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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.

The Food Standards Agency recently issued a statement reassuring consumers about eating Irish beef following the Republic of Ireland’s withdrawal of beef from cattle exposed to feed contaminated with dioxins. The Republic of Ireland has announced that beef from cattle that have eaten feed contaminated with dioxins is being withdrawn.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 plant 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 Therefore, while the risk to human health is likely to be low, this meat will be withdrawn from the market.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 * *

Bill Bruce, Zenith International Publishing's Group Editorial Director, takes a numerical approach to his summing up of 2008. 17 different carbon measurement initiatives launched in 8 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 make 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 rains . . . or rather, it does.li> 58% – the reduction in beverage calories shipped to schools since 2004, according to the American Beverages Association. How low can you go?

The facility, a part of BASF’s Care Chemicals Division, manufactures formulated vitamin C products for the dietary supplement industry. Employees were notified that the approximately 33 positions at the site will be eliminated over the next three months. “We wanted employees to be aware of this decision as soon it was made," said Simon Medley, Group Vice President of BASF’s Care Chemicals and Formulators Regional Business Unit. "We regret the impact this decision may have on these employees and their families, especially at this time of year. The decision is in no way a reflection of the hard work, dedication and professionalism of the colleagues at this facility.” This strategic business decision was made because it has become increasingly difficult to sustain profitable operations at the site due to high raw material costs. In addition to producing vitamin C products, the site manufactures formulated B vitamin products and FreshSeal polymer-based fruit and vegetable coatings. After the site closure, BASF will no longer produce formulated B vitamin products. Production of FreshSeal will be transferred to another location. BASF will work with affected employees to help them locate other employment opportunities within the company, or will provide employees with the appropriate severance compensation and out-placement services. The company started production at the site in 1985. * *

*Emerson Process Management has announced that it has acquired Bay-Tec Engineering of Napa, California. * 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. We are 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."

*AriZona Beverage Company has recently introduced a range of its ready-to-drink beverages in 20oz custom PET bottles. * The bottles are made with Constar International’s Vertical Compensation Technology (VCT), a panel-less bottle for hot fill beverages. According to AriZona Beverage Company, it's the first major brand to commercialise Constar’s VCT technology. Constar is supplying AriZona Beverage Company with 'Tallboy' PET bottles for seven SKUs of AriZona iced teas and juices, including Green Tea, Sweet Tea, Lemon Tea, Half & Half Lemonade Iced Tea, Watermelon Juice, Mucho Mango, and Fruit Punch. Many of AriZona Beverage Company’s products are hot-filled, which requires bottles that can accommodate the initial heat of filling and the proceeding cooling process. Constar’s PET bottles with VCT technology provide a high performing, highly appealing alternative that employs a special geometry to address the hot-fill process. The new bottles were designed using Constar’s CONSTruct advanced predictive engineering software, which optimises performance and material use. “The end result is a more robust, highly efficient bottle that satisfies the operational and branding needs of AriZona Beverage Company,” said Scott Pleune, Vice President of Marketing & Business Development, Constar. “What we have developed is a ‘smarter’ bottle in that it accommodates the hot-fill process, but with the smooth side walls, it also allows for the high-speed application of roll-fed labels. While consumers can’t see the bottle’s profile under the label, the rigidity of the bottle is similar to glass and imparts the quality brand image so important to AriZona Beverage Company.” John Balboni, President and Chief Business Development Officer at AriZona, said: “Just as our customers want more from their favourite beverage, we want more from our packaging. Thanks to Constar’s advanced technology, we now have a new PET bottle that not only protects the beverage, but uses less raw material, is lighter in weight, is more rigid, and allows us to fill more product in less time.”

Innocent Drinks is planning the launch of a £8m marketing campaign for 2009. The campaign, created in-house, will concentrate on consumer health, running across national press, poster and a range of below the line activity, including a sampling drive. Jo Simmonds, head of brands at Innocent, told Brand Republic: "Making sure you eat your five portions of fruit and veg is a great way to get healthy in the new year. With 87% of us still not eating enough fruit and veg, our smoothies and our new veg pots together provide an easy and convenient way to get your five portions of fruit and veg, and this is the essence of our January message. "The campaign supports our broader mission to make food and drink that tastes good and does you good." Media planning and buying has been handled by PHD Rocket. Innocent will be launching a new veg pot (sweet potato and chilli) and smoothie of the month (beetroot, apples, pears and ginger) on the back of the campaign.

Delta Instruments has developed a screening method for its FTIR instruments to detect melamine in raw milk. Successful field tests have been carried out to check on possible adulterated raw milk. The screening method uses Delta Instruments' NPN-CU (Non Protein Nitrogen-Calculated Urea) approach, and therefore it has been given the parameter name NPN-Calculated Melamine (NPN-CM). With this new screening method, the Delta Instrument CombiScope FTIR 400 precision analyser will be capable of measuring added melamine. Designed to meet the analysis needs of dairy herd improvement and payment laboratories, the CombiScope FTIR 400 analyses raw milk for fat, protein, lactose, total solids or non-fat solids, as well as somatic cell count. In case of unadultereated milk, accurate estimates of urea are calculated from IR-readings for the NPN contents of milk samples through simple slope/intercept adaptation of NPN-readings. In case of adulteration with melamine as to increase the protein content of milk, a useful estimate of the melamine content can be calculated in the same way from the NPN content, since both urea and melamine show a strong response for the NPN milk model.

To meet consumer demand, the UAE-based juice and water company, Masafi, has launched three 100% pure juice products. According to the company, Masafi Mango and a blend of pomegranate, raspberry, cranberry & acai flavoured juice drink provides a 'rejuvenating effect', while a 'vitalising effect' is achieved by Masafi Apple and a blend of peach, passion fruit, grape and apricot flavours. The Masafi Orange and Guava, Lychee & Pear combination offers an 'energy boost'. In addition, the new range features a 100% pure strawberry and 100% kiwi juice blend. Commenting on the new launch, Ashraf Abushady, CEO of Masafi, said: "The launch of the new Masafi juice blends isa major step in our growth strategy aimed at delivering premiumquality products and addressing the needs of our consumers. "Masafi has always taken its consumer insights seriously, and in linewith customer preferences, we offer the carefully mixed and matched100% pure fruit juice blends that would meet all our consumers'predominant 'need states'." The beverages are packaged in Tetra Prisma in 1-litre, 200ml and a special children's 200ml packaging with a telescopic straw. The company has committed AED12.5m ($3.4m) towards the development, manufacturing and promotion of the new juice blends. In the juice category, the Tetra packs comprise 34% of juice packaging, while PET bottles constitute 52% and pouches, glass bottles and tins will make up for 14%.

**The Dr Pepper Snapple Group-owned brand, Mott's, is set to launch a new campaign featuring Emmy nominated actress Marcia Cross of successful US TV show Desparate Housewives, Brandweek reported.** This will be the brand's first TV campaign in more than a decade, in which Mott's will promote the fact that a cup of Mott's apple sauce has a full serving of fruit, while an 8oz glass of its apple juice has two full servings. The commercial is being produced by Los Angeles-based Agency Laird+Partners, who plans to air the ads in March. Support will be provided by print and online media. Marcia Cross was selected because this mother of twins is viewed as a dedicated parent "who is balancing her work and her life without surrounding herself with five nannies", said Hans Dorsinville, Agency Laird+Partners Executive Vice-President. The idea of focusing on the amount of fruit servings came about through extensive brand research: "Moms didn't know that about the brand, and were interested in hearing about it," said Allison Methvin, Director of Marketing for Mott's. "We wanted to say something different and new about an old brand that has been around since 1842." Mott's currently owns about a 40% share of the apple sauce category and 16% of the apple juice segment, according to the company.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of zero-calorie sweeteners made from the natural herb stevia for use in food and beverages. As a result, Coca-Cola North America is launching Sprite Green, which uses a form of stevia called Truvia, co-developed with Cargill Inc, and two Odwalla juice drinks using Truvia. Sprite Green has 50 calories per 8.5oz serving and 5% lemon juice. It will be aimed at active young adults and launched in two unnamed US cities this month in 8.5oz aluminium bottles. PepsiCo will also launch new products with the approved sweetener, including three zero-calorie SoBe Lifewater flavours: Fuji Apple Pear, Black and Blue Berry and Yumberry Pomegranate. The products will be in stores this year, the company told The New York Times. PepsiCo will also launch Trop 50, a light orange juice with 50% less sugar and calories than regular Tropicana orange juice. Both products will feature the stevia-sweetener PureVia, made by Whole Earth Sweetener Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Merisant. According to Reuters, Trop 50 will make its retail debut in March. Cargill, which is marketing the sweetener Truvia from Coca-Cola, said on Wednesday that it had received notification from the FDA that it had no objection to the product, calling it “generally recognised as safe". "Given the extensive research conducted to assure the safety of Truvia Rebiana, Cargill has tremendous confidence in the product," said Marcelo Montero, President, Cargill Health & Nutrition. "The FDA letter further validates what the science has concluded – that Truvia rebiana is safe for use for all consumers. The FDA brought the appropriate rigour to the process and we are extremely pleased with the news." The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a food safety watchdog group, has said that while Merisant's and Cargill's scientific research was sound, the FDA should do further testing on stevia, which is derived from a bush native to South America.