An enlarged EU containing a consumer base of some 450 million
should provide plenty of opportunity for market expansion,
according to a recent food industry seminar.
US cereals and snacks group Kellogg is to centralise its European
operations in a new office in Ireland, giving it a major presence
in the market with the world's highest per capita consumption of
ready-to-eat cereals, writes...
A three year EU project funded by Brussels will seek to improve
understanding of the role phytoestrogens, found in a host of foods,
can play in reducing the risk of colon, breast and prostate
cancers.
Quadrant Engineering Plastic Products (QEPP) has launched a new
line of food compliant materials (FCM) that will allow food
manufacturers to meet the European Union's Directive 2002/72/EC on
food-contact materials.
A lack of time and increasing incomes levels are the main reasons
for the huge increase in the ready meals and chilled food sectors
in eastern Europe. This week's product launches tracked by Mintel's
GNPD database are testimony...
Competition for European suppliers of honey has ramped up with
Brussels clearing the way to end a two year ban on food imports
from China which should pave the way for cheaper raw materials for
honey formulations.
Long-awaited changes to Europe's heavily subsidised sugar regime
are on the way after the European Commission tabled a new set of
rules that could lead to cheaper sugar ingredients, writes
Lindsey Partos.
The European Commission has agreed to a programme which will see a
total investment of €1.8 billion in Poland's food processing and
agricultural sectors over the next two years, in a move that is
likely to push the country towards...
Swiss-Swedish carton packaging company Tetra Laval says it will
appeal yesterday's decision by the European Commission to impose a
fine of €90,000 for an alleged failure to provide information in
the long running investigation...
Cheaper sugar ingredients could be on the way for food makers as
rumours continue to circulate about the proposed new rules to the
EU sugar regime that could open up the protected European market,
prompting Danish sugar giant Danisco...
Estonia, Slovenia and Lithuania have all pegged their currencies to
the euro as a first step towards adopting the euro in 2007 - a move
that is expected to cause many food and beverage businesses to keep
tighter reins on their pricing...
Cheaper sugar ingredients could be on the way for food makers in
Europe as draft plans for tough changes to the much criticised
sugar regime come to light.
Huhtamaki's Chinet range of moulded fibre foodservice plates has
just been certified for biodegradability - the latest step in an
industry-wide trend towards greener packaging.
Food manufacturers must continue to be on the alert for a red devil
as the list of products containing the potentially carcinogenic,
and illegal, red dye Sudan I is far from tailing off. Now the UK
Food Standards Agency is alerting...
Following its week-long ban on all EU meat imports, the Russian
government has agreed that it will be lifted, at the same time as
setting a new deadline in its demands for a more harmonious EU food
safety certification.
Accreditation of Genetic ID's testing for detection of genetically
modified materials in raw foods, processed foods, and animal feed
has been renewed by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service
(UKAS).
The acquisition of Rhodia Food Ingredients by Danisco has finally
been completed today, bringing the Danish ingredients group one
step closer towards its goal of becoming a leading supplier of
ingredients to the food industry. The...
The German system of mandatory deposits on certain non-refillable
beverage containers has had a devastating impact on some sectors of
the packaging industry, according to a recent assessment.
Over 500 food processing plants were shut down in the Czech
Republic at the end of 2003, according to Radio Praha. The closures
of the plants were due to food safety and hygiene standards failing
to meet European Union regulations.
A conference to address the future of central & eastern
Europe's packaging markets is to be held in Bologna, Italy next
month. The event will attempt to evaluate the investment potential
for packagers in emerging markets...
The Beverage Can Makers in Europe (BCME) has welcomed the advocate
general's conclusions in the EU Court cases regarding the German
packaging regime. He found that the discriminatory elements of the
German packaging order regarding...
A scientist at the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden has
demonstrated how manufacturers can make environmentally-friendly
packing out of garbage.
Leading foreign supermarket chains in Eastern Europe claim they are
expecting to significantly increase their food exports to foreign
subsidiaries throughout Europe, giving a major boost to food
producers there, writes Simon Pitman.
The ten new Member States of the EU have had to work flat out to
ensure that their legal systems are brought into line with the rest
of Europe's, and no sector has been busier than the food processing
and packaging sector. For...
On 1 May an historic moment marked the entry of ten countries and
75 million consumers into the European Union. Churchill's 'Iron
Curtain' has been consigned to the history books, heralding
democracy, stability and...
Earlier this month CAOBISCO, the body which represents European
manufacturers of sugar-based foods, came racing to side of the
businesses it represents in the accession countries. Once installed
in an enlarged Europe, the new Member...
As accession lifts the EU's population by 20 per cent at a stroke,
the European Commission reports that every food processor in all 10
new member states has been brought into the net of EU regulations.
But for one in 12, granted...
For many food companies in the accession countries 1 May will be
the culmination of a great deal of hard work. However in Romania
and Bulgaria, currently mooted for entry in 2007, most of that work
still lies ahead. Simon Pitman spoke...
The UK Food Standards Agency has published a consultation paper
seeking views on the EC's proposals to regulate the use of recycled
plastic materials intended to come into contact with food. The new
regulations would harmonise...
An additional €25 million funding for recycling and a national
biodegradable waste strategy were among the new initiatives
announced in Ireland's first 5-year report on the country's waste
management progress. A report on...
A safer way to heat food products that still manages to retain
nutritional quality is being developed by European scientists. The
researchers are eager to see if the new process can reduce the need
for additives and appeal to consumers...
Offices of bakery ingredients and sweeteners giant CSM were raided
yesterday by the Dutch competition watchdog NMa on suspicions of
price fixing in the firms sugar division CSM Suiker. In a parallel
raid, the NMa hit leading Dutch...
Food producers in the US are unlikely to be happy with the new
traceability regime in the EU. The NFPA argues that the regulations
represent a serious barrier to international trade, writes
Anthony Fletcher.
The 10 new Member States due to join the EU are on course to meet
the EU's food safety standards, said EU Commissioner David Byrne,
who claims that significant progress has been made in recent
months.
The European Commission says it is making efforts to debunk what it
terms 'myths and misunderstandings' about a range of food and drink
products with respects to EU enlargement.
Sugar prices look set to rise in the accession countries by up to
60 per cent, warns the European chocolate and confectionery body
CAOBISCO this week, predicting major set backs for food
manufacturers installed in the zone. The warning...
Sugar giant British Sugar helped boost six month results for its
parent, food and ingredients firm Associated British Foods, which
this week reported double-digit growth in profits. But
international agency Oxfam has criticised the...
The European Commission has announced a rural development programme
to the value of €250 million for the Czech Republic. The funding is
expected to provide a significant boost to the country's processed
agricultural products...
Switzerland's sweet and savoury biscuit sector saw a return to
growth in 2003 due entirely to a strong upswing in export sales -
but domestic sales fell for the second year in succession as a
result of cheaper imports from the...
Despite Italian food giant Parmalat's financial crisis its
divisions in both Romania and Hungary continue to operate. Indeed
Parmalat Hungary is expecting that in the ramp up to accession,
production will increase in response...
Intensified competition in the ingredients marketplace and
disappointing orders for Cocoa Butter Equivalents (CBE) following
the new chocolate rules leads to job losses at Danish fats and oils
firm Aarhus United.
Hungarian company Master Good has become the first in the country
to establish an organic poultry processing plant, which will
largely serve the EU export market.
Both the European Commission and the Polish government are
forecasting that the EU market will be flooded with Polish made
food and beverage items during the course of the next two to three
months.
The Central and Eastern European packaging and processing sector
comes a very definite top with respect to market potential,
according to recent market research carried out for the Total
Processing and Packaging 2004, currently running...
European and national legislation on packaging is changing, and a
great deal of confusion exists in the industry. Anthony
Fletcher talked to Europen's regulatory affairs committee
chairman Dr Steve Anderson to find out what the...
UK government policies toward manufacturing and retailer power are
the major concerns of the UK packaging manufacturing and machniery
sectors, according to the UK Packaging Business Confidence Survey
from Landell Mills Consulting,...
Days after EU ministers at the Agriculture Council huddled together
to chew over impending changes to the sugar regime, leading
sweeteners group Tate & Lyle tells the market that no surprises
are in store for 2005.
The proposed acquisition of German slaughterhouse Nordfleisch by
Dutch group Best Agrifund has been cleared by the European
Commission. The merger creates the second largest meat company in
Europe after Danish Crown.
While Poland is claiming that it is has made considerable ground in
the race to meet EU food safety regulations before accession, more
storm clouds are gathering on the issue of food stockpiling, as
worried manufacturers stock up...
European customers are demanding greater assurances of quality and
hygiene in their food products. A recent conference on the
packaging of fish examined at what the industry was doing to meet
these concerns.
