Food Industry News

:. Food Industry News

Today's Headlines 09/02/2010

New Zealand: Speirs Prepares to Ramp up Fish Oil Output Feb. 9 – A calculated risk by Manawatu food company Speirs Group to scale up a laboratory process to a factory-production level looks set to pay off in a global distribution partnership for its patent-protected Omega-3 product.

SABMiller SAfrica Strike Ends After Pay Deal Johannesburg, Feb 9 - A two month-long wage strike by about a third of workers at SABMiller's soft drinks unit in South Africa ended last night after their union signed a new pay deal, a company official said.

Ahold's Giant-Carlisle Division Completes Acquisition of Ukrop's Stores Amsterdam February 9 2010

Spain's SOS Cuetara Puts Rice Arm up for Sale Madrid, Feb 9 - Spanish food group SOS Cuetara has put its rice business in Spain, the Netherlands and the United States up for sale in a move to reduce a 1.1 billion euro ($1.50 billion) debt pile and appease creditors.

Top Four Brewers Account for Over Half World's Beer Feb 8 - The world's four biggest brewers now account for over half the global market for beer after recent deals such as Dutch brewer Heineken's takeover of Mexico's FEMSA, researcher Plato Logic said on Monday.

Snickers, Doritos Score Extra Points at Super Bowl Feb 8 - Critics and academics can complain all they want about low-brow Super Bowl commercials -- but the post-game polls show why advertisers go for easy laughs when they shell out $100,000 for every second.

Euro Edges Up, Investors Look to EU Summit Feb 9 - The euro inched up against the dollar on Tuesday but remained within sight of an 8-½ month low hit last week, dogged by persistent worries about the fiscal health of some euro zone countries.

Lotte Buys GS Retail Units for $1.15 Bln Feb 9 - South Korea's Lotte Group has agreed to buy GS Retail's department store and discount store operations in a deal worth 1.34 trillion won ($1.15 billion), GS Retail said on Tuesday.

Yesterday's Headlines 08/02/2010

China's Rodobo to Expand Raw Milk Processing Capacity

Green Mountain Coffee Extends Tender Offer to Acquire Diedrich Coffee Waterbury, Vt., Feb. 8 - Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. today announced that Pebbles Acquisition Sub, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of GMCR, has extended its previously announced $35.00 per share cash tender offer to purchase all outstanding shares of common stock of Diedrich Coffee, Inc.

Vietnam's 2010 Pepper Exports May Fall 26 pct Feb 8 - Vietnam, the world's top black pepper exporter, expects shipments of the spice this year to fall 26 percent to around 100,000 tonnes as stocks carried over from last year were low, an industry official said on Monday.

Asahi Breweries 2009 Net Profit Up 5.8% February 8 2010

Jubilant FoodWorks Lists; Q3 Profits Surge Mumbai, Feb 8 - Indian fast food chain Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd , which listed earlier on Monday, reported a surge in Oct-Dec net profit to 113.7 million rupees, compared with 17.7 million rupees a year ago.

China Seizes More Melamine-Tainted Milk Powder Beijing, Feb 8 - Chinese inspectors tracing new cases of contaminated milk have shut dairy firms in the northwest and seized 72 tonnes of milk powder tainted with melamine, an industrial compound that killed at least six children in 2008.

Kikkoman Group Reports Significant Fall in Sales in Fiscal 2010 Feb 5 - Kikkoman Corporation Report for First Nine Months of Fiscal 2010

Bongrain SA Reports 7.4% Decrease in Net Sales Feb 5 - Bongrain SA recorded net sales of Euro 3,279.3 million for 2009 compared with Euro 3,555.1 million for 2008.

UK: Edrington to Buy Cutty Sark Brand Feb 5 - Britain´s leading fine wines and spirits merchant, Berry Bros. & Rudd (BB&R), today announced that it has finalised an agreement under which it will sell the Cutty Sark blended Scotch whisky brand to The Edrington Group.

Bayer to Pay $1.5 Mln in 2nd Lawsuit Over GM Rice Frankfurt, Feb 5 - Germany's Bayer was ordered by a jury in the United States to pay $1.5 million in damages to three farmers for losses they incurred because of contaminations of Bayer's genetically modified rice, the second in about 500 similar cases pending.

Cuba Looks to Suburban Farms to Boost Food Output Feb. 7 - Cuba has launched an ambitious project to ring urban areas with thousands of small farms in a bid to reverse the country's long agricultural decline and ease its chronic economic woes.

India Farm Outlook Brightens, Food Prices to Dip Feb 6 - India's farm output in 2009/10 will be higher than initial estimates, raising prospects that food inflation, which has soared in recent months, will soon be controlled, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Saturday.

Guinness Nigeria H1 Pre-Tax Profit Drops 10 pct Lagos, Feb 5 - Guinness Nigeria said on Friday its pre-tax profit had fallen 10 percent to 10.53 billion naira ($70 million) in its first half to the end of December, although turnover rose by close to a quarter.

UK: Ocado Seeks Banks for GBP 1 Bln Listing London, Feb 7 - British online grocer Ocado is close to appointing advisers for an initial public offering which could value the company at about between 1.0 billion pounds ($1.6 billion) and 1.2 billion, a person familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

Kirin Says M&A Very Important for Growth Tokyo, Feb 8 - Japanese beer maker Kirin Holdings said on Monday that mergers and acquisitions were very important to its growth strategy.

Nestle and Mexican Government Work Together to Support Coffee and Cocoa Productivity in Mexico

Illovo to Spend $782 Mln on Africa Growth-Report Johannesburg, Feb 8 - Illovo Sugar plans to spend about 6 billion rand ($782.2 million) over the next five years to boost sugar production in Africa to 2.5-2.7 million tonnes from 1.7 million, the Business Day reported on Monday.

Study Links Sugary Soft Drinks to Pancreas Cancer Washington, Feb 8 - People who drink two or more sweetened soft drinks a week have a much higher risk of pancreatic cancer, an unusual but deadly cancer, researchers reported Monday.

Japan Brewers Kirin, Suntory End Merger Talks Tokyo, Feb 8 - Japanese beer makers Kirin Holdings and Suntory on Monday scrapped a plan to create one of the world's largest food and beverage makers, failing to agree on how much say Suntory would have in the merged firm and sending Kirin's shares down 8 percent.

Friday's Headlines 05/02/2010

Iceland's Marel Announces Sale of Stork Food & Dairy Systems Feb 4 - Marel has reached an agreement with the Dutch investor Nimbus on the sale of the Food & Dairy Systems division of Stork Food Systems, excluding its operations in Spain.

Higher Raw Material Costs to Impact Tyson's Prepared Foods Segment 5 February 2010 - Tyson Foods is expecting that its raw material costs for its prepared foods division will likely increase in fiscal 2010.

PepsiCo's Gatorade Launches New Drink Line Designed to Meet Specific Athlete Performance Needs 5 February 2010 - The Gatorade Company, a division of PepsiCo, has announced that it will soon be launching a broader product line to help address the sports performance needs of more athletes.

Imperial Sugar Boosts Income in Latest Quarter Sugar Land, Texas, Feb. 5 - The Imperial Sugar Company today reported income from continuing operations for the fiscal first quarter ended December 31, 2009 of $178.1 million, or $14.84 per diluted share, compared to a loss from continuing operations of $0.6 million, or $0.05 per diluted share, for the same period last year.

Procter & Gamble Chief More Worried About U.S. Than Ever Feb 5 - One of Bob McDonald's biggest concerns after seven months at the helm of Procter & Gamble Co is the possibility that President Barack Obama's administration could stifle U.S. corporate growth by imposing taxes on their foreign earnings.

China Nutrifruit Group Posts Net Sales Profit China, Feb 5 - China Nutrifruit Group Limited, a leading producer of premium specialty fruit based products in China today reported financial results for the third fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2009.

Aceto Corporation Reports Loss in Q2FY10 Feb. 5, 2010 - Aceto Corporation, a global leader in the sourcing, quality assurance, regulatory support, marketing and distribution of pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, specialty chemicals and crop protection products, today announced results of operations for its fiscal 2010 second quarter and six months ended December 31, 2009.

Carrefour Fails to Find 1 Buyer for Russia Hypermarkets Moscow, Feb 5 - Carrefour has failed to find one buyer for all of its three Russian hypermarkets and is likely to sell leasing rights to rivals as it prepares to exit the Russian market, industry sources said on Friday.

Brazil's Copersucar Condemns Extra EU Sugar Export Feb 4 - Brazil's largest sugar and ethanol marketing company, Copersucar, called an additional export of 500,000 tonnes of out-of-quota sugar by the European Union a "flagrant violation" of World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules.

Shoprite Reviews Future of Indian Hypermarket Feb 4 - Shoprite Holdings, Africa's biggest grocer, has not reached a decision about the future of its sole franchised hypermarket in India, a senior official said on Thursday, after a report that it is selling its only store outside Africa to Future Group.

Norway: TINE to Sell Swedish Ice Cream Company Diplom-Is 5 February 2010 - Norwegian dairy company TINE has announced it will sell its Swedish ice cream company Diplom-Is to Swedish businessman Anders Müntzing.

CSM Extends US Bakery Presence by Acquiring Best Brands Corp Feb. 4 - CSM, Bakery Supplies North America, announces the newest addition to the growing bakery portfolio of its US division. Best Brands of Minnetonka, MN will join the entire CSM family of companies.

Hain Celestial Quarterly Net Income Rises Melville, N.Y., Feb. 4 - The Hain Celestial Group, Inc., a leading natural and organic products company providing consumers with A Healthy Way of Life(TM), today reported results for the second quarter ended December 31, 2009.

China: Plant Extract Producer Huifeng Bio-Pharmaceutical Expects 2009 Income Growth Xi'an, Feb. 4 - Huifeng Bio-Pharmaceutical Technology, Inc., a leading developer and producer of plant extracts and pharmaceutical raw materials for use in pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and food production, today announced preliminary 2009 results and provided guidance for 2010.

Nikken Foods USA Announces Move to a New Larger Distribution Center Feb. 4 - Nikken Foods USA, Inc. is moving to a new location at 4984 Manchester Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri. The move is planned for the middle of February.

LVMH Says 'Bling' is Out but Biz Trends on the Mend Feb 4 - LVMH boss Bernard Arnault said 'bling, bling' was out, but business was improving for the French luxury group, particularly in spirits, champagne and watches.

Kraft, Berkshire Raise $17.5 Bln for Acquisitions New York, Feb 4 - Food giant Kraft Foods and Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway sold $17.5 billion in debt on Thursday, braving a suddenly weak corporate bond market to finance major acquisitions, market sources said.

Thursday's Headlines 04/02/2010

Unilever's Polman Aims to Duplicate 2009 in 2010 Feb 4 - Unilever's Chief Executive Paul Polman said on Thursday he was aiming to repeat its key 2009 performances such as sales growth and profit margin expansion during its current 2010 financial year.

Latvia: Rigas Piena Kombinats to Invest in New Dairy Plant 4 February 2010 - The largest Latvian dairy company Rigas Piena Kombinats (RPK), in cooperation with farmers, plans to set up a new production plant and will invest 6-7 million euro in the project, RPK deputy council chairman Atis Sausnitis said.

CheilJedang's Quarterly Net Profit Increases Significantly 4 February 2010 - Cheil Jedang (CJ) has announced that its net profit in Q4 2009 jumped 953.9% from KRW 25.4 billion to KRW 267.7 billion (about USD 230 million). Overall sales for the company also increased, by 9.8% to KRW 3,838,7 billion.

Swiss Emmi Reports Net Sales Decrease of 1.9%

Kraft to Sell $9.5 Billion Debt to Buy Cadbury Feb. 4 - Kraft Foods Inc on Thursday launched a 4-part, $9.5 billion debt sale to help finance its acquisition of British confectioner Cadbury, IFR reported.

Senomyx Posts 39% Increase in Revenues in Q4 2009 San Diego, Feb 4 - Senomyx, Inc. a company focused on using proprietary taste receptor-based technologies to discover novel flavor ingredients for the food, beverage, and ingredient supply industries, today provided a corporate update and reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2009.