food & drink news review 2

World Cup to score goal for national food shopping According to market research, The World Cup this year could be good news for more than just the fans.

It ’s predicted that U.K. supporters of the England team, will flood to their local retailers in search of related merchandise, including food and drink products. The UK retail industry as a whole, is expected to make around £1.5 billion throughout this summer's tournament. The food sector is predicted to be one of the biggest sectors.

Tesco, meanwhile, has been named the 'official' su-

permarket for the 2010 World Cup in the UK, and they are stocking up on a number of top-selling products. As well as National merchandise including flags, footballs and televisions; the supermarket is gearing up to promote their special range of football-shaped sandwiches and St.George's pizzas amongst other patriotic items. Tesco expects sales of their Express stores to rise significantly before England matches, as fans stock up party goodies to sit in front of the TV, with.

Food paints a bigger picture A study from Cornell University, New York, of 52 of the most famous paintings depicting The Last Supper has revealed that our portion sizes have increased dramatically.

Brian Wansink, a professor at the university, used computers to examine the size of the foods in the paintings and compared them to the size of the heads illustrated in the

pieces. His report, published in the International Journal of Obesity, found that the size of main courses have increased by 69% over the last 1000 years, plate size by 66% and bread size by 22%. He says the findings indicate that ‘supersizing ’ is not a recent trend, but it has been occurring gradually over the last millennium.

Current News, News Review, Feature Trends, Opinion.

Sit back and relax Food and Drink News Review is a brand new publication for the food and drink industry, bringing you the most important news, opinion and reviews for the whole month that you just worked, without the time to read all the journals in the food industry!

So we provide you with all the news that has happened and was reported – all in one newspaper. In fact, this month we sourced through over 1000 stories, so sit back, grab a drink and find out what was said in the food and drink sector from Bangkok to Canada.

Oh yes, and we made those impossibly boring technical articles easier to read.

This copy is a complimentary sample – much that we would love to provide it for free, in order to receive this every month, you will have to subscribe (this is one of the last free samples, so subscribe now while we have a brilliant 50% off 1 year's subscription offer - See page 8 for details) This paper is available to anywhere in the world every month on subscription.

Jesus and his disciples at the last supper. Engraving by Gustave Dore, 1870, Photo by D Walker.

© Kennedy's Publications Ltd

2 / Food & Drink News Review - 3rd May 2010

Campbell Soup Co. US sales under threat Bloomberg, USA

Sales of frozen pizza, microwave dinners and macaroni and cheese means soup sales at Cambells have dropped. Frozen pizza, microwave dinners and macaroni and cheese are eating into Campbell Soup Co. ’s U.S. sales, says Bloomberg.

Discounting by Campbell, the biggest U.S. soup maker, failed to lift sales in last month, said Alexia Howard, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. in New York. Campbell lost market share in the four weeks ended March 20th as its soup sales dropped 4.2 percent, according to Nielsen Co. Howard said that the historical trend of canned soup is doing well in difficult times confirming sales from other ‘simple meals ’ categories may have had an impact.

More UK home bakers than France?

According to a new poll, 72% of British people cook at home every day compared to 59% of French people.

Half of the British cooks questioned said they spent more than 30 minutes preparing food, but only 25% of their French counterparts were willing to spend that long in the kitchen. Almost twice as many British people as French bake their own bread.

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Superfruit Baobab now available in UK Southern African ‘superfruit ’ the baobab is now available in the UK from distributor The Organic Herb Trading Company (OHTC). The fruit contains high nutritional qualities and said to have twice as much calcium as milk and more magnesium than spinach.

The off-white, powdery fruit pulp looks like sherbet and can be blended with almost anything, and could also be used as a flavour enhancer. Its taste is described as ‘caramel pear with subtle tones of grapefruit ’. It is better suited as an ingredient

rather than eaten on its own, and can boost the nutritional value of food products.

Following EU Novel Foods approval, manufacturers can now start to incorporate baobab into products. Already on the market are a range of snack bars, Yozuna Fairtrade, African Baobab Fruit Jam, chocolate spread, and banana spread, lemonade and baobab powder for home cooking. Baobab is supplied through a partnership between PhytoTrade Africa, the Southern Africa Natural Products Trade Association

Better-educated women - more likely to be problem drinkers Experts at the London School of Economics have conducted research suggesting that better-educated women are more likely to drink daily, and to become problem drinkers.

Thousands of 39 year-old women who ’d been born in 1970 were studied, with the report finding that alcohol consumption patterns in women can be predicted on how they performed in tests at just five years old. Achieving a medium or high grade means that the girl will be up to 2.1 times more likely to drink alcohol on a daily basis as an adult.

Maria Huerta and Francesca Borgonovi, who conducted the study, said that educated women may drink more because they tend to have children later –

Published 12 times a year on subscription Kennedy’s Publications Ltd, First Floor Offices,Stafford House, 16 East Street, Tonbridge, Kent, TN9 1HG, UK Tel +44 (0) 1732 371 510: - Fax +44 (0) 1732 352 438 post@kennedys.co.uk www.kennedysconfection.com Registered in England No. 01160274. Entire contents © 2010 Kennedy’s Publications Ltd. Material may not be reproduced in any form without the publisher’s written approval.

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Current News, News Review, Feature Trends, Opinion.

thus having more active social lives. They also are more likely to have jobs in male-dominated workplaces, where drinking is part of the culture. Although the connection between education level and alcohol consumption also exists for men, it is not as strong.

dedicated to helping lowincome, rural communities, and Afriplex, a South African Manufacturer of

plant extracts. Conventional Baobab pulp powder costs £19.00 per kg and £21.50 for the organic version.

Possible link between aspartame and enzyme activity in the brain A common component in diet and low calorie foods, aspartame is one of the most controversial sweeteners, with some consumers claiming it causes them ill effects such as vision loss, headaches and gastrointestinal problems.

A team of aspartame experts from EU member states have concluded that although additional studies on the ingredient would be useful, there is ‘no need for the EFSA to review its assessment that aspartame is safe. ’ The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) examined the methodology and findings of safety studies,

which suggested adverse effects of aspartame, and reiterated that the ingredient was safe with an acceptable daily intake of 40mg/kg bw/day.

In the review, no new evidence was found that would challenge the EFSA ’s opinion, however the experts found a number of areas where further research would be of interest. For example, they discovered that there may be a possible link between aspartame and enzyme activity in the brain, and a study on aspartame and cephalic insulin response ‘warrants further investigation ’.

Latest UK Food Stats Latest figures from the Office of National Statistics show a 2.1% rise in UK retail sales volumes.

There are said to be 500,000 employees in the food sector (UKCES Audit) and over

7000 firms. Food distribution and the supply chain employs over 3.6 million people and worth £155 billion according to Peter Martin, Chief Executive of sector skills council Lantra. © Kennedy's Publications Ltd

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Food & Drink News Review - 21st April 2010 / 3

EFSA finds dangerous dioxins in 8% of Europe ’s foods The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has said that excessive amounts of dioxins were found in 8% of foods sampled over a 9-year period.

The report was based on the results of over 7000 samples taken from 21

European countries between 1999 and 2008. Liver products contained the highest amount of the toxic material.

The EFSA commented, “Overall, 8% of the samples exceeded the different maximum levels set out in EU legislation.

However, some of these

What came first, the lamb or the egg?

samples clearly originated from targeted sampling during specific contamination episodes.

There were also large variations between different groups of food and feed in terms of the proportion of samples which exceeded maximum levels. ”

News In Brief 1% of UK adults currently shop online for food either regularly or exclusively.

However, according to Mintel, this percentage is forecast to grow by 57% between 2009 and 2014.

Local provenance of food and drink is often a key driver.

The share of sales of food and drink online are already around 10%.

Starbucks have teamed up with Arla Foods to launch a new range of premium chilled coffee drinks.

A recent UK survey by insurance company Cornish Mutual, has found that many children between six and eight years old do not know the origins of everyday foods.

1,000 pupils were questioned, but less than 25% knew that beef burgers are sourced from cattle. Some children claimed that cheese

came from butterflies and eggs from sheep. Two-thirds managed to correctly identify potatoes as the main ingredient of crisps, however others suggested they were made from rabbits, plastic or sheep. The children had a better knowledge of vegetables, with 98% correctly identifying sweetcorn and carrots.

Argentinian plant could offer gluten-free alternative New research from Argentina has found that combining seeds from the vinal plant with corn flour may allow the enhanced formulation of gluten free products.

The study suggests that vinal may

boost the protein and antioxidant content of gluten-free bread. If future research supports this study of the Argentinian vinal, the ingredient could become widely used in gluten-free recipes.

Orion (South Korea) give Lotte something to chew on Orion Corp., South Korea's second-biggest snack producer, have announced that they will now challenge the dominance of top local snack manufacturer , Lotte Confectionery Co. in the local chewing gum market.

Orion have launched a new gum product "Natural Chicle," which is made of chicle from latex of Mexican sapodilla trees.

This is an aggressive move to recover its share in the gum market it had lost to Lotte's xylitol gums.

Current News, News Review, Feature Trends, Opinion.

The Foods Standards Agency is calling for miniportion sizes of unhealthy snacks to help the public stay healthier.

Enzymes from snakes, spiders and carnivorous plants could soon be used as food ingredients, according to the Danish Council for Strategic Research.

A new Apple iPhone application has been designed to help people reduce their food waste by suggesting recipes for leftover foods.

The ‘Love Food Hate Waste ’ app allows users to add foods to an on-screen food blender, and then the iPhone is shaken to create a recipe.

Multipond, a subsidiary of ATOMA GmbH, have developed a new high-speed weighing machine for the frozen food and grated cheese sectors, which was unveiled at their in-house cheese show at the company ’s headquarters in Waldkraiburg, Germany, at the end of March.

There is no proof that a healthy diet prevents cancer developing, Nobel-prize winning scientist Sir Tim Hunt has warned.

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“Cheese from butterflies and eggs from sheep, do school kids have kaleidoscope eyes!? ” We were not kidding when we said we went through over 1000 stories and releases for this issue. I strongly believe that reading about the food industry can be a rather agreeable experience. But perhaps reading about it can be damaging to the health too! - Read on … Ok, now check this out, my becoming-more-loved-by-the-hour-readers –(this is all in this issue); rats can ’t stop eating sugar when put on a high-carb diet - even when given electric shocks when they try to eat it; 43% of sugar in the US diets comes from ‘soda drinks ’, not sweets or processed foods; and now, after all that, bacon and eggs are more healthy (but only in the morning).

That ’s not all; better educated women are more likely to have a drink problem and some primary school kids in the UK, as we discovered this month, think that cheese comes from butterflies and that eggs come from sheep. ‘EGGS COME FROM SHEEP ’, oh heaven help me. I just can ’t believe we got that story! I put that in block capitals as it ’s true, and verging on a potential shameful-to be-English syndrome. I still pinch myself when I read that, but I also laugh too; it ’s funny in a very sad way.

We did promise that every issue, though focusing in a unique style on the industrial food industry around the world, can be easy and above all, enjoyable to read. You see, the thing is, and this is where this paper is revolutionary, it is not written to butter up advertisers needs. Many food industry journals will run a ‘focus on conveying ’ for example, in the morbid hope they might get a few more adverts (not readers) when all the other mags are running the same features that month to get the adverts first. That ’s a big turn off, right? Up until now, you the reader have not come first. It has been the advertiser and their needs.

So my dearest readers, this is where we are very different. Not only do we not ‘write for advertising ’, you will be refreshed to learn that there are no press releases which are written because a PR company had to find a story from a client to get paid that month. There are no features lists!

They are only written in the slim hope that publishers can sell you an advert (I know, I sold adverts for 20 years). So I spare you, as the knight of the written word and the king of cynicism, all of that unreadable trash.

So, after having lost all our advertisers in one go (and gained them too when they see the truth), we do, in the mean time, need your subscription revenue, so thank you most wholeheartedly. Of course, there is much more in this issue than milk from insects. Take, for example, our special report on salt intake, the palm oil production fiasco, financials and the latest on just about everything else that has happened.

But oh God, now I am not sure if being the editor of such a title is a good thing or not? Now I had better start watching the wife ’s wine glass, eat a greasy fry up in the morning, there are no more Cheerios for me, and now I have to tell my kids not to feed any sugar to the growing number of pet rodents, that appear almost randomly in our house. The latest pet arrival to our family was a rabbit; incidentally adding to the guinea gigs and heaven knows what else they have hidden under the beds!

But I say this, as I pull out a great article from the Daily Mail (UK) April 8th, which I must mention. The Mail wrote that parents reacted badly to Kellogg ’s being given the green light to promote high-sugar Coco Pops as a teatime snack. The product is advertised, says the Mail, as ‘low fat, packed full of vitamins and no more sugar than a low fat yoghurt ’. Coco Pops, along with many other cereals are claimed to contain 37g sugar to 100g, with many of the others also in the 30g+ category. If some kids think eggs come from sheep, what will they ever know of their food unless we educate them properly? There is a moral responsibility and an open market here for a producer to profit, not from consumer ignorance but to gain consumers hearts from providing knowledge. The parents, even though I write to the producers, were right.

My eldest son, educated at a School in Tonbridge, UK, when asked “do they teach you about sugar in foods, nutrition and other related subjects at school? ” replies, while looking at me as if I were completely nuts “Dad of course not! If they went into that detail, then no one would eat the disgusting cheap ice cream log with cake, extra jam and all those cookies! ” Ethics are about honesty. We expect chocolate to contain sugar.

The papers are homing in fast on misleading labelling and advertising claims and I think it ’s a good thing. Honesty is brave, but the rewards for honesty are greater in the long term for the value of a brand than a short-term fix for high sales by pretending something is healthy when it ’s not. The success will be in winning the hearts of the consumer through honest and precise labelling.

My fondest wishes, Angus Angus Kennedy Editor Food and Drink News Review editor@kennedys.co.uk

© Kennedy's Publications Ltd

4 / Food & Drink News Review - 3rd May 2010

Food gel developments allow more low-sugar options More lower-sugar foods could be developed by using gels with carefully controlled protein levels to create products with less sugar but equal sweetness, Dutch research shows.

The juiciness of a food product is largely defined by the release of serum from a gel, from which the overall sweetness perception can be controlled, according to research published in Food Hydrocolloids.

Fred Van de Velde commented that the research is relevant for meat, meat products and meat alternatives, as well as desserts and confectionery.

Cut sugar in drinks recommends FSA For beverage manufacturers, the Food Standards Agency, FSA , said all soft drinks containing added sugar should be made available in a 250ml format by 2015 and offer proportional value for money so as to encourage consumers to switch to the new size.

Another recommendation made this month was that drinks containing 8 g of total sugar/100 ml should have added sugar content cut by at least 4 per cent by 2012 compared to 2008 levels.

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Is it right for a jam doughnut to be called healthy?

Consumer group Which? are calling for a European Commission proposal to ‘delete nutrient profiling ’ to be overturned. The system for determining the health benefits of a product was a vital component in the EC 1924/2006 Regulation to ensure that consumers are not misled by nutrition and health claims. However, the European Parliament has now voted to drop the

system for a more lenient proposal. This would mean that there is nothing stopping manufacturers from labelling foods high in fat, sugar and salt as ‘healthy ’. To demonstrate this, EC President José Manuel Barroso was sent a Which? ‘NUTRI-doughnut ’ to highlight just one of the types of food that would be able to make health claims.

Which?

Chief Executive, Peter Vicary-

Smith, says, “When food like jam doughnuts can make health claims, it ’s time to go back to the drawing board. Ditching nutrient profiles is like throwing the baby out with the bathwater as it paves the way for all manner of unhealthy foods to claim to have health benefits. The only way to address this is to keep nutrient profiles, but with more scientifically robust criteria to ensure

than consumers aren ’t misled by foods making spurious health claims. ”

United Biscuits raises White sauces in ready meals could be improved environmental targets In its latest two-year- up- to raise the bar as we have with hydrocolloids date report ‘commitments achieved targets early. Our A new Belgian study has found that modified starch can be replaced by hydrocolloids to enhance the stability and textural properties of white sauces in ready meals. The three hydrocolloids – guar gum, xanthan gum and carboxymethylcellulose – produced sauces that volunteers could not distinguish from their modified starch equivalents.

The findings were published in the Journal of Food Engineering by re-

searchers from Ghent University: “All hydrocolloids significantly reduced the amount of water exudate.

Hereby especially xanthan proved to be very effective.

Sensory evaluations revealed that for the concentration investigated, only the presence of xanthan could be detected by the consumers as an increased firmness. Furthermore, there were no differences in taste and general preference between the sauces. ”

Six food colours in the docks Six food colours have been linked to hyperactivity in children will soon have to carry a packaging warning in the UK, prompting producers to reformulate their products. From July 2010, products containing Tartrazine (E102), Quinoline

Current News, News Review, Feature Trends, Opinion.

Yellow (E104), Sunset Yellow (E110) Carmoisine (E122), Ponceau 4R (E124) and Allura Red (E129) will carry the label. But despite the comparatively close timeframe, many manufacturers have yet to find alternatives.

for environmental sustainability ’, United Biscuits (UB), global producer of biscuits and snacks, has now set itself new targets.

Jeff van der Eems, UB ’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “After just two years working towards our environmental targets we are already finding it necessary

water target has been accomplished with ten years to spare, our transport carbon emissions target has been comfortably exceeded with three years left and we have merged our UK and Northern Europe carbon emissions target after the Northern Europe element was achieved at the beginning of 2009. ”

Kraft Foods support project for schools in Brazil INMED Partnerships for Children and the Kraft Foods Foundation are launching the schools-based hunger and healthy lifestyles programme ‘Health in Action ’, designed to alleviate malnutrition in Brazil.

Kraft is donating over $2.25million over three years to the project, its third international community in-

vestment scheme in the last year. The project will launch in nine cities and includes educating children about nutrition and hygiene, establishing school-based food and vegetable gardens to provide for meals in school and at home, and introducing low-cost, low-tech water purification techniques, as well as other health-oriented initiatives.

© Kennedy's Publications Ltd

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6 / Food & Drink News Review - 3rd May 2010

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NEWS REVIEW What was SAID about the FOOD INDUSTRY last month...

Junk foods can lead to addiction says new study CTV News (CANADA) 29th March 2010 New research suggests junk food can actually become addictive -- and just as addictive as heroin. Researchers in the U.S. have found that rats that had access to an unhealthy diet that included everything from bacon to chocolate to fat-laden desserts got so "hooked" on the foods that they refused to eat anything else, and needed more to feel satisfied.

Average Thai consumes 29.6KG of sugar a year Bangkok Post (Thailand) 7th April Phetchaburi, one of the biggest confectionery producers in Thailand, plans to lower the sugar content in its confectionery products to reduce the negative effects of excessive sugar consumption on public health, reports the Bangkok Times. Phetchaburi chief, Chai Panitpornpan revealed in a report that the province had worked with the Health Department to launch the project, called "Kha Nom Thai Oon Wan" (less sweet Thai confectionery) to create healthy food alternatives.

A recent study showed the average Thai consumes as much as 29.6kg of sugar a year. This is three times the recommended limit of 10kg a year.

Phetchaburi claims its traditional desserts are said to be the best in the country. So far 19 major producers and vendors had joined the initiative and will reduce sugar in their homemade desserts by 15-20%.

43% of sugar in U.S. diets comes from ‘soda ’ drinks www.blastcapsdrink.com April 7th This website reported that a UCLA study last year found that 43 percent of the additional calories Americans have been consuming since the 1970s, come from soda. This makes this sector of food the top source of added sugar in the national diet. The recommended amount of sugar per person is 5-to-9 teaspoons a day; one 20-ounce soda contains 17 teaspoons. However, even though the industry supports a clean up. It was also reported that the American Beverage Association and Coke entities spent $31 million in lobbying last year, ironically, much of it spent to oppose taxes on sugary beverages at federal and state levels. The association had a $2 million ad campaign against taxes, which public health experts calculate would cut consumption and contribute revenues to public health programs to repair the damage done to the nation ’s health by soda.

Current News, News Review, Feature Trends, Opinion.

Kennedy ’s Editor quoted in The Sun 3 times in one month as Kraft draw plans for new Cadbury cafes The Sun Newspaper (UK) 10th April For the third times in four weeks, Kennedy ’s Confection has been quoted in The Sun Newspaper, the world ’s largest read English spoken newspaper. Angus Kennedy commented on the proposed Cadbury café chains that were announced by American owner Kraft earlier this month.

The UK. Cadbury Cocoa Houses will stock chocolate treats (some of which will be made on site), alongside teas and coffees. 60 cafés are planned to open across the country, with the first being launched in London towards the end of the year.

Cafés have been showing some resistance throughout the economic downturn, and Cadbury are certainly not the first confectioners to diversity into coffee chains. Thornton ’s and Marcolini among many others, have both already established their own stores for example, and Cadbury used to have its own café in Bath, which ended in closure. “However, there is the irony that with this venture, Americans will be serving the British afternoon tea!, ” commented editor of Kennedy ’s Confection.

“This is a very shrewd PR stunt to get chocolate buyers back on side, ” he added. “By taking Cadbury back to its roots, it will re-brand the company and potentially rid of the ‘American ’ feel. Let ’s hope they employ some of the UK staff being made redundant! ” David Morris is said to become Executive Chairman of the proposed coffee chain, which echoes back to 1824 when Cadbury ’s founder, John Cadbury, opened his first high street shop selling drinking chocolate.

© 2010 Cadbury plc

carbohydrate-rich cereals, breads and pastries. (See editors comment on the intro). It is thought that a fried breakfast sets up the metabolism for the rest of the day, making it easier to burn off other meals and snacks.

The U.S. researchers advocate a big, fatty breakfast for optimum health, followed by a smaller lunch and a light evening meal. Their study looked at the effects of eating different types of food - and of eating them at different times in the day. Lucky mice fed a high fat meal after waking remained healthy, but those given a carb-rich breakfast, followed by a fatty dinner, put on weight and had trouble processing sugar, raising their risk of diabetes. Blood tests also flagged up other problems that raised their risk of heart disease and strokes.

Drinking too much cola could lower men's sperm count Daily Mail 1st April 2010 Men who drink around a litre of cola every day could be harming their sperm, according to a new Danish study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology. On average, these men's sperm counts were almost 30 per cent lower than in men who didn't drink cola.

The study found soft drinks did appear to affect male reproductive health. While most of the sperm counts would still be considered normal by the World Health Organization, men with fewer sperm generally have a higher risk of being infertile. The link is unlikely to be due to caffeine, the researchers say, because coffee did not have the same effect, even though its caffeine content is higher. Instead, other ingredients in the beverage or an unhealthy lifestyle could be involved.

More than 2,500 young men were included in their study. Those who didn't drink cola had better sperm quality - averaging 50 million sperm per millilitre semen - and tended to have a healthier lifestyle. In contrast, the 93 men who drank more than one litre a day had only 35 million sperm per millilitre. However, they also ate more fast foods, and less fruit and vegetables. It is still not clear if the cola or the unhealthy lifestyle, or both, is to blame and the scientists said further research was needed. … and no, it was not an April Fool!

Why a high fat bacon and eggs meal is healthiest start to the day Daily Mail (UK) 31st March 2010 U.S Scientists now say that bacon, sausages, eggs, beans, mushrooms, tomatoes and black pudding... could be the healthiest way to start the day.

Astonishingly, researchers say a full English breakfast is better for the heart, waistline and blood pressure than © Kennedy's Publications Ltd

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Food & Drink News Review - 3rd May 2010 / 7

The British Nutrition Foundation under fire for being supported by food sector.

A cracking good breakfast as Waitrose stocks ostrich eggs for Easter

The Independent (UK) Monday, 22 March 2010 One of Britain's most influential institutions on diet and health has come under fire over its close links with the food industry. The British Nutrition Foundation, established more than 40 years ago, advises the Government, schools, industry, health professionals and the public. It says on its website that it exists to deliver "authoritative, evidence-based information on food and nutrition" and that it aims to be "world class in the interpretation and translation of complex science."

However, the organisation's 39 members, which contribute to its funding, include – beside the Government, the EU – Cadbury, Kellogg's, Northern Foods, McDonald's, Pizza Express, the main supermarket chains except Tesco, and producer bodies such as the Potato Council. The chairman of its board of trustees, Paul Hebblethwaite, is also chairman of the Biscuit, Cake, Chocolate and Confectionery Trade Association. Critics say the foundation's dependence on the food industry is reflected in its support for the views promoted by industry and that it is not fully transparent about it ’s funding.

The Times (UK) March 19, 2010 Ostrich eggs, each, big enough to make an omelette for 15 people, are to appear in supermarkets. Waitrose (UK) will stock the eggs, which are now in season, in 31 branches, after sales increased by 573% between 2008 and 2009. Each mildflavoured egg, costing £18.99, is equivalent to 24 hen eggs. Demand for pheasant, quail, duck and goose eggs has also increased, with sales of goose eggs increasing by 101%, Waitrose said. The retailer will sell ostrich eggs in an extra 11 stores this year and goose eggs in an additional 21 branches.

And while the Kennedy ’s journalists are on the subject, check out these Ostrich Facts from The Daily Mail: I egg is enough to make 100 meringues or 32 Soufflés.

An Ostrich egg is 24 times the size of hens and is laid every 2 days. It takes two hours to hard boil and the shell still stays hot for 2 hours. The shell is super thick, so it can withstand the weight of a 300lb bird!

“Beverage Tax ” New York Times (USA) Dr. Daines, US Health Commissioner, is pressing ahead with his campaign to support the soda tax. He commented in the New York Times this month that he hates the term “fat tax, ” often used, because it sounds accusatory. He prefers “beverage tax. ” Dr. Daines issued a release that said, “Staten Island US. has the state ’s second-highest obesity rate, as well as the second-highest consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. “I am concerned for the health of Staten Islanders, ” he added. “Sixty-five percent of Staten Island residents are overweight or obese, and 35 percent of them drink one or more cans of sugar-sweetened beverages like soda every day. ” Dr. Daines urged Staten Islanders to support their local soft-drink workers by drinking Diet Coke (which would not be taxed), adding, “I hope they also drink nutritious low-fat milk. ” However he has caused a stir and was reported that he ‘managed to make soda purveyors sound almost like drug dealers ’, commenting, “I raised my kids on Park Avenue, ” he said. “You can walk at least from 60th Street to 96th Street on Park Avenue. You won ’t see a single soda billboard, you won ’t see a single fast-food outlet, and I don ’t think you could buy a soda.

Basically, a child raised in that corridor has a soda-free day after school. ” But walk 30 blocks north to Harlem, he said, and the picture is different. “This is cheap, it ’s heavily advertised, it tastes really good, ” he said. “And then we plunge kids into that environment, and we say, if you have a problem, you lack self-control. ” In the same report, Mr. Eusebio, the tax opponent, recommended that Dr. Daines devote his time to promoting a “holistic diet ” and educating young people about the benefits of exercise. “Educating people helps them more than taxing them, ” Mr. Eusebio said. “If taxation was a form of diet, New Yorkers would be the healthiest people on the planet because we are the most overtaxed people on the planet. ”

Current News, News Review, Feature Trends, Opinion.

“I spend £700 on chocolate every month! ” Now Magazine (UK) 5th April 2010 Sarah Talbot, 25, is so obsessed with chocolate; she eats it for every meal. “I ’m obsessed, I eat chocolate for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks and rarely eat a proper meal. As a child, my parents limited my sweets intake. Chocolate was reserved for special occasions, but that made me want it even more!

“Even though I live on chocolate, I don ’t put on weight and you ’ll never see me at the gym. I ’m a slim 9st (57kg) and because I have a fast metabolism I can eat whatever I want and never put on an ounce. I see nothing wrong with my chocolate diet; I ’m convinced it ’s why I ’m so upbeat. Chocolate releases serotonin that makes us feel happy – that ’s me! ” But could this be a publicity stunt, we think? We noted that she also eats Pasta, cereals, and other drinks but prefers to flavour them with chocolate. So in fact she does not only eat chocolate but the papers made a good story out of it anyway.

BRIC Countries Agree Food Security Strategy The Moscow Times 29 March 2010 Brazil, Russia, India and China agreed to combat hunger and boost efforts to promote food security, according to a strategy signed by the countries' agriculture ministers in Moscow on 27th March.

The Doha round of negotiations, which started in 2001, is aimed at lowering trade barriers. The countries, known collectively as BRIC, agreed to establish an agricultural information database that would help countries compute supply and demand and establish grain reserves. In addition, the ministers agreed to reduce the effects of global climate change on food security and cooperate in the field of agricultural

technology and innovation. The four agriculture ministers also made signs of boosting trade within the group.

The countries are home to 42% of the world's population and 32% of its arable land, the Russian Agriculture Ministry said in a statement ahead of the meeting. Combined, the BRIC countries produce about 40% of the world's wheat, 50% of its pork, more than 30% of its poultry and 30% of its beef, the statement said.

Russia isn't very interested in increasing its agriculture imports from other countries. Earlier this year, President Dmitry Medvedev signed a new food security doctrine, calling for 85 percent of all meat consumed in the country to be produced domestically. Instead, it is trying to position itself as a major regional agriculture supplier, hoping to double its exports of grain within 15 years.

Rats!

CTV News (Canada) Study shows rats can ’t stop eating high calorie foods Neuropsychopharmacologist (yes that it one word!)

Paul J. Kenny and graduate student Paul M. Johnson, have published their study in the journal Nature Neuroscience. They looked at rats given access to two kinds of diets: one group of rats ate a healthy, balanced diet; the other group received regular healthy meals, but had also access to high-calorie foods and snacks The rats in the second group quickly developed a preference for the high-calorie food. When they were given unlimited access to the foods, they began eating it all day long. Within 40 days, the body weight of the rats in that group had risen 25 per cent.

The rats not only became obese, they also showed addiction-like changes in their brains -- the same changes that have been reported in humans addicted to drugs.

The obese rats showed altered levels of a receptor in the brain called the D2 dopamine receptor.

The D2 receptor responds to dopamine, the brain chemical that is released in the brain by pleasurable experiences. The more junk food the rats ate, the more they overloaded the brain's reward centre. The reward pathways in the brain become so over-stimulated that the system essentially turns on itself. The researchers found that the levels of the D2 dopamine receptors were significantly reduced in the brains of the obese animals, similar to what happens in human drug addicts. The addictions became so intense that the rats still sought out the unhealthy foods even if it meant risking pain.

The rats had been trained to expect a minor shock to their feet shortly after a cue light began to flash. But when the rats that had unlimited access to high-calorie food were shown the cue light, they braved the shock so that they could keep on eating.

Next, they cut off all access to the junkfood-addicted rats' "drug."

They removed the junk food and replaced it with an exclusively nutritious diet. The rats

Continued >> © Kennedy's Publications Ltd

8 / Food & Drink News Review - 3rd May 2010

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IN THE PAPERS

What was SAID about the FOOD INDUSTRY last month (continued) To take the experiment one step further, the researchers artificially knocked out the D2 dopamine receptor in some of the rats, using a special virus. They found that the treated with the virus

simply refused to eat. The rats that had begun to eat most compulsively and that showed the greatest changes in their brains were the most likely to refuse any food.

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developed compulsive eating much faster – but only among those eating the tasty, unhealthy food. The rats eating the healthy diet continued to eat as normal. But when they were switched over to junk food, they also very rapidly showed addiction-like changes.

It's unclear the results among rats apply to people, who are able to use reason in their food choices. But the researchers say this is the first study to support the idea that overeating of tasty but unhealthy food can become habitual, and that the same brain changes seen in drug addicts can also occur to junk food addiction

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Trying to lose weight raises a person's stress levels, even if the dieter doesn't realize it. The stress comes not only from trying to avoid the refrigerator or fighting the bathroom scales. A new study shows there also may be a physical reason for greater stress while dieting.

The study found that people who restrict calories have an increased level of the stress hormone cortisol, says lead author Janet Tomiyama, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation scholar at the University of California-San Francisco.

They followed 99 women who were randomly assigned to one of four eating groups: those who were taught how to follow a classic low-calorie diet — 1,200 calories a day — and were instructed to keep track of their calories; those who restricted their calories to 1,200 a day by eating pre-packaged food but didn't count calories; non-dieters who counted calories; and non-dieters who didn't count calories.

Before and after the study, the women completed surveys on their stress levels.

The findings reported in the online version of Psychosomatic Medicine: dieters lost an average of 2 pounds in three weeks, whilst non-dieters gained 2 1/2 pounds; participants who cut calories had higher levels of cortisol (produced with stress) than before they started the plan and higher levels than non-dieters in the study.

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Food & Drink News Review - 3rd May 2010 / 9

Tackling Salt Reduction in the Food and Drink Industry

by Aimee Matthews, Leatherhead Food Research While essential for life, sodium is a risk factor for many lifestyle related diseases including coronary heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke.

Globally, governments and charities are doing their part to make consumers aware of the health impact of too much salt in the diet. There has never been so much pressure on the food industry to find innovative solutions in salt reduction.

Surveys show that North Americans are consuming more than double the recommended daily intake of sodium (1500mg) and the pattern is similar in Europe too.

Overall the evidence is strong that this overconsumption not only has a detrimental effect on our health but also causes a huge burden to our health care systems.

Lowering the salt content of packaged and restaurant foods may sound easy in theory but it poses some technological difficulties. Salt functions as a seasoning, preservative, binding agent, colour controller, texture aid and fermentation controller in many foods. Salt helps to extend shelf life by supporting microbiological stability (in the case of soups and sauces), as well as controlling water content and influencing the protein structure (in the case of meat products). Reducing salt not only holds the risk of a loss of flavour, but may also compromise the shelf-life, stability and safety of products.

Figures show that levels of innovation in low salt/sodium foods around the world are increasing rapidly. The number of new products launched in 2007 with low salt/low sodium claims was nearly double that seen in 2006, reflecting just how important the concept of salt reduction has become with consumers.

UK Salt Trends According to the UK government, about 75% of the salt consumed in the UK is already present in the foods purchased, the majority of which is common salt (sodium chloride), found in processed foods. Tastes are changing, and there has been a shift away from consumers buying salt at the retail level in recent years, with UK sales falling by 13% from £23 million in 2000 to £20 million in 2005. Most recent data indicates that sales have stayed around the £20m mark ever since. The main casualties have been table and cooking salt. In contrast, sea/rock salt and low sodium alternatives have increased, but they still only account for one-fifth (20%) of the total salt market. This rise in popularity can be attributed to consumers believing they are a healthier alternative to table/cooking salt, as well as heightened awareness of the risks associated with a diet high in salt.

UK Salt Reduction Program According to the Food and Drink Federation (FDF), the UK is leading the world in salt reduction. The Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH) was set up in 1996.

CASH support the idea that a reduction of 3g a day from the current average intake of 10-12g a day over the next decade could easily be achieved if the food industry collaborates. This reduction will have a large impact on reducing strokes by approximately 22% and heart attacks by 16% saving 19,000 lives in the UK. The Food Standards Agency (FSA), the government ’s watchdog and health promotion agency, have been raising Current News, News Review, Feature Trends, Opinion.

consumer awareness about the detrimental effects of too much salt for over 5 years.

In March 2006 the FSA published the original voluntary salt reduction targets for 85 categories of food, as guidance to the food industry. The Agency committed to review the targets in 2008, to formally assess progress to date and to establish what further reductions were necessary to maintain progress towards the 6g daily intake target. In May 2009 the Agency published revised salt reduction targets for 2012, for 80 categories of foods. These are more challenging than the previous targets which were made for 2010. Proposals were put forward for a regular review of progress and targets on a biennial basis, with the next due in 2011.

Other European Countries and US In the 2007 White Paper on a Strategy for Europe on Nutrition, Physical Activity and Health, the European Commission proposed to set up High Level Group focused on nutrition and physical activity related health issues. The goal is to contribute towards a reduction in salt intake at population level in order to achieve the national or WHO recommendations for no more than 5g daily. The initiative will work towards a reduction in salt of 16% over 4 years (4% per year) against 2008 levels.

In a first stage, activities would be concentrated on 12 food categories, of which Member States have to choose at least 5 for their national plans. These 12 food categories are bread, meat products, cheeses, ready meals, soups, breakfast cereals, fish products, crisps & savoury snacks, catering meals, restaurant meals, sauces, condiments and spices and potato products. The key elements are to determine additional data needs, establish benchmarks for major food categories, develop actions to raise public awareness, develop reformulation actions with industry and catering, to monitor and evaluate actions and reformulation. There are 21 European member states signed up to the initiative plus the Russian Federation and Serbia.

So far the countries that have the most established campaigns and whose governments are more proactively promoting salt reduction to food manufacturers are Finland, France and the Netherlands. Following success in the UK, Ireland mimics the strategies outlined by the FSA. 72 companies have agreed to self-report, with several manufacturers reporting their products to be in line with the FSAI ’s (Food Safety Authority of Ireland) salt targets.

Only recently have some of the remaining countries initiated national campaigns to raise consumer awareness. In the US though packaged food companies have been working on sodium reduction for quite some time. A public attack has only recently launched on salt levels in processed foods, and awareness campaigns are beginning to make consumers realise the danger of consuming too much salt.

How is Industry Managing Salt Reduction?

In-line with many global government campaigns and their advice given, all sectors of the food industry have responded positively to calls to reduce salt in foods and

commit to an ongoing salt reduction program. It is important to note that just because some manufacturers may have reduced the salt content of a multinational brand, the level of salt reduction may vary according to the country where it is sold.

A report published in 2009 by the World Action on Salt and Health (WASH) highlights the significant differences in salt levels of many global food brands between countries. Over 260 food products were included in the survey from food manufacturers and fast food companies. For example, one popular cereal brand contains 2.15g of salt per 100g in Canada, but only 0.65g of salt per 100g in neighbouring United States, less than a third of the Canadian level. Meanwhile in the UK the same cereal contains 1.13g of salt per 100g. WASH is trying to encourage manufacturers to not only focus on the levels of salt in particular brands but to narrow the discrepancy in levels of salt used in the same brands between countries.

One thing that is evident by its media attention is that the struggle to reduce salt in food products in universal and has never been so important. Looking at individual company campaigns, there are some major multinationals who have led the way for smaller scale companies, who tend to struggle more financially with the salt reduction process. A few key examples are Arla Foods who committed to up to a 50% salt reduction in its soft cheese range and has already achieved a reduction of 15% in butter. Campbell Soup Company has quadrupled the number of its lower-sodium products in the past five years and Cargill have shown their commitment by producing SaltWise, a sodium reduction system. Other companies that have pledged to reduce the level of salt in their foods include Heinz, Kraft, PepsiCo, Nestlé and Premier Foods.

Increased government pressure on the food industry to reduce salt levels breeds new innovation and the number of product launches with low or no salt claims or using salt replacers has never been higher. An example, Saltrite (pictured) which is said to be the UK's first salt substitute to contain virtually no sodium (0.08%) was launched in February 2009.

Overall with the food industry ’s support and government and public health bodies raising consumer awareness regarding the importance of salt reduction it is thought that modest reductions in dietary salt could substantially reduce the number of cardiovascular events and the cost that these causes our health services.

Leatherhead Food Research are currently carrying out a collaborative research project in Salt Reduction. For further information interested parties can contact Aimee Matthews: 01372 822251 or e-mail amatthews@leatherheadfood.com © Kennedy's Publications Ltd

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The great palm oil debate – who ’s saying what?

By Kristiane Henney

One of the great news stories this month was the high-profile Nestlé/Sinar Mas palm oil case.

Although it has been rumbling since late 2009, it was thrust into the public eye by charity Greenpeace and a BBC production. What was even more striking was the online social networking storm from consumers, propelling the argument and blurring the edges between fact and allegation.

So what was said by the companies involved, who sources palm oil from where and who has said what? We take a closer look …

Palm oil is a widely used, versatile vegetable oil produced from the oil palm, depended on by millions worldwide. The crop is the highest yielding of all the oilseed plants, with Indonesia and Malaysia contributing around 80% of the global palm oil production. The crop promotes rural agricultural development and can harness political security. Its cheaper pricing and high stability means it is growing in demand as an ingredient – especially in the commercial food industry. Yet the crop has shown to have a distinctly less green side. Substantial environmental damage can be left in the wake of palm oil production, impacting on the local and global ecosystem in a number of ways. Can this delicately interwoven balance of social lifelines, economical advantages and ecological adversity; governments, local people, NGOs (Nongovernment organisations) and corporate companies balance out?

In the BBC Panorama programme ‘Dying for a Biscuit ’, clear-cutting in Indonesian Borneo was highlighted as encroaching onto land previously marked as protected. The documentary claimed that the critically endangered orangutans were being displaced by logging to make room for the oil palm plantations. The International Union for Conservation estimates that 50,000 orangutans have died as a result of deforestation, further threatening the entire species.

Behind America and China, Panorama calculated that Indonesia was the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases – and identified the draining of

ancient peat lands as a cause. The land was bled to make way for palm oil plantations, but as the land drains, Greenpeace say huge amounts of trapped methane and carbon dioxide release, taking the problem from a local to a global one, Following the Panorama programme, the charity released a report on website YouTube claiming that Nestlé use palm oil sourced from areas where orangutan ’s rainforest once grew. According to Greenpeace, the forests of Indonesia are being cleared faster than anywhere else on the planet, and that companies like Sinar Mas are responsible.

Both the documentary and the video report caused a blast of online objection from consumers, in a way that is relatively new and has rarely been seen before. Facebook and Twitter were mediums used by protestors – it appears that keyboards may be becoming more effective than placards when trying to make one ’s voice heard. But hype can distort.

Smart Agribusiness and Food, founded by Sinar Mas, initially released a report on 21st December 2009, strongly stating that the company ‘always has and always will be committed to carrying out its activities in sustainable ways in respect to the National Laws and Regulations, and in line with the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil ’s (RSPO) Principles and Criteria ’, and that the claims were ‘exaggerated or [were] not scientifically grounded or [were] not based on fact ’.

Nestlé UK published an online response to the Greenpeace report. In answer to the Greenpeace video – which the chocolate company initially

Current News, News Review, Feature Trends, Opinion.

tried to block – saying: “We can assure you that Nestlé UK does not buy palm oil from the Sinar Mas Group … We do purchase palm oil from Cargill, and we have sought assurances from them about their supply chain … We have made a commitment to only using “Certified Sustainable Palm Oil ” by 2015 … ” The full response can be found on Nestlé ’s website.

Nestlé ’s supplier, Cargill, also released an online response to Greenpeace ’s allegations. The company highlighted its commitment to the RSPO process of working towards sustainable palm production and commented that it ‘takes this issue very seriously. ’ It outlines the onward process now taken – that they have contacted Sinar Mas, and if ‘the RSPO validates the allegations of improper land conversion or illegal planting in deep peat land as alleged in the Greenpeace report, and Sinar Mas does not take corrective action, we will delist them as a supplier. ’ Who is the RSPO? In 2004, NGO ’s, producers and retailers, founded the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, setting out a benchmark to which companies should adhere to, making palm oil production less damaging to the environment. Issues such as conserving high conservation value forests and reducing pollution make up the criteria, with the eventual aim of certified-sustainable palm oil (CPSO) selling at a premium to recover costs.

Although CPSO shipments began to arrive in Europe in late 2009, sales have been slow. © Kennedy's Publications Ltd

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Food & Drink News Review - 3rd May 2010 /11

Finance, Business and Investments UK Nestlé workers threaten strike action Industrial action by thousands of workers at confectionery company Nestlé appears to be more likely, say union leaders, in an escalating dispute over pay.

Union leaders are expecting strong support for a strike ballot, which could see up to 3,000 workers taking part in walkouts. Nestlé have said in an internal bulletin that it faced ‘significant ’ challenges due to the recession, and added that the economic climate was ‘fundamentally changing ’ consumer behaviour. Because of this, the com-

pany said pay negotiations were unrealistic this year.

National Officer of Unite, Jennie Formby, said, “Confectionery is recessionresistant and Nestlé is doing extremely well. Its profits have increased substantially, but it is now attacking collective bargaining and exploiting its workers. We are clear there will be a very strong yes vote in the ballot. Nestlé is not an employer in trouble – the billions given to shareholders demonstrates they have the cash and our members deserve a pay increase. ”

Bühler announce ‘excellent ’ 2009 results The Bühler Technology Group maintained its market position in 2009, despite what it called an ‘extremely challenging environment ’.

The Group increased its profits to 5% to CHF 104 million even when taking restructuring costs and goodwill writeoffs into consideration.

Sales turnover reached CHF 1721 million, with return on operational assets rising by 34%. Bühler ended 2009 with an order backlog worth CHF 926 million, 7% up on the previous year.

After achieving record sales in 2008, sales fell by 9%. The order intake of CHF 1784 million was down 6%,

but when adjusted to take exchange rates into consideration, the decline was 3%, a statistic that Bühler say no competitor matched.

The markets with the strongest growth were South America (+10%) and Africa (+7%), however markets in North America and Europe contracted.

The Group ’s profit rose by 3% to CHF 104 million, with operating cash flow making up 9.4% of turnover.

Bühler say they ended the year with an ‘absolutely sound balance sheet, ’ and that ‘the Group Managers face the current fiscal year with confidence ’.

In Brief...

Chiquita Brands International and Groupe Danone SA are to work together to market Chiquita ’s ‘Just Fruit In A Bottle ’ line in Europe. The companies will become financial and operational partners, with Danone managing the operation and Chiquita providing services for local sales, marketing and the supply chain.

Chiquita will receive a one-time cash payment for a 51% interest in the operation.

Iceland-based Bakkavör reported an annual loss of £11.8m for 2009 with turnover up 2% to £1.65bn, compared to losing £154.2m the previous year. The company, one of the UK ’s largest producers of convenience food, improved its operating profit, achieving £85.4m. Yet finance

costs were up 56%. Bakkavör managed to secure a refinancing of its £316m debts in the fourth quarter, with 46% being turned into share capital. The outstanding deficit will become a ‘convertible debt instrument ’ to mature in 2014.

Unilever has begun the process of selling its Italian business Findus Italy, the only frozenfood operation the company did not divest with Birds Eye in 2006. The unit has an estimated price between €500 and €800m, with Permira and Lion Capital having both arranged advisers before the distribution of an information memorandum. A source has said that other private equity houses will consider the group.

Current News, News Review, Feature Trends, Opinion.

Criticism as Kraft ’s CEO is rewarded with a 41% pay rise Irene Rosenfeld, Kraft Foods CEO was this month given a controversial 41% pay rise last year, despite the company missing revenue targets. Filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) show that she was paid a total salary of $26.3m (£17.5m) in 2009, up from $18.7m the previous year.

Kraft described Rosenfeld ’s bulging pay packet as a reward for “significant effort and ultimate acquisition of Cadbury ”, despite the fact

that the company froze it ’s senior executives ’ salaries last year. Kraft ’s shares have dawdled behind those of their competitors by around 8.5% from 2006, until mid2009. Since the Cadbury takeover, they ’ve lagged behind the others by 5.4%.

The news comes as a critical report from UK MPs into the Kraft takeover is published, and a month after Kraft announced 400 job losses at Cadbury ’s Somerdale factory, prompting a public outcry.

A committee of MPs say the

company acted ‘irresponsibly and unwisely ’ over the closure.

Felicity Loudon, granddaughter of Sir Egbert Cadbury, commented on the report, “Their findings underscore the need for better regulation of takeovers of large and important British companies by foreign predators. At the very least, the government could fend off leveraged buy-outs like this one which, as we have seen, lead to an inevitable loss of jobs. ”

General Mills increases profit forecast on strong 3Q sales “Results for the third quarter reflect continued good sales growth, margin strength and significant marketing reinvestment in our brands, ” Ken Powell, General Mills Chairman and CEO, said in a statement.

Looking towards the future, the company said it was looking towards new venues for growth and plans to increase its advertising campaign to introduce new products and reach new markets. Third quarter advertising and media spending increased by 33%.

Baby boomers, young families and the rising middle class in emerging global markets were named last month as target consumer segments over the next five years.

General Mills Inc reported a 15% higher profit for the third quarter and subsequently increased its 2010 adjusted earnings outlook.

Lower commodity costs and rising sales encouraged the profit increase, with net income totalling $332.5m/96 cents per share for the period up to 28th February, up from $288.9m/85 cents per share for the same quarter last year.

Excluding one-time items, profit was 97 cents per share, topping the 93-cent estimate from Thomas Reuters.

Quarterly revenue increased 3% to $3.63bn, with Wall Street forecasting $3.62bn.

Overseas revenue grew 11%, partly helped by the dollar exchange rate.

For 2010, the company now expects adjusted earnings of $4.57 to $4.59 per share, building on prior guidelines of $4.52 to $4.57 dollars per share. By 2015, the company now estimates sales rising to $18bn/$6.75 per share.

Sales gains from consumers seeking cheap meals during the recession has established General Mills as a stronger food company.

Income from Big G cereals increased by 6%, fuelled by the launches of Chocolate Cheerios and Wheaties Fuel alongside strong results from existing brands such as Lucky Charms. Revenue rose 15% at the snacks unit and 2% at Pillsbury, but the meals unit and baking products division performed more weakly.

Coca-Cola take control of Innocent

Ocean Spray enjoy strengthening presence in Asia

Coca-Cola has increased its share in Innocent to 58% to become the majority shareholding in the company. Innocent ’s founders will retain operational control of the company.15,000 food items.

Ocean Spray ITG has announced that it will extend its partnership with Spectrum Ingredients to continue to develop the market for cranberry ingredients across South

East Asia. Spectrum Ingredients is now the sole representative of Ocean Spray ITG in Thailand; the companies have worked together in Malaysia and Singapore since 1991. © Kennedy's Publications Ltd