The first ever survey of research and development (R&D)
personnel across all industrial sectors in Europe reveals most
participants predict there will be little change in their
companies' R&D investment levels over the...
Green tea appears to protect against cancer by affecting a
'promiscuous' protein that pharmaceutical experts are already
targeting in their work on anti-cancer drugs, according to new
research.
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.
Foster's looks set to finally swallow fellow Aussie wine firm
Southcorp after taking a 50.9 per cent voting majority. Elsewhere,
the Constellation consortium appears to be struggling to get the
cash for an offer for Allied Domecq...
Milliken Chemical has installed a Sidel, Series 2, SBO4 machine at
its R&D centre in support of its research into injection
stretch blow moulded clarified polypropylene (ISBM cPP).
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.
Falling beer markets across Western Europe have claimed Carlsberg
as their latest victim, handing the Danish brewer heavy losses in
its first quarter despite strong performances in Russia and Asia,
reports Chris Mercer.
A new environmentally friendly form of insulation for packaging and
freezing applications provides between five and seven times the
insulation capacity over current technologies, writes Anthony
Fletcher.
Recent technical developments in resin formulation and the design
of pre-forms has allowed the beverage industry to use clarified PP
in the same way as PET.
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.
German health ingredients firm Cognis Nutrition & Health will
introduce a new range of high quality plant extracts for foods and
beverages at Vitafoods, the industry show opening in Geneva
tomorrow.
Fruit juice maker Old Orchard is once again making the most of
recent health research pertaining to various fruits, adding a
blueberry-pomegranate option to its range.
Two of the world's biggest brewers have announced plans to expand
in Russia, yet competition will intensify as an outdoor drinking
ban and slow economic progress threaten the market's blistering
growth, writes Chris Mercer.
Tetra Pak has launched a range of direct injection moulded closures
for gable-top cartons that it believes taps into current consumer
concerns for safety, convenience and style.
PespiCo has thrust further into Europe's strongly emerging juice
market through German firm Punica as the scramble to get ahead in
healthy soft drinks sector intensifies, reports Chris
Mercer.
Opportunities are flourishing for flavour suppliers targeting
health-positioned drinks as number one soft drinks firm Coca-Cola
says it will push R&D investment in health positioned products.
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...
An EU Commission committee has promised extra money to help French
wine makers distil more than a million hectolitres of quality wine
into undrinkable industrial alcohol after the French government
promised to rip up vines and make...
Small-time Czech brewer Budejovicky Budvar has beaten US beer giant
Anheuser Busch for the right to sell its beer under the Budweiser
brand in Cambodia, after winning an appeal in the country's Supreme
Court, reports Chris Mercer.
Constellation Brands has confirmed it approached Allied Domecq on
Wednesday as part of a larger consortium to discuss the terms of a
possible counter bid to Pernod Ricard, reports Chris Mercer.
Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries has signed a deal to buy UK
rival Jennings for £45.8 million as the firm defies protestors to
capture more of Britain's resurgent real ale sector, reports
Chris Mercer.
After three years of R&D, Sidel is using Interpack 2005 to
demonstrate how it can help manufacturers improve their cost
effectiveness, writes Anthony Fletcher.
NatureWorks PLA, a biodegradable natural polymer derived from plant
sugars, could be the first cost-effective biodegradable alternative
to challenge the market dominance of PET, writes Anthony
Fletcher.
The battle for Allied Domecq looks set to begin with news that
Constellation Brands, the world's biggest wine company, is
considering launching a rival bid to the £7.4 billion offer tabled
by Pernod Ricard, reports Chris Mercer.
Coca-Cola will gain the right to sell Evian in the US after buying
out Danone from their joint venture, while Czech brewer Budejovicky
Budvar scores another victory in the Budweiser trademark war with
Anheuser Busch, reports Chris...
Splenda's battle with the Sugar Association over its advertising
campaign seems to be doing little to dissuade food and drink
manufacturers and their consumers of its merits as Diet 7 Up
becomes the latest product to be made...
Foster's look set to win its long battle to buy Australian winery
Southcorp after grinding down board members' resistance to a deal
that could spawn a formidable 'brand Australia' on the world wine
market, reports...
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...
Israeli scientists say that ohmic heating of orange juice has
proved to be a good way of improving the flavour quality of orange
juice while extending sensory shelf life. The findings could point
to a more efficient way of extending...
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.
Allied Domecq has advised shareholders to accept a bid for the
company by Pernod-Ricard worth £7.4 billion, as the latter prepares
to shed brands to form the world's largest wine and spirits group,
reports Chris Mercer.
Pernod Ricard and Fortune Brands may be planning a formal takeover
bid for the world's second biggest spirits firm, Allied Domecq, as
soon as Thursday, according to a report in the UK's Financial
Times newspaper, writes...
The world's largest barley storage and malting plant combination
has installed innovative technology in order to realise cost
savings and real-time quality control.
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.
Global brewing giants SABMiller and Anheuser Busch have increased
their stakes in Chinese brewers by taking advantage of China's
crawl towards a more liberal market, 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,...
Knocked by an economic slowdown and the strength of the Euro
against the US dollar, growth in turnover for the European food and
drink industry rose by a 1.9 per cent wisp from 2002 to 2003,
concludes a new report from the US government,...
The EU's main wine-producing countries, led by France and Italy,
this week torpedoed discussions to raise the minimum excise duty on
all alcoholic drinks, fearing a domestic backlash from vintners,
reports Chris Mercer.