Home -> Top Editors
Top Editors
Database Companies
Search 31.309 producers and exporters of Foods, beverages and agriculture productsMinister applauds industry achievements
Food and Beverage InternationalAt the 5th Congress of the CIAA. held in Brussels in October, Markos Kyprianou. the European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, praised the 'visible and important' contribution that has been made by the food industry to the EU Platform for Action on Diet, Physical Activity and Health.
"I welcome and appreciate the encouraging progresa that the Platform has made to date. Members have activety engaged with the process and firm commitments have been made," said Mr Kyprianou. "I am very pleased to see the initiatives brought forward by the CIAA and its members in areas of key concern, such as advertising and marketing, nutrition labelling and reformulation.
"The issue of effective monitoring of commitments is of vital importance for the overall credibility of the Platform process," Mr Kyprianou continued. "In September, Platform members adopted a framework for the monitoring of their commitments and I appreciate the extensive efforts made by the CIAA in this regard."
Focus on weight reduction
By Maureen Byrne
Hi Europe in Frankfurt played host to over 9,000 visitors, 440 exhibitors, and a wealth of new healthy and functional ingredients as well as those developed specifically to help consumers control their weight
Weight management was very much on the agenda at this year's exhibition, where many new appetite suppressants and fat & sugar replacers vied for attention alongside the innovations in vitamins, minerals, Omega-3s, and a hugh variety of other healthy ingredients.
All three of this year's Hi Europe Awards were given to products that make a contribution to the food industry's efforts lo tackle obesity. Cargill picked up the coveted Gold Award for the best innovation in health ingredients for its Xtend Isomaltulose, a slow digestible sugar that results in a low blood glucose and insulin response. The award recognised the research conducted by Cargill into the role Xtend plays in providing 'sustained energy supplies', 'blunted glycaemic response' and
Developments in world juice
By Claire RowanSuper fruits and super juices were front of mind in Barcelona, Spain in
october as over 400 delegates from all over the world met to discuss the lastest developments and trends
As standard fruit juice sales and those of sugar-filled carbonates stagnate, the more innovative products on the market that extol their heaith benefits and offer pure indulgent and interesting blends are experiencing strong demand.
"I think we are going to see even more fruit juices that are not just juices but blends, such as Britvic's J2O. Manufacturers are changing from producing cheap carbonates to soft drinks that are based on good things," said David Berryman, of the UK juice and fruit company of the same name, at the World Juice conference in Barcelona, Spain. The conference was sponsored by Elopak, which gave a paper on Exploiting Packaging to Deliver Brand Value, and Frutarom, which was demonstrating its new developments for the juice industry.
Functional foods: the next phase
By Stephanie FrenchFunctional foods have already established their place in the mainstream, but what does the future hold?
Stephanie French* an independent nutrition strategy consultant to the food industry explores the hottest potential areas for development
There have been dramatic changes in the market for functional foods over the past five years, with probiotics becoming an increasingly accepted part of the daily diet of millions of consumere across Europe and awareness of other functional ingredients such as Omega-3s and plant stanol ester increasing dramatically. But what about the next five years? What changes might we expect to see and what strategy should food manufacturers have to take advantage of these upcoming trends?
First and foremost any nutrition strategy must continue to be led by consumer pull and not science push. The current key health drivers for dietary modification are problems we suffer from on a daily basis such as lack of energy or stress or excess weight, not longer term health concerns such as cancer and heart disease - and there is unlikely to be significant change in this situation over the next two to three years at least
Packaging for Convenience
By Claire RowanNever has the drive ror convenient products been greater as consumers have less and less time to prepare food and live in increasingly smaller households, and packaging has to keep pace with this growing demand
All packaging forms are expected to experience double digit growth between now and 2010, and demand for smaller packs for more convenient products are one of the biggest drivers of this growth, according to Euromonitor in its new report The World Market for Consumar Packaging. Ever busier lifestyles, the growing number of single households and an increase in disposable income are boosting the sales of prepared and convenience food, and smaller portion sizes.
In a number of Western countries smaller packets of butter and spreadable fats are increasing in popularity, with sales of 250g sizes outpacing those of 500g. In frozen ready meals, 750g bags of frozen vegetables are taking over from 1 kg bags. In France, individually wrapped products were recently introduced by Kraft for its Regal brand of coffee; while in Belgium, Procter & Gamble has introduced Pringles Minis: a pack of five individually wrapped packs of miniature Pringles snacks each containing 118 calories. Dried pasta manufacturers are also innovating in the area of convenience, says Euromonitor, by following these trends and offering individually wrapped small packs within bigger packs.
Pest Control
By Ansgar KemmerlingAt Symrise, the world's fourth-largest manufacturer of flavourings and aroma Chemicals, pest control is an integral part of the company's integrated safety management system.
Symrise has set the highest standards for the quality and safety of its products, and part of its quality management system is monitoring and controlling pests across all company sites. After detailed analysis of many suitable systems, Symrise collaborated with Rentokil Initial for the development of a customised PestNetOnline Internet-based documentation system for this purpose.
Symrise was looking for a system that would deliver standardised tools with which to analyze and evaluate the hygiene status across all three of its sites in Germany: Holzminden, Nórdlingen and Braunschweig. It wanted an IT-based documentation and control system that gave a comprehensive overview of the pest control services being provided, the measures being implemented and any problem-specific action required - anywhere, anytime and with different levels of access for different users. It also needed to be able to ensure that each individual trap was checked during every inspection.
ImprovingHygiene: a practical approach
By Sian Thomas, Regional Manager, Hygiene GroupBrand reputation, high customer expectation and legislation all combine to make tt more important than ever to maintain the highest possible levels of cleanliness and hygiene in food and beverage production. Different areas and applications within the plant all require a carefully planned and specialised approach.
Sanitising and deep cleaning processes for plant and equipment at end-of-run represent a particular challenge, especially where raw food materials such as meat are involved. The imperatives here are to remove debris and contamination, ensure micro integrity and prevent pest infestation - while at the same time minimising downtime. A structured procedure is therefore required at the end of every production run, typically involving the removal of gross debris followed by pressurised washdown with alkaline detergents, then sanitisation using foam spray. Kitchens and ovens similarily require deep cleaning with detergents and caustica. Here, as elsewhere, efficient processes and specialised equipment will ensure high levels of hygiene combinad with minimal disruption to production.
An introduction to auditing
By Gill Palmer
"Compared with a major recall or production failure, a wellconducted audit is merely a temporary imposition on a busy working day"
For some in the food industry, the idea of an audit may already come with negative feelings attached. It can sometimes seem like the purpose of an audit is to find fault, to discover secrets you’d prefer to keep hidden, or otherwise to find problems where none actually exist. Indeed, where an auditor is untrained, poorly skilled, or unable to define properly the terms and scope of the audit, or where the factory is ill-prepared, badly managed or failing to set and follow appropriate standards, these negative feelings may well be justified and borne out by the audit process.
However, when an audit is conducted well by a skilled auditor, it is more likely to become an opportunity to improve existing processes and systems, and a way to prevent the kind of problem that could seriously damage a business.
After all, compared with a major recall or production failure, a wellconducted audit is merely a temporary imposition on a busy working day.
Sourcing Ethical & Organic Ingredients
By Lynda Searby
Developing ethical products might seem like a fail-safe growth strategy, but sourcing certified ingredients is easier said than done.
Only a decade ago, ethical food and drink products were viewed as the domain of a left-wing, sandalwearing minority. Today, jokes about kaftans and tree-hugging are as dated as big shoulder pads and real fur coats. Everybody wants to be seen to be an ethical shopper. This sea-change in attitudes towards ethical products is borne out by market data for the two categories that have emerged as the most prominent: organic and fairtrade products. According to the Fairtrade Foundation, global sales of fairtrade certified products topped the €1.1 billion mark in 2005 – an increase of 37% from 2004. The USA and the UK are leading the fairtrade crusade, with markets worth € 344 million and € 277 million respectively, but other countries are experiencing exponential year on year growth, notably Australia/New Zealand (178%), Canada (99%), Finland (73%), Sweden (69%) and Austria (62%).
Cutting edge technology
By Claire Rowan Managing Editor
The Food Factory of the Future conference provided the forum for Europe’s leading research institutes to highlight some of the hottest technologies currently under development or just being commercialised for the food and drink industry. Research and development in the food industry amounts to about 0.3% of gross profit, so we rely on the transfer of knowledge from research centres and from other industries to fuel our innovation and improvements in the industry,” said Thomas Ohlsson, vice president of SIK at the opening of the Food Factory of the Future conference, held at the SIK (Swedish Institute for Food & Biotechnology) in Gothenburg, Sweden in the Summer. “Many developments are taking place and we need to facilitate this transfer of knowledge.”
Organised by SIK in conjunction with the Laval Mayenne Technopole (LMT) research centre in France and EFFoST (The European Federation of Food Science & Technology), the conference provided an insight into some of the solutions being developed to support the industry in the key areas of: novel technology, flexible automation, lean production, sustainability, process control & optimisation, and safety & hygiene.