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UK: Supermarkets not doing enough to reduce trans fats, says consumer group

Just moderately reducing consumption of ‘trans fats’ may cut coronary heart disease by a quarter, but many food retailers are failing to help address the problem, according to a report by Health Which?. Hydrogenated fats are formed by bubbling hydrogen through vegetable oil and are used to extend the shelf life of the oil. The process creates trans fats, which many experts, including the UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA), now link to coronary heart disease and believe could be even worse than saturated fats.

News

GERMANY: CEO of Tchibo coffee unit steps down

Germany’s Tchibo has announced that John Karakadas has stepped down from the position of chief executive of the group’s coffee unit. Karakadas, who was appointed CEO of Tchibo Frisch-Rost-Kaffee in February 2002, left the company effective 15 September. Rainer Kutzner, another senior executive of the coffee unit, is also leaving.

News

USA: FDA tells dairy firms to stop labelling milk as hormone-free

The US Food and Drug Administration has told four dairy products firms to stop labelling their products as being free of hormones. The FDA said no milk product could be labelled hormone free because all milk contained naturally occurring hormones. "FDA is committed to assuring that consumers are provided with truthful information on product labels," FDA Commissioner Dr. Mark McClellan was quoted by Reuters as saying.  

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CANADA/USA: CoolBrands agrees deal to make Atkins ice cream

Canadian frozen dessert maker CoolBrands International has announced that it has made a deal with Atkins Nutritionals to make, sell and distribute Atkins Endulge ice cream products in Canada and the US. Markham, Ontario-based CoolBrands said the deal would help boost its presence in the diet food sector because Atkins Endulge does not contain added sugar and controls carbohydrates. The product is aimed at consumers who are following the low-carbohydrate Atkins diet plan.

News

USA: FreshDirect raises $31m through private placement

US food delivery service FreshDirect has said it has raised US$31m in capital through a private placement of equity securities. AIG-sponsored funds, advised by AIG Global Investment, invested $15m, while the remainder was funded by several investors, including CIBC Capital Partners and Canyon Partners.

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UK: Thorntons reports near 10% fall in full-year pre-tax profit

UK chocolate maker and retailer Thorntons has reported a near 10% fall in full-year profits and said sales were hit by the hot UK summer. The company reported a pre-tax profit of £6.4m (US$10.2m) for the year to 28 June, compared to £7.1m a year earlier. The company said that in the first nine weeks of the new financial year, franchise sales had fallen 7.2%, while own shop like-for-like sales were down 1.9% due to the hot weather. Commercial sales rose 24.6% in the period, however, while gift delivery service sales rose 6.9%, reported AFX News.

News

CANADA: Unilever to close margarine factory

The Canadian unit of Anglo-Dutch consumer products giant Unilever is to close its margarine factory in St John’s, Newfoundland, with the loss of 17 jobs. The company said its would transfer production to a plant in suburban Toronto at the end of next March, reported the Canadian Press.

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USA: Peet's Coffee & Tea expands distribution with Safeway deal

Specialty coffee roaster Peet's Coffee & Tea has entered into an agreement with Safeway Inc., one of the largest food retailers in the US, to provide its products to approximately 1,200 grocery locations nationwide. Peet's expects to begin distribution to these locations in spring 2002, and the company's president and CEO Chris Mottern, commented: "We are extremely pleased to enter into this distribution agreement

News

AUSTRALIA: Watherthins relaunched with new pack design by CPd

Waterwheel Industries has re-launched its range of fine wafer crackers, Waterthins, with new packaging developed by design consultancy, CPd. The new look packaging design which has been applied across the range will be on shelf from 8 April in Coles supermarkets nationally. Darrell Wilson, MD of Waterwheel Industries, commented: "Above all else our aim working with CPd has been to create new packaging for the Waterthins range that could not only convey the experience of consuming the product but could communicate Waterthin’s premium positioning.

News

UK: HGCA quality prediction model forecasts improved UK wheat quality

A higher proportion of UK wheat is forecast to meet bread-making standards, according to a quality prediction model funded largely by the Home-Grown Cereals Authority (HGCA). Predictions for the quality of this year's wheat harvest have been announced by Dr Peter Kettlewell from Harper Adams University College. The announcement is the second set of predictions to be made since the launch of this HGCA-funded research project last year.

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USA: Mayfield announces investment and distribution in Alabama

Athens, Tenn.-based Mayfield Dairy Farms is to expand its line of ice cream products and services throughout Alabama. After a two-year alliance between Mayfield and Barber Dairy, whereby a limited amount of Mayfield ice cream was distributed by Barber throughout the state, the sister dairies have decided to offer Mayfield's full line of ice cream products, replacing Barber's ice cream.

News

CHINA: Wall's ice cream goes takes on Nestlé in Guangzhou

Unilever subsidiary Wall’s has made deep inroads into the Chinese market, largely thanks to a low-price strategy. But in one area, Guangzhou, it failed to invest sufficient resources, with the result that archrival Nestlé has got its feet firmly under the table by acquiring market leader Five Sheep.

News

UK: Spam celebrated by UK aficionados

This week is National Spam Week in the UK, and Spam lovers are being encouraged to pay homage to the spiced, processed ham utilised by thousands of school canteens and immortalised by a Monty Python sketch. J.C. Hormel started producing Spam in Austin, Minnesota in 1937 when he decided to apply beer canning technology to can the meat.

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CANADA: School slams Nestlé for harsh response to school project

Swiss chocolate producer Nestlé got some unwanted bad press when a school went public about the cool response some of its children received recently when they asked the company for help with a project. Seven Grade 4 children at the Ecole Sun Valley Elementary School in Winnipeg, Canada, wrote to Nestlé requesting information as part of a project. They asked questions such as: “How do you make chocolate ice cream? Can you manufacture chocolate hockey sticks and pucks? Can you produce a T-shirt made out of Coffee Crisp?”