Leading water cooler manufacturer Ebac has appointed Laura Newby and Julia Harte to its UK team to boost sales and support infrastructure in the UK. Laura, who has been promoted internally because of her excellent customer relationship skills, will be working closely with Julia, who has a Masters Degree in Business Management as well as three years' experience of Sales Management. Laura and Julia’s main focus will be promoting the newly launched FMax POU water cooler, which has seen an incredibly high demand for demonstrations. Julia said: “We’ve been astonished at the amount of people who want to see the new FMax POU, and I’m looking forward to getting out there and showing off this revolutionary cooler. There seems to be a real buzz around this product, so I’m excited to have joined Ebac at this time.” Laura added: “We’ll also be looking to improve the support system for our customers when they need help and assistance. Other companies have sales staff that won’t offer any technical support, whereas we want to provide the complete solution to our customers from one person.”

*UK dairy company, Arla Foods, has appointed Samantha Glassford as Brand Manager on one of its fastest growing brands, Lactofree. * Samantha joins the team after 18 months as a Retail Consultant for retail marketing agency, The Bezier Group – working on Argos, Boots, M&S Finance, Cadbury, GSK and Unilever – and prior to that, as Product Marketing Manager for Mamas & Papas. Samantha, whose experience includes delivering bespoke insights to influence and shape retail marketing campaigns alongside in-store environment and shopper interaction projects, will work closely on the implementation of the lactose-free brand’s in-store activation and drive forward its on-going national advertising, PR and digital strategy campaigns, most notably on the brand’s new product development. Lactofree launched in 2006 as the UK’s first ever lactose-free dairy drink. The portfolio now includes natural and flavoured yogurts, recently launched in all major supermarkets, and Lactofree cheese, which will launch in January 2009. Both foods were hailed as ‘most missed’ by those with lactose intolerance following consumer insight. The new yogurt and cheese will be accompanied by an extension of the Lactofree milk range, with whole milk standing alongside its already existing semi-skimmed milk variant. Samantha Glassford commented: “It is an extremely exciting time to join Arla and manage an innovative brand like Lactofree as it undergoes considerable growth. I am very much looking forward to taking a hands on approach to deliver new above and below the line campaign strategies and working on products that makes such a difference to consumers and their lifestyles”.

Food processing and packaging solutions supplier, Tetra Pak, has announced global availability of Tetra Gemina Aseptic, a roll-fed gable top shaped package with full aseptic performance for the packaging of both juice and milk-based products. Two new package sizes have been commercially released in the Tetra Gemina Aseptic family: Tetra Gemina Aseptic 500 ml Square and Tetra Gemina Aseptic 750 ml Square. The new sizes open up opportunities for customers to enter alternative retail channels, and develop new products at attractive price points. The Tetra Gemina Aseptic package is also available in 500 ml, 750 ml and 1000 ml sizes. Tetra Pak has produced more than 400 million Tetra Gemina Aseptic packages to date based on the leading Tetra Pak A3/Flex platform, which has been deployed in Spain, France, Russia, Portugal and Kazakhstan. 80% of customer orders for the Tetra Pak A3/Flex for Tetra Gemina Aseptic include the new QuickChange option. QuickChange conversion between Tetra Gemina Aseptic package sizes enables customers to quickly change package sizes to respond to market preferences, seasonal cycles or new promotional opportunities. Independent research in eight markets using a sample base of over 1,500 consumers shows that the Tetra Gemina Aseptic package delivers an attractive design, excellent functionality and product differentiation. The research conducted in 2007 also confirmed that the package's unique top and distinctive shape combined with easy handling and high pouring performance provides convenience to the end user. With Tetra Gemina Aseptic, customers and retailers benefit from strong shelf-impact and the advantages of ambient distribution, at a competitive cost.

*The European Parliament has voted in support of an EU-wide School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme, which urges an expansion in the EU programme for distributing fruit and vegetables in schools. * The aim is to encourage healthier eating habits in children and combat the obesity epidemic. MEPs would like to see more funding for the programme and they also suggest giving priority to local seasonal produce. The <1> was adopted with 586 votes in favour, 47 against and 41 abstentions. The European Commission has proposed a budget of €90m for this programme for the school year 2009-2010. This budget is not enough, argue MEPs: it is equivalent to giving every child aged 6 to 10 one piece of fruit a week for 30 weeks. The scheme should consist of a portion of fruit per pupil per day and not only be aimed at school children aged six to ten years, as the Commission proposes. Niels Busk said: "The best thing would be for every child to have a piece of fruit every day and that means more money from the Community budget. The majority of the Agriculture committee agreed on a number of €500m and National co-funding. "I don't necessarily agree with that, I hope we can correct it in the vote. On behalf of my group I have proposed that €350m should be set aside plus contributions from the Member states, that would give you a lot more than a total of €500m." The report also calls for the practical arrangements for the programme to be clarified. MEPs say it should cover only fresh fruit and vegetables produced within the EU and not processed fruit and vegetable products. In response to this last requirements OIETFL, the European Association of the EU's fruit and vegetable processisng industries representing the interest of the manufacturers of canned, frozen and dehydrated vegetables, claimed that it was incorrect to to state that processed fruit and vegetable products are of lesser nutritional value. OIETFL President Mr. Garcia Gomez commented on the scheme: "The key point is to provide the Member States with sufficient flexibility to let them decide how best to implement schemes at a national or even regional level, taking into account diverging national nutritional recommendations and cultural habits." <1>: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/file.jsp?id=5665632

*Free tap water will be available to all during the London 2012 Olympic Games, organisers have confirmed. * The provision of tap water will vary from venue to venue depending on the type of infrastructure available, which will be reviewed through the planning processes. As far as possible, events leading to the build-up of 2012 will also offer tap water. Paul Deighton, Chief Executive of the London Organising Committee, said: “It is our policy to ensure the provision of free drinking water to the public at Games venues”. UK tap water is among the best in the world. This is the result of sustained investment by water companies to ensure that quality and consistency meet the rigorous standards set by the EU Drinking Water Directive backed by the World Health Organisation. The most recent annual report from the Drinking Water Inspectorate shows that 99.96% of all tests carried out in England and Wales met the required standards.

PepsiCo has chosen Californian communication agency TBWA\Chiat\Day to market the Pepsi trademark in the US, including Diet Pepsi. The Arnell Group, which created Pepsi's new logo, handles brand identity and packaging innovation for Pepsi and other brands. The brand leaves BBDO after 48 years. Last year PepsiCo spent about £162m on the Pepsi brand, according to Advertising Age's 100 Leading National Advertisers report. "We decided to appoint TBWA\Chiat\Day to refresh Pepsi's communications across multiple consumer touch points and to reinvigorate Pepsi's legacy of leading-edge advertising," said Dave Burwick, CMO, PepsiCo North America Beverages, in a statement. "This is fully complementary with our ongoing relationship with Arnell who has created the new Pepsi identity and packaging and is responsible for the ongoing design and brand identity development." According to Burwick, BBDO will continue to handle other Pepsi brands, including Pepsi Max, Mountain Dew, AMP Energy and the North American Coffee Partnership (with Starbucks). BBDO also will continue to handle the Pepsi brand, and others, outside the US.

According to Boisset Family Estates, a case of wine in glass bottles weighs 38 pounds. In plastic, a case weighs just 22 pounds, a weight savings of more than 40%. In order to reduce the carbon footprint of the wine, the company has chosen to break with tradition and package this year's Beaujolais Nouveau in PET. Boisset has chosen Constar International Inc., manufacturer of high-barrier PET (polyethylene terephthalate) packaging technology, to supply the technology and preforms used to make its new 750ml plastic bottles. The winemaker has endeavoured to make the PET bottle as similar to glass a possible. The lightweight plastic vessels contain a proprietary oxygen scavenging technology called MonOxbar that keeps oxygen from permeating into the bottle, thereby protecting flavour, aroma and colour of the wine inside. Constar Vice President for Marketing and Business Development Scott Pleune commented: "There is growing demand from retailers, marketers, and consumers for environmentally friendly packaging, and equally important, sustainable business practices. "Boisset Family Estates has embraced this concept and found a package that satisfies the demand for sustainability without compromising the performance of the package and the integrity of the wine. Containers incorporating our MonOxbar technology are specifically designed to protect the subtle flavours of wine, beverages and foods that are packed in PET containers." According to Boisset Family Estates President Jean-Charles Boisset, his winery is the first ever to announce that all of its Beaujolais Nouveau wines imported to North America will be packaged exclusively in lightweight PET plastic bottles. "We are committed to reducing the wine world's carbon footprint," he said.

*Held each year in a different location as part of a packaging trade fair, the WorldStar Packaging Awards is sponsored by the Swedish-based World Packaging Organisation (WPO). * The WPO provides a jury with 22 representatives from the WPO as well as one representative from the International Packaging Press Organisation. Bericap was entitled to participate in this year's WorldStar tender as had received two awards from the French Packaging Institute last year. At the start of 2007 Bericap introduced its SuperShorty closure system suitable to the short neck PCO 1881 which the company claims helps protect the environment by reducing the usage of non-renewable resources. SuperShorty closure system also aims to save costs without compromising safety and security. It was this winning combination that convinced the jury of the WPO to award the Bericap closure system SuperShorty. A change from PCO 1810 to PCO 1881 reduces the weight of the entire package and in case of a CSD package the neck weight is reduced from 5.05g to 3.82g. The total weight saving adds up to more than 2g for neck and closure. The design of the SuperShorty Crown and the SuperShorty CSD ensures safe venting on 2.5 litre bottles filled with up to 4.5 Vol% CO2. Even unscrewing the closure with excessive speed showed no blow-off problem. All SuperShorty variants are equipped with the well proven DoubleSeal system for safe sealing even under hot climate conditions. Furthermore the SuperShorty product range has been extended with SuperShorty Eco as a low weight alternative to SuperShorty CSD for carbonated water and carbonated drinks. SuperShorty Still for still drinks and variants for aseptic and for hot fill application complete the product program. In addition SuperShorty has been perfected to ensure proper rinsing after wet and dry decontamination in aseptic filling lines.

*EU Consumer Commissioner, Meglena Kuneva, the US Chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, Nancy Nord, and the Chinese vice-Minister of AQSIQ, Wei Chuanzhong, met today in Brussels for the first high-level trilateral summit on product safety. * The high level meeting is intended to send a strong political signal of the determination of all sides to keep product safety at the top of the international political agenda, recognising that open markets can only be built on strong and secure management of global product supply chains. The tripartite meeting will step up EU-China-US cooperation. First, a revised Memorandum of Understanding strengthening bilateral cooperation between the EU and China to enforce product safety standards and strengthen cooperation and exchange of information on food safety will be signed by Commissioner Kuneva, Commissioner Vassiliou and Vice-Minister Wei prior to the high level meeting. Then, trilateral priority areas for action will be agreed and set out in the joint press statement, including on product traceability, cooperation by all three parties on safety standards, expertise exchange and joint enforcement actions. Finally, discussions will focus on action to strengthen information exchange between the partners on alerts and recalls - in particular using new US product safety legislation which will allow more open information exchange on product recalls and dangerous products. Today's activities are part of a broader Product Safety Week, which is being hosted by the Commission from 17-21 November. Commissioner Kuneva said: “Trust is the currency of the global economy. There is no room for complacency, and every week there are alerts which remind us that we must never allow safety issues to slip from the very top of the political agenda. "This high level product safety summit sends a very clear signal about the determination of leaders in Europe, China and the US to put the safety of citizens first and to keep up the political momentum to insist that standards are high and fully enforced at every step along the global supply chain. "We are strongly in favour of open and competitive markets, with all the benefits in terms of price and choice they bring for millions of consumers, but never at the expense of safety."

Egypt, Brazil and Lithuania were admitted membership of the International Dairy Federation at the IDF 95th General Assembly in Mexico City. The admission of Egypt comes at a time when the Egyptian dairy sector is going through progressive structuring with new operators arriving on the market. In the meantime, there is a shared concern by local authorities and the industry to supply the national market with safe and quality milk. Increasing competition among more operators is now boosting dairy consumption and innovation. “I am pleased that Egypt and IDF are going to start a collaboration in the region of North Africa, and particularly in the dynamic Egyptian market, where the dairy sector is growing in importance, providing to consumers access to healthy and nutritious dairy products,” said Christian Robert, IDF Director General. “IDF promotes high quality control methods so that dairy products meet all regulatory standards before they are released to the local market. I am convinced that the assistance that IDF provides through its network of leading scientific experts will be a key factor in the development of the Egyptian dairy sector.” Brazil’s membership increases the IDF’s presence in Latin Americaalongside Mexico. “One of the main challenges for the Brazilian dairysector is the respect of international quality standards in order to beable to be competitive,” said Robert. “Benchmarking against other operators of the sector can contribute tofurther improvements and to the successful development of Brazilianpositions. The IDF network will provide Brazil with a new internationalexposure, which will stimulate progress for the Brazilian dairy sectorin today’s very competitive environment. There will be moreopportunities for Brazil, which will definitely have a role to play onthe global scene.” Lithuanian National committee member Saulius Savickis said: “Dairyproducts and exports of dairy products have become an importantactivity for our national economy. For this reason, we follow closelythe development of international standards to ensure that the nationalregulations are aligned with them. We are very much looking forward tojoining IDF to benefit from IDF experience and expertise in this field. “Analyticalmethods are of utmost importance to our country and our experts willcontinue to be actively involved in the IDF Analytical Weeks. We arealso very much interested in gathering advice on practicalimplementation of international standards and regulations.”

Rules governing the size and shape of fruit and vegetables will be a thing of the past now that the EU Member States have voted on the Commission of new proposals to repeal specific marketing standards for 26 types of fruit and vegetables. "This marks a new dawn for the curvy cucumber and the knobbly carrot," said Mariann Fischer Boel, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development. "It's a concrete example of our drive to cut unnecessary red tape. We simply don't need to regulate this sort of thing at EU level. It's far better to leave it to market operators. And in these days of high food prices and general economic difficulties, consumers should be able to choose from the widest range of products possible. It makes no sense to throw perfectly good products away just because they're the 'wrong' shape." During last year's negotiations on the reform of the Common Market Organisation for fruit and vegetables, the Commission committed itself to reducing unnecessary bureaucracy by removing a number of marketing standards for fruit and vegetables. The latest vote means that these standards will be repealed for 26 products: apricots, artichokes, asparagus, aubergines, avocados, beans, Brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflowers, cherries, courgettes, cucumbers, cultivated mushrooms, garlic, hazelnuts in shell, headed cabbage, leeks, melons, onions, peas, plums, ribbed celery, spinach, walnuts in shell, water melons, and witloof/chicory. The proposals will maintain specific marketing standards for 10 products which account for 75% of the value of EU trade: apples, citrus fruit, kiwi fruit, lettuces, peaches and nectarines, pears, strawberries, sweet peppers, table grapes and tomatoes. However, Member States could also exempt these from the standards if they were sold in the shops with an appropriate label. In practical terms, this means that an apple that doesn't meet the standard could still be sold in the shop, as long as it were labelled ‘product intended for processing’ (or equivalent wording). The Commission will now formally adopt the changes, which will be implemented from 1 July 2009.

Merisant UK Ltd, which sells low-calorie sweeteners imported to the UK from its manufacturing bases throughout Europe, was found guilty of failing to register with the Environment Agency as a producer of packaging, and to meet its requirements to recover and recycle packaging waste for the six year period 2001 to 2006. Under the regulations, all companies are responsible for the packaging they import as well as the transit packaging around the products sold on to retailers and wholesales. The nature of the Merisant business meant that it handled a range of different packaging formats such as glass, jars, plastic containers, shrink wrap, cardboard and wooden pallets. The court has fined Merisant UK a total of £54,000 for failing to comply with the regulations. In addition, the court awarded a further £5,154 to the Environment Agency in compensation for unpaid registration fees as well as costs of £3,094 bringing the total of the penalty to £62,248. All businesses with an annual turnover in excess of £2m that handle more than 50 tons of packaging each year in the UK must be registered with the Environment Agency or recognised compliance scheme. Each year, obligated businesses must also provide evidence of payment for the recovery and recycling of a specified proportion of packaging waste. “The money raised from compliance with this legislation goes directly to the recycling industry and the failure by Merisant to ensure it met its responsibilities means that there was less investment in the recycling industry than there should have been,” said Karen Roberts, environment officer. The Producer Responsibility (Packaging Waste) Regulations were originally implemented in 1997 as a result of the EU Packaging Directive.