Breaking News on Industrial Baking & Snacks

Burns Philp spins off bakery ingredients unit

Australian ingredients and food group Burns Philp cashes in on value creation to fund future investments, spinning off its baking, spreads and oils divisions into a separate firm.

Cereal price squeeze likely as global stocks fall

Pressure on prices for cereal ingredients will continue as revised figures show a draw down in global cereal stocks in 2005.

Purac builds lactic acid plant in Thailand

Out to capture the projected double-digit growth in lactic acids in Asia, Purac has signed off €98 million to build a new plant in Thailand.

Kellogg launches cereal and exercise health initiative

Leading cereal maker Kellogg is to introduce a programme in the US designed to help families get fit and keep healthy. The programme involves a daily bowl of cereal combined with a daily walk.

Food industry and consumer group at odds over junk food ban

The ban on junk food in UK schools announced yesterday by the government is not an effective solution to tackling childhood obesity, the nation's food industry has said.

EU sugar reform forces CSM to restructure

CSM's sugar beet processing plant in Hoogkerk, the Netherlands is now fully online following the closure of the firm's Breda factory earlier this year.

Tate & Lyle corn mills cited for clean-air violations

Tate & Lyle North America has been cited for alleged clean-air violations at two company wet corn mills.

UK to announce school junk food ban

The UK government will announce plans to ban junk food in the nation's schools, bringing an end to the sale of crisps, chocolate and fizzy drinks in school vending machines.

Seaweed-fortified junk food developed

Junk food could be made healthier by adding an extract of an exotic type of seaweed, according to British scientists.

Weekly comment

McDonald's: facing fat

There is nothing so redolent of a corporate mid-life crisis as the strategic equivalent of a new car, new girl and new image, set firmly on the shoulders of the same old idea. McDonald's, it seems, is firmly in the throes of a mid-life crisis.

Walkers heads seasonal snack launches

UK snack manufacturer Walkers is taking the lead in seasonal snack product launches, with plans to introduce special products for the Halloween and Christmas periods.

Nestlé to invest in becoming healthier

Global food manufacturer Nestlé is to invest €500m in developing its health and wellness image, the company announced today.

Panera Bread to acquire 23 bakery-cafes

Panera Bread is to buy 21 franchise bakery-cafes from Knead Bread for $27.5m in cash, the company announced yesterday.

New APV dough divider to cut costs, improve product quality

The UK's APV Baker has introduced a new dough divider that claims to improve product quality and process control while lowering production costs.

UK food industry cuts salt, fat, sugar content

The UK food and drink industry is winning the battle to make food more nutritional, claims the Food and Drink Federation.

EU clears acquisition of Spanish bakery Panrico

The European Commission has granted clearance under the EU Merger Regulation to the acquisition of sole control of Spanish bakery Panrico by private equity group Apax Europe.

Kettle Foods to introduce 'better for you' snack range

Kettle Foods has announced it will introduce a new 'better for you' snack range, continuing the race to produce healthier food options in light of the global obesity crisis and a growing consumer health awareness.

Walkers crisp factory to close

US based food and drink giant PepsiCo is to close its Walkers snack factory in Swansea, South Wales, the company announced in a statement yesterday.

EU debates sugar ingredients

EU farm ministers met with African and Caribbean counterparts on Monday to discuss the sweeping EU sugar reform that will bring cheaper sugar ingredients into the bloc.

BakeMark UK targets on-the-go consumers with new snack product

BakeMark UK, subsidiary of Dutch ingredients firm CSM, has added another product to its Bon Vivant range, which is targeted at the rapidly expanding on-the-go consumer group.

Kraft targets kids' advertising as part of health and wellness campaign

On the back of growing consumer interest in healthy eating, leading US food maker Kraft Foods is focusing on its increasingly successful health and wellness segment, announcing plans to further limit products advertised to children to healthy options.

Recall after metal and plastic risk in Sara Lee bread

A second major case of bread contamination in the past week is set to put bakeries on the alert for contamination risks, as leading US bakery Sara Lee announces the recall of a number of its products.

More fiber may help women stay slim, say researchers

Dieters are bombarded with messages about low-carb, high-protein and low-fat approaches to weight loss, but new research from Tufts University suggests that they should also consider placing greater emphasis on fiber in their diet.

Weekly Comment

Food law: friend or foe?

The food industry is in danger of harming itself with its recent lobbying against the further harmonisation and deepening of EU food regulation.

Food and drink moves toward more automation and control systems

A combination of technological innovation, legislation as well as sprawling production facilities and complex supply chains are driving the European food and drink industry toward investments inautomation and control solutions, according to a new study by Frost & Sullivan.

New food labels to cost millions

Demonstrating the hefty cost to food makers of food labelling changes, new rules in Australia will cost about €38 million.

BakeryAndSnacks' publisher to be branded as Decision News Media

Novis, the publisher of BakeryAndSnacks, 22 other business news websites and more than 50 specialist e-newsletters, is changing its name to Decision News Media, to convey the editorial ethos that has made the group's news services into market leaders.

Inflation spike to hit food makers' pockets

The UK food industry braces itself against tougher market conditions after fresh figures from the UK reveal disappointing food sales.

Glass and needles in bread raise questions of risk

Food makers on the alert for contamination risks after leading UK industrial bakery reports fragments of glass and needles in sliced bread products.

Cereal eating teen girls weigh less

Supporting evidence for the health benefits of regular cereal consumption, girls who eat breakfast cereal daily weigh less than their friends who opt for a different morning sustenance, reveals a new study.

Tate & Lyle cereal ingredients target health market

Food ingredients giant Tate & Lyle has launched two new cereal ingredient solutions designed to enhance the nutritive qualities of food and beverages without compromising on taste or texture.

Salt substitute masks bitterness, claims firm

A new potassium chloride salt blend featuring a proprietary formulation could help food makers cut salt levels without compromising taste.

European food agency stresses red colour risk

European food scientists warn that a host of illegal dyes pinpointed in foods on the supermarket shelves may pose a genotoxic and carcinogenic risk, a conclusion reached despite insufficient data to perform a full risk assessment.

Kraft Foods spears new products to sustain growth

Food giant Kraft Foods, the maker of Maxwell House coffee and Nabisco cookies, will push funds behind 'fewer, bigger and better new product ideas' to fuel sustainable growth.

Grain exports on Mississippi river start to recover

A joint effort between government and industry is ensuring that normal levels of grain export movement along the lower Mississippi river are resumed as quickly as possible.

Food scientist sought as journalist

Novis seeks a bright, driven food scientist for a reporter's post in southern France. The main mission is to deepen coverage of scientific breakthroughs in food techniques and nutritional understanding on flagship websites, FoodNavigator.com and NutraIngredients.com.

EU sugar regime bites away at ABF profits

Oversupply of sugar in the EU and higher energy costs combine to knock profits for the year at British Sugar, its owner Associated British Foods warned today.

Machine pummels crisp bags

A new machine pummels bags made for potato crisps to determine whether they stand up the the pressures of packing machines, transport and time.

Nut link to lower cholesterol gains credence

A new meta-analysis of scientific evidence for nuts' ability to lower cholesterol levels confirms that almonds, peanuts, walnuts and pecans could be useful as part of an overall heart-healthy diet.

Food firms agree salt aims in Ireland

Food makers in Ireland agree to reduce salt from food formulations by 2010, the country's food agency announces this week.

Cognis launches cost-saving enzymes

Cognis has launched a new enzyme range that promises to improve the production of short-shelf-life yeast-raised baked goods and save food makers money.

Cereal ad allowed to claim better concentration

The UK marketer of Shreddies breakfast cereal can continue to make claims that the product helps boost children's concentration in school but it must make their evidence clearer to viewers of their ad, said authorities last week.

Organic foods taste better, claims new poll

Consumers opt to buy organic food because it tastes better, so claims a recent survey from the UK's organic body the Soil Association, putting increasing pressure on the food makers to perfect their formulations.

Weekly comment

Private equity hot on food

Cash, cash, cash. Castigated as simple asset-strippers out to make a quick buck, the entrance of private equity onto the food industry stage has participants chattering in the wings.

Scientists measure moulds in cornflake brands

Concentrations of harmful moulds called fumonisins were higher in organic samples of cornflakes, finds an investigative study on over 200 samples of this popular breakfast cereal.

New sheller for cashew nut processing

Indian researchers have developed a cashew nut sheller for use in a processing plant with cashew shelling capacity of 100 kg per hour,

Bakery industry cashes in on wholegrain trend

With wholegrains fast becoming the new health trend, food and ingredients companies are tripping over each other to launch new products and marketing strategies in order to cash in on the craze while interest is high.

National Starch seeks EU novel food status for dietary fibre

National Starch seeks to tap into the growing dietary fibre market, applying for EU approval of a resistant starch as a novel food ingredient.

EU to develop new grain varieties to combat metabolic syndrome

Health-promoting cereal foods and ingredients aimed at fighting metabolic syndrome are to be developed in a five-year project involving 43 partners from 15 European countries.

Bakemark UK launches trans fat-free margarine for cake makers

UK bakery ingredients BakeMark UK firm rolls out a trans fat-free margarine for cake makers, the latest in a series of launches as the firm sets to phase out hydrogenated fats from its entire manufactured product range by the end of 2005.