Cholesterol-lowering plant sterols look set to appear in more
product categories in Europe, since the EC Commission has given the
green-light for their use in dietary supplements and rye breads.
Icelandic manufacturer Bakkavor has purchased two British food
producers in as many days, securing its position as the UK's
largest chilled foods supplier.
Canada Bread has swept up the remaining assets and business of
troubled British baker Harvestime in a move that broadens the
firm's operations in the UK.
Bakers using APV Baker's Tweedy range of mixing machines can now
improve the quality of their products and cut costs by attaching a
pressure and vacuum mixing package to the machines, says the bakery
equipment supplier.
German health ingredients firm Cognis has introduced an
emulsifier-protein compound targeted for use in bakery
applications, which claims to replace the need to use eggs in
formulations without any significant changes to taste or...
UK speciality cake and bread maker Finsbury Foods has snapped up
two Scottish bakers following an impressive financial performance
which allowed the company to amass a £10 million war chest to spend
on acquisitions.
Bakers can significantly improve bread quality and volume and also
reduce levels of bread improver ingredients by fitting a special
moulding head onto their existing dough moulders, say manufacturers
APV Baker.
A new version of an image analysis system for baked products has
been launched, designed to make quality control and ingredient
testing an easier and faster process for the bakery industry.
Researchers in Ireland may have developed a naturally occurring
enzyme preparation for baking, which increases loaf volume and
crumb softness while also extending shelf life by three days.
A fortified bread product targeted at children is to be introduced
this month in the US by George Weston Bakeries. The move comes as
bakers are increasingly churning out kid-friendly products in an
attempt to cash in on parents'...
Changes to Australia's food code continue, with the nation's food
agency calling on companies and organisations to comment on a host
of new proposals, including applications from DSM Nutritional and
Danisco Australia.
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.
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.
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.
Spanish scientists are carrying out further investigation into the
nutrient content of bread in an attempt to persuade consumers to
eat more of the fibre-rich food.
Major cost-cutting at US-based Sara Lee boosted operating profits
at its bakery division by 36 per cent over 2005 but sales were down
on the previous year after a 53rd week in 2004 swelled turnover.
AB Enzymes will launch a new product to replace potassium bromate
in time to cash in on an increased Asian demand for substitutes,
after the substance was banned in China early this month.
British food group RHM last week announced it will launch a
crustless bread under its Hovis brand, targeted at young children
who only like the soft part of a loaf.
Squeezed by tight margins owing to high raw material costs and a
powerful retail sector reluctant to pass on price increases,
players across the bakery sector are striving to find different
solutions in order to sustain, rebuild and...
Wholemeal bread contains more pesticide residues than any other
bread type, according to research published yesterday by the UK's
Pesticides Residues Committee (PRC), yet the levels are not
considered dangerous to human health,...
UK millers and bakers, often at loggerheads in the past, are
increasingly working together, presenting a stronger front to
challenges facing their industry, reports Lorraine Heller.
The owners of Britain's RHM, Doughty Hanson, have begun preparing
the food group for a stock market flotation later this year after
implementing pension reforms and cutting away dead wood, says a
report in the UK's Financial...
UK speciality cake and bread maker Finsbury Foods has recovered
well from a rocky 2003, showing just how quickly a company can
progress by focusing on premium and indulgence trends across both
branded and private label sectors, writes...
DSM, the largest food fermentation company in the world (in value
terms) sees its combined food units beating industry growth for the
year, but bakery still under pressure, reports Lindsey
Partos.
The Altay-Batyushka brand from Russia's Hleb Altaya (Altay Bread)
group has been voted the best food product from the Altay region,
the bread basket of Russia. Angela Drujinina reports.
Food scientists continue the challenge to come up with food
ingredients suitable for consumers unable to eat wheat, rye or
barley-based foods because of a reaction to the gluten protein
found in these grains.
Irish baker IAWS is taking on France's specialist bakery,
confectionery and foodservice sectors by acquiring leading domestic
distributor Groupe Hubert, and could exploit the declining number
of independent on-site bakers in...
Only two out of over 100 'standard' food products in a recent
survey of retailers' own brand foods met with salt slashing targets
set by the UK's food watchdog, suggesting ongoing research into
reducing the content...
Interstate Bakeries, which filed for bankruptcy amid mounting debts
and falling sales less than a month ago, has announced plans to
close another of its US bakeries. But streamlining alone will not
solve the problem, argues Chris...
Retailers and suppliers are increasingly turning to high quality,
speciality breads to try and jazz up Britain's dormant bread sector
and raise profits by inspiring consumers, writes Chris
Mercer.
A new bakery capable of producing up to 70 million bread loaves per
year is set to be built in Moscow by Swedish firm Cerealia to serve
the growing convenience food industry with cosmopolitan products -
and by-pass customs duties,...
A major UK milling company is set to double the size of its flour
business by acquiring two new flour mills, giving the company a
good footing in new regional markets and helping it to keep up with
ever increasing customer demand,...
US-based food producer Sara Lee has announced a solid 4 per cent
sales rise for the first quarter of fiscal 2005 and highlighted its
bakery business as a strong contributor to company growth. But the
praise hides a relatively average...
UK bakery ingredients firm Bakemark UK continues the drive into
value-added products, launching a new addition to its Diamond range
of bread improvers that it claims will slice away costs for bakers
making the 9 million loaves a day...
UK family-baker Warburtons is gambling more than most on the growth
of the UK bread market, having doubled output in Scotland and
started building Europe's biggest bakery in Yorkshire - so just how
does the company see itself...
The last 18 months or so have been tough for Cerealia, with
profitability well down on previous years as a result of a number
of disposals designed to refocus the group on a smaller number of
business units. But replacing disposed...
Low-carb diets are still on the fringe of British eating habits,
with high drop-out rates and consumer cynicism over health
benefits, according to a new report - confirming the UK bakery
industry's view that low-carbs pose no...
Functional bakery products trail behind beverages and dairy in
terms of the global functional food market but in one European
market - Germany - functional bread is showing good growth,
according to market analysts Euromonitor.
Despite a warning in April that raw materials and currency would
have an impact on second half earnings, the UK ingredients firm
Associated British Foods, which in July laid down €1 billion for
leading yeast supplier Burns Philp,...
Finnish bakery group Fazer has begun a three-year programme
promoting the health benefits of rye-based products - everything
from cancer prevention to reducing the risk of coronary heart
disease. And one company at least is hoping...
The streets of any French town are lined with stores selling
sandwiches, from chains such as La Brioche Dorée and Paul to
individual kiosks, but all of them have something to fear - the
growing importance of multiple grocers.
Inter Link Foods has grown rapidly to become Britain's number three
cake maker, helped by canny acquisitions and lucrative licensing
deals. The challenge now is to push into new areas of growth, such
as healthy cakes, and mount...
Danish bread and cake firm Hatting has expanded into the growing
Russian market, investing millions of euros at a new production
facility in the Moscow area.
Rondo-Doge, the Swiss manufacturer of pastry processing machinery,
has more than 50 years of expertise in the field of dough
technology - expertise which it is now placing at the disposal of
its customers with a new technology centre...