Breaking News on Prepared Food and Meat Processing

Cut waste to secure food supply, says food peer

Radical changes consumer behaviour, especially in rich countries, is crucial to averting a crisis in food supply in the coming decades, attendees at the City Food Lecture in London heard this week.

Bemis food packaging sales fall on weaker US economy

US flexible packaging maker Bemis reported a 3 per cent fall in sales for 2007, largely due to weaker consumer demand for packaged food in its core market.

French retailers back eco-friendly and organic products

France's leading retailers yesterday pledged to reduce their impact on the environment under an ambitious plan backed by the government.

Hydrocolloids' health benefits extended

Hydrocolloid ingredients commonly used as gelling agents, emulsifiers and stabilizers may also have benefits for diabetics, suggests new research from the Dow Chemical Company.

Salt reduction and labelling efforts need to go further

Reformulation in the food industry reduced British salt intake by 2,000 tonnes last year, says research, but specialists insist consumption continues to exceed recommendations.

Weekly comment

Probiotics, friend or foe?

The headlines are sensationalist: twenty-four people have died in a probiotic trial. Therefore, probiotics may be fatal. Throw those yoghurt shots away!

UK organic market stifled by supply problems

Growth of Britain's organic market is being hampered by supply problems, with local growers unable to meet surging demand, say analysts.

Labeling law to protect against cloning risk

California aims to protect its consumers from the possible unknown risks of consuming food from cloned animals and their offspring by proposing a bill requiring such products to display clear and prominent labels.

Ishida Europe introduces x-ray for large food products

Japanese x-ray company Ishida has expanded its range of x-ray inspection systems for the food industry, launching a new machine suitable for large products and cartons.

EFSA issues new advice on listeria

Europe's food safety watchdog has issued updated advice on reducing the risk of the food-borne bacteria listeria, urging food manufacturers to watch out for contamination during packaging, preparation and storage of food.

Compostable tray devised for meat packaging

A recent development in compostable packaging trays for fresh meat products can offer a sustainable alternative to existing tray materials, according to its distributor.

Cryovac launches printable top web for vacuum packaging

Global packaging brand Cryovac has introduced a co-extruded barrier top web for its Darfresh vacuum skin packaging range that allows manufacturers to use high quality printing to differentiate their products.

Glanbia offloads meat production for innovation aims

Glanbia has entered into negotiations over selling its meat processing business as it looks to focus on diversifying its earnings base towards higher-value ingredients and cheese.

No nano in organic foods, says UK certifier

The use of nanomaterials has been banned from organic foods by the UK's Soil Association, the leading certifier of organic products in the country.

FDA gives safety thumbs-up for cloned meat, milk

The FDA will today issue its long-awaited final risk assessment on the safety of meat and milk from healthy cloned animals and their offspring, which concludes that they pose no risk to human health.

Weekly comment

How natural is 'natural'?

The refusal by regulators to provide a formal definition of the term 'natural' will ultimately lead to confusion for consumers and a legal headache for manufacturers.

Food recalls: US beef in E.coli scare; cyanide in crackers

A US meatpacker has recalled about 188,000 pounds of ground beef and other products because of E. coli bacteria concerns; and higher-than-normal levels of naturally occuring cyanide were found in a cassava cracker product in Australia.

Bird flu found in dead swans in UK

Poultry farmers in the UK are being alerted to further cases of bird flu in the country, after the government revealed yesterday that it had identified the disease in three dead wild swans.

UK poultry farmers hit out at battery hen ban

A pledge by the UK government to stick with a ban on farming of battery hens for their eggs has provoked fury among the country's farmers.

Clean label Ezimoist improves sausage succulence

Ulrick & Short has developed an additive-free phosphate replacer to maintain moisture in sausages in response to increasing pressures for food manufacturers to provide clean label products.

US meat processor recycles waste into biogas

A US-based meat processor is the latest player in the food industry to start recycling waste into biogas, in order to reduce fossil fuels use and improve waste management.

Celery extracts enhance chicken broth, study

Volatile extracts from celery can enhance the umami and sweet properties of chicken soup, and could offer novel flavour enhancers for food formulations, suggests new research from Japan.

Wild prepares to go public with new CFO

Wild is putting together an experienced team in preparation for its planned initial public offering, tapping Symrise's CFO to take it through the process.

Health, safety and food origin main issues for UK policy

The UK government has set in motion a review of food policy and strategies with the publication of an analytical study on current and emerging food trends.

Organic beef prices too low to support growth, cut food miles

Prices paid to Britain's organic beef producers are too low, claims organic certifier the Soil Association, hampering growth of local food production and leading to higher food miles.

Industry prepares to fight junk food ad watershed

As phase two of the UK's new rules on TV advertising of unhealthy foods targeted at children came into effect this week, the food industry is preparing to lock horns with campaigners over a 9pm watershed.

Poultry workers may spread antibiotic-resistant E. coli

Poultry workers may be spreading antibiotic-resistant bacteria to those who do not work in the sector, say researchers in the US.