Sense andsensibility
In Jane Austen's novel Sense and Sensibility, two Dashwood sisters have differing virtues. Marianne takes an emotional approach to the pursuit of a partner, while Elinor is more practical.
Archives for August 31, 2011
Sea change
The pig is usually quoted as the example of the most efficient utilisation of raw material in the food industry every part is used apart from the squeal. Now, it seems, seafood is rapidly heading that way. Somewhere in the world someone is making a...
Bibby grows in logistics deal
Bibby Distribution has acquired specialist ingredients logistics supplier Atchison Topeka in a deal that is expected to expand its activities and increase the firm's annual turnover by £26M.
UK brands renew interest in omega-3
Top food brands are revisiting omega-3 after battling regulatory hurdles, consumer understanding and issues raised by the taste it gave products, according to Ulrick & Short (U&S) md Andrew Ulrick.
DEFRA spends £200K on lean investigation
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has commissioned an 18-month, £200,000 research project to get a better idea of how extensively lean manufacturing techniques have been adopted by companies in the food supply chain.
LycoRed celebrates boom in tomato extracts market
Sales doubled for LycoRed's tomato extracts in the year to July, double the rate of growth for 2010, according to Sam Bernhardt, director for new food ingredients at the company.
Cream of operational systems
BV Dairy has selected a 37-user Epicor 9 enterprise resource planning (ERP) system supplied by Aspera Solutions to manage its manufacturing and distribution business. Epicor 9 will provide a unified, end-to-end system to manage all operations from milk...
'Parasitic packaging' must be stamped out
The British Brands Group (BBG) has called on the government to stamp out "parasitic packaging", where unknown products are dressed up to look like popular brands, with a ban on misleading packaging.
Get the F factor
The fashion factor is one of the reasons investing in packaging machinery remains a priority for the supplier, even with margins under pressure. Take a bag of nuts, for example. One-minute standard pillow bags are all the rage. The next step will be that...
Pallet lock protects your supply chain
Palletblocker Quarantine Systems has launched what it claims is the world’s first lockable pallet quarantine device. It describes its product, Palletblocker, as “a tough, highly visible barrier to fork-lift entry that will protect your supply chain”.
Strawberry tree benefits
The Mediterranean strawberry tree could have greater anti-cancer potential than similarly antioxidant-rich green tea or blackberry, according to Nova de Lisboa University, Portugal.
Noble Foods gets go- ahead for wind turbine
The UK's largest supplier of eggs and egg-based products, Noble Foods, last month received planning permission to install a 110m commercial-scale wind turbine on land at Thornton at Fife in Scotland.
Recipe puts smoother icing on the cake
Bakery ingredient firm CSM has improved the recipe for its Wrap Ice product. The firm says its new overwrappable icing has smoother application, better coverage and longer shelf-life.
Robotic technology slices costs and raises throughput
Based in Trondheim, Grilstad has eight factories in Norway, which produce salami, burgers, fresh meat and air-dried ham.
Spice up the sausage season
Ingredients supplier Jardox has created a new range of seasonings in time for National Sausage Week, which starts on October 31.
Macphie appoints new sales and marketing director
Food ingredients manufacturer, Macphie has appointed Andrew Underwood as its new sales and marketing director.
Healthier margarine has less saturated fat
Bakery ingredients supplier CSM UK has reduced the saturated fat content of its cake margarine.Craigmillar Marvello RSF Blend cake margarine contains...
Extract firms tackle intake levels
Rod AddySlovenian firm Vitiva is ready to spearhead research costing hundreds of thousands of euros to raise rosemary extract (RE) intake levels, challenging amendments to EU additive laws made in April.
More consolidation among machinery suppliers probable
Globalised markets are as much a factor as reduced sales in merger and acquisition (M&A) activity among packaging equipment manufacturers and suppliers, according to the industry association for the sector.
Clean-label answer for seafood processors
UK-based Ulrick & Short has launched a range of clean-label ingredients aimed at seafood processors looking to remove artificial additives.
Control cuts costs and meets demand
Yeast production company Lallemand GB has installed two Babcock Wanson BWD fire tube boilers with integral economiser and BW72H control system into its Felixstowe plant – the UK’s largest fresh yeast production facility for the baking industry.
Super xanthan gum launch
CP Kelco has developed a high powered xanthan gum that can be used in lesser amounts than previous versions to thicken and texturise products such as jams, sauces, yogurts or drinks.
Jury still out on chocolate’s heart health benefits
Recent research suggesting that eating chocolate can help reduce the risk of heart and circulatory disease needs treating with caution, warns the British Heart Foundation (BHF).
Oil platforms
One of the more eye-catching developments in European omega-3 markets over recent months was DSM's acquisition of Martek BioSciences.
Abattoirs 'must prove their proposal'
Britain's abattoirs and primary meat processors will have to provide evidence to support their proposal for an alternative to the Food Standards Agency's (FSA's) meat inspection regime, which aims to substantially reduce costs.
New tests aim to combat food fraud
Food fraud is costing the UK food supply chain huge sums each year, despite the existence of a number of scientific tests that detect fraudulent products, according to advisory group FoodChain Europe.
Suppliers push for price rises from retailers
Retailers must accept price rises from their own-label chilled foods suppliers or risk undermining their future, the boss of Samworth Brothers has warned.
Algae producer expands food interests
Algatechnologies is boosting its range and production of algae extracts for food as well as supplements and cosmetics.
There'll be gel to pay
As Winston Churchill said at a crucial time during the Second World War: "This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is the end of the beginning." For food, drink and ingredients processors battling with health claims...
Packaging firms ignored safety warnings for 3 years
The directors of a Bolton-based, fast food packaging company have been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after ignoring safety warnings for more than three years.
Final thoughts: Uniq CEO Geoff Eaton bids farewell
CEO Geoff Eaton told FoodManufacture.co.uk that he was “feeling very satisfied” as he prepares to leave Uniq at the end of the month.
New talent continues makeover for Premier
Changes at the top of the UK's biggest food manufacturer, Premier Foods, continue apace as Ian Deste, formerly with Coca-Cola Enterprises, has been appointed group sales director. Deste replaces Ian York, who is to leave at the end of the year.
Productive spirit
Mark Twain once said: "Too much of anything is bad, but too much of good whiskey is barely enough." It's a motto that Diageo's Cameronbridge distillery in Scotland takes very much to heart, although perhaps not quite in the way Twain meant and with the...
Foil pouched mango product's 18-month refrigerated shelf-life is no pulp fiction
Anglo-Indian firm Atul Agro says it has made the UK's first foil-pouched pure Alphonso mango pulp product that has an 18-month refrigerated shelf-life.
Allied Bakeries rises to salt reduction challenge
Allied Bakeries' (AB's) group operations director Nick Law has admitted that meeting the 2012 salt reduction guidelines is a "huge challenge" for the firm.
Greencore gets 'consolation prize'
The industry views Greencore's plans to take over troubled own-label chilled foods business Uniq in a cash bid valued at £113M as a consolation prize for its failure to get its hands on Northern Foods. The latter was snapped by Ranjit Boparan, owner of...
Baby place
Farley's founded a baker's shop in Plymouth in the 1850s. In the 1880s it began making rusks. In 1962, Glaxo established the Kendal factory alongside the Milk Marketing Board's creamery. It bought the Farley's brand in 1968 and in 1976 consolidated its...
Eschewing the fat
Typically, ice cream is made up of water (55-64%), milk fat (10-16%), sugars (12-16%), non-fat milk-solids (9-12%), stabilisers and emulsifiers (0.5%) and flavours and colours (0.5%). At least, it used to be.
CenFRA wins industry funding for robotics
CenFRA, the UK's pioneering centre for food robotics and automation, has received industry funding to expand its role into an independent food and beverage automation consultancy.
Survival of the fittest
It seems incredible that human beings ever managed to exist without functional drinks. They supply us with a vital energy boost when our natural reserves are running low, and soothe us into relaxation when stress takes its toll. They supply all the vital...
Low quality bales keep recyclate costs high
Falling quality in feedstock for UK polyethylene terephthalate (PET) recycling plants is having an impact on costs and the prices charged to converters, experts have said.
New weigher promises higher speed
Ishida has introduced a new 36-head multihead weigher for more accurate weighing of mixed products such as nuts, confectionery and convenience meals.
Apetito launches soft and puréed sarnies
Apetito has launched a range of soft and puréed sandwiches and cakes for healthcare caterers providing for elderly and vulnerable patients suffering from swallowing difficulties, a condition known as dysphagia.
Enzymes make cheeses to suit the kosher market
Biocatalysts has opened the door to new flavours for enzyme- modified cheese (EMC) manufacturers by launching the "first ever" range of microbial pregastric esterases (PGEs) that match the flavours created by their animal-derived counterparts
Westway expands by 75%
Westaway Sausages has completed an extension to its production facility at Newton Abbot in Devon, which is expected to enhance food safety, improved hygiene standards while boosting capacity by 75%.
Investment of £60M is 'biggest by any UK bakery'
Allied Bakeries (AB) is spending £60M on new equipment in what it claims to be "the biggest investment by any UK bakery".
BRC clamps down on competence
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) is increasing its focus on the competence of certification bodies (CBs) as it moves to introduce the sixth edition of its Global Standard for Food Safety, which was published in July and comes into force next January.
Meet the Master Baker
Reconciling retailers' expectations of a constant flow of exciting new products with the constraints of production lines has been a dilemma for plant bakers for many years.
Don't make a decision at the 11th hour
After the European Commission (EC) spent three years hammering out its Food Information Regulation (FIR), the final version contains a last-minute ad hoc amendment.