Insider Flash: Tetra Pak To Shut Korean Plant

 Tetra Pak To Shut Korean Plant
       
Swedish food packaging company Tetra Pak has decided to close its Korean production base after 21 years.

Desmond Joseph, Tetra Pak Korea’s marketing director, said Wednesday that the Swedish head office decided to shut the plant in Yoju, Gyeonggi Province and to reduce Korean operations to just sales and marketing.

The Yoju plant told its staff of the decision on March 9 and the company is currently negotiating with its labor union over severance benefits. The shutdown is part of the company’s reorganization of overseas production bases, Joseph said, although it will continue to operate its Japanese and Chinese factories.

Tetra Pak is a multinational with 57 branches and 48 overseas production plants and 8.1 billion euros in sales in 2005. The Swedish company set up the Yoju plant in 1986 to serve parts of Asia including Korea and Japan.

Experts attribute the shutdown to unfavorable business conditions including high wages and labor problems. The Tetra Pak Yoju Union held a month-long strike in the summer of 2003.

Over the last two years, several foreign companies have shut down their Korean plants after experiencing severe labor unrest. Toy maker Lego and cellphone maker Motorola shut their factories in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province in 2005. Pharmaceutical Roche closed its Korean plant in 2006.

Tetra Pak Yoju produced 2.5 billion packaging units a year, 45 percent of which were exported to Japan. However the head office last year decided to have its Japanese plant produce all its Japan products after complaints about products from Korea.

Even after having lost the Japanese market, the Yoju plant union demanded a whopping 19 percent pay raise. Management wanted the union to promise not to stage strikes and intervene in disputes of other companies. The union rejected the proposal.

Wage negotiations began last May and ran for nearly a year without showing signs of conclusion. The union claimed that management made an issue of shoddy production exports to Japan after having already decided to close the Korean plant.

Dankook University Prof. Kim Tae-ki said that labor relations are one of the critical factors for foreign companies in reorganizing their global production bases. No company wants to risk poor production and delayed shipments because of hostile labor relations, he said.

Source: url: http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200703/200703290022.html
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Phone direct +66-2259-9954-(118)
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Insider Flash: Filling technology allows UHT milk with real fruit / China

28/03/2007 - A leading Chinese dairy firm has used filling technology from European group SIG Combibloc to create UHT milk containing real pieces of fruit.

The innovation is unique in China and on the international dairy market, according to Bai Ying, the vice-president of the Mengniu dairy firm, which has developed the new milk products with Europe's SIG.

Specialists from both firms have spent the last year working on the project, entitled 'pieces of fruit'.

Their work shows how China's dairy market is not only growing rapidly in consumption terms, but also expanding its range of products.

"SIG Combibloc's unique, flexible filling technology means we can put even chunky products in the aseptic carton packs," said Ying.

Products come in strawberry, peach, coconut and Aloe Vera varieties, and are offered in CombiblocMini 250ml cartons with a drinking straw.

SIG adapted its CFA 112-32 high-speed filling machine, which has a maximum output of 12,000 packages per hour, for the pieces of fruit project.

Markus Böhm, Chief executive of SIG Combibloc China, said: "Each package sleeve is individually shaped, sterilised and filled on the filling machines at the customer's premises.

He added that the top of each carton pack is ultrasonically sealed above the filling level - and not through the product - only after the product has been filled.

UHT milk containing pieces of real fruit may provide a lucrative new line of added value products for the dairy industry, combining consumer demands for health and convenience.

"We firmly believe that, with this development, we are offering a product concept that will bring a whole new impetus to the international UHT milk market," said Böhm.

Products will be distributed in all major Chinese cities, and aimed primarily at young women.

It was unclear whether or how soon products may appear outside of China.

Mengniu has increased its links abroad recently, however. It signed a joint venture in China with French dairy giant Danone in December.

Source: foodproductiondaily.com
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Phone direct +66-2259-9954-(118)
areerat.wongsa-oun@sig.biz

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www.sigcombibloc.com

Insider Flash: Coke-L'Oreal rumours show beauty beverage potential

15/03/2007 - Beauty foods are hotting up as an area of interest for multinationals, if rumours about a Coca Cola-L'Oréal collaboration for a tea-based skin care drink prove founded.

According to press reports, Coca-Cola's Beverage Partners Worldwide division has trademarked the name 'Lumaé' for a product that will contain ingredients that can help women care for their skin.

Coca-Cola's spokespeople are coy about the development. But an unidentified source told Brandweek that the product, tipped to emerge from BPW's pipeline in 2008, that the product will be sold in department stores rather than mass-market retail outlets where Coca-Cola's offerings are more commonly found, such as 7-Eleven.

It will be aimed at "active, influential, image-conscious women over the age of 25, who embrace health and wellness".

The rumours come on the back of Danone's introduction of its Essensis yoghurt, said to nourish the skin from the inside, last month. As with Lumae, the development of Essensis was leaked to the media ahead of the launch and was the subject of much speculation.

In the past multinationals have seized upon other product development areas that started out as the preserve of small-time players, and built them up to be strong categories within the mainstream food industry.

For instance, many organic brands started out as small businesses that were snapped up by bigger companies when they reached an attractive stage of development - or the big boys have made their own way into the new area, their path smoothed by huge R&D and marketing budgets.

The same pattern may be emerging for beauty foods. A company called Borba Skin balance claims to have pioneered the skin care beverages market - at least in the US - with a range of waters that have been sold in department stores since 2005.

Beauty foods are still too new for analysts to have put a figure on market value. But Leatherhead Food International, which calls ingestible ingredients with skin benefits 'skingestibles', hosted one-day conference in London in November to discuss market drivers and opportunities for food companies eyeing this market, such as catering to consumers' self-esteem issues.

As for Coca-Cola, it has been eager for some time to build up a reputation for healthier products instead of just sugar-laden fizzy drinks. It is said to be preparing for the launch of Diet Coke Plus, fortified with vitamins and minerals.

Under its Minute Maid brand (which also boasts a heart health juice with plant sterols), the beverage giant has just launched a joint health drink containing Cargill's Regenasure non-animal derived glucosamine, which recently obtained GRAS (generally recognised as safe) status in the US.

Coca-Cola's BPW division is a joint venture with Nestlé, and the route through which the two companies launched their Enviga green tea based drink, claimed to aid weight management by burning calories.

Enviga has been the subject of controversy, however, particularly since the Center for Science in the Public Interest initiated a lawsuit challenging the scientific basis for its claims. The product was also named as one to watch in connection with the US Food and Drug Administration's consultation last year into whether more stringent regulation on functional foods and drinks is required in the American market.

Since Nestlé is a major shareholder in French beauty giant L'Oréal, it is no great surprise that Lumaé looks set to emerge from the BPW joint venture channel.

Source: foodnavigator.com
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Phone direct +66-2259-9954-(118)
areerat.wongsa-oun@sig.biz

SIG Combibloc Ltd.
10th Floor, UBC II Building, 591 Sukhumvit 33
Bangkok 10110, Thailand
Phone +66-2259-9954, Fax +66-2259-9962
www.sigcombibloc.com

Insider Flash: Ajinomoto acquisition targets Asian supply chain

15/03/2007 - Asian food giant Ajinomoto will use its latest acquisition to leverage its Knorr brands into emerging markets.

The group recently announced that the purchase of US group New Season Foods (NSF) will give it greater control over its raw ingredients supply chain for its soup subsidiary Knorr.

The acquisition represents the type of stategy that processors are taking in response to the growing competitive pressure to reduce the cost and efficiency of their supply chains.

As a result of acquiring NSF's planting and manufacturing capabilities, Ajinomoto now has three regional supply bases for both the production and development of food ingredients.

NSF produces sweet corn powder, a vital ingredient for the Knorr's soups ranges. The acquisition represents a significant step for Knorr in maintaining a stable supply of ingredients to markets like Japan and China, the company said.

"The Ajinimoto group is moving toward global internalisation of strategic processed ingredients in the core soup business as part of its commitment to offering the most delicious foods and healthy lifestyles to people around the world," the company stated.

The strength of these emerging markets has not gone unnoticed however by Ajinomoto's rivals, particularly in the market for soup and dry products.

Unilever last month revealed it was shifting production of its dry foods ranges to its Tatura plant in Australia from the US to better supply Asian pacific demand.

The move will allow the company to make its popular international brands like Cup-a-Soup, Pasta & Sauce and other recipe mixes in the country, under the same roof as its Lipton ice tea and condiment ranges.

Source: ap-foodtechnology.com

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Insider Flash: China to lead Unilever’s Asia Pacific ambitions

08/02/2007 - Unilever, the world's second largest food company, is to increase its focus on its Chinese operations to allow the country to meet its potential as a market leader in the Asia Pacific food industry.

Speaking to the press earlier this week, Zeng Xiwen, vice president of the company in China, revealed that with year on year sales growth well into double figures, the country could replace India as the regions most dynamic market for Unilever during the next decade.

"The booming consumer spending and surging economy fuelled a strong sales performance in China," he said.
For all its potential, Xiwen revealed that China was currently Unilever's third most dynamic market in the region - trailing behind India and Indonesia.

However, despite its current position, China is rapidly gaining ground on its local rivals, last year seeing sales jump by more than 20 per cent to around €495m.

As a result the company is keen to facilitate its growing presence in the country by enhancing its administrative and production capabilities.

Unilever already houses its third largest office in the world in Shanghai, and aims to expand it by 24,000-square-metres, in a move that will almost double its capacity next year, in a bid meet demand.

"The new China headquarters will be upgraded into the regional centre of Asia Pacific, with staff and R&D people transferred here from Japan, Singapore, Australia and the United States," said Xiwen.

He also announced plans to increase the output of its Hefei production plant in Anhui province, a move expected to create Unilever's largest manufacturing facility.

Source: ap-foodtechnology.com
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Insider Flash: Carter Holt Harvey considers further packaging consolidation

08/02/2007 - Auckland-based firm Carter Holt Harvey (CHH) is set to further increase its presence in the global beverage packaging sector following the acquisition of International paper’s North American beverage assets.

It was announced this month that the group had completed the purchase of International paper's North American beverage packing operations, and were interested in a further move for their remaining packaging assets.

As a result, CHH will take control of a number of production facilities throughout the US and Canada including International Paper's gable-top beverage converting facilities and the Evergreen packaging company.

Along with its North American operations, International Paper also owns beverage packaging subsidiaries in China, South Korea and Taiwan, and a number of joint ventures in Latin America, Israel, and Saudi Arabia.

Though these assets are not included with the current deal, International Paper added that it expected they would be sold to CHH at a later date during the first financial quarter.

The sale highlights the growing appetite amongst Asia Pacific companies to enter into the dynamic US and European beverage packaging industry.

Last year, Australian firm Amcor revealed that it had managed to offset declining revenues from its cardboard operations through increased sales of its beverage products in the US and Europe.

This saw the group - which is already the world's largest producer of plastic bottles - increase its sales throughout the sector.

Of this increase, aluminium beverage cans proved a particularly strong segment with sales rising 6 per cent, though the company also reported strong sales of glass wine bottles which also performed well.

Source: ap-foodtechnology.com
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10th Floor, UBC II Building, 591 Sukhumvit 33
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Phone +66-2259-9954, Fax +66-2259-9962
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Insider Flash: Groupe DANONE buys out its partners in Japanese joint venture Calpis Ajinomoto Danone

Groupe DANONE today announced the acquisition of all shares in the Japanese joint venture Calpis Ajinomoto Danone (CAD). The transaction reflects Groupe DANONE’s commitment to accelerate strategic growth objectives in the Asian dairy market.

The new organization, which will operate under the name Danone Japan, will continue to work closely with Ajinomoto and Calpis. Ajinomoto will remain the exclusive distributor for all Danone Japan fresh dairy products in Japan, and Calpis will continue to provide various food raw materials for Danone Japan’s fresh dairy products.

The new shareholding structure will enable Danone Japan to concentrate on its core competencies and focus on fast growing products and brands with distinct health benefits as well as increasing investments in marketing.. With low per-capita consumption, the Japanese dairy market has significant room for growth.

Emmanuel Faber, Executive Vice President, Asia Pacific, said the 27 year collaboration with Ajinomoto and 14 year collaboration with Calpis has been successful. “As a result of our cooperation with Ajinomoto and Calpis, we were able to establish the Danone brand in various dairy segments in Japan”. Commenting on the transaction, Bernard Hours, Executive Vice President Fresh Dairy Products, said: “the acquisition of all shares is part of Groupe DANONE’s strategy to increase its positions in the Asian dairy market. Japan is a priority market for Danone in Asia and the success of our product BIO in Japan illustrates there is room for growth of products that deliver distinct health benefits”.

Ajinomoto and Danone established the joint venture AD in 1980, in which both companies held 50% of the shares Ajinomoto, Calpis and Danone established the joint venture CAD in 1993. Before all shares were transferred to Groupe DANONE, Ajinomoto owned 20%, Calpis 30% and Danone 50% of the joint venture CAD.


Groupe DANONE
With around EUR 13 billion of total sales in 2005, Groupe DANONE is the world leader in fresh dairy products and bottled water (in volume terms), and n°2 in the biscuit market worldwide. In fresh dairy products, Groupe DANONE posted sales of EUR 7.2 billion with strong positions in Western Europe (n°1 in France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, United Kingdom, Belgium), in Eastern Europe (n°1 in Poland Czech, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria), in North America (n°1 in United States), in Latin America (n°1 in Argentina and Brazil), in North Africa and Middle-East (n°1 en Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Turkey). In Asia, Groupe DANONE posted sales of more than EUR 2.2 billion.

Source: Danone.com/Last Press Releases

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Cluster Marketing CBAS
Phone direct +66-2259-9954-(118)
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SIG Combibloc Ltd.
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Insider Flash: Philippine San Miguel discloses Coca-Cola payment details

MANILA (MarketWatch) -- San Miguel Corp. (SMCB.PH), the Philippines' largest food and beverage conglomerate by sales, Thursday provided a breakdown of the amount it will receive for selling its controlling stake in its soft drinks joint venture with Coca-Cola Co. (KO).

San Miguel said last week it will receive $590 million from Coca-Cola for its entire 65% stake in Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines Inc. It didn't elaborate.

Thursday, San Miguel said Coca-Cola South Asia Holdings will pay the company an initial $370 million and deposit another $100 million with a third-party agent who will disburse the amount after the closing of some financial accounts which may result in a purchase price adjustment.

San Miguel said another $20 million will be paid by Coca-Cola South Asia 18 months after the deal's closing, while another $100 million will be paid on the fifth year of the deal.

San Miguel's sale agreement prevents it from producing either for itself or Coca-Cola's competitors nonalcoholic beverages in the Philippines for five years and elsewhere in the world for three years.

Aside from divesting itself of a drag to bottomline - Coca-Cola Bottlers has been suffering losses for years - San Miguel will also raise funds to ease the burden of debts it had taken on to fund an aggressive expansion overseas. It had bought several companies abroad in recent years, the biggest of which is Australia's dairy company National Foods Ltd.

-Edited by Rosalyn Lim
Source: Marketwatch.com Last Update: 6:24 AM ET Jan 4, 2007

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Insider Flash: San Miguel taps Thai health trend

11/01/2007 - San Miguel plans to launch a new water brand and a range of functional beverages in Thailand as part of its strategy to gain a leading position in this market, reveals a report.

The Philippines-based company, already one of south-east Asia's biggest food and drink producers, made its first steps in the Thai beverage market when it bought a brewery from Thai Amarit Brewery in 2004.

But the acquisition of Australia's National Foods in 2005 gave it a new premium juice brand (Berri), which has recently been introduced into Thailand.

Now it wants to become a major player in the country's beverage market by adding an extensive range of non-alcoholic drinks.

"We want to make ourselves a key player in the overall beverage market in Thailand in the next three to five years," Chirawan Assavanich, San Miguel's Thailand marketing and sales director, told The Nation newspaper last week.

Next month, the company will introduce a new drinking water under the Nam Fa brand, initially on test markets in the eastern region, including Chon Buri and Rayong. "We are also interested in launching other non-alcoholic beverages, such as functional drinks, which have high market potential," Assavanich told the paper.

Thai consumers are increasingly interested in healthy foods and beverages, a trend that is reflected in the growing fruit juice market. Juice drinks have been growing annually by 10.7 per cent, reaching around 109 million litres in 2004 or US$90 million, according to the US Foreign Agricultural Service.

San Miguel estimates Thailand's total fruit-juice market to be worth BT5 billion (€107m), with about 40 per cent of sales from pure fruit juice products and the rest from juice drinks.

Domestic player Tipco claims to have a 43 per cent share of the high-end segment of pure fruit and vegetable juice.
The company expects its Berri imported 100-per-cent fruit juice to generate sales of BT10 million this year, according to the report. A further BT200 million will be earned by its SunBlest 40-per-cent juice, produced in a recently completed factory in Rayong since October last year.

Source: ap-foodtechnology.com

Insider Flash: Foreign investors buy stake in Chinese milk drink maker

09/01/2007 - Three private equity groups have spent US$73 million on a stake in Chinese firm Taizini, a producer of probiotic milk drinks.

UK-based Actis Capital, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group acquired about a third of the Hunan dairy company's shares during December, said its investment director Yao Xin.

China's dairy industry is growing rapidly and all of the leading players have already attracted foreign investment. The next wave of investment is therefore expected to be in smaller, regional dairies such as Taizini.

The Hunan company's focus on probiotic products, still very new to the Chinese market, has made it an attractive buy. Probiotic bacteria such as lactobacillus are said to protect the health of the digestive system and also boost immunity, and Chinese consumers are known to be interested in the health benefits of foods.

Taizinai, set up in 1997, now claims to have a 76.2 per cent share of China's probiotic drinks market. But the sector is still small compared with that of Europe and Japan. Probiotic dairy products account for less than 5 per cent of China's total dairy market, compared with about 80 per cent in Japan and Europe.

"In China, this [probiotic] sector is developing by 25 per cent every year, which demonstrates huge demand and great market potential," Yao told AP-Foodtechnology.com.

Taizinai plans to use the proceeds of the share sale to build two new factories in Jiangsu and Sichuan provinces, Yao said. Currently, the company has five research and production sites in Hunan, Beijing, Hubei, Jiangsu and Sichuan provinces.

In addition, Taizinai is planning an IPO although it has not yet decided where it will list. A Bloomberg report said that the firm has met with NYSE group chief executive John Thain to discuss a potential New York share sale.

"Yao said preparation for the listing "should probably be finished by the middle of this year" .

Company chairman Li Tuchun told the China Daily that after listing the firm will make a series of mergers and acquisitions, targeting both domestic and overseas manufacturers.

Taizinai is aiming to grow its sales from CNY1.8 billion (€177m) last year to CNY10 billion in three years. By 2017, the company's revenue is expected to reach CNY100 billion, Li told the paper.

Of the new owners, Actis, which is also an investor in one of China's biggest dairies, Mengniu, invested the biggest amount in Taizinai - US$40 million - while Morgan Stanley invested US$18 million and Goldman Sachs US$15 million.

The rest of the shares are owned by Li and senior management.
Source: ap-foodtechnology.com

Insider Flash: Cadbury sues Amcor for overcharging / Australia

21/12/2006 - Confectionery giant Cadbury Schweppes is suing Australian packaging company Amcor for more than A$120 million (€71.5m) over claims that Amcor overcharged for cardboard and PET plastic bottles while operating a price-fixing cartel with packaging rival Visy.

Cadbury filed a claim with the Federal Court of Australia on 15 December, seeking compensation for the alleged cartel and also alleging that the cartel extended beyond the cardboard price-fixing over which the competition regulator is currently prosecuting Visy.

Cadbury is the first major Amcor customer to take action against the packaging group, according to The Australian newspaper.

Amcor alerted Australia's competition authority to the price-fixing in late 2004 in return for immunity from prosecution but the evidence filed against Visy has left Amcor open to attack from customers seeking compensation for alleged overpayment.

Thousands of its smaller customers are taking on the packaging giant in a class action filed in April that seeks up to A$300 million in damages. But 11 major customers named by the ACCC as victims of the cartel, including Coca-Cola Amatil, Goodman Fielder, Cadbury Schweppes and Lion Nathan, had all remained silent on the matter until now, said the paper.

Cadbury alleges that Amcor overcharged it by $46 million for cardboard boxes. And although Amcor has said that the alleged price-fixing never affected its other businesses, Cadbury is also alleging that Visy and Amcor agreed not to poach each other's customers in the PET plastic bottle and aluminium can market, which led to Cadbury being overcharged at least a further $40million.

In addition, by breaching three separate contracts, Amcor had been "unjustly enriched" by a further $33.2 million from 2000 to 2004, bringing the total to around $120 million, reported the paper.

In a statement, Amcor said that the action filed by Cadbury appears "to adopt portions of the ACCC [Australian Competition and Consumer Commission] proceeding in relation to the cardboard business". These allegations "are yet to be proved in court and have been denied by Visy".

Amcor said Cadbury's allegations regarding supply contracts and additional cartel conduct in areas other than cardboard "appear to be widely speculative".

"Amcor will be vigorously defending these allegations and is considering making application to the court for a strike-out at the appropriate time. "

It said that it regretted that its valued customer had issued such proceedings and hoped that the dispute could be resolved amicably.

Source: ap-foddtechnology.com http://www.ap-foodtechnology.com/news/ng.asp?n=72986&m=2APFD21&c=nxfbrgitrbnpklu

Insider Flash: Danone sets up joint venture with China's Mengniu

19/12/2006 - French biscuits, water and yoghurt group Danone said yesterday that it had signed a joint venture with China's leading dairy Mengniu to cooperate in the production and distribution of fresh dairy products in China.

The joint venture will combine Mengniu's market-leading position with Danone's technology and marketing know-how to offer Chinese consumers high quality dairy products, said Danone in a statement.

Danone already has a stake in Shanghai-based Bright Dairy, which produces and markets Danone brand yoghurts in China. But Bright Dairy has seen sales and profits decline in recent years, partly due to a scandal linked to the reprocessing of some of its products in the south.

Inner Mongolia-based Mengniu and another dairy in that region, Yili, have risen to the top of the sector during this time, and with growing competition in the Chinese dairy industry, foreign players like Danone are increasingly seeking a larger piece of the action by getting more involved in production.

Danone's news follows last week's announcement by Fonterra that it would set up a dairy farm with its joint venture partner SanLu in China. Both foreign players have underlined their know-how in producing quality products, and as incomes rise, Chinese consumers are spending more on what they perceive to be higher quality.

Mengniu has recently launched a premium milk brand, Telunsu, backed by a major advertising campaign as it seeks to create a differentiated, higher margin product. Mengniu said today that it will invest CNY1.6 billion (€155m) in the production and sale of fresh dairy products under the joint venture, with CNY381.5 million worth of production facilities and properties.

Danone is already the leading producer of bottled water and biscuits in China and posted sales of around €1.2 billion there last year. Under the new agreement with Mengniu, in which it holds a 49 per cent share, it will be aiming to increase its share of the dairy market, which still has considerable room for growth.

Per capita consumption is still very low, at an average 20kg, but this is expected to increase to 30kg in 2015
Source: ap-technology.com

F&N raises funds for food and beverage growth / Singapore

12/12/2006 - Singapore conglomerate Fraser and Neave has sold a 14.9 per cent stake in the group to raise funds for expansion of its food and beverage business.

The group raised approximately S$900 million (€443m) in a share sale to state-owned investor Temasek holdings, it announced on Friday.

F&N chief executive Dr Han Cheng Fong said Temasek's participation would "strengthen the growth potential of F&N's food and beverage business" .

"We have well-known brands in the Asia Pacific such as Tiger, F&N, 100Plus, Ice Mountain, Magnolia and Nutrisoy, all of which have great potential to grow beyond their existing markets," he said.

The group is also looking to acquire brands and businesses in the region to increase its presence in the food and beverage sector. In October it signed a RM310 million (€67.2m) deal with Nestlé for the rights to produce and sell the Swiss group's liquid milk products in south-east Asia.

That deal will more than double current annual turnover at F&N's dairy operations to more than RM1.5 billion, and give it significant economies of scale to reduce the impact of high raw material costs.

"We really want to see a more balanced portfolio. We see the opportunities in food and beverage and we hope to make more acquisitions in areas such as beer, milk and soft drinks," Dr Cheng Fong told a media briefing.

Temasek said in a statement that its acquisition of 205.5 million shares in F&N was its "most substantial" investment in the food and beverage sector in recent years.

F&N earned a net profit of S$432 million during 2005/06, up 15 per cent from a year ago with sales up 8.8 per cent to S$3.8 billion. Brewing and properties were largely responsible for the growth however as weak consumer demand hit soft drinks sales in Malaysia.

Source: ap-foodtechnology.com / By Dominique Patton

Enviga lawsuit hangs over Coke, Nestlé / USA

07/12/2006 - Coca-Cola and Nestlé face a potential lawsuit in the US over claims that their new Enviga energy drink can help consumers burn off calories.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) said it would sue both firms if they did not stop making the claim on Enviga, a green tea-based energy drink set for official launch in January.

The announcement coincided with a US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) hearing on how to regulate labelling and health claims for functional foods and beverages, such as Enviga, which have no legal category of their own to date.

It is the optimum combination of Enviga's green tea, caffeine and plant micronutrient content which creates the ‘negative calorie effect', according to chief Coca-Cola scientist Rhona Applebaum.

The formula was made possible through access to decades of research on green tea by the Nestlé Research Center in Switzerland. It found the tea contained a powerful antioxidant, EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate), which could speed up metabolism and energy use when combined with caffeine.

Tests have shown that drinking three cans of Enviga everyday could burn an extra 60-100 calories in thin to normal weight people, the firms announced.

CSPI accused both companies of misleading advertising, alleging that evidence for Enviga's ‘negative calorie' effect was not substantial.

It also criticised the drink's caffeine content, around 300g in one can, which sits right at the top end of the maximum daily intake advised by the American Dietetic Association. The same limit is advised in the UK by the country's Food Standards Agency.

Some scientists in the US recently called for all caffeinated drinks to show caffeine content on their labels, even carbonated sodas. Current caffeine levels in drinks were not clear enough for consumers, their article, published in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology, said.

“In certain people, consumption of caffeine causes serious health effects, such as anxiety, palpitations, irritability, difficulty sleeping and stomach complaints,” said Dr Bruce Goldberger, one of the researchers.

Source: beveragedaily.com / By staff reporter

Meiji launches fresh milk in China

05/12/2006 - Asia’s biggest dairy, Japan’s Meiji, has started shipping pasteurized milk directly to Shanghai from Japan, the first time a foreign dairy has supplied fresh milk to the rapidly growing market.

The move underscores the rising competition among foreign players for a share of China's dairy market. Meiji has supplied ice-cream to China since 1995 but last month it introduced liquid milk for the first time.

It says the ultrapasteurised ESL milk has a shelf-life of 15 days, allowing for five days spent in transport and customs and a further 10 days on sale in Shanghai supermarkets. But at a price of CNY38 per litre, the company is restricting its sales to a tiny niche of consumers.

Most Chinese milk costs a sixth of this price, with high-end Chinese milk, such as Mengniu's Telunsu brand or Yili's Jindian brand, still less than half the cost of Meiji's.

Jin Xuhua, marketing manager from Meiji (Shanghai), said the milk will mainly be sold in Japanese-owned supermarkets in Shanghai, targeting the city's large Japanese population as well as Taiwanese consumers.

“There are about 300,000 Taiwanese here who will prefer Meiji milk, since the taste is much more similar with what they have in Taiwan,” Jin told AP-Foodtechnology.com.

Meiji will test the product in Shanghai over the next year, adding yoghurt and other dairy products to the range.

“Though we are very optimistic about the sales, we are still waiting to see whether this price can work in China,” added Jin.

The milk costs two to three times more than in Japan. Nevertheless the firm is expecting sales of milk and its other products to reach JPY100 million by the end of next year.

Demand for dairy products in China has more than doubled in the past five years, and though domestic milk production is growing rapidly, China is only able to produce 24 million tonnes a year (liquid milk equivalents) of dairy products per year, according to Rabobank.

Although production of raw milk has been growing at a faster rate than demand recently, consumption is still expected to increase from an average 20kg per capita now to 30kg in 2015.

The market is also becoming more sophisticated with consumers moving from milk powder to UHT milk and Chinese consumers becoming more brand conscious to ensure quality and food safety, according to the bank.

Wang Dingmian, deputy chairman of Guangdong Dairy Industry Association, said that Meiji's quality is “a lot better than our own”, due to their more advanced techniques in maintaining the freshness of raw milk and controlling temperature.

“The most obvious difference is that Meiji's milk has a natural and strong fragrance which Chinese milk lacks,” he told AP-Foodtechnology.com.

Although the price will limit its appeal to Chinese customers and the market will be further restricted to the coastal area for logistic reasons, Wang said the move could trigger fiercer competition.

It may also encourage Chinese companies to pay more attention to new processing techniques and higher quality, trends that will ultimately influence their survival in the market, he said.
Interviews by Pan Yan.

Source: ap-foodtechnology.com

Tetra Pak Completes Carlisle Process Acquisition, USA.

LUND, Sweden, Dec 01, 2006 -- Tetra Pak has completed the transaction of Carlisle Process Systems (CPS) from Carlisle Companies Inc. of Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Integration of CPS activities into Tetra Pak existing cheese activities began Friday, Tetra Pak said. The new entity, Tetra Pak Cheese and Powder Systems, will be led by Tim High, currently president of CPS.

"By adding these products to our current portfolio, we will be able to offer customers complete production solutions for cheese plants including whey powder, and for milk powder plants. In the USA, CPS has a particularly well-established position in the cheese market and the transaction provides Tetra Pak with a better platform for servicing this important market," said Dennis Jönsson, Tetra Pak president and CEO.

CPS develops and manufactures equipment for cheese and powder production through brands including Scherping, Damrow, and Scheffers. In 2006 the CPS sales revenues is expected to be around USD100 million and the number of employees just over 300.

"The product portfolio and geographic coverage are extremely complimentary. The rationale for the transaction is driven by providing a complete product portfolio and better service for our customers," said Sam Strömerstén, president, Tetra Pak Processing Systems.

Source: foodpacific.com

SIG and Unicef: Water is Life

It is no secret that, in many parts of the world, the dearest wishes of childhood are considerably more existential than in other countries. To contribute to providing survival basics for people in need, this year, packaging expert SIG has decided once again to support a relief project instead of giving business associates expensive Christmas gifts. The company is helping the United Nations children's relief project, UNICEF, with a Christmas donation of 80,000 EUR.

UNICEF's relief project in the Sudan is called Water is life. In the Sudan, in the north-eastern corner of Africa, extreme water shortage is a feature of everyday life for most people. More than half of the country's rural population has no access to clean water. Recurrent droughts cause the water supply system to collapse time and again. Many children suffer from diarrhoea, worm infestations and inflammation of the eyes - mostly caused by polluted water.

SIG's donation will be used in the Kordofan region, which is particularly badly affected. UNICEF is building wells and sanitary facilities in the region. With the help of the SIG donation, UNICEF will be able to drill five wells, catering for 2,000 people, and equip them with sturdy hand-pumps. "In addition, our donation will be used to equip five schools with separate sanitary facilities for girls and boys, to improve sanitation", says Dr Josef Collin, Head of Corporate Services at SIG in Linnich, who has been personally involved with humanitarian aid projects for many years. On a number of occasions, he has initiated major projects on SIG's behalf, to support people in emergency in cooperation with UNICEF, and has been on-site to report on the progress of the projects. It was in this way, for example, that SIG supported

UNICEF's 'School in a box' project with a Christmas donation in 2003.

This donation provided study materials for 26,400 children in Afghanistan.

"As an international group of companies, social responsibility is a given for us. That's why we've been supporting various relief projects around the world for years", says Rolf-Dieter Rademacher, CEO of SIG.

This is how the link with UNICEF was first established. UNICEF works throughout the world to provide children with their basic needs for survival. With regard to their ongoing development work, the organisation mainly focuses on health, balanced nutrition, clean water, education, HIV/AIDS and shelter. At the forefront of the relief work activities are caring for AIDS orphans, and the fight against mother-to-child transmission of the AIDS virus. In addition, UNICEF works to support children affected by war, refugee children, child soldiers, child labourers, and displaced and trafficked children, and the organisation campaigns to reduce poverty.

Tetra Pak Launches first Germina Packaging in Spain

Company: J. García Carrión

Products :
100% pure mandarin juice
100% pure orange juice
100% pure grape juice

Market:
Spain

Packaging:
Tetra Gemina 1000 ml

Opening:
Stream cap

Brand:
Don Simón

Launch:
December 2006

Price: 0,96 €

Distribution: Carrefour

Grameen-Danone JV to Produce Yogurt for Bangladeshi Kids

DHAKA, Nov 09, 2006

Grameen Danone Foods Ltd., a joint company formed in March by Grameen Group, owned by 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner Grameen Bank, and French food company Groupe Danone, will produce the yogurt for malnourished Bangladeshi children.

The company's main aim is to offer fortified food to children from low-income families who often suffer from nutritional deficiencies, the two companies said at a launching ceremony Wednesday in Dhaka.
"Our main mission is to bring healthy food to a maximum number of people," Groupe Danone chairman and CEO Franck Riboud said.

Creating a Market and Jobs
The food company said it will buy the main ingredients of fresh cow's milk and date molasses from local producers, provide factory jobs and involve local villagers in marketing. Farmers also will be offered small loans, or microcredit, to buy cows or automate molasses production to improve their supplies.

"The company is small but the concept it represents is important," said Grameen Group chairman and founder Muhammad Yunus. The micro-finance institution that won the Nobel prize along with Yunus owns and runs four companies.

Yunus said the idea for the joint venture came up during a lunch with Riboud in Paris a year ago. The company hopes to build 50 yogurt plants across Bangladesh over the next decade, he said.

Energy Yogurt
The fortified yogurt will be at manufactured at a plant in Bogra district, 160 kilometers north of Dhaka, this month.

French soccer legend Zinedine Zidane formally inaugurated the factory by inscribing a foundation stone.

"Shoktidoi" -- or energy yogurt -- will be produced from fresh cow milk and date molasses and will be fortified with vitamin A, iron, zinc and iodine. Each 80 gram cup will cost about 5 taka (7 US cents; 6 euro cents). "It will be an affordable, nutritious food that they can consume daily, or at least twice a week," said Emmanuel Faber, vice president of Danone's Asian operations.

Source: foodpacific.com