Worried staff at Longbenton Foods’ Amble factory are again fearing for their jobs, after it emerged that the site administrator is marketing the factory and its contents via an online auction. (Foodmanufacturing.co.uk) Acting on behalf of administrator Begbies Traynor, auctioneer Sweeney Kincaid has published an online advert for the “major sale by tender of an exceptionally modern root vegetable processing plant and equipment” in Amble, Northumberland. The... read more →
Proposals to overhaul the fee inspection regime at food and feed facilities in the UK would result in a more consistent and clearer system – but one that would cost businesses more, said the Food Standards Agency (FSA). (Bakeryandsnacks.com) The food safety watchdog appears to have anticipated industry opposition to the scheme but said the proposals are necessary to improve standards and ensure the UK has a voice in upcoming EU negotiations. In... read more →
Technology to extract water from potatoes for reuse in processing will go some way to helping PepsiCo UK and Ireland achieve its pledge of unplugging its largest sites from the water mains by 2018, said the snack maker in a new report. (Bakeryandsnacks.com) And the producer of the Walkers crisp brand, in its dissemination of its progress on its original environmental sustainability pledges, said it hopes to scale up the innovative technology and share it... read more →
The European Commission has given its strongest signal yet that legislation tightening up the monitoring of dioxins in the food and feed chain will follow in the wake of the German crisis. (Foodproductiondaily.com) John Dalli, EC Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner, said yesterday Brussels was considering all options , “including legislative ones”, and that the crisis would be discussed at a meeting of European Union agriculture heads on 24 January. He... read more →
A Lincolnshire food firm has agreed to reduce compulsory redundancies at one of its factories from 170 to 35 posts. (BBCNews Lincolnshire) The Icelandic-owned Bakkavor factory in Bourne, which makes salads, prepared fruit and stir fry, will lay off 35 salaried staff but no hourly workers will be made redundant. More than 140 hourly-paid employees have taken voluntary redundancy. The Unite union said it had worked “in a positive way” with the company... read more →
A top level forum made up of regulators, industry players and consumer groups is holding its first meeting today as part of a UK bid to tackle a slew of issues surrounding nanotechnology in the food sector. (Foodproductiondaily.com) Intelligence gathering on nano research and the controversial proposal to set up a nanotech register for food and packaging products are just some of the major issues to be addressed at the inaugural meeting of the Nanotechnologies... read more →
A unique molecular test that detects Salmonella enteritidis (SE) in poultry eggs can provide results up to 10-times faster than traditional methods, said the US company behind the product.(Foodproductiondaily.com) Life Technologies Corp said it has launched the first real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection system to test for SE after receiving an equivalency rating from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The firm said the decision by... read more →
Pre-baked and freshly delivered products are among the fastest growing segments, while frozen dough and scratch mix products exhibit slow growth in a new analysis of the global bakery industry predicted to be worth around $410bn by 2015. (Foodanddrinkeurope.com) According to a new report by Global Industry Analysts, there has also been a noticeable shift towards value-added natural and healthy bakery comprising of vitamins, whole grains and fibres, and... read more →
