The deal is pending regulatory approval and subject to a right of negotiation granted to The Coca-Cola Company in 1999. Under this provision, TCCC has the right until March 2009 to negotiate with Cadbury regarding a potential acquisition of the Schweppes Australia business. TCCC was granted the provision after a takeover bid for Schweppes almost a decade ago failed to receive regulatory approval. “If TCCC makes an offer during this period, Cadbury will carefully consider such an offer, including the price and likelihood of receiving necessary regulatory and other consents,” they advised in a statement. “If Cadbury and TCCC do not enter into an agreement with respect to Schweppes Australia, then Cadbury will enter into a binding sale and purchase agreement with Asahi.” Asahi’s successful bid was announced on Christmas Eve and follows the completion of a strategic review announced in July 2008. “The successful sale of Schweppes Australia will complete Cadbury’s divestment of its beverage operations,” said Todd Stitzer, CEO of Cadbury. ”As a result, Cadbury will focus solely on growing its chocolate, gum and candy portfolio in line with the Vision Into Action strategy, announced in June 2007.” Schweppes Australia is the second-largest non-alcoholic ready-to-drink beverages business in Australia and its portfolio consists of owned and franchised brands, including Schweppes and Pepsi. It has about 1,500 employees. Source: AFN

The transaction is structured as a worldwide, perpetual licence of the Bertolli brand for olive oil, premium vinegar and olives. It includes related assets, such as a factory in Inveruno, Italy, as well as the sale of the Dante, Maya and San Giorgio olive oil and seed oil businesses. Unilever will retain the Bertolli brand for all other categories, including margarine, pasta sauces and frozen meals. The Bertolli brand remains a priority for Unilever, with strong growth plans for the future in Mediterranean food products.

The I-Foiler system offers state of the art touch-screen control, providing access to not only basic operator controls but also information screens, detailed fault warnings and diagnosis. The I-Foiler has been designed for wet and humid applications. Pillar Technologies’ Universal coil technology means that a single unit will seal diameters from 10 to 120mm. Coil change (where necessary) is a simple, tool-free operation thanks to a unique slot-in coil design (patent pending). The digitally controlled I-Foiler series enables easier integration into a filling line and offers operators immediate feedback and fault diagnosis in a choice of languages on the touch screen display or via a remote control panel.

Among its awards, Crown Speciality Packaging received the Gold award in the 'Sustainability' category for a decorative container developed for Nestlé Quality Street chocolates. Other awards include Silver for Marks & Spencer’s All Butter Shortbread package, Gold for the Cadbury Collection Egg, Silver for Tsarine Champagne’s 'Cuvée Blanc de Blanc Millesimé', and a 'Judges' Highly Commended' award for Crown’s embossed steel tin developed for Sainsbury’s shortbread. "Taking home this many awards in a single competition is truly an honour," said Chris Homfray, president of Crown Europe. "Helping our customers bring more sustainable and innovative packaging to the market has long been a key priority for Crown and will remain so in the coming years."

Substantial slumps in world dairy prices over recent months have been the main contributor to the WCB’s pessimistic outlook. Cheddar prices have fallen as much as 35-40%, with skimmed milk powder and butter at 40-45% and 35-40%. These changing commodity prices reflect a stark contrast to the record high commodity prices experienced throughout the 2008 financial year. WCB’s successful 2008 year was capped off with the announcement of a joint venture with National Foods in August, which will see the company taking a share in the Dairy Farmer acquisition. Neil Kearney, WCB CEO, believes that the diversifying of their business in 2009 will lead to increased stability in the volatile market: “Changes in world dairy prices will continue to impact our existing commodity business from year to year. However, the joint venture with National Foods and WCB’s other initiatives, such as Great Ocean Ingredients and WCB Japan, will increase the scale and diversity of our business. Together, these are likely to lead to a sustainable increase in WCB’s financial performance and decrease the historic volatility associated with our business.” WCB is also predicting a reduction in the milk prices paid to dairy farmers in the beginning of next year, as a response to falling commodity prices. Source: Australia Food News

Combining these resources with its own, Crystal Springs will expand its home and office bottled water delivery service further into the greater Atlanta area and additional Georgia communities, including a new branch in Calhoun, GA. "Crystal Springs is committed to providing outstanding customer service and the delivery of safe, quality, bottled drinking water, filtration systems and coffee services to additional Georgia communities," said Mike Williams, mid-south vice president and general manager. "With the acquisition of Blue Ridge Mountain Water, we'll be able to expand the reach of our bottled water delivery service and filtration service options, and ensure that we continue our rich history of superior water delivery service. We welcome these new members of our Crystal Springs family and look forward to earning their business." Crystal Springs offers its water delivery, filtration and coffee services to local homes and businesses, and also provides distribution of smaller bottles to local grocery stores and retail outlets. Source: Food Ingredients First

Bay-Tec becomes part of Emerson Process Management, expanding Emerson's capabilities for providing technical and management services for the consultation, design, engineering and implementation of process automation systems for the life sciences, refining and other industries. Terms of the deal were not announced. "Bay-Tec's expertise delivering projects and enabling clients with a commitment to quality and consistency is highly complementary with our existing project service capabilities," said Steve Sonnenberg, president, Emerson Process Management. "The acquisition expands our ability to address industry needs for automation engineering and project management solutions, particularly on the US west coast," he added. "We're committed to growing our worldwide design, engineering and implementation capabilities, and this acquisition is a contribution to that goal." "Emerson's global reach and technological leadership will help us to better serve our valued existing clients, as well as new ones," said John Justus, president of Bay-Tec. "Our organisations are well aligned in terms of our strong focus on meeting client automation needs. Joining Emerson will make it possible to deliver a broader, more comprehensive solution in the implementation of control systems that our clients require to meet increasingly complex needs."

The Republic of Ireland has announced that beef from cattle that have eaten feed contaminated with dioxins is being withdrawn. Animals from affected herds and associated carcasses have been held on the relevant farms and at meat processing plants pending results from dioxin tests. The results from these tests, carried out by authorities in ROI, show that dioxins exceed permitted levels. Therefore, while the risk to human health is likely to be low, this meat will be withdrawn from the market. Dioxins are chemicals that get into food from the environment and are associated with a range of health effects when there is a long-term exposure to them at relatively high levels. The UK will continue to work with local authorities, the wider enforcement community and EU member states to protect UK consumers. The number of animals affected in this incident represents less than 1% of ROI’s national herd. The majority of the meat from these animals has been held, but a small amount of affected meat may have entered the UK food chain. This meat is likely to have reached consumers but the risk to human health from consuming this is very low. The FSA continues to investigate the issue of contaminated feed in the UK and the focus is now on a small number of cattle herds in Northern Ireland. All such cattle herds and associated carcasses remain on hold and will not be permitted to enter the food chain unless full dioxin test results show that dioxin levels are within legal limits. Results from dioxin tests are expected early next week. In the interim, restrictions will remain in place until the FSA is fully satisfied that meat from these animals can be placed on the market. Farmers and all involved in industry are acting responsibly and fully cooperating with the authorities Source: Food Standards Agency

Topping the list was the spike in food prices around the world, followed by the milk scandal in China. Hunter Public Relations reached out to more than 900 food editors and bloggers across the US, asking them to rate the top 10 food-related stories of 2008. Here's the list of stories that made the Top 10: Rise in food prices around the world China's tainted milk scandal Salmonella outbreak in raw tomatoes Supermarket chains offer more locally grown food New labelling laws Big food companies adopt nutrient standards Jalapeño peppers test positive for salmonella Paul Newman dies NYC restaurant regulations levels of alarm associated with high salt intake. Survey participants were also asked what they thought food companies should make their number one priority for the coming year. In line with the economic crisis of 2008, editors overwhelmingly believed that food companies’ top priority should be offering budget-friendly meal options. Source: Hunter Public Relations

17 different carbon measurement initiatives launched in eight European countries. You wait for years for one carbon measurement initiative to come along and then 17 come all at once! $13.3bn – the New York State budget gap which led Governor David Paterson to call for a 15% ‘obesity tax’ on non-diet soft drinks. "It looks like a money grab. Paterson is trying to grab money anywhere he can find it. This is a time when the government, just like families, needs to tighten its belt." – American Beverages Association. 6.6% – the amount of PET used in PET Engineering’s latest lightweight 50cl bottle, Bottle Fly. How low can you go? How high can you Fly? 29.3% – Britvic’s revenue growth in 2008 as announced in November. Squash makes headway while others suffer the squeeze. $52bn – What InBev paid for Anheuser-Busch. No small beer. 1,400 – the number of jobs cut by Anheuser-Busch InBev in 2008. Sorrow drowning time. 201 entries in the 2008 Water Innovation Awards, presented in Wiesbaden as part of the Global Bottled Water Congress. 7% – New Zealand juice maker Charlie’s sales increase in its first four months of the current financial year. Up, and down under. 488 – the number of new products featured in the innovation pages of Beverage Innovation magazine in 2008. Go on, recommend a colleague to subscribe. How can you live without it? €600m – what Japan’s Suntory paid for Danone’s antipodean Frucor. $3.16bn – the combined sales of ready-to-drink coffee in Japan, North America and West Europe in 2006 according to Zenith International. Coffee to go go go. 23 – categories in the 2009 Beverage Innovation Awards @ drinktec. Go on, enter today. You know you want to! 438 – number of Kum & Go stores listing Celsius – the original calorie-burning drink – since December. Come and go for the burn. €23bn – the sales of fruit juice and nectars in 2007, up 1.6% according to Zenith International. Sweet. 85% – the estimated amount of Pepsi Bottling Group’s waste stream which is recycled. What goes around, comes around. 1,000 – the number of Costa Coffee outlets when the company opened its store in Moscow’s Pushkin Square in March 2008. Ruskiccino. 5.9% – the advance in global soft drinks consumption in 2007 according to Zenith International. On your marks ... 800 – the number of trucks the UK's biggest food and drink companies were planning to take off the country’s roads by the end of 2008. Less is more. 1% – the amount soft drinks consumption dipped in 2007, despite the wettest summers since records began in the UK. It never r (or rather, it does). 58% – the reduction in beverage calories shipped to schools since 2004, according to the American Beverages Association. How low can you go?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCJX3ZR1kFQ Recorded, produced and hosted by: Claire Phoenix and Shaun Weston Subscribe to our FoodBev.com YouTube channel More video & audio content … Simply Great aims to be the 'Harry Potter' of the juice world Innovation Flow Lounge Q&A at Drinktec 2013

Hunter Public Relations has revealed the results of its annual food editor survey, and there are no real surprises. Topping the list was the spike in food prices around the world, followed by the milk scandal in China. Hunter Public Relations reached out to more than 900 food editors and bloggers across the US, asking them to rate the top 10 food-related stories of 2008. Here's the list of stories that made the Top 10: Rise in food prices around the world China's tainted milk scandal Salmonella outbreak in raw tomatoes Supermarket chains offer more locally grown food New labelling laws Big food companies adopt nutrient standards Jalapeño peppers test positive for salmonella Paul Newman dies NYC restaurant regulations New levels of alarm associated with high salt intake Survey participants were also asked what they thought food companies should make their number one priority for the coming year. In line with the economic crisis of 2008, editors overwhelmingly believed that food companies’ top priority should be offering budget-friendly meal options.