The first member of Pump Aid's overseas staff, Diana Maunze, has visited the Waterbrands bottling plant in Harrogate to deliver thanks to the company. Diana is programme officer with the charity Pump Aid, which works in Zimbabwe and Malawi giving rural communities access to clean water and sanitation. Waterbrands launched its charity brand Thirsty Planet in 2007, with the pledge that a donation will be made to Pump Aid for every bottle sold. To date, Thirsty Planet has clocked up donations of more than £770,000, which will pay for materials to build more than 3,000 pumps to supply 20 litres of clean water a day to more than one million people. Diana, who's based in Zimbabwe, said rising prices and the unavailability of materials were hampering Pump Aid’s work, but it still aimed to complete 250 new wells and water pumps by the end of the year. “Without Thirsty Planet’s fantastic support, our work couldn't progress so quickly. The people who will benefit from these pumps will have their lives transformed and it’s all thanks to the people in Britain who choose to buy Thirsty Planet,” she said.

*Ty Nant Natural Mineral Water is supporting breast cancer charities through the Pink Ribbon Foundation. * As part of the campaign, the brand is offering a pink mini fridge with a one-year supply of Ty Nant Pink bottles for one lucky winner. To take part in the competion, visit[ the website]<1>. Entry details must be submitted by 31 December 2008. Ty Nant is famed for its award-winning product range, and the launch of the curvaceous Ty Nant PET dressed in pink has caught the imagination of buyers at prestigious stores such as Harvey Nichols, Harrods and Waitrose in the UK, as well as premium retailers across Europe. <1>: http://www.tynant.com/main.aspx?pID=25-0

Australian research organisations with a focus on dairy have a chance to win funding from Dairy Innovation Australia (DIA), between AUS$200,000-AUS$2.5m. DIA is an industry led company established in 2007 to be a catalyst for innovation in the Australian dairy industry. In 2007/2008, funding from DIA totalled AUS$7.24m. Australian research organisations with interest in any of the following four key areas can apply for the grant: Cheese and Cultured Products/Production Functional Foods and Ingredients/Dairy Health and Nutrition Dairy Components, Ingredients and Applications Process Design and Performance Applications will be judged on a number criteria, including quality of the project plan, potential scientific and technological benefits to the dairy industry and the track record of research teams involved. The company said that although discoveries will be protected, much of the knowledge generated will eventually become publicly available through publication, collaboration or licensing arrangements. Applications for the latest round of grants must be received by 5pm on 9 January 2009.

Dairy Farmers Chairman Ian Langdon says the change in ownership of the business to National Foods, a wholly owned subsidiary of Kirin Holdings, has heralded the beginning of a new era in Australia’s dairy sector. Langdon, who, along with other directors, has resigned from the Dairy Farmers Board following the takeover, says the acquisition of the business will have a positive impact on Dairy Farmers’ shareholders as well as the broader industry. “As a result of shareholders' overwhelming support for the proposal, hundreds of millions of dollars in shareholders’ equity will be unlocked and returned to dairy farmers across Australia," he said. “This injection of capital on farm stands to have a positive impact in the short-term and further into the future. National Foods will become Australia’s largest domestic dairy player in revenue terms. “The change in the ownership of the Dairy Farmers business is the culmination of a journey that began in 2004, when our members voted overwhelmingly in favour of change."

**Tate & Lyle plc has announced the appointment of Sir Peter Gershon as a non-executive director and Chairman-elect of the company. **Sir Peter will join the board on 1 February 2009, and will succeed Sir David Lees as Chairman of the company by the end of 2009. Sir Peter Gershon has had a distinguished 30-year career in the computer, telecommunications and defence industries. Between 1987 and 1999, he was Managing Director of STC Telecommunications, GPT and Marconi Electronic Systems. In 2000, he was appointed Chief Executive of the Office of Government Commerce, in which capacity he also headed up the UK Government’s Efficiency Review in 2003/2004. Among his other current activities, Sir Peter is, and will remain, Chairman of Premier Farnell plc. Sir David Lees, Chairman of Tate & Lyle, said: “I'm delighted to welcome Peter to the Board of Tate & Lyle and very much look forward to working closely with him in the months ahead as we transition the Chairmanship of Tate & Lyle.” Sir Peter Gershon said: “This is an exciting time to be joining Tate & Lyle, following the significant reshaping of the Group over the last few years under the focused and diligent leadership of Sir David Lees and Iain Ferguson. I am greatly looking forward to working with Sir David, Iain and the rest of the Tate & Lyle Board on the many opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.”

*Baco Rainbow, the range of food storage products for children, has just completed its second annual Baco Rainbow week in the UK. * The initiative, which was held in schools around the country, encourages children to eat a selection of fruits and vegetables from five colour groups during the rainbow-themed week. Although most parents know the importance of healthy eating, many struggle to put this into practice with many not aware of what counts as part of the five-a-day. With young children preferring more colourful and appealing pre-packaged snacks and fast food, the Baco Rainbow products can make healthy food more interesting. Designed especially for children, the range includes colourful sandwich bags with stickers and resealable character snack bags, making them perfect for wrapping up colourful lunchboxes. The scheme launched last year and has expanded its reach this year with school children incorporating the values of the week not only into lunchtime, but lessons and assemblies. Healthy eating is now a major part of the National Curriculum as the Government attempts to tackle issues such as child obesity. Acting head teacher at St Francis Catholic Primary School in Bradford, Sarah Kenyon, said: “We are delighted to be part of this initiative and the whole school is behind it. We currently offer children healthier school meals and mid-morning fruit as standard, and our catering team are fully behind the scheme. “The Baco Rainbow scheme is a great way to not only encourage the children to think about the food they eat, but have fun choosing healthy options for meals and snacks.” Casper Gorniok, Marketing Manager of the Baco Rainbow range, said: “Healthy eating is firmly on the agenda for most families and schools, and the Baco Rainbow range is designed to help make good food more fun for children. Our feedback from parents reveals that many find getting children to eat fresh and healthy food a major battle and are constantly looking for ways to make fruit and vegetables more appealing. The Baco Rainbow products make lunchboxes and their contents more fun and colourful, so children are more likely to eat what's been prepared for them.” Baco has used its online presence to support the campaign, which encourages learning through activities and games, and also has recipes to help get kids in the kitchen. Parents can also get mealtime inspiration on the recently relaunched Baco website.

**At the inaugural UK Food and Drink Entrepreneur Forum in London yesterday, The Cake Bake Company's Sharon Goodyer faced a 'Lions' Den' in homage to the BBC's popular programme, Dragons' Den.** The Cake Bake Company, famous for supplying the cake that built the Skoda Fabia in the award-winning ad of 2007, is trying out new packaging ideas, and bravely accepted an invite to face a panel of four industry experts in front of an audience of interested entrepreneurs. Sharon Goodyer, a co-director at The Cake Bake Company, delivered an enthusiastic pitch for her new packaging concepts, and took the constructive criticism on the chin. "I actually wasn't nervous, as I felt I was among friends and colleagues," said Goodyer. "I've been able to step out of my company, as I've got much too close. I've always got ideas, but I now know what to do with those ideas." The Lions' Den comprised Neil Nugent – Executive Chef, Waitrose; Kay Wheelton – Head of Trading, The Co-operative Group; Nils Clement – Procurement Director, Starbucks; and Richard Hall – Chairman, Zenith International. "Sharon's pitch was excellent," said Richard Hall. "Her enthusiasm for the brand really showed through – you could see that she cared. And I believe she took on-board the advice that was offered by the panel." The Lions' Den was an afternoon segment of a successful day for the Entrepreneur Forum, which was organised and hosted by consultancy specialist Zenith International. The event included speeches by Andrew Cawthray of Cawingredients, Mark Palmer of Green & Black's, Ben Cull of Yeo Valley Organic, and Richard Reed of Innocent Drinks among others. More photos from the UK Food and Drink Entrepreneur Forum can be found <1>. <1>: http://www.flickr.com/photos/foodbev/sets/72157610394428965/

Ilchester is a leading producer of blended cheese in the UK market. The company has a broad range of added value cheeses in a variety of formats, and is well established in the UK retail market. The company also has extensive export of cheese to 25 countries. Ilchester’s 2007 turnover was £25m, of which international markets made up 25%. The acquisition is part of Tine’s positioning in selected international markets, where Jarlsberg and other speciality cheeses is a strategic growth area.

**Greg McKelvey has been promoted to the new position of Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer at Dean Foods. **Reporting to Chairman and CEO Gregg Engles, McKelvey will continue to develop the company's strategic planning processes and capabilities, as well as lead the organisation's transformation efforts. "This role is critical to Dean Foods as we accelerate our efforts to consolidate and integrate our many businesses," said Engles. McKelvey is responsible for designing and delivering Dean Foods' key Strategic Growth Plan initiatives, as well as a careful, risk mitigating project management approach to initiative implementation, and tight linkage between strategy and key organisational capabilities, including information technology. "Greg's prior experience at Accenture, Bain & Co, and more recently at WhiteWave, gives him a unique breadth and depth of experience in developing strategy and driving business improvement through the application of process and technology," said Engles. "Over the past four years, Greg was instrumental in designing and implementing the WhiteWave strategy to combine three separate, subscale businesses into a premium national branded business group with a shared vision, supply chain and process infrastructure."

**Members of the UK Food and Drink Federation (FDF) have slashed their CO2 emissions by 17% since 1990 as part of an ambitious plan to reduce their environmental impact. **The reduction means the industry has been releasing an average of 58,000 tons less CO2 per year since 1990 – the equivalent of taking 22,000 cars off UK roads each year. The data has been released by FDF in a new report showing how the UK's biggest manufacturing sector is making a real difference to the environment in five key areas. FDF launched its Five-fold Environmental Ambition in October 2007. This set out a bold plan for member companies to reduce their environmental impact. The 17% reduction in CO2 emissions has been achieved on the back of efforts by member companies to improve energy efficiencies in their factories, boost productivity and make greater use of renewable sources of energy. The results show that FDF members are on target to meet their commitment to reduce CO2 emissions by 20% by 2010, compared with 1990. As well as reducing their CO2 emissions, FDF has announced that its members have: Prevented over half a million tons of food waste being created Recycled or recovered 82% of the food and packaging waste created in factories Doubled their participation in the Courtauld Commitment on packaging Launched the Federation House Commitment, under which 237 food and drink manufacturing sites across the UK are working to improve water efficiency Launched the Checklist and Clause for Greener Food Transport, which is being used by 47 member companies with combined turnover of £17bn to achieve fewer and friendlier food miles. * An incredible achievement* Fiona Dawson, Chair of FDF's Sustainability and Competitiveness Steering Group, and MD of Mars UK Snackfood, said: “Our report demonstrates that our members are committed to making a real difference to the environment. Our achievements to date are impressive and provide a strong foundation on which we will build as we look to meet the ambitions we set ourselves in 2007. "The reduction in CO2 emissions is an incredible achievement and sets us on the way to reaching our target or cutting emissions by 20% by 2010. As with other sectors, we're currently experiencing challenging economic times. However, our members remain determined to meet the commitments contained in FDF's Five-fold Environmental Ambition.” The Rt Hon Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said: "This is an impressive example of what businesses can do to improve their environmental performance by working together. We need to see more of this.” FDF Five-fold Environmental Ambition This set out a bold plan for member companies to reduce their environmental impact by: Achieving a 20% absolute reduction in CO2 emissions by 2010 compared to 1990, and to show leadership nationally and internationally by aspiring to a 30% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2020 Sending zero food and packaging waste to landfill from 2015 Making a significant contribution to Wrap's work to achieve an absolute reduction in the level of packaging reaching households by 2010 compared to 2006, and providing more advice to consumers on how best to recycle or otherwise recover used packaging Achieving significant reductions in water use to help reduce stress on the nation's water supplies and contribute to an industry-wide absolute target to reduce water use by 20% by 2020 compared to 2007 Embedding environmental standards in their transport practices, including contracts with hauliers as they fall for renewal, to achieve fewer and friendlier food transport miles and contribute to an absolute target for the food chain to reduce its environmental and social impacts by 20% by 2012 compared to 2002.

Rexam presented a creative vision of beverage can innovation in a specially designed, interactive innovation show at the Brau exhibition in Nürnberg, Germany. The 'Shaping the Future' show demonstrated Rexam's commitment to meeting the needs of today's consumers using the latest in production technology and analysis of growing consumer and market trends. Guests at the innovation show were also given the opportunity to experience the latest technologies and innovations for themselves by touching and drinking from the products. Bill Barker, Global Director, Rexam Beverage Can, welcomed visitors to the show, which focused on four consumer life stages, from teenagers to the over 50s, and demonstrated how Rexam’s innovations can help brands to target them more accurately. Among the new products on display were the world’s first five-colour printed end, which Rexam has just produced for UK based Energizer Brands Ltd for its energy drink Attitude. As well as printed ends, visitors to the show saw the much anticipated 'Cap Can', Rexam’s latest designs in 360° embossing, the 1-litre 'King Can', the Fusion aluminium bottle and a selection of cans specially designed for the wine industry. Rexam Marketing Manager Ann Bonner hosted the Show: “After the success of our Innovation Show at Brau two years ago, we wanted to create a working exhibition that was even bigger and better. This is the perfect platform for us to demonstrate to our customers that we're wholly committed to providing them with new and exciting ideas for their products in a competitive market. And as one of the world’s leading consumer packaging companies, we feel it's important to give our customers first-hand insight in a creative and vibrant environment.”

Researchers Susan Dumbrell, from Northern Sydney Central Coast Health Promotion Service, and Deidre Mathai, Nutrition Department Royal North Shore Hospital, conducted an exploratory study to investigate why many Australian men don't eat the recommended amounts of fruit and vegetables. The researchers asked groups of 18-25 year-olds and 26-40 year-olds about what influenced their fruit and vegetable intake. In their paper, 'Getting young men to eat more fruit and vegetables: a qualitative investigation', they identify a number of factors affecting consumption: * unreliable quality * lack of time * not convenient * poor image of fruit and vegetables * traditional gender roles * 'invincibility' to health risks * lack of appropriate marketing and information. The findings, to be published in the December issue of the Health Promotion Journal of Australia, also revealed that participants were eager to explore ways to promote fruit and vegetables. Some of the suggestions include featuring cooking methods popular with men, such as barbecuing and promoting fruit in fast food outlets. “Liking fruit isn't seen as part of young men’s culture,” co-author Susan Dumbrell said. “But encouraging parents to involve their sons in food preparation may influence their vegetable intake.” The younger men also suggest giving fruit and vegetables more interesting names, packaging them to enhance their appeal and supported the idea of modified tastes and textures. The majority of the participants agreed that media and marketing strategies involving attention-grabbing, positive and humorous messages would be most effective. Both age groups put forward the idea of shaping the message around the theme of a man appealing to a woman through food preparation. The study also revealed young men to be more interested in the immediate benefits of vegetables and fruit (that they can enhance appearance or physical fitness, rather than the long-term health benefits). "To explore suggestions of product revamping and packaging so as to increase appeal to young men, food industry involvement would be most beneficial," said the researchers. "Small, smartly designed consumer packs could be marketed through convenience stores, in sporting venues, universities and workplaces. To address environmental concerns, packaging could be constructed of sustainable materials."