food & drink news review 2

World Cup to score goal for national food shoppingAccording to market re-search, The World Cup thisyear could be good newsfor more than just the fans.

It�’s predicted that U.K.supporters of the Englandteam, will flood to their localretailers in search of relatedmerchandise, including foodand drink products. The UKretail industry as a whole, isexpected to make around£1.5 billion throughout thissummer's tournament. Thefood sector is predicted to beone of the biggest sectors.

Tesco, meanwhile, hasbeen named the 'official' su-

permarket for the 2010World Cup in the UK, andthey are stocking up on anumber of top-selling prod-ucts. As well as Nationalmerchandise including flags,footballs and televisions; thesupermarket is gearing up topromote their special rangeof football-shaped sand-wiches and St.George's piz-zas amongst other patrioticitems. Tesco expects sales oftheir Express stores to risesignificantly before Englandmatches, as fans stock upparty goodies to sit in frontof the TV, with.

Food paints a bigger pictureA study from Cornell Uni-versity, New York, of 52 ofthe most famous paintings de-picting The Last Supper hasrevealed that our portion sizeshave increased dramatically.

Brian Wansink, a pro-fessor at the university, usedcomputers to examine the sizeof the foods in the paintingsand compared them to the sizeof the heads illustrated in the

pieces. His report, publishedin the International Journal ofObesity, found that the size ofmain courses have increasedby 69% over the last 1000years, plate size by 66% andbread size by 22%. He saysthe findings indicate that �‘su-persizing�’ is not a recenttrend, but it has been occur-ring gradually over the lastmillennium.

Current News, News Review, Feature Trends, Opinion. © Kennedy's Publications Ltd

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

Food and Drink News Review is a brand new pub-lication for the food anddrink industry, bringing youthe most important news,opinion and reviews for thewhole month that you justworked, without the time toread all the journals in thefood industry!

So we provide you withall the news that has hap-pened and was reported �– allin one newspaper. In fact,this month we sourcedthrough over 1000 stories, sosit back, grab a drink and findout what was said in the foodand drink sector fromBangkok to Canada.

Oh yes, and we madethose impossibly boring tech-nical articles easier to read.This copy is a complimentarysample �– much that wewould love to provide it forfree, in order to receive thisevery month, you will haveto subscribe (this is one ofthe last free samples, so sub-scribe now while we have abrilliant 50% off 1 year's sub-scription offer - See page 8for details)

This paper is available toanywhere in the world everymonth on subscription.

Sit backand relax

Campbell SoupCo. US salesunder threat

Sales of frozen pizza, mi-crowave dinners and mac-aroni and cheese meanssoup sales at Cambellshave dropped. Frozen pizza,microwave dinners and mac-aroni and cheese are eatinginto Campbell Soup Co.�’sU.S. sales, says Bloomberg.

Discounting byCampbell, the biggest U.S.soup maker, failed to liftsales in last month, saidAlexia Howard, an analyst atSanford C. Bernstein & Co.in New York. Campbell lostmarket share in the fourweeks ended March 20th asits soup sales dropped 4.2percent, according to NielsenCo. Howard said that the his-torical trend of canned soupis doing well in difficulttimes confirming sales fromother �‘simple meals�’ cate-gories may have had an im-pact.

Superfruit Baobab now available in UK

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

Southern African�‘superfruit�’ the baobab isnow available in the UKfrom distributor TheOrganic Herb TradingCompany (OHTC). Thefruit contains highnutritional qualities andsaid to have twice as muchcalcium as milk and moremagnesium than spinach.The off-white, powderyfruit pulp looks like sherbetand can be blended withalmost anything, and couldalso be used as a flavourenhancer. Its taste isdescribed as �‘caramel pearwith subtle tones ofgrapefruit�’. It is bettersuited as an ingredient

rather than eaten on its own,and can boost thenutritional value of foodproducts.

Following EUNovel Foods approval,manufacturers can now startto incorporate baobab intoproducts. Already on themarket are a range of snackbars, Yozuna Fairtrade,African Baobab Fruit Jam,chocolate spread, andbanana spread, lemonadeand baobab powder forhome cooking. Baobab issupplied through apartnership betweenPhytoTrade Africa, theSouthern Africa NaturalProducts Trade Association

dedicated to helping low-income, rural communities,and Afriplex, a SouthAfrican Manufacturer of

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

More UKhome bakersthan France?According to a new poll,72% of British people cookat home every day comparedto 59% of French people.Half of the British cooksquestioned said they spentmore than 30 minutespreparing food, but only25% of their French counter-parts were willing to spendthat long in the kitchen. Al-most twice as many Britishpeople as French bake theirown bread.

Better-educated women - morelikely to be problem drinkersExperts at the LondonSchool of Economics haveconducted research suggest-ing that better-educatedwomen are more likely todrink daily, and to becomeproblem drinkers.

Thousands of 39year-old women who�’d beenborn in 1970 were studied,with the report finding thatalcohol consumption pat-terns in women can be pre-dicted on how theyperformed in tests at justfive years old. Achieving amedium or high grademeans that the girl will beup to 2.1 times more likelyto drink alcohol on a dailybasis as an adult.

Maria Huerta andFrancesca Borgonovi, whoconducted the study, saidthat educated women maydrink more because theytend to have children later �–

thus having more active so-cial lives. They also aremore likely to have jobs inmale-dominated work-places, where drinking ispart of the culture. Althoughthe connection between edu-cation level and alcohol con-sumption also exists formen, it is not as strong.

Published 12 times a year on subscriptionKennedy’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 - [email protected]

www.kennedysconfection.comRegistered 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.For details on reprints and permissions, contact the director of Kennedy’s


Bloomberg, USA

Possible link between aspartame and enzyme activity in the brainA common component indiet and low calorie foods,aspartame is one of the mostcontroversial sweeteners,with some consumers claim-ing it causes them ill effectssuch as vision loss,headaches and gastrointesti-nal problems.

A team of aspartame ex-perts from EU member stateshave concluded that al-though additional studies onthe ingredient would be use-ful, there is �‘no need for theEFSA to review its assess-ment that aspartame is safe.�’

The European FoodSafety Authority (EFSA) ex-amined the methodology andfindings of safety studies,

which suggested adverse ef-fects of aspartame, and reit-erated that the ingredientwas safe with an acceptabledaily intake of 40mg/kgbw/day.

In the review, no new ev-idence was found that wouldchallenge the EFSA�’s opin-ion, however the expertsfound a number of areaswhere further researchwould be of interest. For ex-ample, they discovered thatthere may be a possible linkbetween aspartame and en-zyme activity in the brain,and a study on aspartameand cephalic insulin re-sponse �‘warrants further in-vestigation�’.

Latest UK Food StatsLatest figures from the Office of NationalStatistics show a 2.1% rise in UK retailsales volumes.There are said to be 500,000 employees inthe food sector (UKCES Audit) and over

7000 firms. Food distribution and the supplychain employs over 3.6 million people andworth £155 billion according to PeterMartin, Chief Executive of sector skillscouncil Lantra.

This issue is printed on 100% recycled lightweight paper

EFSA finds dangerous dioxins in 8% of Europe�’s foods

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

The European FoodSafety Authority (EFSA)has said that excessiveamounts of dioxins werefound in 8% of foodssampled over a 9-yearperiod.

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

European countries between1999 and 2008. Liverproducts contained thehighest amount of the toxicmaterial. The EFSAcommented, �“Overall, 8%of the samples exceeded thedifferent maximum levelsset out in EU legislation.However, some of these

samples clearly originatedfrom targeted samplingduring specificcontamination episodes.There were also largevariations between differentgroups of food and feed interms of the proportion ofsamples which exceededmaximum levels.�”

What came first, thelamb or the egg?

A recent UK survey byinsurance company CornishMutual, has found that manychildren between six and eightyears old do not know theorigins of everyday foods.

1,000 pupils werequestioned, but less than 25%knew that beef burgers aresourced from cattle. Somechildren claimed that cheese

came from butterflies and eggsfrom sheep. Two-thirdsmanaged to correctly identifypotatoes as the main ingredientof crisps, however otherssuggested they were made fromrabbits, plastic or sheep. Thechildren had a better knowledgeof vegetables, with 98%correctly identifying sweetcornand carrots.

Argentinian plant could offergluten-free alternativeNew research fromArgentina has found thatcombining seeds from thevinal plant with corn flourmay allow the enhancedformulation of gluten freeproducts. The studysuggests that vinal may

boost the protein andantioxidant content ofgluten-free bread. If futureresearch supports this studyof the Argentinian vinal, theingredient could becomewidely used in gluten-freerecipes.

Orion (South Korea) give Lottesomething to chew onOrion Corp., SouthKorea's second-biggestsnack producer, haveannounced that they willnow challenge thedominance of top localsnack manufacturer , LotteConfectionery Co. in thelocal chewing gum market.

Orion have launched a newgum product "NaturalChicle," which is made ofchicle from latex ofMexican sapodilla trees.This is an aggressive moveto recover its share in thegum market it had lost toLotte's xylitol gums.

1% of UK adults currentlyshop online for food eitherregularly or exclusively.However, according toMintel, this percentage isforecast to grow by 57%between 2009 and 2014.Local provenance of food anddrink is often a key driver.The share of sales of foodand drink online are alreadyaround 10%.

Starbucks have teamed upwith Arla Foods to launch anew range of premiumchilled coffee drinks.

The Foods StandardsAgency is calling for mini-portion sizes of unhealthysnacks to help the public stayhealthier.

Enzymes from snakes,spiders and carnivorousplants could soon be used asfood ingredients, according tothe Danish Council forStrategic Research.

A new Apple iPhoneapplication has been designedto help people reduce theirfood waste by suggestingrecipes for leftover foods.The �‘Love Food Hate Waste�’app allows users to add foodsto an on-screen food blender,and then the iPhone is shakento create a recipe.

Multipond, a subsidiary ofATOMA GmbH, havedeveloped a new high-speedweighing machine for thefrozen food and grated cheesesectors, which was unveiledat their in-house cheese showat the company�’sheadquarters inWaldkraiburg, Germany, atthe end of March.

There is no proof that ahealthy diet prevents cancerdeveloping, Nobel-prizewinning scientist Sir TimHunt has warned.

News In Brief

We were not kidding when we said we went through over 1000 stories andreleases for this issue. I strongly believe that reading about the food industrycan be a rather agreeable experience. But perhaps reading about it can bedamaging to the health too! - Read on�… Ok, now check this out, mybecoming-more-loved-by-the-hour-readers �–(this is all in this issue); ratscan�’t stop eating sugar when put on a high-carb diet - even when givenelectric shocks when they try to eat it; 43% of sugar in the US diets comesfrom �‘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 adrink problem and some primary school kids in the UK, as we discoveredthis month, think that cheese comes from butterflies and that eggs come fromsheep. �‘EGGS COME FROM SHEEP�’, oh heaven help me. I just can�’tbelieve we got that story! I put that in block capitals as it�’s true, and vergingon a potential shameful-to be-English syndrome. I still pinch myself when Iread 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 styleon 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 isrevolutionary, it is not written to butter up advertisers needs. Many foodindustry journals will run a �‘focus on conveying�’ for example, in the morbidhope they might get a few more adverts (not readers) when all the other magsare running the same features that month to get the adverts first. That�’s a bigturn off, right? Up until now, you the reader have not come first. It has beenthe advertiser and their needs.

So my dearest readers, this is where we are very different. Notonly do we not �‘write for advertising�’, you will be refreshed to learn thatthere are no press releases which are written because a PR company had tofind 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 thewritten word and the king of cynicism, all of that unreadable trash.

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

But oh God, now I am not sure if being the editor of such a title is a goodthing or not? Now I had better start watching the wife�’s wine glass, eat agreasy fry up in the morning, there are no more Cheerios for me, and now Ihave to tell my kids not to feed any sugar to the growing number of petrodents, that appear almost randomly in our house. The latest pet arrival toour family was a rabbit; incidentally adding to the guinea gigs and heavenknows 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 reactedbadly to Kellogg�’s being given the green light to promote high-sugar CocoPops 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�’. CocoPops, along with many other cereals are claimed to contain 37g sugar to100g, with many of the others also in the 30g+ category. If some kids thinkeggs come from sheep, what will they ever know of their food unless weeducate them properly? There is a moral responsibility and an open markethere for a producer to profit, not from consumer ignorance but to gainconsumers hearts from providing knowledge. The parents, even though Iwrite to the producers, were right.

My eldest son, educated at a School in Tonbridge, UK, whenasked �“do they teach you about sugar in foods, nutrition and other relatedsubjects 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 thedisgusting 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 claimsand I think it�’s a good thing. Honesty is brave, but the rewards for honesty aregreater in the long term for the value of a brand than a short-term fix for highsales by pretending something is healthy when it�’s not. The success will be inwinning the hearts of the consumer through honest and precise labelling.

My fondest wishes,AngusAngus KennedyEditorFood and Drink News [email protected]

�“Cheese from butterflies and eggs fromsheep, do school kids havekaleidoscope eyes!?�”


This issue is printed on 100% recycled lightweight paperSAVE THE FORESTS OF THE WORLD


Is it right for a jam doughnut to be called healthy?Consumer group Which?are calling for a EuropeanCommission proposal to�‘delete nutrient profiling�’to be overturned. Thesystem for determining thehealth benefits of a productwas a vital component inthe EC 1924/2006Regulation to ensure thatconsumers are not misledby nutrition and healthclaims. However, theEuropean Parliament hasnow voted to drop the

system for a more lenientproposal. This would meanthat there is nothingstopping manufacturersfrom labelling foods high infat, sugar and salt as�‘healthy�’. To demonstratethis, EC President JoséManuel Barroso was sent aWhich? �‘NUTRI-doughnut�’to highlight just one of thetypes of food that would beable to make health claims.

Which? ChiefExecutive, Peter Vicary-

Smith, says, �“When foodlike jam doughnuts canmake health claims, it�’stime to go back to thedrawing board. Ditchingnutrient profiles is l ikethrowing the baby out withthe bathwater as it paves theway for all manner ofunhealthy foods to claim tohave health benefits. Theonly way to address this isto keep nutrient profiles,but with more scientificallyrobust criteria to ensure

than consumers aren�’tmisled by foods makingspurious health claims.�”

White sauces in readymeals could be improvedwith hydrocolloidsA new Belgian study hasfound that modified starchcan be replaced by hydro-colloids to enhance the sta-bility and textural propertiesof white sauces in readymeals. The three hydrocol-loids �– guar gum, xanthangum and carboxymethylcel-lulose �– produced saucesthat volunteers could notdistinguish from their modi-fied starch equivalents.

The findings werepublished in the Journal ofFood Engineering by re-

searchers from Ghent Uni-versity: �“All hydrocolloidssignificantly reduced theamount of water exudate.Hereby especially xanthanproved to be very effective.Sensory evaluations re-vealed that for the concen-tration investigated, only thepresence of xanthan couldbe detected by the con-sumers as an increased firm-ness. Furthermore, therewere no differences in tasteand general preference be-tween the sauces.�”

More lower-sugar foodscould be developed byusing gels with carefullycontrolled protein levelsto create products withless sugar but equalsweetness, Dutchresearch shows.

The juiciness ofa food product is largelydefined by the release ofserum from a gel, fromwhich the overallsweetness perception canbe controlled, accordingto research published inFood Hydrocolloids.

Fred Van de Veldecommented that theresearch is relevant formeat, meat products andmeat alternatives, as wellas desserts andconfectionery.



Cut sugar indrinks - recommendsFSAFor beverage manufactur-ers, the Food StandardsAgency, FSA , said all softdrinks containing addedsugar should be made avail-able in a 250ml format by2015 and offer proportionalvalue for money so as to en-courage consumers to switchto the new size.

Another recommenda-tion made this month wasthat drinks containing 8 g oftotal sugar/100 ml shouldhave added sugar content cutby at least 4 per cent by 2012compared to 2008 levels.

Food gel developmentsallow morelow-sugar options

Six food colours in the docksSix food colours have beenlinked to hyperactivity inchildren will soon have tocarry a packaging warning inthe UK, prompting produc-ers to reformulate their prod-ucts. From July 2010,products containing Tar-trazine (E102), Quinoline

Yellow (E104), Sunset Yel-low (E110) Carmoisine(E122), Ponceau 4R (E124)and Allura Red (E129) willcarry the label. But despitethe comparatively closetimeframe, many manufac-turers have yet to find alter-natives.

United Biscuits raises environmental targetsIn its latest two-year- up-date report �‘commitmentsfor environmental sustain-ability�’, United Biscuits(UB), global producer of bis-cuits and snacks, has nowset itself new targets.

Jeff van der Eems,UB�’s Chief Operating Offi-cer, said: �“After just twoyears working towards ourenvironmental targets we arealready finding it necessary

to raise the bar as we haveachieved targets early. Ourwater target has been accom-plished with ten years tospare, our transport carbonemissions target has beencomfortably exceeded withthree years left and we havemerged our UK and North-ern Europe carbon emissionstarget after the Northern Eu-rope element was achievedat the beginning of 2009.�”

Kraft Foods support project for schools inBrazilINMED Partnerships forChildren and the KraftFoods Foundation arelaunching the schools-basedhunger and healthy lifestylesprogramme �‘Health in Ac-tion�’, designed to alleviatemalnutrition in Brazil.

Kraft is donatingover $2.25million over threeyears to the project, its thirdinternational community in-

vestment scheme in the lastyear. The project will launchin nine cities and includes ed-ucating children about nutri-tion and hygiene, establishingschool-based food and veg-etable gardens to provide formeals in school and at home,and introducing low-cost,low-tech water purificationtechniques, as well as otherhealth-oriented initiatives.


pea protein

NUTRALYS® is a unique protein. Obtained from an environmentally-friendly raw material and process, and neither GMO nor a major allergen, NUTRALYS® is reliable, easy to use and outstandingly cost-effective.

Trusted

CompetitiveUnique

www.pea-protein.com

Pho

to :

©B

anan

asto

ck_J

UP

ITE

RIM

AG

ES

_ico

nos

Visit us

at

VITAFO

ODS

Stand

974

C

C

TT

tti

t d

iti

C

U

ii

_ico

nos

ttained Obta

SNUTR YRALLY

i l ddfrom an enviom an env

is a uniquea unique®S

U

d ith

eronmentally-e protein.

h GMO-friendly

Pho

to :

©B

anan

asto

ck_J

UP

ITE

RIM

AG

ES

easy to usn

usnor a majoaw materawr

d outstae and oor allergen, Nor allergeial and proceal and pr

ndingly cost- is®SYUTRALLY

ess, and neith

-effective.s reliable,her GMO

t

DS

www.pea

a-protein.co

om

Stand

sit us

at

AFOO

AFOOD

AFOO

nd9Visit

VITITAAFO

O

4O

d 97

ODS474

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

NEWS REVIEW6 / Food & Drink News Review - 3rd May 2010


Junk foods can lead to addiction says new studyCTV News (CANADA)29th March 2010New research suggests junk food can actually becomeaddictive -- and just as addictive as heroin. Researchersin the U.S. have found that rats that had access to anunhealthy diet that included everything from bacon tochocolate to fat-laden desserts got so "hooked" on thefoods that they refused to eat anything else, and neededmore to feel satisfied.

Average Thai consumes 29.6KG ofsugar a yearBangkok Post (Thailand)7th AprilPhetchaburi, one of the biggest confectioneryproducers in Thailand, plans to lower the sugar contentin its confectionery products to reduce the negativeeffects of excessive sugar consumption on publichealth, reports the Bangkok Times. Phetchaburi chief,Chai Panitpornpan revealed in a report that theprovince had worked with the Health Department tolaunch the project, called "Kha Nom Thai Oon Wan"(less sweet Thai confectionery) to create healthy foodalternatives.

A recent study showed the average Thaiconsumes as much as 29.6kg of sugar a year. This isthree times the recommended limit of 10kg a year.Phetchaburi claims its traditional desserts are said to bethe best in the country. So far 19 major producers andvendors had joined the initiative and will reduce sugarin their homemade desserts by 15-20%.

43% of sugar in U.S. diets comesfrom �‘soda�’ drinkswww.blastcapsdrink.comApril 7thThis website reported that a UCLA study last yearfound that 43 percent of the additional caloriesAmericans have been consuming since the 1970s,come from soda. This makes this sector of food the topsource of added sugar in the national diet. Therecommended amount of sugar per person is 5-to-9teaspoons a day; one 20-ounce soda contains 17teaspoons. However, even though the industry supportsa clean up. It was also reported that the AmericanBeverage Association and Coke entities spent $31million in lobbying last year, ironically, much of itspent to oppose taxes on sugary beverages at federaland state levels. The association had a $2 million adcampaign against taxes, which public health expertscalculate would cut consumption and contributerevenues to public health programs to repair thedamage done to the nation�’s health by soda.

Kennedy�’s Editor quoted in TheSun 3 times in one month as Kraftdraw plans for new Cadbury cafesThe Sun Newspaper (UK)10th April For the third times in four weeks, Kennedy�’sConfection has been quoted in The Sun Newspaper, theworld�’s largest read English spoken newspaper. AngusKennedy commented on the proposed Cadbury caféchains that were announced by American owner Kraftearlier this month.

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

Cafés have been showing some resistancethroughout the economic downturn, and Cadbury arecertainly not the first confectioners to diversity intocoffee chains. Thornton�’s and Marcolini among manyothers, have both already established their own storesfor example, and Cadbury used to have its own café inBath, which ended in closure. �“However, there is theirony that with this venture, Americans will be servingthe British afternoon tea!,�” commented editor ofKennedy�’s Confection.

�“This is a very shrewd PR stunt to getchocolate buyers back on side,�” he added. �“By takingCadbury back to its roots, it will re-brand the companyand potentially rid of the �‘American�’ feel. Let�’s hopethey employ some of the UK staff being maderedundant!�”

David Morris is said to become ExecutiveChairman of the proposed coffee chain, which echoesback to 1824 when Cadbury�’s founder, John Cadbury,opened his first high street shop selling drinkingchocolate.

Why a high fat bacon and eggs mealis healthiest start to the dayDaily Mail (UK)31st March 2010U.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 breakfastis better for the heart, waistline and blood pressure than

carbohydrate-rich cereals, breads and pastries. (Seeeditors comment on the intro). It is thought that a friedbreakfast 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 foroptimum health, followed by a smaller lunch and alight evening meal. Their study looked at the effects ofeating different types of food - and of eating them atdifferent times in the day. Lucky mice fed a high fatmeal after waking remained healthy, but those given acarb-rich breakfast, followed by a fatty dinner, put onweight and had trouble processing sugar, raising theirrisk of diabetes. Blood tests also flagged up otherproblems that raised their risk of heart disease andstrokes.

Drinking too much cola could lowermen's sperm countDaily Mail1st April 2010Men who drink around a litre of cola every day couldbe harming their sperm, according to a new Danishstudy, published in the American Journal ofEpidemiology. On average, these men's sperm countswere almost 30 per cent lower than in men who didn'tdrink cola.The study found soft drinks did appear to affect malereproductive health. While most of the sperm countswould still be considered normal by the World HealthOrganization, men with fewer sperm generally have ahigher risk of being infertile. The link is unlikely to bedue to caffeine, the researchers say, because coffee didnot have the same effect, even though its caffeinecontent is higher. Instead, other ingredients in thebeverage or an unhealthy lifestyle could be involved.More than 2,500 young men were included in theirstudy. Those who didn't drink cola had better spermquality - averaging 50 million sperm per millilitresemen - and tended to have a healthier lifestyle. Incontrast, the 93 men who drank more than one litre aday had only 35 million sperm per millilitre. However,they also ate more fast foods, and less fruit andvegetables. It is still not clear if the cola or theunhealthy lifestyle, or both, is to blame and thescientists said further research was needed.�… and no, itwas not an April Fool!

© 2010 Cadbury plc


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


Continued >>

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

However, the organisation's 39 members,which contribute to its funding, include �– beside theGovernment, the EU �– Cadbury, Kellogg's, NorthernFoods, McDonald's, Pizza Express, the mainsupermarket chains except Tesco, and producer bodiessuch as the Potato Council. The chairman of its board oftrustees, Paul Hebblethwaite, is also chairman of theBiscuit, Cake, Chocolate and Confectionery TradeAssociation. Critics say the foundation's dependence onthe food industry is reflected in its support for the viewspromoted by industry and that it is not fully transparentabout it�’s funding.

�“Beverage Tax�”New York Times (USA)Dr. Daines, US Health Commissioner, is pressing aheadwith his campaign to support the soda tax. Hecommented in the New York Times this month that hehates the term �“fat tax,�” often used, because it soundsaccusatory. He prefers �“beverage tax.�” Dr. Dainesissued a release that said, �“Staten Island US. has thestate�’s second-highest obesity rate, as well as thesecond-highest consumption of sugar-sweetenedbeverages. �“I am concerned for the health of StatenIslanders,�” he added. �“Sixty-five percent of StatenIsland residents are overweight or obese, and 35 percentof them drink one or more cans of sugar-sweetenedbeverages like soda every day.�” Dr. Daines urged StatenIslanders to support their local soft-drink workers bydrinking 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 reportedthat he �‘managed to make soda purveyors sound almostlike drug dealers�’, commenting, �“I raised my kids onPark Avenue,�” he said. �“You can walk at least from 60thStreet to 96th Street on Park Avenue. You won�’t see asingle soda billboard, you won�’t see a single fast-foodoutlet, and I don�’t think you could buy a soda.Basically, a child raised in that corridor has a soda-freeday after school.�”

But walk 30 blocks north to Harlem, he said,and the picture is different. �“This is cheap, it�’s heavilyadvertised, it tastes really good,�” he said. �“And then weplunge kids into that environment, and we say, if youhave a problem, you lack self-control.�” In thesame report, Mr. Eusebio, the tax opponent,recommended that Dr. Daines devote his time topromoting a �“holistic diet�” and educating young peopleabout the benefits of exercise. �“Educating people helpsthem more than taxing them,�” Mr. Eusebio said. �“Iftaxation was a form of diet, New Yorkers would be thehealthiest people on the planet because we are the mostovertaxed people on the planet.�”

A cracking good breakfastas Waitrose stocks ostricheggs for EasterThe Times (UK)March 19, 2010Ostrich eggs, each, big enough to make anomelette for 15 people, are to appear insupermarkets. Waitrose (UK) will stock theeggs, which are now in season, in 31branches, after sales increased by 573%between 2008 and 2009. Each mild-flavoured egg, costing £18.99, is equivalentto 24 hen eggs. Demand for pheasant,quail, duck and goose eggs has alsoincreased, with sales of goose eggsincreasing by 101%, Waitrose said. Theretailer will sell ostrich eggs in an extra 11stores this year and goose eggs in anadditional 21 branches.

And while the Kennedy�’sjournalists are on the subject, check outthese Ostrich Facts from The Daily Mail: Iegg is enough to make 100 meringues or 32 Soufflés.An Ostrich egg is 24 times the size of hens and is laidevery 2 days. It takes two hours to hard boil and theshell still stays hot for 2 hours. The shell is super thick,so it can withstand the weight of a 300lb bird!

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

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

BRIC Countries Agree Food SecurityStrategyThe Moscow Times29 March 2010Brazil, Russia, Indiaand China agreed to combathunger and boost efforts to promotefood security, according to a strategy signed bythe countries' agriculture ministers in Moscow on27th March.The Doha round of negotiations, which started in2001, is aimed at lowering trade barriers. Thecountries, known collectively as BRIC, agreed toestablish an agricultural information databasethat would help countries compute supply and demandand establish grain reserves. In addition, the ministersagreed to reduce the effects of global climate change onfood security and cooperate in the field of agricultural

technology and innovation. The four agricultureministers also made signs of boosting trade within thegroup.The countries are home to 42% of the world'spopulation and 32% of its arable land, the RussianAgriculture Ministry said in a statement ahead of themeeting. Combined, the BRIC countries produce about40% of the world's wheat, 50% of its pork, more than30% of its poultry and 30% of its beef, the statementsaid.Russia isn't very interested in increasing its agricultureimports from other countries. Earlier this year, PresidentDmitry Medvedev signed a new food security doctrine,calling for 85 percent of all meat consumed in thecountry to be produced domestically. Instead, it is tryingto position itself as a major regional agriculturesupplier, hoping to double its exports of grain within 15years.

Rats!CTV News (Canada)Study shows rats can�’t stop eating high calorie foodsNeuropsychopharmacologist (yes that it one word!)Paul J. Kenny and graduate student Paul M. Johnson,have published their study in the journal NatureNeuroscience. They looked at rats given access to twokinds of diets: one group of rats ate a healthy, balanceddiet; the other group received regular healthy meals, buthad also access to high-calorie foods and snacks

The rats in the second group quicklydeveloped a preference for the high-calorie food. Whenthey were given unlimited access to the foods, theybegan eating it all day long. Within 40 days, the bodyweight of the rats in that group had risen 25 per cent.The rats not only became obese, they also showedaddiction-like changes in their brains -- the samechanges that have been reported in humans addicted todrugs.

The obese rats showed altered levels of areceptor in the brain called the D2 dopamine receptor.The D2 receptor responds to dopamine, the brainchemical that is released in the brain by pleasurableexperiences. The more junk food the rats ate, the morethey overloaded the brain's reward centre. The rewardpathways in the brain become so over-stimulated thatthe system essentially turns on itself. The researchersfound that the levels of the D2 dopamine receptors weresignificantly reduced in the brains of the obese animals,similar to what happens in human drug addicts. Theaddictions became so intense that the rats still soughtout the unhealthy foods even if it meant risking pain.

The rats had been trained to expect aminor shock to their feet shortly

after a cue light began toflash. But when the rats

that had unlimited accessto high-calorie food wereshown the cue light, theybraved the shock so thatthey could keep oneating.

Next, they cut offall access to the junk-food-addicted rats'"drug." Theyremoved the junkfood and replaced it

with an exclusivelynutritious diet. The rats


IN THE PAPERSWhat was SAID about the FOOD INDUSTRY last month (continued)



simply refused to eat. The rats that had begun to eatmost compulsively and that showed the greatestchanges in their brains were the most likely to refuseany food.

To take the experiment one step further, theresearchers artificially knocked out the D2 dopaminereceptor in some of the rats, using a special virus. Theyfound that the treated with the virus

developed compulsive eating much faster �– but onlyamong those eating the tasty, unhealthy food. The ratseating the healthy diet continued to eat as normal. Butwhen they were switched over to junk food, they also

very rapidly showed addiction-likechanges.

It's unclear the results among ratsapply to people, who are able to use reasonin their food choices. But the researcherssay this is the first study to support the ideathat overeating of tasty but unhealthy foodcan become habitual, and that the samebrain changes seen in drug addicts can alsooccur to junk food addiction

Losing weight is too stressfulUSA TODAY8th April 2010

Trying to lose weight raises a person'sstress levels, even if the dieter doesn'trealize it. The stress comes not only fromtrying to avoid the refrigerator or fightingthe bathroom scales. A new study showsthere also may be a physical reason forgreater stress while dieting.The study found that people who restrictcalories have an increased level of thestress hormone cortisol, says lead authorJanet Tomiyama, a Robert Wood JohnsonFoundation scholar at the University ofCalifornia-San Francisco.They followed 99 women who wererandomly assigned to one of four eatinggroups: those who were taught how tofollow a classic low-calorie diet �— 1,200calories a day �— and were instructed tokeep track of their calories; those whorestricted their calories to 1,200 a day byeating pre-packaged food but didn't countcalories; non-dieters who counted calories;and non-dieters who didn't count calories.Before and after the study, the womencompleted surveys on their stress levels.The findings reported in the online versionof Psychosomatic Medicine: dieters lost anaverage of 2 pounds in three weeks, whilstnon-dieters gained 2 1/2 pounds;participants who cut calories had higherlevels of cortisol (produced with stress)than before they started the plan and higherlevels than non-dieters in the study.

Money back guarantee and 50%off the normal rateSubscribe to Food and Drink News Review and you will receive 6 free issues�… and if you feel that in any way,you are not happy, you can receive a refund in full.

You can�’t lose, so sign up today and receive all the news in thefood industry in one paper.

Subscription Rates 1 year SPECIAL OFFEREurope £99.00 £49.00

Rest of World £149.00 £75.00

DELIVERY ADDRESS

Name ________________________________________________ Title _____

Job Title ________________________________________________________

Company name _________________________________________________

Address ________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

Country___________________ Postcode ____________________________

Tel _______________________________ Email ___________________________________

Nature of business ______________________________________________

PAYMENT DETAILS Please fill in total, then choose payment method

Total due £ I enclose a cheque made payable to Kennedy’s Publications Ltd drawn in pounds sterling

Please charge my credit card Card no_______________________________

Card holder _______________________________________________________________

Address __________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Start date __________ Expiry date __________ Security code_________

Signature _________________________________________________________________

E-MAIL: [email protected]: + 44 (0) 1732 371 510 FAX: + 44 (0) 1732 352 438

Kennedy’s Publications Ltd, First Floor Offices,

Stafford House,16 East Street, Tonbridge,

Kent, TN9 1HG, UK

Note: All credit card payments receive a 2.5% Surcharge added. Full invoice and receipt will be sent on receipt of payment. Offer closes 30th April 2010.

Thank you for subscribing to Food and Drinks News ReviewAll enquiries: - mail/send your completed form to: Kennedy’s Publications Ltd. 16 East street. Tonbridge, Kent, TN9 1HG England. [email protected] call Tel+ 44 (0) 1732 371510 to orderby phone. Fax + 44 (0) 1732 372 438.www.kennedysconfection.co.uk

Subscription OfferSubscribe today and receive 6 issues FREE of charge

Yes please send me my six free issues of Food and Drink News review every month, 12 issues. I understand that if I am not entirely satisfied, I can write to cancel within 12 weeks from the date of my order and I will receive a full refund.



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

Tackling Salt Reduction in the Food and Drink Industryby Aimee Matthews, Leatherhead Food ResearchWhile essential for life, sodium is a risk factor formany lifestyle related diseases including coronaryheart disease, high blood pressure and stroke.Globally, governments and charities are doing their partto make consumers aware of the health impact of toomuch salt in the diet. There has never been so muchpressure on the food industry to find innovative solutionsin salt reduction.

Surveys show that North Americans are consuming morethan double the recommended daily intake of sodium(1500mg) and the pattern is similar in Europe too.Overall the evidence is strong that this overconsumptionnot only has a detrimental effect on our health but alsocauses a huge burden to our health care systems.

Lowering the salt content of packaged and restaurantfoods may sound easy in theory but it poses sometechnological difficulties. Salt functions as a seasoning,preservative, binding agent, colour controller, texture aidand fermentation controller in many foods. Salt helps toextend shelf life by supporting microbiological stability(in the case of soups and sauces), as well as controllingwater content and influencing the protein structure (inthe case of meat products). Reducing salt not only holdsthe risk of a loss of flavour, but may also compromisethe shelf-life, stability and safety of products.

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

UK Salt TrendsAccording to the UK government, about 75% of the saltconsumed in the UK is already present in the foodspurchased, the majority of which is common salt(sodium chloride), found in processed foods. Tastes arechanging, and there has been a shift away fromconsumers buying salt at the retail level in recent years,with UK sales falling by 13% from £23 million in 2000to £20 million in 2005. Most recent data indicates thatsales have stayed around the £20m mark ever since. Themain casualties have been table and cooking salt. Incontrast, sea/rock salt and low sodium alternatives haveincreased, but they still only account for one-fifth (20%)of the total salt market. This rise in popularity can beattributed to consumers believing they are a healthieralternative to table/cooking salt, as well as heightenedawareness of the risks associated with a diet high in salt.

UK Salt Reduction ProgramAccording to the Food and Drink Federation (FDF), theUK is leading the world in salt reduction. The ConsensusAction on Salt and Health (CASH) was set up in 1996.CASH support the idea that a reduction of 3g a day fromthe current average intake of 10-12g a day over the nextdecade could easily be achieved if the food industrycollaborates. This reduction will have a large impact onreducing strokes by approximately 22% and heart attacksby 16% saving 19,000 lives in the UK. The FoodStandards Agency (FSA), the government�’s watchdogand health promotion agency, have been raising

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

In March 2006 the FSA published the original voluntarysalt reduction targets for 85 categories of food, asguidance to the food industry. The Agency committed toreview the targets in 2008, to formally assess progress todate and to establish what further reductions werenecessary to maintain progress towards the 6g dailyintake target. In May 2009 the Agency published revisedsalt reduction targets for 2012, for 80 categories offoods. These are more challenging than the previoustargets which were made for 2010. Proposals were putforward for a regular review of progress and targets on abiennial basis, with the next due in 2011.

Other European Countries and USIn the 2007 White Paper on a Strategy for Europe onNutrition, Physical Activity and Health, the EuropeanCommission proposed to set up High Level Groupfocused on nutrition and physical activity related healthissues. The goal is to contribute towards a reduction insalt intake at population level in order to achieve thenational or WHO recommendations for no more than 5gdaily. The initiative will work towards a reduction in saltof 16% over 4 years (4% per year) against 2008 levels.

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

So far the countries that have the most establishedcampaigns and whose governments are more proactivelypromoting salt reduction to food manufacturers areFinland, France and the Netherlands. Following successin the UK, Ireland mimics the strategies outlined by theFSA. 72 companies have agreed to self-report, withseveral manufacturers reporting their products to be inline with the FSAI�’s (Food Safety Authority of Ireland)salt targets.

Only recently have some of the remaining countriesinitiated national campaigns to raise consumerawareness. In the US though packaged food companieshave been working on sodium reduction for quite sometime. A public attack has only recently launched on saltlevels in processed foods, and awareness campaigns arebeginning to make consumers realise the danger ofconsuming too much salt.

How is Industry Managing Salt Reduction?In-line with many global government campaigns andtheir advice given, all sectors of the food industry haveresponded positively to calls to reduce salt in foods and

commit to an ongoing salt reduction program. It isimportant to note that just because some manufacturersmay have reduced the salt content of a multinationalbrand, the level of salt reduction may vary according tothe country where it is sold.

A report published in 2009 by the World Action on Saltand Health (WASH) highlights the significantdifferences in salt levels of many global food brandsbetween countries. Over 260 food products wereincluded in the survey from food manufacturers and fastfood companies. For example, one popular cereal brandcontains 2.15g of salt per 100g in Canada, but only 0.65gof salt per 100g in neighbouring United States, less thana third of the Canadian level. Meanwhile in the UK thesame cereal contains 1.13g of salt per 100g. WASH istrying to encourage manufacturers to not only focus onthe levels of salt in particular brands but to narrow thediscrepancy in levels of salt used in the same brandsbetween countries.

One thing that is evident by its media attention is that thestruggle to reduce salt in food products in universal andhas never been so important. Looking at individualcompany campaigns, there are some majormultinationals who have led the way for smaller scalecompanies, who tend to struggle more financially withthe salt reduction process. A few key examples are ArlaFoods who committed to up to a 50% salt reduction in itssoft cheese range and has already achieved a reductionof 15% in butter. Campbell Soup Company hasquadrupled the number of its lower-sodium products inthe past five years and Cargill have shown theircommitment by producing SaltWise, a sodium reductionsystem. Other companies that have pledged to reduce thelevel of salt in their foods include Heinz, Kraft, PepsiCo,Nestlé and Premier Foods.

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

Overall with the foodindustry�’s support andgovernment and publichealth bodies raisingconsumer awarenessregarding the importanceof salt reduction it isthought that modestreductions in dietary saltcould substantially reducethe number ofcardiovascular events and the cost that these causes ourhealth services.

Leatherhead Food Research are currently carryingout a collaborative research project in SaltReduction. For further information interested partiescan contact Aimee Matthews: 01372 822251 or [email protected]




The great palm oil debate �– who�’s saying what?By Kristiane Henney

One of the great news stories this month was thehigh-profile Nestlé/Sinar Mas palm oil case.Although it has been rumbling since late 2009, itwas thrust into the public eye by charityGreenpeace and a BBC production. What was evenmore striking was the online social networkingstorm from consumers, propelling the argumentand blurring the edges between fact and allegation.So what was said by the companies involved, whosources palm oil from where and who has saidwhat? We take a closer look�…

Palm oil is a widely used, versatile vegetable oilproduced from the oil palm, depended on bymillions worldwide. The crop is the highestyielding of all the oilseed plants, with Indonesiaand Malaysia contributing around 80% of theglobal palm oil production. The crop promotesrural agricultural development and can harnesspolitical security. Its cheaper pricing and highstability means it is growing in demand as aningredient �– especially in the commercial foodindustry. Yet the crop has shown to have adist inctly less green side. Substantialenvironmental damage can be left in the wake ofpalm oil production, impacting on the local andglobal ecosystem in a number of ways. Can thisdelicately interwoven balance of social lifelines,economical advantages and ecological adversity;governments, local people, NGOs (Non-government organisations) and corporatecompanies balance out?

In the BBC Panorama programme �‘Dying for aBiscuit�’, clear-cutting in Indonesian Borneo washighlighted as encroaching onto land previouslymarked as protected. The documentary claimedthat the critically endangered orangutans werebeing displaced by logging to make room for theoil palm plantations. The International Union forConservation estimates that 50,000 orangutanshave died as a result of deforestation, furtherthreatening the entire species.

Behind America and China, Panorama calculatedthat Indonesia was the third largest emitter ofgreenhouse gases �– and identified the draining of

ancient peat lands as a cause. The land was bled tomake way for palm oil plantations, but as the landdrains, Greenpeace say huge amounts of trappedmethane and carbon dioxide release, taking theproblem from a local to a global one,

Following the Panorama programme, the charityreleased a report on website YouTube claiming thatNestlé use palm oil sourced from areas whereorangutan�’s rainforest once grew. According toGreenpeace, the forests of Indonesia are beingcleared faster than anywhere else on the planet,and that companies like Sinar Mas are responsible.Both the documentary and the video report causeda blast of online objection from consumers, in away that is relatively new and has rarely been seenbefore. Facebook and Twitter were mediums usedby protestors �– it appears that keyboards may bebecoming more effective than placards when tryingto make one�’s voice heard. But hype can distort.Smart Agribusiness and Food, founded by SinarMas, initially released a report on 21st December2009, strongly stating that the company �‘alwayshas and always will be committed to carrying outits activities in sustainable ways in respect to theNational Laws and Regulations, and in line withthe Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil�’s (RSPO)Principles and Criteria�’, and that the claims were�‘exaggerated or [were] not scientifically groundedor [were] not based on fact�’.

Nestlé UK published an online response to theGreenpeace report. In answer to the Greenpeacevideo �– which the chocolate company initially

tried to block �– saying: �“We can assure you thatNestlé UK does not buy palm oil from the SinarMas Group�… We do purchase palm oil fromCargill, and we have sought assurances from themabout their supply chain�… We have made acommitment to only using �“Certified SustainablePalm Oil�” by 2015�…�” The full response can befound on Nestlé�’s website.

Nestlé�’s supplier, Cargill, also released an onlineresponse to Greenpeace�’s allegations. Thecompany highlighted its commitment to the RSPOprocess of working towards sustainable palmproduction and commented that it �‘takes this issuevery seriously.�’ It outlines the onward process nowtaken �– that they have contacted Sinar Mas, and if�‘the RSPO validates the allegations of improperland conversion or illegal planting in deep peatland as alleged in the Greenpeace report, and SinarMas does not take corrective action, we will delistthem as a supplier.�’

Who is the RSPO?In 2004, NGO�’s, producers and retailers, foundedthe Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, settingout a benchmark to which companies shouldadhere to, making palm oil production lessdamaging to the environment. Issues such asconserving high conservation value forests andreducing pollution make up the criteria, with theeventual aim of certified-sustainable palm oil(CPSO) selling at a premium to recover costs.Although CPSO shipments began to arrive inEurope in late 2009, sales have been slow.


Finance, Business and InvestmentsUK Nestlé workers threaten strike actionIndustrial action by thou-sands of workers at confec-tionery company Nestléappears to be more likely, sayunion leaders, in an escalatingdispute over pay.

Union leaders are ex-pecting strong support for astrike ballot, which could seeup to 3,000 workers takingpart in walkouts. Nestlé havesaid in an internal bulletin thatit faced �‘significant�’ chal-lenges due to the recession,and added that the economicclimate was �‘fundamentallychanging�’ consumer behav-iour. Because of this, the com-

pany said pay negotiationswere unrealistic this year.

National Officer ofUnite, Jennie Formby, said,�“Confectionery is recession-resistant and Nestlé is doingextremely well. Its profitshave increased substantially,but it is now attacking collec-tive bargaining and exploitingits workers. We are clear therewill be a very strong yes votein the ballot. Nestlé is not anemployer in trouble �– the bil-lions given to shareholdersdemonstrates they have thecash and our members deservea pay increase.�”

Bühler announce �‘excellent�’ 2009 resultsThe Bühler TechnologyGroup maintained its mar-ket position in 2009, despitewhat it called an �‘extremelychallenging environment�’.The Group increased its prof-its to 5% to CHF 104 millioneven when taking restructur-ing costs and goodwill write-offs into consideration.

Sales turnover reachedCHF 1721 million, with re-turn on operational assets ris-ing by 34%. Bühler ended2009 with an order backlogworth CHF 926 million, 7%up on the previous year.

After achieving recordsales in 2008, sales fell by9%. The order intake of CHF1784 million was down 6%,

but when adjusted to take ex-change rates into considera-tion, the decline was 3%, astatistic that Bühler say nocompetitor matched.

The markets with thestrongest growth were SouthAmerica (+10%) and Africa(+7%), however markets inNorth America and Europecontracted.

The Group�’s profit roseby 3% to CHF 104 million,with operating cash flowmaking up 9.4% of turnover.Bühler say they ended theyear with an �‘absolutelysound balance sheet,�’ andthat �‘the Group Managersface the current fiscal yearwith confidence�’.

Criticism as Kraft�’s CEO is rewardedwith a 41% pay riseIrene Rosenfeld, KraftFoods CEO was this monthgiven a controversial 41%pay rise last year, despitethe company missingrevenue targets. Filings withthe US Securities andExchange Commission(SEC) show that she waspaid a total salary of $26.3m(£17.5m) in 2009, up from$18.7m the previous year.

Kraft describedRosenfeld�’s bulging paypacket as a reward for�“significant effort andultimate acquisition ofCadbury�”, despite the fact

that the company froze it�’ssenior executives�’ salarieslast year. Kraft�’s shares havedawdled behind those oftheir competitors by around8.5% from 2006, until mid-2009. Since the Cadburytakeover, they�’ve laggedbehind the others by 5.4%. The news comes as a criticalreport from UK MPs intothe Kraft takeover ispublished, and a month afterKraft announced 400 joblosses at Cadbury�’sSomerdale factory,prompting a public outcry.A committee of MPs say the

company acted�‘irresponsibly and unwisely�’over the closure. Felicity Loudon,granddaughter of Sir EgbertCadbury, commented on thereport, �“Their findingsunderscore the need forbetter regulation oftakeovers of large andimportant British companiesby foreign predators. At thevery least, the governmentcould fend off leveragedbuy-outs like this onewhich, as we have seen,lead to an inevitable loss ofjobs.�”

Chiquita Brands Internationaland Groupe Danone SA are towork together to market Chiq-uita�’s �‘Just Fruit In A Bottle�’ linein Europe. The companies willbecome financial and operationalpartners, with Danone managingthe operation and Chiquita pro-viding services for local sales,marketing and the supply chain.Chiquita will receive a one-timecash payment for a 51% interestin the operation.

Iceland-based Bakkavör re-ported an annual loss of £11.8mfor 2009 with turnover up 2% to£1.65bn, compared to losing£154.2m the previous year. Thecompany, one of the UK�’s largestproducers of convenience food,improved its operating profit,achieving £85.4m. Yet finance

costs were up 56%. Bakkavörmanaged to secure a refinancingof its £316m debts in the fourthquarter, with 46% being turnedinto share capital. The outstand-ing deficit will become a �‘con-vertible debt instrument�’ tomature in 2014.

Unilever has begun the processof selling its Italian businessFindus Italy, the only frozen-food operation the company didnot divest with Birds Eye in2006. The unit has an estimatedprice between �€500 and �€800m,with Permira and Lion Capitalhaving both arranged advisersbefore the distribution of an in-formation memorandum. Asource has said that other privateequity houses will consider thegroup.

General Mills increases profit forecast on strong 3Q salesGeneral Mills Inc reported a15% higher profit for thethird quarter andsubsequently increased its2010 adjusted earningsoutlook.

Lower commoditycosts and rising salesencouraged the profitincrease, with net incometotalling $332.5m/96 centsper share for the period up to28th February, up from$288.9m/85 cents per sharefor the same quarter last year.Excluding one-time items,profit was 97 cents per share,topping the 93-cent estimatefrom Thomas Reuters.Quarterly revenue increased3% to $3.63bn, with WallStreet forecasting $3.62bn.Overseas revenue grew 11%,partly helped by the dollarexchange rate.

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

Sales gains fromconsumers seeking cheapmeals during the recessionhas established General Millsas a stronger food company.Income from Big G cerealsincreased by 6%, fuelled bythe launches of ChocolateCheerios and Wheaties Fuelalongside strong results fromexisting brands such asLucky Charms. Revenue rose15% at the snacks unit and2% at Pillsbury, but themeals unit and bakingproducts division performedmore weakly.

�“Results for the thirdquarter reflect continuedgood sales growth, marginstrength and significantmarketing reinvestment inour brands,�” Ken Powell,General Mills Chairman andCEO, said in a statement.Looking towards the future,the company said it waslooking towards new venuesfor growth and plans toincrease its advertisingcampaign to introduce newproducts and reach newmarkets. Third quarteradvertising and mediaspending increased by 33%.Baby boomers, youngfamilies and the risingmiddle class in emergingglobal markets were namedlast month as targetconsumer segments over thenext five years.


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

Coca-Cola takecontrol of InnocentCoca-Cola has increased itsshare in Innocent to 58% tobecome the majority share-holding in the company. In-nocent�’s founders will retainoperational control of thecompany.15,000 food items.

Ocean Spray enjoy strengthening presence in AsiaOcean Spray ITG hasannounced that it willextend its partnership withSpectrum Ingredients tocontinue to develop themarket for cranberryingredients across South

East Asia. SpectrumIngredients is now the solerepresentative of OceanSpray ITG in Thailand; thecompanies have workedtogether in Malaysia andSingapore since 1991.

In Brief...


food & drink news review 2

Documents

drink news review

important news

current news

world cup thisyear

food anddrink industry

food paints

world everymonth

thisevery month