Breaking News on Prepared Food and Meat Processing

E-paper: future of RFID, intelligent packaging?

A prototype of electronic-paper could be the future for radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and for intelligent packaging, according to the company developing the technology.

Edible food wraps target convenience and health positions

Edible food wraps made from fruit and vegetable ingredients could appeal to food makers looking for nutritious, colourful and eye-catching films for convenience foods, reports Lindsey Partos.

Salt reduction tackled at IFT

Though consumers are still not prepared to sacrifice taste for a low-sodium diet,the food industry is beginning to make headway in find alternatives to salt despite numerous challenges, writes Anthony Fletcher.

Form shrink process reduces contamination, Multivac says

A new kind of shrink process reduces the chance of food contamination and gives a closer fit of the product to the package, according to Multivac.

Researchers field test new plastic detector

Food processors will soon be able to detect rogue pieces of plastic in their products, if trials of a new machine that detects coloured objects prove successful.

Weekly Comment

The business of food safety

One cannot envy the chief executive faced with a scientific study that casts doubt over the efficacy or safety of his core product. But avoiding a sales slump, media vilification and even charges of fraud means squaring up to such studies immediately.

Avure's high pressure system speeds up process

Sweden-based Avure's latest high pressure processing system for the food industry is one of the biggest innovations in food technology this year, according to market analyst Frost & Sullivan.

Companies' finances hurt by Europe's competitive market

To get an idea of how a higher prices for commodities and a competitive European food market are hurting companies' bottom lines, one only has to look at the financial results published by threecompanies this week.

UK regulator targets Campylobacter in poultry

UK-based food processors who use poultry in their products are likely to face more safety regulations after a government report singles out chicken meat as the largest contributor to Campylobacter infections in the country.

EU outlines plans to relax BSE restrictions

The European Commission's plan to relax the bloc's rules on mad cow disease provides hope to food companies that they will have wider access to beef suppliers, including those in the UK.

Wheat, beef and lamb linked to IBS?

Irritable bowel syndrome consumers are significantly more likely to have elevated food-specific serum IgG4 antibodies to wheat, beef, pork and lamb than healthy volunteers, researchers report.

UK poultry scare "contained" EU says

Supplies of live poultry, poultry meat and eggs from the UK will continue to flow to EU countries while the UK battles with a disease that can wipe out entire flocks.

Collapsible crate targets cut meat market

SmartCrate is a collapsible, reusable container designed specifically for shipping bone-in-loin pork and beef meat.

Regulator approves GM products as food and feed

In a move that is bound to add more heat to the dispute among EU states over genetically modified organisms, the Europe's food safety regulator has approved a number of products for use within the bloc.

Augmented reality could aid poultry trimmers

Graphical instructions beamed by light onto poultry carcasses could soon help trimmers on the production line separate the bad from the good.

Government examines cutting impact of food transport

A UK government report on the rising economic, environmental and social costs of transport associated with getting food from farm to fork could increase pressure on a competitive industry.

Meat costs squeeze Canterbury's profits

Squeezed by rising meat prices and a falling appetite for its products UK burger supremo Canterbury Foods said its revenues for the full year will be "substantially below market expectations".

High pressure processing pushes to the fore

High pressure processing is emerging as one of the prime technologies food producers are using to extend the relatively short shelf life for their chilled products, reports Ahmed ElAmin.

Global warming could boost oyster toxicity

Food processors who use oysters in their recipes might slowly be facing a shortage of the molluscs due to the effects of global warming.

Meat producer warns of 6% price hike

UK-based Grampian Country Food has issued a warning to customers stating it will raise prices for its meat products due to the escalating cost of oil, gas, electricitity, feed and packaging.

Cultured meat made for the masses

Meat from the lab directly to the table is still in an experimental stage right now, but a team of scientists have jumped ahead of the crowd by indicating how it might be done on an industrial scale.

Measuring fat faster with spectral x-ray analysis

CFS's MasterTrack machine aims to speed up the measuring of fat content in fresh and frozen meat while on the processing line.

Weekly comment

Let food be thy medicine

A society that views food as taste-bud entertainment rather than a basic of well-being was always bound to run into health problems. But with obesity now afflicting 300m people, and diabetes set to reach similar numbers within two decades, the problems borne of food abuse are emerging as more than a glitch. They amount to a profound loss of direction in our understanding of both food and medicine.

Asia: bird flu situation critical

The bird flu situation in many Asian countries remains critical and requires more attention by affected countries and the international community, reports the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)

Incidents of BSE fall in Europe

The discovery in Ireland of another probable case of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) might turn some consumers away from their meat, but perhaps they can be assured the country, and the EU, seem to be winning the battle to stamp out bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

Regulator targets Heathrow for tougher food controls

As part of the forthcoming implementation of new EU regulations, the UK's Food Standards Agency (FSA) has published a plan to increase its oversight of imported food and feed arriving at Heathrow Airport.

Regulator concerned about safety of BioProtein

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has given a negative opinion about the safety of BioProtein, but has approved Reuteri Pig Powder, Econase Wheat Plus and Roxazyme G2 as feed additivies for various animals.

Farmed fish safe to eat says EU food regulator

Overall there is no difference in health risks to consumers between farmed and wild salmon according to scientists at the European food safety regulator.

UK food agency calls on food scientists

The UK's food safety agency has called for scientists to work on chemical contaminants, food pathogens and novel foods in a range of new projects.

Listeria risk: authority tells food industry to toughen controls

Tighter controls need to be adopted by both the food industry and consumers to limit the spread of the harmful food pathogen Listeria monocytogenes, concludes a new report.

Listeria, Salmonella: the bacteria that won't die

Harmful Listeria and Salmonella bacteria can live on in prepared products even under the toughest plant safety conditions according to research published by the Food Safety Consortium.

Weekly Comment

Food intolerance: a scientific void

It is time to draw on science to establish once and for all whether food intolerance is just a source of succour for hypochondriacs, or whether it is genuinely a modern scourge.

Danish Crown continues restructuring

Danish Crown, Europe's largest meat processor has approved the sale of another slaughterhouse in its domestic market, as it attempts to expand internationally and lower costs.

Association calls for boost in productivity, innovation

The EU's food and drinks sector is in danger of losing its market share unless more is done to boost its competitiveness, says a body representing the industry - which also supports a reduction in domestic subsidies for its members.