Adnams Brewery makes another move towards industrial ecology
Adnams Brewery plans to purchase its first two commercial vehicles that will run on biomethane generated from the anaerobic digestion (AD) plant it built at its Suffolk factory in 2010.
Archives for March 31, 2011
Uniq ceo 'unconstrained' as pension fund seizes sale opportunity
Uniq’s pension fund has appointed financial advisor Spayne Lindsay to sell its 90.2% holding in the chilled foods firm, which it only acquired from on March 24, while ceo Geoff Eaton told FoodManufacture.co.uk he feels "unconstrained" after clinching the...
Catalyst for efficiency
Beko Technologies offers a new method of producing high-quality oil-free compressed air using a simple catalyst and heater system.
Government gives food industry ultimatum
Global food industry giants grappled with the grim realities of food security at a meeting in Brussels last month, building on the UK government's Foresight report: The Future of Food and Farming (2011).
Siltbuster supplies Nestlé in Scotland
Effluent and water treatment specialist, Siltbuster Process Solutions (SPS) has won a contract to supply and install a D50 packaged lamella dissolved air flotation (DAF) plant with pipe flocculator and associated chemical dosing equipment to Nestlé UK &...
Arco buys consultancy and training firm
Safety expert Arco is now extending into safety management services with the acquisition of ARC Associates UK – one of the UK’s most experienced safety, health and environmental consultancy and training organisations.
Managers go it alone
The management buyout of one of Heineken’s Universal Beverages factories has created a new firm, Bevisol, which will ferment alcoholic beverages and supply alcoholic beverage producers.
Biovelop’s Promoat attracts global interest
Global demand is rising for Biovelop’s PromOat oat-derived beta glucan from firms such as mayonnaise and functional drinks makers.
Demand for continuous mixing systems rises
Increasing numbers of bakeries are installing continuous and automatic carousel or in-line bowl mixing systems for new plant, according to Keith Stalker, md of European Process Plant (EPP).
Time to eliminate food waste is running out fast, says PDM
Food waste is a ticking bomb that could go off in the face of the food industry, with landfill filling up and bureaucratic delays exhausting all remaining time to tackle the issue.
Chicken nuggets get a smoother ride
Linkx Systems has installed a second Matrix collator/shrink wrapper at Birds Eye to process frozen chicken nuggets.
Cat that got the cream
With plans to ratchet up production and the development of its flavoured milk, cottage cheese and Cravendale interests, there’s a lot going on at Arla’s Stourton dairy, as site operations director Steve McAuley reveals.
MP’s Bill aims to help UK’s hard-pressed pig farmers
Political pressure is mounting for the mandatory country of origin labelling of meat and milk products within processed foods such as ready meals.
M&S wants to take suppliers on its ‘sustainable journey’
Marks & Spencer (M&S) expects its suppliers to meet the high corporate social responsibility standards it is setting for itself as it continues on its journey to become a more sustainable business, according to its Plan A director, Richard Gillies.
Flora launches non-spitting cooking oil with less fat
Unilever UK has extended its Flora brand with the release of a healthy alternative to traditional cooking oils and butter.
Research update: New ideas under the microscope
All records have been selected from the Food Science and Technology Abstracts database, a resource specifically developed for the food industry by the International Food Information Service.
Snakes and ladders
Manufacturers are constantly looking for ways to improve efficiency. But those in the food and drink sector still lag behind others, such as automotive and chemical manufacturers, says John Saysell, business development manager at training consultancy, MCP.
Software for sausages
Sausage maker Blakeman says switching to Solarsoft’s Tropos enterprise resource planning (ERP) system has cut quality control staff costs and boosted production efficiency by 15–20%.
Oxygen scavenger systems look set to topple passive barrier films
What has always been a ‘belt-and-braces’ relationship between passive barriers and active oxygen scavenger (OS) systems could become more one-sided, with OS additives taking far more of the strain.
Making food family fun
As an industry we spend a great deal of time and money developing ‘healthy’ food solutions and menus for schools and support the ‘food’ education of children in school. However, once a child leaves the school gate there is very little support and, in...
Solbar: All about a soy
Solbar plans to launch naturally fortified soy powders this summer, made using soy protein isolates combined with other ingredients for inclusion in meat analogue products.
Nanotech progress on nutrient assimilation
Experts outlined progress in nanotechnology aiding mineral and vitamin uptake at a conference in Leatherhead, Surrey, last month.
Stand-off
Geneva has a rich history. The earliest stages of St Peter's Cathedral there date back to 1160. A famous hotbed for Protestant revolutionary zeal in the 16th18th Century and home to church reformer Calvin, the European headquarters of the UN is also...
Norfolk firm upgrades to meet £30M sales target
Norfolk-based fruit and veg processor Place UK has begun a £300,000 phase of investment designed to help it reach £30M of sales in five years.
Cocoa loco
People have been promoting the health benefits of dark chocolate and cocoa for years. But new research goes a step further, elevating cocoa beans to the status of a super fruit, rivalling blueberries, cranberries and pomegranates.
Dual-purpose system to freeze/chill raw sausages
Starfrost has customised a dual-purpose freeze/chill Glacier system to process a new range of uncooked sausages.
Wales is a winner on waste
Environment minister for Wales, Jane Davidson opened consultation on the ‘Food Manufacture, Service and Retail Sector plan’ for waste last month. She did so during a visit to Wales’s first commercial-scale anaerobic digestion (AD) plant at Premier...
Save your skin
Severed fingers, crushed skulls, exploding offal cookers and slips trips and falls: is it a House of Horrors freakshow? No, it's a list of just a few of the recent accidents in the food and drink manufacturing sector.
Wiseman brushes off talk of a second ‘super dairy’
Robert Wiseman Dairies has ruled out any plans to build a second ‘super dairy’ in the short term
Bendicks MP braced for bad news
The future of the Bendicks chocolate factory in Winchester looks bleak, according to the local MP who met with its parent company Storck yesterday.
New creamer waves goodbye to palm oil
French farmer co-operative Limagrain Céréales Ingredients (LCI) has launched a cereal creamer that allows processors to eliminate palm oil, while retaining the strengths of its organoleptic properties.
Spot the real invisible man
The villains broke into the flat. They moved cautiously. Suddenly, as if by magic, a chair flew across the room in their direction. They quickly aimed their pistols towards the corner where the chair once stood but there was no one to aim at. To their...
How to think like a green machine
The way food companies do business with their retail customers is changing, as sustainability issues muscle in on boardroom decision making. While the present tough economic climate may be causing some companies to delay making environmental investments,...
When is it honourable to breach the rules?
With the ‘responsibility deal’ on salt reduction in food supported by major retailers and manufacturers, others should be asked to sign up to responsibility deals of a different kind.
EHL maps ingredient trends
Rising demand for Mexican, Middle Eastern and North African foods in the UK is reported by ingredients supplier EHL Ingredients.
Wingland Foods expands
Work has started on the third phase of a project that will complete the expansion of Bakkavör-owned Wingland Foods, in Sutton Bridge, Lincolnshire.
Full force of the law
January marked the end of the two-year transition period for flavouring regulation EC 1334/2008, which means firms are expected to have completed any changes necessary to comply with the new law.
Omega-3 sauces for kids hit market
A range of omega-3 sauces for children have been launched by healthyandessential.com, an online retailer specialising in healthy foods and supplements for the whole family, and select health food shops.
Green thinking
With consumers confused by the proliferation of green labels, Freddie Dawson asks whether a single mandatory approach might be the solution?