New product development is being disrupted by HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC’s) increased efforts to claw back value added tax (VAT) on food as the government tackles UK debt, according to lawyers and manufacturers.
Fairfax Hall and Sam Galsworthy from distiller Sipsmith are two archetypal Englishmen with one overrising ambition: to revive London's longstanding artisanl gin-making tradition. Ben Bouckley reports.
TDG plans to plough millions of pounds more into improving the efficiency of its UK cold stores, following the announcement of £1M investments in facilities at Aberdeen and Newport, in Gwent.
Industry body PlasticsEurope has warned that brandowners and retailers, particularly in the UK, risk allowing consumer pressure to justify uneconomic recycling where other options would make far better environmental sense.
Consumer belt-tightening and lively competition between the main frozen food brands are triggering a welter of packaging innovation. But this still leaves key areas such as frozen ready meals with more questions than answers.
Small UK food and drink manufacturers could benefit from government plans to refocus its research spending on areas more likely to produce a commercial return on investment.
My Leatherhead colleague Alice Pegg was on TV recently explaining the importance of food additives. With the clever use of red food dye she easily convinced a group of experienced wine tasters that a dyed white wine was red wine.
A new method for characterising nanoparticles in food has been developed by the UK national measurement institute LGC (formerly the Laboratory of the Government Chemist), which claims it is much quicker and less labour-intensive than other approaches.
The world’s population had doubled to 6bn by the end of the last century. Global food shortages were predicted but averted. But can the food chain meet the challenge of feeding 9bn mouths by 2050? And will genetic modification technology have a place...
By Lorraine Mullaney John West’s innovation team has been working on a makeover to broaden the appeal of the firm’s canned mackerel and sardine products among young and lapsed consumers.
Spearheading the trend for better quality food ‘on the go’, catering firm Foodies To Go has launched a range of hot, chef-cooked meals aimed at busy people ‘on the move’.
Upon learning that responsibility for food labelling in England is to be distributed between three government departments, these words from Gilbert and Sullivan’s Mikado sprung to mind: “but the laws of common sense, you oughtn’t to ignore”.
Cargill Health & Nutrition is working with a number of UK food manufacturers so that products containing its natural Stevia-based high-intensity sweetener Truvia can be launched soon after it receives approval for use in the EU. Approval is expected...
Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) has called on the coalition to improve the UK’s poor recycling infrastructure by making local authority processes consistent.
A lower-cost, risk-based meat plant inspection regime could become a reality much sooner than previously thought, following the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA’s) strong lobbying behind the scenes in mainland Europe.
Threatened strike action at Maple Leaf Bakery UK’s Walsall factory has been averted after the Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) agreed a deal with management.
Premier Foods remains ‘open-minded’ about selling off assets - including its meat-free business - to pay off debts, provided the price is right, bosses have confirmed.
The CBI has unveiled a package of proposals to ‘modernise employment relations legislation’ including raising the threshold for industrial action and allowing businesses to recruit staff through agencies to cover stoppages.
Who feels like some Chicken Tonight? Not many of us, apparently, which explains why brand owner Unilever now wants to get shot of it, along with fellow cooking sauce Ragu, sales of which are believed to be equally uninspiring.
Good traceability systems helped prepared foods giant Bakkavör avoid a potentially costly recall earlier this year, when it experienced a problem with contaminated meat marinades supplied to other processors, according to the company’s group food safety...
Energy services company Dalkia's recent commission to build a combined heat and power (CHP) facility at Dairy Crest’s Davidstowe creamery reflects an increasing appetite for sustainable, efficient energy within the food industry.
A novel technology that uses air instead of gallons of water and cleaning agents to clean process pipe work is being installed at a UK whisky manufacturer this week and will shortly be tested by a UK dairy manufacturer.
First Milk plans to start building its new Scottish creamery in early 2011, after Argyll & Bute Council approved a delayed planning proposal for a linked Tesco store
Unite members at Coca-Cola Enterprises’ Edmonton (CCE’s) factory have downed tools again yesterday in the latest in a series of strikes and warned of further stoppages unless the soft drinks firm raises its 2% pay offer.
While Dairy Crest says that full-year profits should be in line with expectations, City analysts have been engaged in feverish speculation over the price it has paid to retain its milk contract with Morrisons.
The trade responded quickly to the downturn, but must now “respond to the upturn” if it wants to inject some excitement back into the cake fixture, Finsbury Food Group has warned.
Diesel prices will rise 1ppl today in the second of three planned fuel duty rises during 2010/11, while the National Minimum wage also increases from £5.80 to £5.93/hour.
From antimicrobial sprays to nano-sieves for removing allergens, ultra-fine emulsions and anti-fouling nano-coatings, FoodManufacture.co.uk provides a round-up of current and potential application areas for nanomaterials in the food and drink industry.
The European Commission’s decision to stop publishing article 13.1 health claims in batches and carve out botanicals from the process has met with more positive industry responses, as it will create more legal certainty and reduce implementation burdens...
Wigan-based handmade sweet producer Uncle Joe’s is keen to double its turnover "as quickly as possible" as it approaches full capacity at its current site.
The kind of stand-off recently seen between Unite and Cranberry Foods over workplace union recognition is unlikely to recur, according to a leading academic.
A serious fire at a factory supplying packaging materials to United Biscuits’ McVitie's factory in Carlisle has not significantly disrupted production, the biscuit and snacks firm insists.
In a move that has caught market analysts by surprise, UK based snack and biscuit maker, United Biscuits, is reportedly close to a deal with leading Chinese food group Bright Food in terms of a buy out.
Irn-Bru maker AG Barr has “substantially outperformed” the soft drinks market in the first half, posting a sharp rise in top and bottom line growth driven by increased distribution in England and Wales and strong marketing support.
Stockholm-based firm Innventia is seeking a partner to help commercialise technology that will make the production of nanocellulose on an industrial scale commercially viable.
While last week’s profit warning was a serious blow, Robert Wiseman Dairies is in a good position to try and claw back some of the initiative over the next 18 months, particularly if it is able to win business from Asda and Morrisions, according to Investec...
MEP Glenis Willmott is "quite confident" that the European Council will overturn the European Parliament’s (EP’s) decision to scrap colour-coded front-of-pack food labelling in the EU.
Independent Scottish dairy Graham’s The Family Dairy is investing heavily to expand its butter plant following the acquisition of rival Claymore Dairies.
The School Food Trust (SFT) and the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) are both on a list of quangos facing the axe, according to a leaked report published in today's Telegraph.
Food robotics body CenFRA (the Centre for Food Robotics and Automation) is dividing itself up into five distinct divisions in order to provide a more focused service for food and drink manufacturers.
More than 360 staff out of 500 employed at the Tunnock's caramel wafer and teacake factory in Uddingston, Glasgow, downed tools yesterday and will strike again next Tuesday.
