Breaking News on Dairy Processing & Markets

Danone set to build on profits growth

Groupe Danone presented what it described as a "solid track record of profitable growth" at this week's annual investors seminar in New York.

UK dairy promotes image through schools

The UK dairy industry is to sponsor school visits to local dairy farms in the latest effort to help young people understand more how their food moves from farm to fridge.

Fortified milk may cut illnesses in preschoolers

Milk, fortified with four minerals and three vitamins, cut the occurrence of respiratory infections and days with severe illness, and could be a well accepted means of improving health, especially amongst pre-schoolers in the developing world, says new research.

Danone's beautiful designs for functional yoghurts

Danone is planning to introduce a new line of cosmetic yoghurts next year, according to press reports, as it seeks the next level of differentiation in the increasingly competitive functional dairy market.

Tax on packaging proposal slammed by industry body

An influential industry body has hit back at a call by environmental and consumer advocacy groups to put a tax on disposable and 'hard-to-recycle' packaging.

Food firms unaware of contamination risk

Many food and drink firms in the UK remain unaware of the need to insure themselves against accidental or malicious contamination of their products.

Food science 'gap year' targets UK recruit crisis

A new initiative by a UK supermarket to send students on food discovery 'gap years' around the world aims to help plug a national shortage of food scientists.

Countries accused of 'hypocrisy' over global free trade

Developed countries - with the notable exception of the UK - have been paying lip service to the notion of free markets, claims the UK's CBI.

Redesigned standardiser improves milk production, companies claim

A redesigned automatic milk standardiser allows processors to continually monitor fatcontent and eliminates the need for skilled technical support, the manufacturers claim.

EU cautious on US plan to milk cloned cows

Debate on whether to approve milk from cloned cattle for general consumption in the US is unlikely to be replicated in Europe in the near future, because consumers would reject the products.

Spray nozzle increases product quality manufacturer claims

A new design for a spray nozzle increases the quality of the final food product, its manufacturerclaims.

Synergy expands added-value ingredient potential

Synergy has completed a €5 million production facility investment in order to meet growing demand for a number of value-added ingredients.

Milk subsidies part of UK child welfare scheme

Campaigning to promote the healthiness of milk has received government support in the UK via a new scheme to hand out free milk, fruit and vitamin vouchers to parents.

Campina targets appetite control with Fabuless deal

Weight management moved further into the mainstream dairy sector this week after ingredients firm DSM signed a deal to put its Fabuless satiety product into a new Optimel dairy drink from Campina.

Unilever announces major food R&D reshuffle

Unilever plans to reshape its European foods R&D organisation in order to 'further enable differentiated innovation'.

Puleva looks to goat's milk proteins to prevent hypertension

Hydrolysed caseins from goat's milk could lead to a novel ingredient to prevent the development of high blood pressure, if results from a rat study can be translated to humans.

Green tea flavonoids: Anti-browning additives for dairy?

Scientists in the US are looking into the potential of green tea polyphenols to stop the Maillard reaction in thermally processed dairy to prevent dark colours and off-flavours.

Arla recovery fails to stop profit drop

Arla UK ended its three-year strategic plan with a three per cent drop in full year profits, after higher selling prices failed to save the dairy group from high input costs in the first half.

HIE: Opportunity knocks for whey protein sector

The growing popularity of whey protein is creating new opportunities - though relatively low consumer recognition must still be overcome.

Tetra takeover of cheddaring firm escapes Competition Commission

Tetra Laval's anticipated acquisition of the cheese-making equipment division of a UK-based firm will not be referred to the Competition Commission (CC) after the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) accepted proposals addressing competition concerns.

Live at Emballage

Emballage opens on hopeful note

Emballage opened yesterday here, with about 2,200 companies exhibiting packaging and processing machines to food, drink, cosmetics and pharmaceutical companies.

Mintel identifies key trends for 2007

Sustainability and age-specific products are key trends that will shape the consumer packaged goods industry in the year to come, according to Mintel.

Experts address measures to curb rise in food allergies

The growing number of people suffering from allergies is due to changes in European diets over the past 30 years, says a new review from the Global Allergy and Asthma European Network (GA2LEN).

New 60-second milk analyser cuts costs

A new analyser is capable of assessing a wide range of components in milk within 60 seconds and is significantly cheaper than its rivals, helping dairies to improve efficiency in quality control, its manufacturer claims.

EU proposes fees for food safety authorisations

A proposal to charge companies fees for assessments by the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) would impose too heavy of a financial burden on companies, says an industry consultant.

Pressure processing improves milk, say researchers

A high pressure processing technique retains a fresh taste while at thesame time killing bacteria andextending shelf life in products such as milk, say US researchers.

UK holds food terror response summit

Plans to deal with widespread contamination of the UK food supply caused by a terrorist attack have been discussed by industry, food safety and security officials amid concerns at the terror threat facing the country, DairyReporter.com's sister site can reveal.

Valio-Raisio announce nutrition research co-op

Finland's Valio and Raisio have announced the start of a new nutrition research co-operation, supporting the Finland 'nutrition cluster' and making the country a "forerunner in the development of healthy nutrition."

Dairy industry claims victory in infant formula battle

Milk has gained an upper hand on soy in the infant formula market, dairy industry officials said, after an international ruling on the protein content of formula milk.

Arla expands in Finnish milk

Scandinavia's Arla Foods has bought nearly a third of Finnish dairy company Ingman Foods, as consolidation continues to run apace in the European dairy sector.

Weekly Comment

Why climate change cannot be ignored

Ignoring climate change will cost countries billions and lead to food scarcity.

Wiseman to milk Britain's organic boom

New supply contracts and a new dairy will help the Robert Wiseman group to corner a significant share of the UK's soaring organic milk market, the firm has said.

Fonterra salt replacer eases pressure on food firms

Manufacturers will have another opportunity to reduce salt in their products thanks to a new dairy-based ingredient from New Zealand co-op Fonterra, which claims to replace salt and maintain flavour.

Dairy Crest seals St Hubert spreads deal

Dairy Crest, Britain's largest dairy group, is set to significantly increase its collection of brands and capture leading market positions abroad after signing a deal to buy French and Italian spreads firm St Hubert.

Dairy firms unite to fight milk critics

Top dairy firms around the world, backed by Britain's biggest supermarket, will work together to promote the health qualities of milk as concerns rise over a growing anti-dairy league.

Future fortunes of cereal, dairy snack sectors analysed

Cereal and dairy snack innovations that respond to lifestyle changes will be key to the future profitability of these sectors, according to Leatherhead Food International.

Business call for regulator to scrap recall guidance

The Forum on Private Business has called for a proposed UK guidance document on EU food law to be scrapped, criticising it for not further clarifying provisions of the bloc's regulations.

Calcium again linked to lower colorectal cancer risk

Getting plenty of calcium from the diet and supplements could reduced the risk of colorectal cancer in Chinese women by 40 per cent, says a new US-Chinese study.

Cleaning blamed for Jersey milk scare

Routine cleaning may have been to blame for the contamination of up to 2,000 packs of milk with excessive levels of bacteria in Jersey, the manufacturer has announced.

Dairy Crest eyes Uniq opportunity

Britain's largest dairy firm, Dairy Crest, was this week close to buying its way into the French spreads market, following talks with the Uniq group, according to reports.

Food miles issue no worry to Fonterra

Food miles, the trendy catchphrase alluding to pollution caused by food exports, is 'a red herring' that detracts from serious environmental issues to be faced by food producers, says Fonterra's trade strategy manager, Fiona Cooper-Clarke.

Weekly Comment

Transparency is the key to the science kingdom

In the food and nutrition world, science is king. So when journals do not force scientists to fully disclose financial support and potential conflicts of interest, they are not helping anyone.

PET resin improves clarity, cuts energy costs says manufacturer

A new polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin is designed to offer better bottle clarity alongwith reduced production costs, its manufacturer claims.

Danone's Actimel ad misleading, says UK watchdog

Britain's advert watchdog has told dairy group Danone to pull a new television ad for its Actimel probiotic drink because the health claims made are misleading for consumers.

Unilever profits slump in tough third quarter

Food manufacturer Unilever has reported a 20 per cent decrease in third quarter pre-tax profit of 1.12bn, despite bucking the trend in the European market.

Wimm-Bill-Dann warms to Siberian dairy

Russian dairy producer Wimm-Bill-Dann is to continue expanding its operations in its homeland as it looks to exploit growing markets in Siberia and the wider Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region.

Branded yoghurts lift Bright Dairy's 3Q income

Shanghai-based dairy Bright Dairy has seen a further decline in net profit for the third quarter but strong yoghurt sales during the summer season helped it lift operating income by 7.2 per cent.

Jersey milk recall adds to dairy hygiene fears

Up to 2,000 packs of milk contaminated with excessive levels of bacteria have been recalled in Jersey, raising more questions about dairy hygiene practices in the EU.

DSM overhauls dairy ingredients unit

International ingredients firm DSM has re-organised its dairy ingredients division into two distinct categories, reflecting growing demand from customers for both added value and efficiency-boosting products, DairyReporter.com can reveal.