News Update
Corn Products International to change its name to IngredionCorn Products International has unveiled plans to change its name to Ingredion to better reflect its role as a supplier of a broad range of ingredients. The firm, which broadened its portfolio with the $1.3bn acquisition of National Starch in late 2010, will ask shareholders to vote on the name change at its annual meeting in May. Assuming it is approved, bosses anticipate a global transition to the new brand and logo over the next two years, with all geographies using the Ingredion name by the end of 2013, said chief executive Ilene Gordon. “The first part of the name represents ‘ingredients,’ while the second part has its roots in the Greek word that means ‘something that goes.’ It says clearly that we’re an ingredient solutions company.” No change in strategy She added: “Ingredion doesn't represent a change in strategy or a change in the strong business model that we've built. It does, however, better reflect the diversity and growth of our product offerings and is more representative of the stronger, more global company we have become." What does Corn Products International do? Speaking to analysts during the firm's Q4, 2011, earnings call last week, Gordon said: "Our model is actually very simple... Fundamentally, we purchase raw materials, largely corn, process them to add value and sell those starch and sweetener ingredients primarily to food, beverage and brewing customers around the world. "We don’t operate a commodities trading business. We don’t have a logistics business. And we don’t take physical ownership of raw materials beyond what we need to properly run our operations. Put another way, we are not an agri-business company but rather an ingredient company." National Starch acquisition Significant progress had been made in 2011 on the integration of National Starch, with bosses "putting in place IT systems, human resource programs, and re-aligning manufacturing, to name some of the larger projects", added Gordon. While the company had had to contend with "economic malaise" in the US, "recession-like conditions" in Europe, the tsunami in Japan, flooding in Thailand and poor weather in Brazil during the year, "many of our markets remained strong like Mexico, most of South America and Pakistan", noted Gordon. As for south America, where the company has raised prices to offset higher input costs and devaluing currencies, slower economic activity and bad weather had affected results, said Gordon. But she added: "I want to be definitive about our bullish long-term view of South America and encourage you not to draw conclusions from one quarter. We continue to make significant capital investments and are setting ourselves up to benefit from growth in the region." |
Push for universal gluten-free symbol in Europe
The Association of European Coeliac Societies has adopted Coeliac UK’s gluten-free symbol as it looks to standardise gluten-free labelling across Europe. The Coeliac UK logo will be promoted as the industry standard for gluten-free products in Europe. Currently, multiple logos adorn gluten-free goods within the EU, which Coeliac UK says can be confusing for consumers. Crossed Grain symbol Coeliac UK CEO Sarah Sleet toldBakeryAndSnacks.com that her organisation’s Crossed Grain symbol made it easier for coeliac consumers to choose safe products and gave manufacturers commercial advantages in a growing and competitive gluten-free market. “The coeliac community would like to see a single standard,” she said. “Virtually all consumers across Europe will recognise our symbol.” In the UK, around 90 companies have adopted Coeliac UK’s Crossed Grain symbol, including bread manufacturer Warburtons and supermarket chain Asda. The symbol also has a presence in continental Europe, particularly in Italy, Austria and Germany. Many supermarkets chose to adopt their own logo, but Sleet said that her organisation had been approached by supermarket chains. “Following the pan-European agreement we expect to see a rapid rise in the amount of manufacturers using the symbol,” said Sleet. She hoped to see the symbol become the European standard in the next two to three years. Coeliac UK charges an annual licence fee to use its symbol, which varies depending upon the turnover of the gluten-free products listed in the licence. Sleet was asked whether it was a requirement of the license to place the symbol on the front of the packaging. While she said it was not a prerequisite, she said that her organisation would like to see it in a place of prominence. She added that the logo was a value-added symbol that could help manufacturers promote their products. Therefore it could be within a manufacturer’s interest to make the symbol highly visible on packaging, she said. Outside Europe Coeliac UK has also recently trademarked its symbol in the US. A multitude of gluten-free logos exist in the US, but Sleet said Coeliac UK was in discussion with organisations such as the Gluten-Free Interest Group over potential synergies. However, she said that a universal system worldwide would be a challenge as the US threshold for what constitutes a gluten-free product was considerably lower than the EU and world standard. According to new European regulations on gluten-free products that were introduced on 1 January 2012, a product may bear the term ‘gluten-free’ if the gluten content does not exceed 20 mg/kg. (Commission Regulation (EC) No 41/2009) ๊UPDATE – 16TH WORLD CONGRESS OF FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
UPDATE – 16TH WORLD CONGRESS OF FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY In line with the Congress’ theme “Addressing Global Food Security and Wellness through Food Science and Technology” and in keeping with IUFoST’s mission of “Strengthening Global Food Science and Technology for Humanity,” the Scientific program will consist of 50 sessions, most of which are already finalized, about key issues in FST, covering education, research, international collaboration and the food industry. One hundred speakers from 31 countries have already confirmed their participation. Abstract submission is going on and more than 100 reviewers from different countries are working to evaluate them. Ten sessions are reserved for oral presentation of papers selected from the submitted abstracts.
Whether it is in education, research or industry, considerable progress has been achieved in food science and technology in Brazil, making this country a leader in this area in Latin America.
Brazil has built high quality academic capability, both in the generation and advancement of knowledge and in training of human resources, in different fields of studies including food science and technology. About 70 universities offer the five-year undergraduate course in Food Engineering. There are 27 programs offering both the Master and Doctorate degrees in Food Science, Food Technology, Food Engineering and Food and Nutrition. In addition, 14 programs offer only the Master degrees. These numerous academic institutions provide qualified human resources not only for the universities themselves, but also for research institutes, government agencies and industry. Aside from the Brazilians, students from other Latin American countries work for their degrees, especially graduate
degrees, in Brazil. The graduate programs are evaluated and ranked by a Food Science and Technology Committee at the Coordination for Higher Education (CAPES) of the Ministry of Education with the view of promoting high standards in graduate studies throughout the country.
The funding agencies National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) and Research and Projects Financing (FINEP), both of which are linked to the Ministry of Science and Technology, support research at the national level. Each state has its own research foundation, such as the Foundation for the Support of Research in the state of São Paulo (FAPESP). A large number of basic and applied research on diverse topics, especially projects that are innovative and relevant to the country’s scientific, technological and economic development, as well as those that contribute to the population’s health and wellness, are financed. These agencies also provide university scholarships, especially for graduate students. Among the research topics in food science and technology are: development of Brazilian functional foods and characterization of the bioactive compounds, biotechnological production of aromas; incidence and control of mycotoxins and other contaminants, new processing technologies, development of tropical and subtropical fruit products, production of enzymes for application in food, development of alternatives to reduce trans-isomers in industrialized products, development of products from indigenous plant foods, utilization of sub-products of the Brazilian food and agri- industries in the development of products with added value, development of food products for special uses. Thanks to substantial research funding, Brazil is the world leader in sugarcane and ethanol knowledge and technology. The sustainable use of the biodiversity of flora and fauna for food and other purposes is gaining strong interest.
With its vast territory, rich soil and a varied climate that permits a diversity of crops, Brazil has enormous agricultural capacity, furnishing diverse raw materials and ingredients to industry, as well as an impressive variety of products for the fresh produce market. Brazil is the world’s largest producer of sugarcane, coffee and oranges. It is the second largest producer of soybean, and the third for corn. It also has the world’s largest commercial cattle herd (50% larger than that of the U.S.) at 170 million heads. It is second to the U.S. in poultry production.
Brazil has numerous native fruits and vegetables, which should be better utilized, considering their high contents of nutrients and bioactive compounds, such as carotenoids and flavonoids.
This country has the fourth largest agricultural system in the world, and production is still growing fast while that of competitors is stalled. Only about 9% of the total land area is currently used for agriculture, and Brazil has 14% of the earth’s fresh water. There is active agricultural research, led by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA), the mission of which is “to provide feasible solutions for the sustainable development of Brazilian agribusiness through knowledge and technology generation
and transfer.” The Brazilian food industry is large, dynamic, advanced and highly competitive. It is part of the agribusiness chain of production, which in 2004 according to the National Confederation of Agriculture, accounted for 30.2% of the country’s GDP. Brazil is the world’s third largest exporter of agribusiness products.
The food processing industry, the second largest sector among manufacturing industries in Brazil, was valued at US$173 billion in 2009 according to the Brazilian Food Processors’ Association (ABIA). Meat and by-product processing was the most lucrative, accounting for US$34.4 billion; coffee, tea and cereals ranked second amounting to US$19.5 billion. The sugar industry ranked third. Expansion of the Brazilian food industry in recent years has been attributed to rising exports and increased consumer purchasing power. Brazil is the world’s principal exporter of coffee, beef and poultry, juices, sugar and ethanol. It is also a major supplier of oil and soy meal, corn and pork. Brazil’s food industry exported US$ 17 billion worth of products in 2004, accounting for 17.7% of Brazil’s total exports. Brazil’s processed food exports go (in decreasing order) to the European , Middle East, Russia, Nafta, Japan, China, Eastern Europe, Mercosul and India.
Of the top ten leading companies in the food industry, four are Brazilian companies (Sadia, Brasil Foods, Copersucar and JBS) and six are multinational (Ambev, Bunge, Cargill, Nestle and ADM). Along with the modern large- and medium-sized companies, there are numerous cottage industries that manufacture traditional and typical Brazilian food products.
The Brazilian food markets offer the consumers a remarkable array of meat and meat products, poultry and poultry products, milk and dairy products, cereals, pastas, vegetable oils, juices and other fruit products, beverages, chocolate and candies, fish and fish products, bakery products, etc., along with a wide variety of fresh tropical, subtropical and temperate fruits and vegetables.
Delia B. Rodriguez-Amaya
Glaucia Maria Pastore
Effect of surface roughness on inactivation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 87-23 by new organic acid-su
Effect of surface roughness on inactivation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 87-23 by new organic acid-surfactant combinations on alfalfa, broccoli, and radish seeds 01.feb.12 Revising food packaging standards will reflect industry practices - USDA
Revising food packaging standards will reflect industry practices - USDA
The revision of US food container inspection law has been proposed, with the aim of bringing the regulation up to speed with 21st century food packaging technology. USDA is requesting comment on the proposal The US Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is requesting comment on proposed changes to the US Standards for Condition of Food Containers – which was last amended in May 1983. AMS develops and revises inspection standards to ensure that the quality of food product packaging is sufficient to maintain food product quality. The current standard provides guidance on inspection procedures, but does not directly account for recently developed food packaging applications. The proposed modifications, which have been developed to reflect current industry practices, would include the simplification of the standard, the incorporation of standards for new packaging technologies and optional guidelines for evaluating container interiors. The proposal added, that under the revision, the standards would continue to be voluntary. Aseptic packaging, metal cans, plastic rings “These revisions are necessary in order to provide standards that reflect current industry practices,” said the proposal. The aim of this is to “incorporate new defects and revise existing defects to reflect new packaging technologies such as aseptic packaging, metal cans with easy open lids and plastic rings that hold several containers together.” “These new food containers are not represented by the current standards.” The changes would affect over 22,000 food manufacturing establishments in the US. Any number of these could request to have their product containers inspected to ensure that their packaging maintain the quality of their food. “These revisions to existing tables, addition of new tables, removal of OC curves, and updating language in the US Standards for Condition of Food Containers would enable the standards to be applicable to most types of food containers and align the standards to reflect current industry practices.” Ensure food is safe The current Standard provides guidance on sampling procedures and acceptance criteria for the inspection of stationary lots of filled food containers – including skip lot sampling and inspections procedures. It also provides on-line sampling and inspections procedures for food containers during production. “This helps to identify trouble spots in a production cycle quickly, and enables the producer to make timely corrections.” “This can reduce the corrective action costs and the amount of product destroyed as a result of packaging problems,” the current standards state. Commenting on the proposal, AMS acting administrator Robert Keeney said,“Updating the standards to reflect the advances in packaging technologies will help ensure that food containers are germ-free and the food supply is safe.” Notice of the proposed US Standards for Condition of Food Containers revision was published in the Federal Register. Comments on the proposed changes must be received on or before 19 March 2012. |
