Recently it has seemed as if it were impossible to turn the page in a newspaper without reading about more potential industrial action in the food manufacturing industry. Companies such as Nestlé UK, Coca-Cola, Tunnock’s, Bakkavör and Maple Leaf Bakery...
I left school with O- and A-levels and got a job in a microbiology lab at a bakery, which funded a Higher National Certificate in food technology at South Bank Polytechnic.
A clear film cook-in bag for prepared fresh fish is just the first of many applications to include meat, poultry and vegetables, packaging supplier Sirane has promised.
From 3D differentiation to metallised finishes, thermoforming and – potentially – oxygen barrier, in-mould labelling (IML) for plastics is opening up new options for food manufacturers.
An artificial tongue has been invented by professor Toko of Kyushu University, Japan. He aims to identify all tastes automatically using a special polymer membrane, electronics and some fancy maths. He warns no secret food or drink recipe will be safe....
When working on a product brief it is no longer enough to put one’s personal ideas down on a sheet of blank paper. A more in-depth, rounded approach is required.
In a bid to offer a ‘pop up’ solution for the foodservice industry, Brakes has launched a range of instant portioned pasta meals for school, college, university and workplace canteens, hospitals and independents.
Packaging firm Rexam recently collaborated with Nestlé’s German culinary unit, Maggi, to develop a new range of microwaveable ready meals under the Maggi Topfinito brand.
Calls from some EU Member States to tighten controls to reduce the effects of commodity speculation will not prevent price fluctuations in essential ingredients, experts have claimed.
Moves to persuade consumers to reduce food waste could make them more susceptible to incidents of foodborne diseases if they eat foods that are beyond their use-by dates, according to Sainsbury’s chief microbiologist.
Heinz management say that Unite union members at the firm’s Wigan plant are getting a “great deal” on pay and are puzzled by a decision to ballot for strike action.
Hounslow frozen pizza manufacturer Capri Foods has been fined by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for ignoring calls to secure a dangerous first-floor doorway.
An email from Premier Foods inviting recruitment agencies to stump up £10,000 to participate in its 2011 Preferred Supplier Programme (PSP) has been branded a “disgrace” by suppliers.
Qadex is launching a product specification system that will enable manufacturers to provide a full description and history of food and drink ingredients and packaging in retailer-friendly formats.
Twinings workers are “genuinely dismayed” by news that the firm has signed a contract to recieve €12m of EU funding for a new Polish site that will see UK jobs slashed.
News that the British Standards Institution (BSI) is developing a new allergen control standard is an “unnecessary development, which we do not support”, according to the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC’s) Trading arm.
Workers at vegetable and fruit supplier Bakkavor’s plant near Peterborough held street protests today asking local people to help them save their jobs.
Premier Foods is striving to resolve a dispute with Tesco that led to the retailer removing 11 out of 18 Hovis bread lines from its shelves earlier this month.
The Food and Drink Federation’s (FDF’s) allergens steering group has published a paper setting out a best practice approach to allergen management that aims to tackle excessive ‘may contains’ labelling.
Allan Rich Seafoods has been fined after it was successfully prosecuted for illegally storing outdated food and having rat and maggot-infested premises.
Dr Bob Hagan – who heads the global analytical network at Kraft Foods – has been appointed as the new md of Reading Scientific Services (RSSL). He replaces Kay O'Donnell.
A temporary ceasefire has been called at CCE’s Edmonton bottling plant, with trade union Unite calling off strike action ahead of talks to resolve an ongoing pay dispute.
Neil Court-Johnston has been named as the new md of the foodservice division at pie, pasty and sausage roll-maker Peter’s, five months after his controversial exit from Holland’s Pies.
Arla is increasing capacity for its Cravendale filtered mllk by 50m litres at its Stourton dairy with the construction of a third blow-moulding machine.
Leatherhead Food Research (LFR) is inviting partners to work with it on a collaborative project to determine the most effective control measures for Norovirus, the organism believed to be responsible for the food poisoning outbreak at Heston Blumenthal’s...
Ice cream maker R&R is well placed to make further sizeable acquisitions if it continues to improve margins, particularly in its French operations, according to credit ratings firm Moody's.
After hammering out a definition of the term ‘nanomaterial’ in a draft resolution, the European Commission is now inviting comments from interested parties over the next four weeks.
Unilever is aiming to complete ‘want summits’ in which staff identify a wish-list of technologies and desires across all of its key categories by the end of the year as it ramps up its open innovation activities.
More than 30 suppliers are now exchanging master product data with Makro via the global data synchronisation network (GSDN), with 50% of its supply base scheduled to come on board over the next 2-3 years.
Is open innovation just a fancy term to describe what manufacturers have been doing for years, or is it genuinely changing how (and how fast) new products get to market?
Whey protein manufacturers are considering submitting fresh applications to secure health claims under article 13.5 of the EU health claims Regulation after the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) gave the thumbs down to several whey-related claims,...
The next generation easy-to-open can, sodium-free ingredients that enhance salt perception and technology that can stop gluten-free pasta going mushy and prevent green veg from turning brown in the canning process.
Mars, a private company once famed for its secrecy, is cranking up efforts to engage with external collaborators via the launch of a new open innovation website, in which it will invite potential partners to help it solve its research and development...
The budget at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) will drop from £2.9bn in 2010/11 to £2.2bn in 2014/15 – a 24% drop – the Treasury has revealed.
Armageddon appears to be fast approaching for vast swathes of the functional ingredients trade following the publication of the third batch of ‘article 13.1’ health claims opinions from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
Uniq has unveiled plans to tackle the £436m hole in its pension scheme with a deficit-for-equity swap that will deliver 90% of the company's equity to the pension fund.
The British Standards Institution (BSI) is aiming to produce the first draft of a new standard for the control of allergens in food production by 2012, FoodManufacture.co.uk understands.
PepsiCo has unveiled a bold plan to slash the carbon and water impact of its core crops in the UK (potatoes, oats, apples) by 50% over the next five years.
All of Arla’s fresh milk and Cravendale polybottles now contain 15% recycled plastic, and bosses are confident of doubling this percentage to 30% by 2015, the firm has revealed.
More than two million jars of Gordon Ramsay’s Seriously Good premium Italian cooking sauces have been sold a year after launch, equating to sales of around £3.7m.
Low levels of R&D, high input costs and uneven relations with retailers are amongst the reasons for emerging economies are outpacing growth of the EU food and drink sector, says a new CIAA report.
Yakult Europe has signalled its desire to talk to EFSA about the evaluation process and scientific criteria that led to the negative outcome of its proposed health claim on upper respiratory tract health, but pledges to take the decision into account...
Industry representatives have dismissed media reports that fish oil imports from China threaten the health of US consumers while acknowledging the need for some Chinese producers to improve quality.
A complex piece of financial restructuring that Premier Foods claims will further improve the health of its balance sheet has been greeted by City analysts as a “welcome step forward” for the heavily indebted company.
Early indications are that Yeo Valley may have turned the swag on with its latest ad campaign, which has become an overnight YouTube sensation (and turned an owl called Ted into an international celebrity).
