Breaking News on Prepared Food and Meat Processing

Recession impacts meat buying habits

10-Mar-2010 - Shoppers are buying more meat overall but spending less, with 40 percent saying they have changed their habits due to recession, according to a joint industry study.

ConAgra to close blast-damaged Slim Jim plant

05-Mar-2010 - ConAgra Foods Inc is to close a US meat processing plant where a devastating explosion last summer killed four people and devastated the site.

Weekly comment

What's the colour of money? Bonuses should be green

01-Mar-2010 - Never before has the dangling of golden carrots in the boardroom been so closely scrutinised. DSM and others’ decisions to ensure those carrots have green shoots of sustainability attached to them is a wise and forward thinking move.

Walmart sets five year supply chain emission target

26-Feb-2010 - Walmart has set a target of eliminating 20m metric tons of green house gas (GHG) from its supply chain by the end of 2015.

UK introduces voluntary COOL code for pork

24-Feb-2010 - A new country of origin labelling (COOL) code of practice for pork introduced in the UK yesterday will benefit meat processors, producers and consumers, said one industry body.

Weekly comment

Do drink makers have stomach for anti-obesity fight?

15-Feb-2010 - Bravo! The beverage industry has responded enthusiastically to Mrs. Obama’s campaign to tackle childhood obesity - but there’d better be more than froth behind that sparkling rhetoric.

Obstacles block radical innovation in fresh meat

09-Feb-2010 - The fresh meat aisle might seem a prime target for innovation in sustainable packaging. But cost issues, along with differing interpretations of ‘sustainability’, are hindering the process, reports sister title Food Manufacture.

Weekly comment

US military may enlist Omega-3s to boost performance but why wait?

08-Feb-2010 - “An army marches on its stomach.” This advice, from French military adventurer Napoleon, seems to have impressed the US military which is considering fortifying troops’ rations with omega-3 fatty acids. What is it waiting for?

Frozen food packaging growth trends

04-Feb-2010 - Growing demand for convenience food and technical advances in packaging will be two of the main drivers behind US demand for frozen food packaging reaching almost $7bn in 2013, according to a new report.

Weekly comment

No bitter battle over salt science

01-Feb-2010 - Excess salt can cause hypertension, heart disease, death. That’s the scientific consensus behind public health campaigns to reduce consumption of sodium chloride in the diet. But not everyone reads the science as conclusive, and when it comes to minerals that are essential to human life, the voice of caution must not be drowned out.

Weekly comment

Cheesed off – jingoism takes the spoils in the Cadbury battle

25-Jan-2010 - Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated, quipped Mark Twain. Predictions of the demise of Cadbury following the approval of Kraft’s offer are premature and are flawed by knee-jerk anti-Americanism.

Weekly comment

Why Haiti must stay on the CSR agenda

18-Jan-2010 - 50,000 and counting. We'll probably never know exactly how many perished in the 7.0 earthquake that brought Haiti, quite literally, crashing down last Tuesday, 12th January 2010, just before 5pm. But for those who survived and who make it through the hard days, weeks and months ahead, getting enough to eat will be a long term challenge.

Tyson agrees to pay $5m in ‘antibiotic-free’ chicken settlement

15-Jan-2010 - Meat giant Tyson has agreed to pay $5m to settle a class action law suit brought by US consumers over claims its processed chicken was antibiotic free.

Vion cuts processing operation as recession hits lamb demand

14-Jan-2010 - Vion has announced plans to cut 200 jobs at Welsh Country Foods as a result of a drop in processing demand for lamb.

News in brief

Soil Association moves to end culling of male dairy calves

08-Jan-2010 - New Soil Association rules have come into force requiring its organic farmers in the UK to commit to ending the practice of culling male dairy calves at birth.

Seasonal Video Greetings From Decision News Media

22-Dec-2009 - Welcome to this seasonal holiday video from Decision News Media. As we prepare to celebrate our tenth anniversary next year and first year as part of William Reed Business Media, we present 10 fun number facts about our company. And, later this week, the holidays begin.

Weekly comment

Time to speed sustainable palm oil supply

21-Dec-2009 - Global food giants have vowed to source all their palm oil sustainably by 2015 – but consumer pressure could grease the wheels for more rapid change.

New UK site to process 2m birds weekly

17-Dec-2009 - A joint venture between Banham Poultry and Vion could create the “most advanced” chicken plant in Europe, reports sister publication Food Manufacture.

Breakthrough test for food poisoning bug

17-Dec-2009 - A new test to detect a bacteria that is a leading cause of food-poisoning is cheaper, faster and significantly more sensitive than existing assays, said the US body behind the breakthrough.

N.Ireland's £10m boost for food processing and packaging

16-Dec-2009 - Plans to invest almost £10m in Northern Ireland’s food processing and packaging sectors have been announced.

UK pork industry to draw up labelling code of practice

15-Dec-2009 - A new code of practice on country of origin labelling (COOL) of British pork is to be drawn up thanks to an agreement hammered out between the UK government and key industry players.

Big changes needed to make diets sustainable, report

11-Dec-2009 - Reducing meat and dairy consumption, eating fewer fatty and sugary foods, and wasting less food are the three changes to consumption habits that will have the biggest impact on making diets more sustainable, says a new report.

USDA launches free advice service for small meat processors

08-Dec-2009 - Small meat and poultry processors in the United States can now get free expert advice on regulations thanks to the opening of a new Government advice service.

Weekly comment

Counting the human cost of recession

07-Dec-2009 - Return to profitability. It’s a phrase that businesses have been yearning for, but as more of them are starting to use it, it’s time to ask: At what cost?