All Latest News articles – Page 597

  • News

    Commodities tracker

    2007-07-06T00:00:00Z

    Butter prices are in turmoil, according to June’s Bulk Dairy Market Report from Staple Dairy Products.Prices in the UK have risen by 40% since January 2007, according to the report. On butter and milk powders it says: "Supplies remain scarce and prices remain firm - and getting firmer ...

  • News

    Staff health ’should be priority’

    2007-07-06T00:00:00Z

    According to Ipsos MORI research, commissioned by Investors in People, over a third of employees in the retail sector (37%) believe their employer needs to do more to improve the health and well- being of employees at work.A nationally representative quota sample of around 900 working adults were interviewed between ...

  • News

    Health watch

    2007-07-06T00:00:00Z

    A US study, to be published this month in the Neurobiology of Ageing journal, has found that an increased intake of fresh blueberries could help to minimise the effects of Alzheimer’s and other degenerative diseases associated with an ageing brain.Alzheimer’s affects over 400,000 people in the UK, according to ...

  • News

    Small shops maintain market share

    2007-07-06T00:00:00Z

    The independent retail sector may be finding its niche after decades of pressure from the multiples, according to the latest TNS data.TNS Worldpanel grocery market share figures, published for the 12 weeks ending 17 June 2007, found that the independent sector’s share is stable with growth rates of 8%.Edward ...

  • News

    Storming wheat prices

    2007-07-06T00:00:00Z

    A price rise of up to £55 on breadmaking flour in the next two months is now tipped as "more likely than not", after wheat prices rose nearly 10% in the last week.The breadmaking wheat price for November was £142 a tonne (delivered to the north-west) last week, with industry ...

  • News

    viewpoint

    2007-07-06T00:00:00Z

    As the saying goes ’it never rains, but it pours’. Or if June is anything to go by, it rains, pours, storms and floods, non-stop and without an end in sight.For a depressingly autumnal mid-summer month the elements have taken their toll, with forward wheat prices rising steeply this week ...

  • News

    ABF to build biofuel plant with partners

    2007-06-29T00:00:00Z

    Associated British Foods has ­announced that it is to build a £200m biofuel plant in the UK with BP and DuPont, a move which will make ABF the major producer of biofuel in the UK.ABF and BP will each hold 45% of the joint venture and science company DuPont will ...

  • News

    International activity

    2007-06-29T00:00:00Z

    Food from Britain (FFB) France recently held an annual two-day event in Paris for UK food producers, including bakers.One of the most significant points to come out of the seminar, according to Martine Foulloy at the FFB French office, was that French consumers were increasingly interested in buying "very ...

  • News

    Scots manufacturer adopts traffic lights

    2007-06-29T00:00:00Z

    Baker Paterson Arran has ­announced that it is the first Scottish food manufacturer to adopt the FSA’s front-of-pack traffic light signposting scheme.This comes with the launch of Bronte Organic, a range of orangutan-friendly cookies, which were first unveiled at the opening of Whole Foods Market in Kensington, London, earlier this ...

  • News

    Floods cause chaos around the country

    2007-06-29T00:00:00Z

    This week’s extreme weather and severe flooding has caused chaos for bakers, millers and distributors around England and Wales.Production at Maple Leaf UK’s Rotherham bakery ground to a halt on Tuesday, as the electricity went down on its industrial estate.Guy Hall, deputy managing director, told British Baker the building was ...

  • News

    BIE board meets to discuss plans for next year’s show

    2007-06-29T00:00:00Z

    The Baking Industry Exhibition (BIE) board of patrons has held its inaugural meeting.Andrew Reed, chairman of the board, told patrons representing both exhibitor and visitor sectors about plans for the show, which will take place on 6-9 April 2008.Reed, representing organisers William Reed, said more than 63% of space had ...

  • News

    Briefs

    2007-06-29T00:00:00Z

    n The Flour Advisory Bureau is working with HGCA on an updated education website and programme - The Grain Chain - which will be launched in September. It will feature interactive information in line with the curriculum for key stages two and three, with topics including healthy eating, growing food ...

  • News

    Rate hikes a ’wake-up call’

    2007-06-29T00:00:00Z

    Rising interest rates are a blessing in disguise for bakery businesses, according to Plimsoll’s latest research into the UK bakery market.With more than a quarter of bakery companies in more debt than ever, rising rates could act as a useful "wake-up call", said David Pattison, ­senior analyst at Plimsoll.Many bakeries ...

  • News

    College gets creative with cars

    2007-06-29T00:00:00Z

    In the latest bid to attract bakery students, Sheffield-based Castle College has undergone an exercise in creative publicity.Picking up on the media attention surrounding a TV advert, in which a Skoda Fabia is created out of cake, bakery students went in their whites to the launch of the real Fabia ...

  • News

    Julian Hunt, communications director, Food and Drink Federation (FDF)

    2007-06-29T00:00:00Z

    Thanks to EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou for providing the inspiration for this column. That’s because when he launched the European Commission’s new strategy for tackling the health issues related to poor diet and low levels of physical activity, Kyprianou laid down an interesting challenge to our industry."What consumers eat ...

  • News

    Longmynd snaps up Smiths Flour Mills in low-key deal

    2007-06-29T00:00:00Z

    Smiths Flour Mills has been ­acquired by the investment ­vehicle behind ingredients supplier Edme.Longmynd Industrials bought Smiths from Vision Capital earlier this month in a low-key deal. Longmynd is run by entrepreneurs David Thompson and Edward Whitley, and also owns Anglia Maltings Group, the parent company of Edme, with different ...

  • News

    Flour price hike looms

    2007-06-29T00:00:00Z

    A significant price rise on flour is being tipped as "inevitable" as rising wheat prices on the world market hit the baking industry.The rise could be £40 per tonne on breadmaking wheat, industry sources suggest, which could lead to bread price increases of up to 10p per 800g loaf.National Association ...

  • News

    Fortification: will it hit trade?

    2007-06-29T00:00:00Z

    The industry is ­divided over whether ­mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid will hit international trade.The Biscuit, Cake, Chocolate and Confectionery Association (BCCCA) said it feared that mandatory forti­fication of flour with folic acid would have a negative impact. The BCCCA said it was concerned that consumers may choose ...

  • News

    Struggling Inter Link hopes to ’wrap up a sale soon’

    2007-06-29T00:00:00Z

    Troubled cake company Inter Link Foods is showing potential buyers around its premises, including Irish food company McCambridge, "at least one other trade buyer" and financial buyers, chairman Jeremy Hamer said this week.McCambridge, which already owns Queen of Hearts, Hussey’s Bakery and West of England Bakeries, was furthest advanced in ...

  • News

    Packaging watch

    2007-06-29T00:00:00Z

    Leading names in the baking industry are the latest to sign up to the government-backed Courtauld Commitment, which is an action plan designed to reduce the amount of wasted packaging.WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) has announced that the new signatories include Duchy Originals and Premier Foods.They have pledged to ...