Elio Leoni Sceti has over 20 years of experience in the FMCG and media sectors. He served as CEO of EMI Music until 2010 while the company was under private equity ownership. During his tenure he led EMI’s transformation from a traditional record label into a growing consumer-led music company. He led the drive to build new digital platforms and utilised consumer insights to grow EMI’s sales and treble margins, in a market undergoing long-term structural decline.

Elio Leoni Sceti.

Elio Leoni Sceti is currently Chairman of Zeebox, the leading second screen platform and since 2010 has built a portfolio of early stage social/web technology companies. He is an advisor to the Board of Anheuser-Busch Inbev, the leading global brewer, and he is a Counsellor at One Young World, the global forum of future leaders.

Interim chief executive Erhard Schoewel will revert back to his position as non-executive chairman. 

With sales of over Eur1.5 bilion, IIglo Group sells  its branded frozen food products in 11 countries. The group also distributes its products across many other markets in Central and Eastern Europe.

The group’s iconic brands of Birds Eye, Iglo and Findus (in Italy only) are household names, within frozen food. The UK, Italy, Germany and Austria are the group’s largest markets, representing approximately 85% of turnover.  The business has a strong track record of bringing innovative products to the market, such as Bake to Perfection and Rice Fusions which transform the way people cook and eat frozen food.

“The water is ideal, flowing from a source at Sprinkling Tarn – one of the most beautiful tarns, or lakes, in Cumbria – through the foothills of Scafell Pike which are rich in peat and will give the whisky its unique flavor and depth,” explains Paul Currie. “Combine that with the purity of the air and you have the perfect raw ingredients for distilling whisky.”

He adds: “The area has a long history of illicit distilling as the fells provided an ideal location for hidden stills and smuggling, but it is more than 100 years since the last whisky was produced here.”

The distillery will be housed in a converted Victorian model farm and aims to produce around 300,000 bottles of single malt whisky per year with the creation of 27 jobs.

The brewing plant will use the industry’s latest technology while the copper stills will be made to a unique design and a range of different casks will be used so the spirit is perfectly matured.

Along with the distillery the site will house a visitor centre with a bar, bistro and shop, each aimed at showcasing the finest, locally-sourced Cumbrian produce, and there will be regular tours of the site for schoolchildren and visitors.

The development of the site, which will be carried out using environmentally friendly and sustainable materials, is scheduled to start this summer with plans to begin brewing the whisky in December.

The company has also launched a Founders’ Club offering whisky enthusiasts the opportunity to be a part of history in the making.

The first 100 casks produced at the distillery will be set aside and exclusively bottled for members, who will also receive a range of additional benefits such as special offers and discounts.

Further investment is being sought to fund future development and anyone interested in investing in the company, or joining the Founders’ Club, can find out more at www.lakesdistillery.com.

Consumers are more conscious of what they eat today, and are choosing foods that don’t just taste good but are also healthy. Yesterday it was light products, followed by vitamin-enriched products, that were in vogue. Today it’s mainly dairy products that are low in sugar, low in fat and higher in protein. Growing numbers of consumers have to be particuarly aware of their tolerance of dairy products, which is closely linked to lactose or gluten content.

Today’s dairy products are mainly aimed at very specific target groups: connoisseurs, calorie-conscious and health-conscious consumers and allergy sufferers. Emmi has created a product range tailored to these consumers. Emmi Good Day products contain less sugar, less fat and more protein than conventional dairy products. They are also particularly easy to digest as they are lactose-free.

In the processing stage, care is taken to ensure all the valuable nutrients such as amino acids, vitamins and minerals are retained. And naturally, no artificial sweeteners or preservatives are used either.

The first Emmi Good Day products are now available in Swiss retail stores. The range currently includes pasteurised and UHT milk, strawberry, raspberry and mango yogurt drinks and strawberry, mocca, aloe vera mango and cereal yogurts. Other dairy products for daily consumption are currently being developed for the Good Day range.

In terms of product activity, launches featuring GMO-free claims and labeling remain relatively limited on a global scale. While nearly 13% of launches recorded by Innova Market Insights in the 12 months to March 2013 were marketed on an “additive-free” or “preservative-free” platform, nearly 7% were marketed as “natural” and 6% as “organic,” just 1.1% used GMO-free labeling. This figure rises slightly higher in certain countries and regions, notably Europe and Australasia, falling to less than 1% in North America and Asia.

In terms of products carrying GMO-free claims, snacks, dairy and bakery have the largest number of launches, reflecting the significance of GM ingredients in sectors using high levels of cereals for food or feed. They accounted for 14.1%, 13.3% and 12.5% respectively, of global GMO-free launches recorded, ahead of baby foods, meat, fish and eggs, confectionery and ready meals.

Lu Ann Williams, Director of Innovation at Innova Market Insights, reports “In addition to the compulsory labeling regulations in place in the EU since the 1990s, there has also been a more recent move to verify and more easily identify GMO-free food and drinks.”

She notes particular interest in using GMO-free labeling for dairy products, with Germany and Austria tending to lead developments. Austria’s ongoing interest in marketing the purity of its dairy products resulted in it increasingly combining the use of pasture milk (Heumilch) with GMO-free labeling and this trend spread to Germany, as illustrated by Arla’s late-2012 introduction of its Bergbauern Emmentaler and Bergkäse cheeses marketed as being made with pure pasture milk (Heumilch) and carrying a GMO-free logo.

“The demand for GMO-free labeling seems set to continue to grow as a marketing tool globally,” Lu Ann Williams concludes, “as even where GMO foods have to be labeled, such as in the EU, there is still apparently demand for easy recognition of GMO-free lines as the use of logos and certification schemes continues to grow.”

For more information about Innova Market Insights, please visit www.innovadatabase.com.

The Food Safe Packaging program is focused around the www.henkel.com/foodsafety web portal, which provides various content, such as webinars, white papers and videos related to the topic of food safe packaging.

A glossary of terms is also available, with descriptions and information ranging from antioxidants to zinc.

In addition to the website, Henkel has also been present at numerous tradeshows and special food safety forums, where its representatives have been discussing the latest trends in adhesive development. Further forums are in the pipeline, such as Drinktec in Munich, Germany and Labelexpo Europe in Brussels, Belgium.

Interested parties can also register for a premium account, providing additional expert knowledge on key food safe packaging topics.

Further, Henkel said it is keen to promote information interchange and cooperation between all parties and partners involved in the food safe packaging value chain, and has established in-house teams for centralized analytics, toxicology and product development, and also a team of specialists to deal with regulatory issues.

The adhesive specialist said its products are used in a variety of food packaging applications, from cereal boxes to flexible packaging, and wants to use the initiative to extend the availability of its expertise in this segment.

The initiative is targeted at food safety officers, quality managers, packaging developers, purchasers and other interested parties in the food industry wishing to learn more about safe food packaging.

Harald Bartsch, who is responsible within Henkel’s packaging adhesives business unit for international digital marketing and marketing communications in Europe, said: ‘We regard ourselves as partners of food producers and packaging manufacturers, whom we are able to support with a wide range of solutions.’

Under the terms of the agreement, Heineken, through its subsidiary Asia Pacific Breweries, will have a controlling 57% stake in the new joint venture company and be responsible for overall management, providing brewing and technical expertise, procurement of ingredients and the licensing of brands.

The brewery will be located near the country’s capital Yangon and is expected to be operational by the end of 2014. The joint venture company plans to invest $60 million in the brewery, create more than 400 jobs and brew leading brands, including Heineken.

Heineken’s announcement follows the European Union Council decision on 22nd April 2013 to lift all sanctions, with the exception of the embargo on arms, against Myanmar. It also reflects the recent international recognition by many countries of Myanmar’s progress in terms of both political and social reform and the decision of a number of global companies to announce plans to enter the country.

Heineken is following the lead of The Coca-Cola Company, Carlsberg and Ford Motor Company in announced plans to enter Myanmar.

Jean-François van Boxmeer, chief executive and chairman of Heineken, comment: “This is a truly exciting business opportunity that expands further our exposure to high growth markets. There is a growing recognition of the positive progress that Myanmar is making in terms of its political and social reforms. Through our investment, job creation and implementation of our global policies, I believe that we will support this process.”

The HI-700TTC tray sealer offers real-time printing of information on pre-printed film, a secure tamper proof labelling system and a wider print head as standard, said the companies behind the machine at the IFFA Trade Show in Frankfurt.

It offers a single panel for recipe selection, sealing station, printing system, weighing device, weigh-printing console and production line input.

Glenn Fruish, export sales manager, at Digi Europe told FoodProductionDaily.com that the throughput speeds are around 72 packs per minute.

“We basically looked at what the industry was requiring and a lot of supermarkets are driving for dispersing of wasted packaging so this is one of the concepts behind this, that dispersing all the labels.

“The machine can be applied in any industry that is top tray sealing their product, so not only is it meat but it can be used for poultry and in the fruit and vegetable industry.”

It is active in 13 European countries and has 19 manufacturing sites across Europe and makes packaging for products ranging from ice cream and confectionery to ready meals and dairy products.

In a statement, the firm’s managing director Chris Hart said it would keep prices as low as it could, but that some form of increase was inevitable.

“We want to continue to run a viable business, therefore we have to manage significant increases in the raw materials market in order to remain competitive and sustainable.

“Our prices have been kept very low over a number of years. It is important to stress that Paccor price increases are significantly below the polystyrene (PS) Q1 2013 global material purchase increases.”

Further raw material increases forecast

He said he expected costs to keep growing. “Polymer purchase is by far the largest contributor to the cost of our products. There are further raw material increases forecast in the coming months, which are expected to be in the range of 10-15%.

“Although oil prices seem to have stabilised, we did not see any significant effect on reducing PS purchase pricing as a consequence. In addition, the Euro to Dollar exchange rate remains week and is predicted to stay at its current level, or lower, for some time.

“Faced with these spiralling costs, we have to react to these market trends.”

In addition to starter cultures, the company develops and supplies ripening agents, seasonings and all-in-one solutions tailored to specific products – a service that is beneficial to customers, as Dr. Christian Hertel, R&D Manager Cultures at Frutarom Savory Solutions, explains: “We carry out in-house starter culture R&D work and production and also provide complementary ripening agents and seasonings specifically tailored to our starter cultures’ activities. This all-round service is unique in Europe and results in highly efficient processes and tailored solutions – and of course end products that convince thanks to their high quality and outstanding taste.”

The most recent development within the BITEC portfolio is a range of starter cultures which enable the creation of Italian style sausage specialties. Manufacturers can choose from a variety of starter cultures which initiate a slow ripening process – as is commonly used in Southern Europe. When sausage is allowed to ferment slowly, it develops a very mild, distinctive fermentation flavor. Using its comprehensive expertise in combining microbial strains, the company has also devised solutions which lead to this characteristic flavor even under faster ripening conditions.

The two organisations have pledged to offer ‘technical support from seed to shelf’ through the strategic partnership, which is designed to benefit processors of all sizes.

It would make the prowess of 600 experts in fields ranging from post-harvest technology and food processing and preservation to packaging and hygiene and food safety assurance, said Campden BRI.

A spokesman for the organisation told FoodProductionDaily.com it was too early to discuss joint initiatives that the partners would be working on, as these had not even been decided. However, he said one area they would look at would be “reduction of waste post-harvest”.

‘Sustainable, efficient production’

“That’s all about sustainable, efficient production and ensuring good practice and minimising waste.”

In addition, both parties would consider uniform and consistent implementation of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) and risk assessment principles across the supply chain, he added.

The partnership would be rolled out from late 2013 through specific initiatives and support packages, said Campden BRI.

It said the collaboration was forged to help the industry maintain sustainable production and high food safety standards in the face of a global population increasing in size and affluence.

Boosting food production

Campden BRI claimed the move would also enable both parties to offer greater support for initiatives from government and non-governmental organisations aimed at boosting food production.

It would also draw on their extensive and long-established skills in information, publishing, knowledge management and training to ensure the latest research and innovation is identified and practically applied.

“The days when agriculture and food processing are seen as separate activities are fast disappearing,” said professor Steven Walker, director general of Campden BRI.

“Combining our facilities, skills and expertise in processing technology, preservation, packaging and safety assurance with CABI’s in areas such as agronomy, biodiversity and food security, makes us ideal partners to support the integrated food supply chain.”