**Catalonian mineral water distributor Blue Planet has reached a merger agreement with Irish company Aquadirect. **The new group, Aquadirect Blue Planet, now aims to strengthen its position in the Catalonian market in Spain. This latest move is Blue Planet's fourth expansion since it began operation in 1997. In 2004 the company acquired Aquanova and in 2005 and 2006, Blue Planet took over the water cooler divisions of Vila Vending and El Cafetó respectively. In 2008 the Catalan company has also reached a strategic agreement with water cooler distributor Todagua Almacenaje y Distribución, which operates in the Madrid area. The recent merger will allow Aquadirect Blue Planet to distribute 6.5 million litres of water for coolers only in Catalonia. Aquadirect was created in 2001 and is a subsidiary of the Queally Group. Ireland's largest privately owned agri-business. Aquadirect Blue Planet General Manager Lluis Parera stated: "This merger benefits all of us. Blue Planet and Aquadirect share the same distribution area of Catalonia, and this operation will allow the new group to take advantage of the synergies between both firms. The agreement will help to consolidate us as one of the top Catalan companies in this sector."

Sip, the pioneering flavoured water with beauty benefits, has extended its brand with a range of all-natural, antioxidant-rich iced lollies. LicketySip iced lollies are 100% natural, containing no preservatives, artificial flavours, sweeteners or colours. Flavoured and sweetened only with fruit extracts, LicketySips evoke traditional lollies and are available in three flavours: Mango, Lemon and Blackcurrant. In keeping with the Sip brand’s holistic beauty ethos, LicketySip iced lollies also contain skin-friendly ingredients soothing rose petal extract – sourced via an organic farm in Herefordshire, UK – and antioxidants vitamin C and selenium. Each flavour will be available in a four-pack, priced around £3.99. LicketySip is produced by Inside Out Beauty Ltd.

UK drinks maker Britvic has announced encouraging interim results for the 28 weeks to 13 April with its still drinks portfolio delivering the lions share of success. The group, whose portfolio includes Pepsi, 7 UP, Tango, J20 juice and water brand Pennine Spring, encouraged investors by reporting improving growth trends in the early weeks of its second half which started in mid-April. Pre-tax profits in the six months to 13 April rose to £17.2 million from £15.2 million a year earlier, while revenues rose 28.6% to £454.7 million, including the first full 28 week contribution from Britvic Ireland, created through last year’s acquisition of the Ballygowan soft drinks business of Irish cider maker C&C. Last year's poor summer and a lack of momentum into the autumn period impacted on the still drinks market. Many operators were also hit by the smoking ban faced by pubs and licensed premises. But Britvic said it had out-performed its rivals with volumes up 5.9% to 232 million litres in the period. A big marketing push for Robinsons, the extension of the Drench water brand and a strong performance from Fruit Shoot saw revenues from still drinks up 2.8% to £161.8 million. Meanwhile, carbonated brands saw volumes rise 0.2% – an under-performance blamed on Christmas promotions by competitors. Britvic Chief Executive Paul Moody said the company delivered a "resilient performance" in the first half, with market share gains across most of its brands. He added: "The first half of our year has been a period of modest growth for the soft drinks market overall, with improving growth trends evident in the early weeks of the second half.”

*The London International Wine Fair (LIWF) has added a whole new dimension this year as top beverage logistics and drinks business executives are actively pursuing new, cooperative, measures to address climate change. * At yesterday’s 'Confronting Climate Change' seminar, arranged by the drinksbusiness and leading logistics provider JF Hillebrand, key speakers and panellists from JF Hillebrand, Tesco, Waitrose and Adnams gathered to openly discuss how their companies and others should continue to progress with keeping ecological issues at the forefront of the industry’s agenda. JF Hillebrand Managing Director David Mawer opened the seminar by going directly to the heart of the issue: ”Collectively, we are here because we know that the drinks industry needs to demand that there be a global environmental standard and profiling behaviour for carbon emissions. As fair warning to us all … disorganised, substandard or unregulated initiatives within the industry could be extremely detrimental to what we wish to accomplish.” In his speech, Mawer added that in order to minimise confusion and misdirected ecological efforts within the industry: “There is an urgent need to establish a common methodology for calculating carbon emissions. This is the first major challenge … If, like me, you believe that destiny is a matter of choice – then let’s take action together for the better.” At the end of the seminar, JF Hillebrand and the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA), in a joint partnership to effectively address Mawer’s industry call to action, announced that they have recently joined forces to create a <1> that works out CO2 emission results by incorporating all aspects of a bulk wine shipment. According to WSTA, the Transport Carbon Calculator addresses the UK trade’s concerns about carbon emissions, by providing the user with an accurate guide to the CO2 emissions. Sticking firmly with the theme of cooperative efforts, Dan Jago, Tesco’s Director of Bulk Wine Shipments (BWS), said that it is necessary for the industry to act with “consistency and continuity” in order to best confront today’s environmental issues. Jago, and other panelists, emphasised product packaging as one area that the industry should place effort on improving. Dr Andy Wood, speaking on behalf of the brewer Adnams, offered a case study where his company worked to decrease the actual glass weight of their beer bottles by 34%. He noted that reduction in packaging weight results in lowered carbon emissions throughout production and shipping. Dr Wood reminded all those in the room of the primary reason his brewery believes in cooperative efforts throughout the industry to confront climate change and put environmental issues at the very top of the wine and drinks business list: “If there’s no planet … then there’s no beer.” <1>: http://www2.jfhillebrand.com/ToolsandResources/CarbonCalculatorTool/tabid/452/Default.aspx

The agreement gives Syngenta enhanced flexibility in serving its customers and will expand the technology choices available to growers. Terms of the agreement include: Monsanto receives a royalty bearing license to Syngenta’s enabling technology for dicamba herbicide tolerance. Syngenta receives more favourable marketing conditions relating to its Bt11 trait for European corn borer control. Monsanto and Syngenta agree to settle all patent, antitrust and commercial litigation between the companies and their subsidiaries. These disputes include: Syngenta’s antitrust action against Monsanto, all infringement cases on herbicide-tolerant and insect-protected corn technologies, and a dispute between the parties on herbicide-tolerant soya bean technology. Syngenta receives a royalty bearing license to Monsanto’s trademarked Roundup Ready 2 Yield soya bean technology.li>Monsanto and Syngenta agree to cross-enable each other to develop and deliver innovative new herbicide-tolerant and Bt insect-protection products in corn, cotton and soybeans to compete for the business of farmers around the world. Syngenta Seeds chief operating officer Davor Pisk said: “The need to increase agricultural productivity has never been greater than it is today. We are therefore very pleased to have reached an agreement which expands the choices available across the US corn and soybean markets.” See also Syngenta and DuPont launch new fungicide solutions.

Consumers have growing concerns about food safety risks. They demand dairy products that have a natural flavour, are free from artificial and chemical preservatives, are fresh tasting yet have a longer shelf life. Dairy manufacturers are having to respond to the growing consumer demand and are turning to aseptic technology to help them achieve this. dairy innovation reports. dairy innovation Editor Geoff Platt asked Sidel Product Manager Aseptic & Sensitive Luca Colato and KHS AG Manager Product Support Competence Centre Aseptic Cold Filling Marcus Huppmann about trends and developments. Interview How has the demand for aseptic filling grown in recent years? The market is very active in Europe, says Sidel’s Luca Colato, while in Asia and the Americas “the market is split between two technologies; aseptic and hot fill and both technologies are keeping their shares. We are currently following with interest the changes happening in terms of production and distribution of liquid dairy products in USA from cold chain to ambient, which, if confirmed, could drive an interesting market growth in the coming years.” At KHS Marcus Huppmann says the demand for technical solutions for aseptic cold filling has risen rapidly, particularly in recent years. “The fact is that anyone who practices aseptic cold filling in the non-alcoholic beverage industry is set up for all eventualities and can easily accommodate future trends that are not even recognisable at the moment, as aseptic cold filling is also outstandingly suitable for bottling the most sensitive of beverage developments.” Huppmann believes the trend in aseptic cold filling is quite clearly toward the use of non refillable plastic bottles. “While the PET bottle is normally used for classical non-alcoholic beverages, up to now it has been mainly the HDPE bottle that has been used in the dairy sector. From the KHS point of view, we also see an increasing requirement for concepts for aseptic cold filling in plastic bottles in the future. At the same time, we expect a decrease in the demand for cartons filled using the aseptic cold filling process.” Where is the dairy industry in terms of aseptic technology compared to other food and beverage sectors? Is it ahead, keeping up or falling behind? Generally speaking the dairy is really ahead, observes Colato. “Aseptic technology has grown first in the dairy market with carton packages. There is a trend to aseptic filling in plastics today also for milk and liquid dairy products as dairy producers try to differentiate and offer more consumer convenience. This trend was slowed down until last year due to the limitations in terms of barrier properties of HDPE and PET. We believe that the new light barrier PET materials that are coming to the market will boost this market in the coming years.” Huppman believes that up to now the dairy industry has not jumped on the bandwagon of aseptic cold filling in plastic bottles to the same extent as the fruit juice and soft drinks industries. “One of the reasons for this is that the classic distribution method via the cold chain is preferred for milk. In addition, expensive plastic bottle solutions are required for the aseptic cold filling of dairy products. Examples are HDPE bottles with a carbon layer or made especially for the dairy industry from special blends, and sleeved PET bottless. Up to now, these types of plastic bottle have been considerably more expensive than cartons.” He adds that another reason why the bottling of dairy products in plastic bottles is not more widespread lies in the high sensitivity of the milk itself. “Many manufacturers are unwilling to experiment in this regard.” For the future, he expects the trend toward aseptic cold filling in plastic bottles in the dairy industry to come mainly from the combination of milk with other beverages such as coffee, juices and so on. Are dairy companies responding to consumer demands or are they trying to keep one step ahead of their competitors? “Both,” says the Sidel Manager. “Let’s take the example of a dairy launching UHT milk in a monolayer aseptic PET bottle with a one step opening screw cap - with no aluminium seal. They respond to consumer demand of a convenient and appealing bottle, and they also take a major step ahead of their competitors.” New technologies What is the latest focus of attention and what is your company offering the dairy trade? Sidel is focused on the economic and environmental sustainability of the business: reducing chemicals and water consumption, as well as reducing the weight of the bottles without compromising on food safety and consumer convenience. “We have developed for the dairy industry a combined blower and filler, equipped with a preform decontamination system,” says Coralo. “This technology, called Predis brings extended shelf life to dairy products without any release of chemicals or water in the environment. It also brings major light weighting possibilities since there is no need to heat the bottle after it is blown. Predis is already running in several countries in Europe and we will soon deliver a major installation to one of the largest international dairies.” Meanwhile, KHS is concentrating on the mixed products market (for example milky coffee, flavoured milk, set yogurt) and bottles these in specially designed PET bottles and also in HDPE bottles. “The mixed dairy product segment in particular is sure to become more important in the future. Not least because the sale of mixed dairy products enables a considerably higher profit margin to be achieved versus classical milk. For the American market, a NOL (letter of non objection) from the FDA is required for the aseptic cold filling of milk and mixed dairy products in plastic bottles, which we expect to receive shortly.” Future developments How do you see the future of aseptic developing in terms of demand and technological advances? What new developments are on the agenda? Sidel believes the future is to have environmentally sustainable aseptic solutions. “Of course, this will have to be achieved with price competitive and fully safe solutions.” For KHS it is quite clear that the requirement for aseptic cold filling concepts for the dairy industry will continue to increase. “As a result of falling costs and new barrier possibilities offered with PET bottles, we see a considerable increase in aseptic cold filled dairy products in plastic bottles in the dairy market of the future. And also because the industry is trying to get away from cartons and cans.” Huppmann also highlights environmental issues. “Future technological developments will be directed particularly towards reducing packaging costs. Here, the trend is towards ever lighter plastic bottles and caps. Of course, the subject of even more environmentally friendly production will also become more important. The motto here is to reduce media consumption and consequently to reduce environmental pollution. To this end, new technologies are directed toward the sterilisation of bottles entirely without the use of chemicals.”

The idea behind Suso came last year when three major players in the UK drinks industry – who worked for Coca-Cola, Red Bull and PJ Smoothies – and two other high-ranking business executives, joined forces. Suso Chief Executive Sean Uprichard said: “With the experience of working for top brands in the soft, energy and smoothie drinks market, we were all aware that there was a definite lack of choice - particularly from British owned brands - when you get to the carbonated drinks aisles. “Choice is such a simple thing but we believe that choice has the power to change the way we live. Suso is just one small choice and we’re hoping it can grow into something much bigger. We were just amazed that no one had ever done this kind of thing before.” The company plans to launch a multi million pound marketing campaign backed by UK based venture capital firm, Smedvig Capital, and has a interactive website geared towards the young consumer. Uprichard continued “We always set out to make Suso a disruptive brand and to challenge what’s going on in the drinks industry today. We’re kicking off our communications campaign this year and will be working with young talents who demonstrate the Suso attitude of ‘No Can’t Do’ in overcoming the many challenges and achieving their goals. He added: “We’ve also got a blog site which I find totally compelling, at <1>. It includes everything from new street artists to travel blogs and music and is the study and celebration of imagination, creativity and determination.” <1>: http://www.susology.com

The prestigious 2008 Sammies Award took place on Thursday 15 May where judges awarded Costa on its levels of innovation, quality, sales, product range, packaging and presentation. A panel of judges from the BSA carried out an unannounced visit of the new Costa store on the Kingsway in central London to view the sandwich range, store environment and customer service. Food is an intrinsic part of Costa's business and it constantly reviews and trials its offerings to reflect what its customers really want. The coffee shop recently carried out a full review of its sandwich range where it improved the appearance and quantity of all its ingredients and recipes as well as presentation of the range. Commenting on the winning success, Costa category brand manager Debbie Melhuish said: "This award reinforces our quality offering, not only for our food and drink, but for the overall brand and in-store experience. It's great to be able to share the recognition with our whole Costa team and our supplier Buckingham Foods. We'll be highlighting our success on our products next week so we can share it with our customers''. Costa category brand manager Kate Thompson said: "It's fantastic that all the hard work from both Costa and Buckingham Foods to launch a complete new range has been recognised by industry experts.

*Members of Milk Link, a UK farmer owned dairy processing business, will receive more than 10% return on their investment for the last financial year. * Milk Link has confirmed that following the 2007/08 financial year its 1,600 members will receive a 10.6% return on their investment in the form of a around £4 million Processing Interest Payment. This means a typical Milk Link member will receive a payment of around £2,000 before the end of May 2008. Commenting on the payment Milk Link Chief Executive Neil Kennedy, said: "The £4 million payment to members is a reward for the investment and commitment of our members in building a major, added value dairy products business and demonstrates the strong performance of the business over the last 12 months. "Looking forward, Milk Link remains committed to sustaining our progress and maximising returns to members. This is essential given significant on-farm cost inflation being experienced by members but will be against a backdrop of reduced commodity prices and substantially increased energy and distribution costs that are impacting on our processing operations."

Professor Andrea Schäfer of the University of Edinburgh claims that in many countries, one in five children die before their fifth birthday because of a lack of clean water, and many more, often girls, miss out on school because they have to walk for miles to fetch water or use a toilet. According to Unicef, one billion people in the world do not have access to clean drinking water, and 40% of the world's population lack basic sanitation. Thousands of children die every day from diseases linked to dirty water and poor sanitation, such as diarrhoea, and many more are made ill by lack of clean water. Professor Schäfer said: "Children suffer the most from lack of clean water. We can use modern engineering to tackle this problem and give children in developing countries a decent start in life. We have the appropriate technology and the resources to make clean drinking water and safe sanitation available to children everywhere. But engineers also need to make the technology sustainable, help build capacity and convince those in power to demonstrate the political will." In a public lecture at the University of Edinburgh on 29 May, 'I have a Dream - Safe Drinking Water for All Children', to which children are invited, Professor Schäfer will take her audience on a journey from Scotland to Australia and Africa, examining the availability of clean water for children in each country. A three day international workshop at the University from 28- 30 May will examine opportunities to enable water and sanitation around the world. Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu has given his support for the event. He said: "Clean water and good sanitation ensure a healthy community. They are the very basis of development and prosperity." Delegates from developed and developing countries will examine the impact of climate change on water, potential use of renewable energy technology for supply and treatment of water, innovative treatment processes, novel ways of monitoring water quality, and political aspects of access to clean water.

PepsiCo Foodservice has entered into a strategic partnership with the not for profit Green Restaurant Association (GRA). The GRA will work with PepsiCo Foodservice to assist customers with becoming more environmentally sustainable. Founded in 1990, the GRA is dedicated to making foodservice operators more environmentally sustainable, offering them an array of services that include research, environmental consulting, employee education and certification on all matters that pertain to running an ever-greener establishment. The GRA can be a resource to PepsiCo Foodservice customers by conducting environmental site assessments, identifying opportunities to make operations more sustainable and provide related cost-benefit analyses. "PepsiCo strives to identify customer needs and provide meaningful solutions," said Scott Siers, VP of Industry Relations and Business Development, PepsiCo Foodservice. "We know that environmental sustainability is important to our customers. PepsiCo Foodservice has collaborated with the GRA to facilitate working solutions for our customers who serve any of PepsiCo's products – Pepsi, Frito-Lay, Tropicana, Quaker and Gatorade." "We help foodservice operators become more environmentally sustainable by identifying opportunities and importantly, outlining steps for improvement through environmental assessments," said Green Restaurant Association Executive Director Michael Oshman. "We work with vendors, property managers and manufacturers to implement those steps, while maintaining an ongoing client relationship to ensure success. We also help the operators realize the economic advantages of being environmentally responsible." "The GRA has been on the forefront of driving environmental sustainability in the foodservice industry for nearly two decades," said Siers. "There is no better partner to help us extend our commitment to Performance with Purpose to our customers. Their distinguished GRA Certification represents the gold standard for sustainability in the foodservice industry."

**UK water cooler distributor Greencare H2O has been ranked 19th in The Sunday Times 'Best Green Companies List 2008'. **Greencare received the accolade for its operations, which provide plumbed-in water coolers to businesses and restaurants as an alternative to bottled water coolers. Greencare competed across five categories, against companies of all sizes and environmental impacts to win its place on the coveted Sunday Times Green List. Greencare Managing Director Adam Warren commented: "We are thrilled to have been recognised as one of the UK's top green companies. The preservation of the environment is critical to the services we offer our customers, but it's fantastic that our own green policies are also recognised for genuinely making a difference to the environment." Greencare H2O (enables organisations to purify, chill and dispense tap water through mains-fed water coolers and encourage a higher level of water consumption while reducing costs and carbon emissions. Founded in 2004, the company is one of the leading providers of mains-fed water coolers in Europe. Sunday Times Managing Editor Richard Caseby added: "The 50 companies in this survey are all pioneers - enterprising, enlightened and fizzing with new ideas. All have a common sense of purpose about their corporate social responsibility. "This is the first environmental awards that has both a robust methodology to measure environmental performance and a survey of each company's staff to find out whether the green sheen is more than skin-deep. The Sunday Times' survey assessed all aspects of Greencare's environmental performance, including its environmental management policies, training and internal consultation, energy consumption, waste reduction and recycling. Amongst the criteria, Greencare was most highly ranked for meeting the Environmental Management Standard, IS0 14001; for publicly auditing and reporting its green credentials; for calculating and reducing its carbon footprint; for providing employees with environmental training; and for its overall commitment to recycling. As well as measuring corporate policies and practices, the Best Green Companies survey also measured the involvement of employees in delivering them. Greencare ranked particularly highly in the employees survey, with a green score of 82%, placing the company third in the country in the overall list. Greencare staff gave the company a 94% green score for placing environmental commitments at the heart of the company and 92% for always doing what is best for the environment. The surveys were devised by The Sunday Times in collaboration with Bureau Veritas, a leading international firm of environmental consultants and Munro Global, the respected data analysis company. Every company making the final 50 was subjected to rigorous data verification to ensure the authenticity of every aspect of their environmental performance. Will Ullstein, director of innovation at Munro Global said: "This survey offers an unparalleled insight into how deeply environmental issues have permeated a company's structure. It provides a benchmark for corporate environmental performance as well as identifying what staff are thinking and what action they are taking on the shop floor." The 2008 list, which also included HBOS bank, Canon UK and professional services firm Deloitte, was topped by coffin manufacturers J C Atkinson and Son.