

Danone: Health claim uncertainty not to blame for share price shake

As Danone’s share price continues to fall three days after its half year results were released, the company cites several potential reasons for the dip but insists that health claims uncertainty is not among them.

Danone backs probiotic juice with ProViva investment

Global probiotics leader Danone has paid an undisclosed sum to Swedish dairy Skånemejerier for a 51 per cent stake in its probiotic juice brand, ProViva.

Special Edition: Plant efficiency

Computer modelled heat recovery could slash processors' energy bills

In the first part of a special edition on plant efficiency, we look at the results of a recently published Australian project, which found that a combination of computer modelling and dehydrator redesign can cut energy bills in half in dried fruit manufacture.

Rachel's sold to French dairy giant

Welsh dairy company Rachel’s has been sold to French dairy firm Groupe Lactalis.

EFSA health claims chief offers rejected dossier hope

In this third and final part of this exclusive NutraIngredients podcast with Professor Albert Flynn, chair of European Food Safety Authority’s Scientific Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA), explains how rejected article 13.1 can be resubmitted to the process.

Sargento targets cheesemaking process to reduce sodium

Sargento says it has invented a process for making cheese with 25 percent less sodium and minimal impact on taste and texture, without added ingredients.

News in brief

GEA wins €20m milk line order on surging China dairy demand

GEA Group has won a €20m-order for a milk powder processing plant in New Zealand as companies there boost capacity to meet growing demand for dairy products in China.

IDFA disheartened by Codex processed cheese project

The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) has described a decision from the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) to approve recommendations to work on a new standard for processed cheese as “disheartening”.

Infant formula marketing code has failed, says expert

Measures designed to ensure optimal infant nutrition are being hampered by disputes over the implementation of an international code of marketing for infant formula products, according to a child nutrition expert.

Danone remains cautious despite strong sales growth

Despite reporting a 6.9 per cent increase in organics sales in its Q2 results, Danone remains cautious in its outlook for the rest of the year.

Claims on food benefits outweigh risk messages, finds study

Messages of potential risk or scientific uncertainty of functional food products has little impact on peoples’ willingness to purchase them, according to a study conducted using Danone’s Danacol cholesterol-reducing yoghurt.

Comment

Nanotechnology in food: What’s the big idea?

Let's get talking about nanotech. The science of the very small has filled the food industry with big ideas – but industry is torn on how to present nanotechnology to consumers, stalling product development.

PAI Partners considers sale of Yoplait stake

The private equity owner of Yoplait is considering selling its 50 per cent share in the French dairy company, according to newswire reports.

Research takes aim at chocolate challenges in yoghurt

Herza Schokolade has launched a research project to find new ways of producing sterile chocolate pieces for yoghurts.

Uniq "still viable" despite £436m pension deficit

Uniq is still a viable business despite the £400m+ hole in its pension fund, and it is “still plausible” that a solution will be found to enable it to trade its way out of trouble, analysts have claimed.

Arla targets quality cheese potential in US

Double digit increases in US sales has prompted Arla to expand its dairy in Hollandtown, Wisconsin, with an eye on burgeoning quality cheese market.

Margarine with a claim seen as ‘better than butter’

American consumers are more likely to choose margarine over butter if it carried a heart healthy claim, found the United Soybean Board’s annual survey on consumer attitudes towards nutrition.

White paper identifies dairy snacking potential

Significant potential exists for dairy product innovation in the snack market, according to a new white paper from the Innovation Center for US Dairy.

Ireland sees potential for big milk export push

Ireland is planning a big increase in milk output once quotas are lifted in 2015 as the government places food at the heart of an export led growth strategy.

Dairy industry supports decision to carve up FSA

Dairy UK has given its backing to government plans to narrow the scope of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to food safety and give responsibility for nutrition policy and country of origin labelling (COOL) to government departments.

News in brief

Dairy Crest Q1 trading boosted by ‘milk in bag’ success

Dairy Crest's first quarter figures are “in line with expectations”, with sales boosted by the success of new patented milk bags that Tesco is now trialling.

FSA stripped of nutrition and labelling responsibilities

The UK government has ended speculation about the future of the Food Standards Agency (FSA), announcing that the body will retain its food safety remit but be stripped, in England, of responsibility for nutrition policy and country of origin (COOL) labelling.

Arla appoints project director for 1bn litre 'super dairy'

Arla Foods has appointed a project director to oversee the construction of its much-anticipated 1bn litre 'super dairy' in Greater London.

Opinion

Functional foods at a crossroads

Do functional foods work?

Glanbia buoyed by global dairy market recovery

Irish dairy giant Glanbia is predicting “very strong” first half of 2010 results, as its dairy ingredients business returns to profitability and the global dairy market recovers from the slump of 2009.

News in brief

Blue mozzarella cheese company given all clear

The German company at the centre of the tainted blue mozzarella alert has been given the all-clear to begin producing its cheese again, said the European Commission (EC) today.

New EU regulation sets out rules for dairy imports

The Commission has published a new regulation covering health and certification conditions for the introduction of dairy products into the EU.

China reduces minimum protein levels to combat melamine

China has lowered minimum protein levels in raw milk in the country’s latest effort to stamp out the use of melamine in the dairy industry.

News in brief

Bemis completes sell-offs as part of Alcan takeover

Bemis has completed the sell-off of two flexible packaging operations to Exopack Holdings for US$82m.

Rosemary extracts proposed to boost dairy shelf life

Vitiva is proposing a new application for its rosemary-derived antioxidant, to extend the shelf life of milk powder and other dairy products by as much as 50 per cent.

ONC buys into new omega-3 technology

Ocean Nutrition Canada (ONC) has added a new microencapsulation technology to its offerings buy purchasing a five-year license to the fish oil business and encapsulation technology of Austrian tech firm, GAT Food Essentials.

News in brief

IDF gives dairy nutrition website a makeover

The International Dairy Federation (IDF) has updated its dairy nutrition website to include a newsfeed and links to social networking sites.

EU ministers debate dairy policy recommendations

At a Council meeting this week EU agriculture ministers agreed that the report of the Higher Level Group (HLG) provides “a solid basis for a review of the milk sector” but disagreements were aired on the details of reform.

FHI applies pharma technique to mine bioactive milk compounds

High content analysis (HCA), a technology previously used in pharmaceuticals, is being utilised by Food for Health Ireland (FHI) to pioneer functional health ingredients from the most potent bioactive compounds from milk.

High amylose leads to more flexible native pea starch

Better thickening, gelling and film-forming properties than other starches thanks to a high amylose content are the benefits claimed for the native pea starch from food ingredients company American Key Products.

Tetra Pak ups forecast for global dairy market

Tetra Pak has upped its growth forecast for the global dairy market and underlined the importance of demographics in the latest installment of its biannual market report.

Comment

Don't shoot the watchdog - food industry needs a tight leash

Watchdogs provide much needed protection in an uncertain world. So why is the UK government determined to kill off the Food Standards Agency?

Camel's milk could get EU export approval

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is seeking EU permission to export camel’s milk but despite its nutritional benefits the milk may struggle to become a significant market force.

China uncovers more melamine tainted dairy materials

More melamine tainted dairy materials have been seized by Chinese food safety authorities, raising suspicions that it may be from the same batch that should have been destroyed following the 2008 scandal.

All bids for SMP intervention stocks rejected again

EU farming lobby Copa-Cogeca has called on the Commission to exercise caution in managing EU dairy stocks, as the struggle to sell off intervention stocks continues.

SPECIAL EDITION: SHELF LIFE

New guide eases challenges of challenge testing

Demand for shelf-life evaluation procedures such as challenge testing is on the up as food processors come under increasing regulatory and financial pressure to ensure safety and minimise waste, said Campden BRI.

Special Edition: Shelf Life

Marketing trends force brands to consider light damage

The latest trends in beverage and dairy are forcing companies to consider the potentially damaging effects of light on product quality.

SPECIAL EDITION: SHELF LIFE

Fraunhofer develops nano-thin coating to enhance shelf life

A breakthrough technology that coats polymer films with an ultra-thin clear barrier layer to enhance product shelf-life has been unveiled by the Fraunhofer Institute for Electron Beam and Plasma Technology.

Codex sets limits for melamine in food to combat adulturation

Maximum limits for melamine in food have been set at the latest session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission following the contamination scandals in China.

DSM identifies action of appetite-suppressing fat emulsion

The benefits of DSM’s appetitie-suppressing Fabuless ingredient may be related to the composition of fat in the ingredient, which may resist absorption in the gut, says a new study.

Italian farm lobby leads ‘blue mozzarella’ protest

The discovery of contaminated mozzarella cheese in Italy has sparked protests mobilising thousands of farmers against the import of Italian sounding dairy products.

£3.3m project to improve dairy supply chain in Wales

A Welsh minister has launched a £3.3m (€3.96m) five-pronged project to support the domestic dairy industry and improve supply chain efficiency and realise energy savings.

Fonterra reports sharp dip in dairy prices

Fonterra has revealed that prices were down sharply at its latest auction, as concerns about supply, which had fueled recent price increases, eased.

Special Edition: Shelf Life

CO2 process could herald new dawn for heat sensitive liquids

Carbon dioxide (CO2) under pressure could rise to the top in terms of alternatives to conventional heat treatments for liquids but must be used in unison with stress inducers such as modified atmosphere packaging and lower pH to render microbes ineffective and extend shelf life, claim researchers.

Comment

The quest for a radical new world for antioxidants

Here’s a radical thought for the marketers - the benefits of antioxidants may not be related to antioxidant activity. Last week’s NutraIngredients Antioxidants Conference suggested some tough choices are ahead.

FrieslandCampina extends new quality assurance system

FrieslandCampina has rolled out its new quality assurance system to its production sites and is working on extending the system to cover the environment and safety at work.

UK dairy sector eyes energy saving pasteurisation alternative to extend milk shelf-life

Ultraviolet light technology will be touted as an environmentally friendly alternative to heat pasteurisation for milk in an Industrial Energy Efficiency Accelerator (IEEA) report due in the coming weeks.

Kerrygold Company and North Downs Dairy sign merger deal

Irish Dairy Board subsidiaries Kerrygold Company and North Downs Dairy are to merge their operations to create a £335m business called Adams Foods.

Danone: We axed Shape satiety yogurt because of the taste

Danone finally ditched its Shape Feel Fuller for Longer yogurt because it could not get the taste right, but insists it still believes there is a market for products promoting satiety.