The acquisition of Unilever's Mazola and associated brands in North
America by UK food company Associated British Foods (ABF) reached
completion on Tuesday, following clearance from the necessary
regulatory approvals.
Fuel to further fire the debate, on both sides of the Atlantic,
surrounding the labelling of potential food allergens arrived this
week with the outcome of a new study in the US. According to new
research, 93 per cent of parents of...
Italian pasta giant Barilla has said the response to its recent
takeover bid for German baker Kamps had been better than expected
and it would pursue more acquisitions, above all in the United
States, according to a report by Reuters.
Trade friction between the European Commission and the United
States threatened to worsen yesterday as officials rejected
Washington's demand for an outright end to farm export subsidies
within a strict deadline.
The Russian government is sceptical about lifting a ban on US
poultry imports by an April 10 deadline because the United States
is unlikely to provide enough data by that time, Interfax
reported last Friday.
China is considering a law to regulate the use of biotechnology in
agricultural production to protect people's health and the
environment, state media said on Monday, Reuters reports.
Soy protein concentrate and lecithin manufacturer, Central Soya,
the North American operating unit of Cereol, has signed a letter of
agreement to acquire full ownership of CanAmera Foods of Canada.
US company Sensient Technologies Corporation announced this week
that it has acquired the flavours and essential oil operations of
German company C. Melchers. The businesses are headquartered in
Bremen, Germany and reported revenues...
A British study has found that the global market for performance
foods and drinks is now worth in excess of $11billion(€12.5bn), and
is dominated by drinks, which account for over 90 per cent of total
sales.
In the US, the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and the National
Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) signed an agreement this
week to establish a public/private sector partnership with the Food
Industry Information Sharing and Analysis...
McDonald's Corp. said on Thursday that its fourth-quarter net
income had fallen 40 per cent, its fifth straight quarterly
decline, as the fast-food giant took charges for U.S. restructuring
and faced declining sales in Latin...
Kraft Foods Inc., a global leader in branded foods and beverages,
has reshuffled its senior management by naming Frank Meegan, 53,
Senior vice President, and Alene M. Korby, 47, Senior Vice
President Procurement and Integrated Supply...
The U.S. Department of Agriculture expects China's imports of
wheat, soybeans, vegetable oils, and cotton to rise in the years
after accession to the WTO as new pressures from external
competition and internal shifts in consumer...
Nestlé sweetened its position as one of the world's largest
ice-cream makers on Thursday by agreeing to pay General Mills $641m
for the 50 per cent stake of Ice Cream Partners USA it did not
already own.
ConAgra Foods, Inc. announced this week that it has purchased the
David & Sons sunflower seeds and snack business from Nestle
USA, Inc., a subsidiary of Swiss-based Nestle S.A. Terms of the
transaction were not disclosed.
European Union agriculture ministers adopted regulations for a new
banana-import system Wednesday, formally marking an end to a
long-running dispute with the United States and Ecuador.
US foods and beverages company Kraft Foods announced this week an
agreement whereby pasta giant Barilla Alimentare S.p.A will acquire
Kraft's Mexican pasta business, including the Yemina and Vesta
brands.
Being too fat has become almost as big a health problem as smoking
in the United States, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher said
on Thursday, and urged Americans to lose weight.
The U.S. Agriculture Department has announced it will not close
meat processing plants that violate its salmonella safety standard,
The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
The global organic banana market is growing rapidly and could
account for three per cent of sales in the next three years, the
United Nations food body said on Wednesday.
Canadian consumer confidence, like that in the United States, has
rebounded since the September 11 attacks despite the deteriorating
economy, according to a new consumer sentiment index.
UK sweets and soft drinks group Cadbury Schweppes on Wednesday
shrugged off weakness in the U.S. beverages market to say it was
confident of meeting its earnings target this year.
Speaking in a testimony before the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, C.
Manly Molpus, president and CEO of the Grocery Manufacturers of
America(GMA) outlined a four-point plan that strengthened and
favoured the current US food safety regulatory...
French consumers believe British food is the most unsafe in Europe,
while food produced in France is of the highest quality, according
to an poll carried out for French producers group ANIA and released
on Tuesday.
Ontro, Inc. announced on September 19 that it received a directive
from the United States Army to begin the prototyping and delivery
of the group ration packages.
Indonesia looks like becoming the United States' largest soymeal
customer in 2001 as credit guarantees and supply problems from
other origins boost U.S. sales.
Taiwan on Thursday was cited as reporting its first-ever confirmed
case of an infection with the virulent O-157 strain of E. coli
bacteria that claimed the lives of several children in western
Japan during a 1996 epidemic.
John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. announced on August 24 that it
has signed a letter of intent with the shareholders of the Navarro
Pecan Company, Inc. to acquire all of its outstanding shares.
China's State Bureau of Quality Supervision, Inspection and
Quarantine (SBQSIQ) has ordered all of the country's inspection and
quarantine agencies to strengthen the inspection of the level of
bleach residue in imported...
Hain Celestial Group announced two new developments to expand the
distribution of its brands throughout Europe, as part of the
company's international growth strategy.
New World Pasta, a maker and marketer of pasta, said on Monday it
has acquired the remaining pasta businesses of the Borden Pasta
Group from Borden Foods Corp. for $43.1 million.
The world's biggest bottled water companies are pouring into Mexico
where notoriously polluted and unhealthy tap water has created one
of the world's most vibrant markets for H2O in bottles.
Cadbury Schweppes Plc, British confectionery and soft drinks group,
wrapped up on July 24 an expected deal to buy Spain's La Casera
from the Iberian Beverages Group for Euro 117 million.
17 US states said they have entered into a second agreement with
the French-German biotechnology group Aventis CropScience to
compensate farmers whose corn was tainted by the company's
gene-altered StarLink variety.
H. J. Heinz Company, the American food company, has completed the
acquisition of the pasta sauce and dry bouillon and soup businesses
of Borden Foods Corporation.
The Japanese unit of Procter & Gamble Co (P&G) said on
Tuesday it would recall some 800,000 packs of its Pringles potato
chips that were found to contain unapproved genetically modified
(GM) potatoes.
An American federal judge dismissed a 6-year-old civil lawsuit
alleging that several American agribusiness groups were involved in
a conspiracy to fix the price of high-fructose corn syrup.
US soft drink giant Pepsico Inc has teamed up with the Carlyle
global investment group to try to outbid San Miguel Corp in the
race to acquire Philippine soft drink firm Cosmos Bottling Corp.
Hong Kong food and beverage companies Fairwood Holdings and Vitasoy
International reported worse-than-expected results on July 12, as
newly-enforced mandatory pension benefits and foreign expansion ate
into their bottom lines.
A European Union pledge to open up access to Latin American banana
imports from July 1 should boost market conditions for depressed
Panamanian producers,...
