Eating fresh grapes may prevent the accumulation of oxidized
cholesterol as well as the development of atherosclerotic lesions,
report scientists in Israel.
Proposals to create a list of about 100 vitamins and mineral
substances that may be added to foods are being debated in the
European Parliament today, part of the long process of harmonising
food legislation in the bloc, reports Ahmed...
The UK government must introduce a compulsory new supermarket code
ofconduct if it is to make up for past mistakes and save the food
industryfrom a spiral into anti-competitive practices.
Tea makers looking to bolster flagging sales should turn to
speciality and herbal teas with new research revealing these two
categories are flying off the shelves, grabbing market share away
from traditional tea products, reports...
The Australian wine industry says it has launched its most
important global marketing campaign for 15 years following
production increases and tough market conditions - leaving the Old
World to take notes, reports Chris Mercer.
The US Supreme Court has ruled that all consumers should be able to
buy wine directly from out-of-state vineyards, offering smaller
producers greater access to the market by diversifying selling
channels, reports Chris Mercer.
International drinks supplier Brown-Forman embarks on new
opportunities in the increasingly affluent Indian society,
targeting the beverages market with the launch of its fruit
flavoured Finlandia brand of 'luxury' vodka.
Postmenopausal women who consume even moderate amounts of alcohol
may face an increased risk of breast cancer, say US researchers,
particularly if their cancer is fuelled by the hormones estrogen or
progesterone.
Private label organic juices are boosting sales volumes, helping to
propel the organic juice sales in North America to increase by a
considerable 21.4 per cent in 2005, claims UK market analysts
Organic Monitor.
Allegations that Australia's booming fruit juice industry is
misleading consumers by exaggerating health claims will be
investigated by the country's competition watchdog, as the juice
world looks on, reports Chris Mercer.
Europe's food watchdog concludes soft drink makers should propose
limits for heavy metals and aromatic hydrocarbons used as carrier
solvents for flavouring preparations in soft drinks.
There will be fewer young adults around for alcoholic drink firms
to target over the next five years but those that are will drink
more and be more demanding, with women the driving force,
reports Chris Mercer.
Falling beer sales in the US have left big brewers like Anheuser
Busch banking on new products and better marketing to revitalise
growth as small-time craft beers go from strength to strength,
writes Chris Mercer.
Anheuser Busch has won the right to sell 'Bud' beer in Austria in
its latest court tussle with Czech brewer Budejovicky Budvar, as
firms looking to protect Geographic Indicators a forced to raise
their game, reports Chris...
Compounds found in plastic products used to wrap or contain food
and beverages have aroused concerns as possible cancer-causing
agents because they can sometimes leach out of the plastic and
migrate into the food, researchers are...
Angry French wine makers clashed with riot police in Narbonne
yesterday, turning the city centre into a smoking battle zone in
protest at a lack of government support for their ailing industry,
reports Chris Mercer from Narbonne.
Coffeehouse icon Starbucks will buy five per cent of its energy for
US stores from renewable sources as the firm takes a lead on
climate change and lays down the gauntlet for other big players to
follow suit, reports Chris Mercer.
French wine makers, set for another round of protests, today met
with the country's agriculture minister in their campaign to get
more state aid to protect their industry from falling consumption,
foreign competition and overproduction,...
Norwegian group SINTEF, in co-operation with recycling firm Tomra,
has developed a patented technology that makes it possible to sort
different types of plastic and different colours of glass and metal
easily, effectively and inexpensively...
Latest Defra figures suggest that some packaging firms may have
failed to comply with the UK Packaging Waste Regulations in 2004,
according to compliance expert Valpak.
Democrat Senator Tom Harkin yesterday sent a strong message to the
food industry, saying that it must move swiftly to stop the
advertising aimed at children that was creating a "botched"
generation.
San Miguel, the Philippines food and beverage group, has trumped a
rival bid from Fonterra, the world's biggest dairy exporter, to buy
Australia's National Foods, Tom Armitage reports.
Iconic soft drinks firm Coca-Cola, hit by slowing sales of its
trademark fizzy cola, is set to buy up a leading fruit juice
producer in Russia, handing the firm key access to an important
emerging market, reports Chris Mercer.
Steel prices might have been in decline through January and
February but a pick up in March is likely to continue into the
third quarter, predicts analyst MEPS.
One of Southeast Asia's leading food and beverage companies San
Miguel said yesterday that it was planning to establish a presence
in Thailand's growing beer market.
China entered the top 20 markets for Scotch whisky for the first
time in 2004, accounting for an increasingly large chunk of sales
in the Asian region. And with per capita consumption still
relatively low, China could prove to be...
Ocean Spray said yesterday that it had chosen a Brit to help give
the company a healthier profile, appointing Geoffrey Woolford as
vice president of research and development.
Coke war drives innovation in diet drink sweetener formulations
with the number one soft drinks player Coca-Cola rolling out a new
aspartame and acesulfame potassium based cola onto the market,
writes Lindsey Partos.
Food industry pressure over nutrition labelling has begun to pay
off as the UK Food Standards Agency launches a consultation for the
final stage in its simple signposting project using guideline daily
amounts as one of two central...
New voluntary labelling initiatives, a tighter advertising code and
increased investment in innovation could be on the way for food
manufacturers as the European Commission, along with a dozen
stakeholders, launches a platform to...
Russia's consumer protection agency has refused to extend the
production licences for a number of energy drink brands produced by
the Czech firm Pinelli on the grounds that they could be harmful to
consumers' health, reports...
New regulations will tighten error margins on food nutrition labels
as a new study claiming many UK foods, including biscuits and
pizzas, are significantly higher in fat and sugar than their labels
suggest, threatens to further dent...
A new UK study that suggests there are significant economic
benefits in including metal cans in kerbside collection schemes has
been roundly welcomed by the metal packaging industry, writes
Anthony Fletcher.
PepsiCo has become the latest company to bow to pressure on the
food industry from the rising tide of obesity, introducing
voluntary restrictions on its advertising to children, according to
an article in today's London-based...
South African winemakers are keen to capitalise on growing interest
in their wines from US consumers - and on the predicted growth in
the market there. Their US counterparts, meanwhile, continue to
focus on Europe, where sales have...
The European Environmental Bureau (EEB) has slammed new EU
packaging standards, claiming they are likely to encourage
increased packaging volumes and do little to facilitate greater
recycling.
Companies seeking to do business across the Atlantic face
significant hurdles if the United States and European Union do not
work to remove non-tariff trade barriers, claimed Coca-Cola chief
executive Neville Isdell.
The UK government has proposed a three-week consultation on the
accreditation of packaging waste reprocessors and exporters, in
order to allay fears that recycling targets will not be met.
The French authorities have come up with a €70 million rescue
package for ailing wine producers, but as Kim Hunter Gordon and
Chris Jones report, they have once again failed to tackle the
principal problem - massive overproduction...
Wine grape production is projected to increase by over 5 per cent
to 1.93 million tonnes over the two years to 2006-07, according to
a new report that goes against industry opinion that slowing
exports could lead to a red wine glut.
Fruit juice sales are soaring in the UK, driven by consumers'
perception of the beverage as a healthier alternative to coffee and
fizzy drinks, shows a new Mintel report.
In the last two years Spain, France and Italy's wine production has
increased by over 8 million hectolitres each. In the face of a
global glut, the French wine confederation is calling on the EU to
fund a crisis distillation,...
A recent ban on televised beer adverts in Russia may be reformed by
the country's parliament later this year after complaints from the
industry, but a new ban on outdoor drinking still looms in 2005,
reports Chris Mercer.