Great expectations
When it comes to flavours, consumers have increasingly sophisticated expectations. But manufacturers and flavour houses are rising to the challenge, as Susan Birks discovers
Archives for November 17, 2004
Traditional Kent brewer pours £1.9m into lager production
Investment in automated keg line should boost output by 50%
Tailored to health
With high fat, sugary and salty convenience foods under fire, healthy ingredients could not be more crucial. Susan Birks previews the new trends at this month's Healthy Ingredients Europe show
Little and often for smaller suppliers
Professor Daniel Jones, a keynote speaker at this month's Collaboration Forum, highlights the need to build a lean supply chain
PJ's future is blackcurrant
Pete and Johnny (PJ), the self-claimed founder of the UK smoothie market back in the early 90s, says it is re-energising the sector to appeal to a...
Transport costs set to soar with WTD
Logistics costs will rise once the Working Time Directive (WTD) covering 'mobile workers' comes into force next march, according to a new survey of...
RFID will not take off for at least another two years
Two-thirds of UK manufacturers think that radio frequency identification (RFID) -- radio barcodes -- will not be widely adopted for at least two...
Costa cuts jobs
G Costa is to close the Elsenham unit of its preserves company Elsenham Quality Foods with the loss of about 35 jobs. Costa said that the site was...
Pasta master feeds the desire of calorie counters
Consumers will by now probably be familiar with the concept of low-carb pasta, but Italian pasta manufacturer Pasta Lensi has gone one stage further...
Tesco boss invites anonymous complaints to help retailer change its own behaviour
Aggrieved Tesco suppliers will in future be able to complain anonymously to the retailer about poor treatment. In a move designed to appease critics,...
Sid slugs it out
Attempts by the food industry to squash Sid the Slug's low-salt advertising campaign have failed.The 1.8m tall, animated mollusc was created for the...
Meat inspectors accuse FSA of 'back-door' privatisation plan
New hygiene rules produce opposition from official inspectors
Dances with valves
Me & my factory: Duncan McGillivray
Education or exploitation?
Trans fats are the latest food story to hit the headlines. Cereal bars and biscuits are in the spotlight as consumers learn of the dangers associated...
Bakers face struggle to get good quality bread wheat
The bakery industry faces a shortage of good quality wheat, after the August rain hammered much of the UK's crop.Despite the fact that wheat used for...
The future is sealed
With plastics soaring in price, John Dunn investigates what developments are taking place to keep costs down while meeting consumer demand for convenience
Heinz shares gains at its NDC
Wincanton operates Heinz's national distribution centre (NDC) at Wigan under an open contract which runs until 2009. Rick Pendrous describes an arrangement where both parties benefit financially from efficiency gains made
Fast and natural way to new foods
Biocatalysis could offer a bright new dawn to the food industry, provided the cost of enzymes in use isn't too high. Rick Pendrous reports
Geest forms fresh ready meals response to retailing problems
Marriage of convenience taps into the healthy eating market
Licensing seen as answer to big engineer shortage
Engineers want a licensing scheme to recognise what they consider to be an undervalued profession where numbers are in serious decline.It is hoped...
Calls for trans fats labelling
Consumer magazine Health Which? has called for more industry action on trans fats because of the link to coronary heart disease. Suppliers of...
IGD chief encourages more UK food processing "off-shore"
Manufacturers say it is hard to see benefit of staying in Britain
Big brand beers to carry health warnings
Big UK brewers will begin adding general health warnings to their beers this month in a bid to prove that they are serious about tackling binge...
Scientific mission gets a taste for new technology
A novel approach to the marketing of veggie burgers and sausages, a process for vacuum-microwave drying of fruit and vegetables and a fat-replacer...
Shorter shelf-life could see millions of meals dumped
Firms fear being forced to limit storage because of new guidance
Driver shortage crisis mounts
You know how bad news nearly always seems exaggerated by the media -- that is, until you are faced with just that problem yourself. Well, it happened...
Changeovers
Ron Mellow of HJ Heinz is the new chairman of the Chilled Food Association (CFA). Previously vice chairman, Mellow has been a member of CFA's...
Awards signal metal's stronger presence in ready-to-drink
This year's Metal Packaging Manufacturers' Association (MPMA) awards recognised the advances made by cans in the glass-dominated ready-to-drink (RTD)...
Heinz plays ketchup with the shampoo market
Following the success of its plastic top down ketchup bottle, introduced in June 2003 on its 570g tomato ketchup variant, Heinz has decided to extend...
THE FIRM
Your cut-out-and-keep guide to top employers 52. Richmond Foods
The case for a UK centre of excellence
Researchers are canvassing opinion from producers and users of packaging about a proposed International Packaging Centre of Excellence, with options...
Northern 'on right track' -- but more changes to come
Troubled ready meals producer Northern Foods has seen the departure of another senior member of staff -- finance director Sean Christie, after 25...
Cinderella sector lobbies for more food students
Growing food science skills shortage prompts urgent action
Union sounds alarm bells as Unilever closes Grimsby plant
plans to outsource production may mean UK jobs are exported
Food science at a crossroads
The great and the good of academia and the industry got together last month in an attempt to resolve the impending crisis in food science. Rick Pendrous heard what they had to say
New GM rules set to confuse
So you've implemented systems to comply with the new genetically modified (GM) traceability and labelling legislation, potentially altering your...