NCFM.tv

Unilever is to create “green energy” at its Ben and Jerry’s ice cream factory in Holland by installing a bio-digester which converts natural waste products into gas. (Dairyreporter.com) The food giant, together with Paques, a producer of water and gas purification systems, has started the construction of a bio-digester at Unilever’s ice cream factory in Hellendoorn, the Netherlands. According to Paques, its bio-digester will cover 40 per cent of... read more →

A new economic study indicates that the abolition of milk quotas in the EU could have a significant negative impact on the profitability of organic dairy farming. (Dairyreporter.com) Writing in the Food Policy journal, scientists at the University of Kiel in Germany sought to establish how the removal of the EU milk quota regime in 2015 will affect the earning potential of organic farmers. Using a Data Envelope Analysis (DEA) model, they studied the accounts... read more →

US cheese companies have agreed to step up efforts to reduce the sodium content in cheese and educate consumers about the limits of sodium reduction. (Dairyreporter.com) At a meeting hosted by the Innovation Center for US Dairy 17 leading cheese firms, including the likes of Chr Hansen, Kraft Foods and Cargill, discussed the key challenges and opportunities related to sodium reduction. The companies are working pre-competitively on best practice to reduce... read more →

Availability at the leading supermarkets dropped to just 96.8% in December 2010 as wintery weather disrupted supplies, according to the latest ECR UK on-shelf availability survey. (foodmanufacturing.co.uk) This compared with a 97.5% availability rate in December 2009 and a 97.1% availability rate in October 2010, when the last survey was conducted. The top-performing category during the survey – conducted during 9-15 December – was fresh food... read more →

Leicester ice cream and dairy product manufacturer Rossa Dairy Products has gone into administration after over a century of production. (foodmanufacturing.co.uk) Corporate recovery specialist Begbies Traynor was appointed in early January to sell the firm’s assets, and the administrator says several potential buyers are interested in restarting production at the site and reappointing former staff. In its heyday Rossa employed around 30 staff, although... read more →

Bradford-based Seabrook Crisps claims to have developed a “breakthrough” crisp range than contains 90% less salt than normal varieties. (Foodmanufacturing.co.uk) Noting that 26m UK citizens consume too much salt, according to Food Standards Agency (FSA) statistics, and with 75% of intake coming from salt formulated within foods, Seabrook aims to attract consumers who usually shun crisps on health grounds. Goodbye salt, hello flavour? Md John... read more →

The European Commission is still unable to say when the controversial nutrient profiling model in the EU health claims Regulation will be finalised, two years after food manufacturers were told it would be published. (Foodmanufacturing.co.uk) The model, which is intended to prevent firms from making nutrition and health claims on foods that are high in fat, salt or sugar, was supposed to be completed in January 2009, but as with many other aspects of... read more →

The fact that Uniq has finally pencilled in a firm date by which it aims to resolve its pension problems has tempered disappointment over contract losses at its Minsterley desserts factory. (Foodmanufacturing.co.uk) News that Uniq is set to lose desserts sales worth £10m annually at Minsterley is “clearly unhelpful” in light of the continuing uncertainty surrounding the firm‘s attempts to tackle the hole in its pension fund, said Investec Securities... read more →