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Obese children are getting more obese and earlier, according to Tam Fry

‘Fine firms that fail to reformulate’

By Rick Pendrous

Fines should be imposed on food and drink manufacturers that fail to reformulate their products quickly enough to reduce high levels of fat, sugar and salt (HFSS), a childhood obesity campaigner has urged.

There was major public concern about overfishing

EU's fisheries reform policy starts this month

By Nicholas Robinson

The EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) reform package will start to be implemented this month and marks an historic turning point in setting EU fisheries management.

Labelling meat ingredients with country of origin will prove challenging. Sign up for our free, one-hour webinar on the EU's new labelling rules by emailing michael.stones@wrbm.com

Meat processors battle mandatory labels

By Nicholas Robinson

Meat processors in the UK are set against the mandatory origin labelling of meat used as an ingredient, according to the director of the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) Stephen Rossides.

Agri-food businesses are on the brink of 'a golden age' - driven by surging demand, said Simon Coveney

Agrifood business ‘on brink of golden age’: Irish farm minister

By Michael Stones

Agri-food businesses face “a golden age” Simon Coveney, Irish minister for agriculture, fisheries and the marine, told the Oxford Farming Conference, the day before Irish food board Bord Bia confirmed food and drink exports reached nearly £8.27bn (€10bn)...

GMB workers at Bakkavor's Park Royal pizza plant in London are to vote on strike action

Bakkavor pizza workers to vote in GMB strike plan

By Michael Stones

Fresh prepared foods manufacturer Bakkavor has expressed disappointment at news that 600 of its workers at the Park Royal pizza plant in London are to be balloted over strike action, in a dispute with the GMB union over pay. 

Action on Sugar aims to raise public awareness about sugar and how much of it is in foods

Sugar substitution way to escape public shaming

By Rod Addy

Food manufacturers should substitute sugar with other sweeteners more or face public shaming and risk missing significant commercial benefits, according to a prominent nutrition policy expert.

Recalling problems: Of the 55 alerts issued last year by the FSA, 45 involved product recalls

Cross-contamination and mislabelling causes most product recalls

By Rick Pendrous

Factory contamination of food and drink by pathogens and physical contaminants continues to present problems for the industry, according to an assessment of the reasons behind food alerts issued last year by the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

FSA advice on eating fish is 'confusing', said a leading nutritional scientist.

Scientist questions the FSA’s advice on fish

By Rick Pendrous

Government advice to pregnant women to restrict consumption of fish to avoid risking the brain development of foetuses by ingesting high levels of dangerous toxins, has been questioned by a leading nutritional scientist.

The new cold store is part of a wider investment programme at Fletchers Group

Fletchers Group bakery in £1M cold store expansion

By Rod Addy

Fletchers Group of Bakeries has completed a £1M expansion of its cold storage facilities, doubling capacity and enhancing environmental and technical efficiencies at its dedicated foodservice business unit Kara.

Sainsbury's third quarter results were greeted with relief by City analysts

Sainsbury’s Q3 results greeted with relief by City analysts

By Michael Stones

Sainsbury’s third quarter results for the 14 weeks to January 4 2014 were greeted with relief by City analysts, as the supermarket’s boss Justin King pledged to stay at the helm – at least for the short to medium term.

Lucozade used images of sports stars in its ad campaign

Sports drink ad claims attacked

By Rod Addy

A Lucozade Sport ad campaign has been slammed by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for falling foul of European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) health claims rules.

Ready meal industry would like to see some stabilisation

Frozen food sales set to rise in 2014

By Nicholas Robinson

UK frozen food sales in 2014 are set to recover from last year’s horsemeat scandal, British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF) director general Brian Young has said.  

Industry consultation on new food labelling rules should be one the Greek presidency's four key priorities, says FoodDrinkEurope

Food labelling should be priority for Greek presidency

By Michael Stones

The Greek presidency of the EU Council should make industry consultation on new food labelling rules one of its four key priorities, says the European food manufacturers’ organisation FoodDrinkEurope.

Dominic Watkins is on the panel

Free webinar to tackle FIR questions

By Michael Stones

Food and drink manufacturers now have less than a year to plan their response to the Food Information Regulation (FIR) – due to be enforced on December 14 2014 – but Food Manufacture’s free, one-hour webinar next month will provide timely advice.

Paterson revealed the news on his trade mission

China-based expert to support pork exports

By Rick Pendrous

Environment secretary Owen Paterson is expected to announce the appointment of a full-time agricultural expert in Beijing early in the New Year to assist with growing UK food exports to China.

Mumbai docks, where UK food manufacturers' products have been held

India’s new law could cost the UK millions

By Rod Addy

UK food and drink manufacturers could lose millions of pounds as exports to India languish at Mumbai docks after authorities blocked shipments following sudden regulatory changes.

Ready meal firms no longer need to look to cardboard

‘Quantum leap’ in food packaging

A peelable lidding film has been introduced for ready meals that removes the need for cardboard sleeves, while delivering cost savings and reducing packaging.

Kolak owner Ashok Lakhani (l) with fellow director and son Rikin Lakhani

Installation triples snack output

The installation of Ishida’s latest snacks packing solution - 18-head multi-head weighers and Atlas bagmakers with advanced Ishida integrated Total Packaging Systems (iTPS) software - at Kolak Snack Foods in London, is helping to nearly triple output...

The award-winning packs were created for Bornholms

'Belt and braces' barrier extends shelf-life on plastics

By Paul Gander

The possibility of doubling up oxygen barrier in in-mould labels with the same barrier in the pot itself has enabled a Scandinavian seafood firm to move from metal packaging to ambient plastics, with a current shelf-life of two years potentially extendable...

Brewery firm’s cost bebefits from gas burner

Gas burner optimises brewing

Installing a TX 30 modulating gas and air burner system from Lanemark International has brought cost and efficiency benefits to AB UK's new brewery.

The PDX Reactor steam cooker can mix, heat and pump simultaneously

Novel cooking cuts production time

By Rick Pendrous

Siemens Industry and Olympus Automation have joined forces in a partnership to deliver a novel cooking process that is claimed to dramatically reduce production time and enhance the quality of soups, sauces and ready meals.

Sports drinks market topped by vanilla flavour

Vanilla flavour for high-protein products

Synergy’s recently launched powdered vanilla flavours for high-protein products were designed to deliver high-impact flavour in the challenging sports nutrition segment, where vanilla tops the popularity stakes.

Bakery firm makes commitment to grain growers

CSM secures ancient seeds

CSM Bakery Supplies has made a commitment to its grain growers ahead of harvest to ensure a secure supply of ancient cereals.

Soya crisps offer food firms flexibility

Soya protein crisps you can customise

Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) says its new line of soya protein crisps are a cost-effective way to enhance nutrient content, texture and flavour in a range of applications, including nutrition bars, cereals and healthy snacks.

Cereal manufacturers offered new way to cut acrylamide

New product categories for asparaginase

In recent years, acrylamide has triggered health concerns among food manufacturers and health authorities. To address these, Novozymes introduced the asparaginase Acrylaway in 2007: a product that is used industrially in more than 30 countries in products...

Free-from popularity continues

No sign of gluten-free growth stalling

By Nicholas Robinson

Many more gluten-free foods are set to hit retail shelves this year, with one company alone planning to launch 15 new products.

The European Commission's guidance has been welcomed by food manufacturers

EC guidance published on food colourants

By Nicholas Robinson

Food manufacturers have welcomed new European Commission (EC) guidance on the classification of food extracts with colouring traits and additives that colour food.

Consumers eat more food if it is labelled as lower in fat and energy

Low-fat labels drive overeating

By Nicholas Robinson

Nutrition labels indicating low levels of fat and energy could paradoxically lead consumers to eat more, a new study has revealed.

Clare Cheney, director general, Provision Trade Federation

The power of three in Elliott’s interim report

By Clare Cheney

Among the recommendations in the Elliott interim report on the horsemeat fiasco three stood out, not because they were necessarily the most important, but because they addressed issues that have long been matters of great concern to the industry. But...

Sources and analysts say Premier wants £100M for its Hovis business

Three buyers in the running for Premier’s Hovis bakery

By Rick Pendrous

Premier Foods’ plans to sell its troubled Hovis plant bakery business should become clearer over the coming months, as news emerged towards the end of last year that a shortlist of three candidates were interested in buying or investing in the business.

Coveney has faith in the future of Greencore's food-to-go products

Greencore sees growth in ‘food-to-go’

By Rick Pendrous

Greencore is expected to improve its financial performance over the coming year as its new focus on ‘food-to-go’ products both in the UK and US gathers momentum. Most City analysts have predicted a positive outlook for the Irish own-label convenience...

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