Americas: Hilmar Cheese Company expands facility
Hilmar Cheese Company, Inc. is making additional investments in cheese production at its facility in Dalhart, Texas, US. The growth expands the facility’s footprint and increases milk receiving capabilities, cold storage space and 640 cheese block processing equipment, as well as employing more than 420 people. This investment comes as an earlier expansion to the 40 lb. natural cheese processing is...
Americas: Hormel Foods Corporation completes acquisition of Muscle Milk maker
Hormel Foods Corporation has announced the closing of its acquisition of CytoSport Holdings, Inc., the maker of ready-to-drink protein beverage products Muscle Milk. Hormel Foods say the acquisition will serve as a growth catalyst for the company’s specialty foods segment, and also expands its offerings of portable, immediate, protein-rich foods. Total 2014 annual sales are expected to be approximately US$370 million. The...
Asia Pacific: Dairy Farm invests in retail chain in China
The Dairy Farm Company (DFCL) has agreed to acquire a 19.99% interest in Yonghui Superstores Co., Ltd (Yonghui) by way of subscription of new shares for a consideration of RMB5.69 billion (approximately US$925 million). Yonghui is a Shanghai-listed hypermarket and supermarket operator based in Fuzhou, Fujian province in China. As at 31st December 2013, it operated 288 hypermarkets and supermarkets across...
Americas: Randox Food Diagnostics offers ELISA test on shrimp, seafood products
A sharp rise in Oxytetracyclines residues within Asian seafood products has coincided with the development of a brand new test for the antimicrobial agent. Validated for both seafood and honey, Randox Food Diagnostics is offering an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay or ELISA test for Oxytetracyclines following a spate of import refusals for shrimp and other aquaculture products in the US. Oxytetracycline is...
Americas: Researchers find impurities as fillers in coffee
Surprise ingredients that are neither sweet nor flavorful may be hiding in coffee, and growing coffee shortages may increase the chance of having these fillers in your cup of joe in the future. The good news is that a highly accurate test is in the works to quickly find coffee containing unwanted fillers before the beverage reaches stores and restaurants. These...
Europe: Arla Foods Ingredients, DMK begins whey, lactose production in Germany
Production has begun at a new whey and lactose production facility that is a joint venture between Denmark’s Arla Foods Ingredients and German dairy co-operative Deutsches Milchkontor (DMK). The factory, which cost more than €50 million (US$66.99 million) to build, is operated by ArNoCo, an organisation created by the two companies specifically to produce high quality ingredients for the food...
Americas: Mettler Toledo tells FNI on the impact of COOL ruling on meat packagers
On July 29, 2014, the US Court of Appeals upheld the mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) ruling for meat and meat products currently in place. The decision denies a request for a preliminary injunction to block the implementation of the meat labeling rules. Mettler Toledo has recently launched an on-demand online meat labeling webinar to help ensure retailers are compliant with regulations. Entitled...
Europe: GNT Group to exhibit at exhibition in Italy
The GNT Group will exhibit for the first time at the international trade show for food and beverage ingredients, FOOD ING International, from September 8 to 10, 2014 in Bologna, Italy. It will show insights into the production and application of coloring foods with solutions made from natural raw materials. “As in many European countries, Italian consumers are becoming increasingly sensitive...
Americas: Researchers test method to process cashews to eliminate allergic reaction
For the millions of adults and children in the US who have to shun nuts to avoid an allergic reaction, help could be on the way. Scientists are now developing a method to process cashews — and potentially other nuts — that could make them safer to eat for people who are allergic to them. The researchers are presenting their work...
Europe: DSM paper shows impact of inadequate nutrition on ageing brain
DSM has published a new paper to further characterize the consequences of insufficient vitamin and nutrient supply on the aging brain. The manuscript, which appears in Nutrition, highlights the contributing factors to the malnourishment of the elderly, which is linked to the progression of pathological events causing Alzheimer’s type dementia. It argues that, to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, neuronal...