As Strathmore Spring Water has a strong affiliation with youth dancing given its recent advertising campaign – featuring two crews performing a mix of break dancing, skipping and acrobatics – the partnership was a natural fit for both partners. Breakdancing crews from across the world battled it out in Edinburgh on 16 August, competing for the third year. Castle Rocks is one of the biggest breakdance competitions in the UK, with competitors coming from as far as Korea to compete against the finest home-grown talent (known as ‘crews’) for the championship title. Adrian Troy, head of marketing at AG Barr, said: “The standard of breakdancing on show at Strathmore Castle Rocks was world class, and the crowd were treated to a variety of exhilarating and dynamic performances. Bad Taste Cru thoroughly deserved their victory after fending off Scotland’s and France’s finest breakers. "Strathmore was thrilled to support Castle Rocks. The event was a perfect partnership following on from Strathmore’s recent advertising campaign which features breakdancing.”

Amidst recent environmental arguments surrounding bottled water, comes a new product idea from John Artis that is both environmentally sound and presents an added value opportunity for restaurateurs. Indro is a refillable water bottle with a blue wired cap that looks elegant at the table and may easily be overprinted with a restaurant's name and logo. Indro believes it represents an alternative approach to serving water at the table that can be more profitable than bottled mineral waters while, at the same time, promoting the restaurant rather than a particular brand of water. It may be used with untreated mains tap water, but most establishments will find it preferable to fit an in-line water filter to remove off-tastes and odours. A litre of water filtered in this way on your own premises costs a fraction of a penny compared with branded bottled waters. It enables restaurants to serve filtered water at a lower price than branded mineral waters and make a larger margin. Indro bottles are completely reusable and dishwasher-proof. They are available in two different sizes, one litre and 36cl. Packed in cases of six, bottles are scuff resistant and, ultimately, fully recyclable.

*UK water utility Wessex Water has launched its 'Turn on to Tap Water' campaign in a bid to encourage restaurants, bars, cafes and hotels in its region to put tap water on the menu and make it freely available to customers. * Wessex Water has launched the campaign by calling for restaurants, bars, pubs and hotels in its region to get involved in the 'Turn on to Tap Water' initiative. Wessex Water Director of Compliance and Sustainability Julian Dennis said: "We want to make it as easy as possible for local establishments to take part in this campaign. We'll be supporting them with press adverts and marketing materials, which includes flyers, stickers and window transfers. "Simple things like actually adding tap water to their menus gives consumers a choice and makes ordering tap water easy. Water quality in this area has never been better and is among the best in the country." Wessex Water supplies 360 million litres of water a day to 1.2 million customers; water which is consistently of very high quality. Six million bottles of water are drunk in Britain every day.

UK water cooler manufacturer AA First is now offering the Sip Ozone Self Sanitisation system on its coolers with sleep mode attached, which will help customers save money. Tests have shown that a 12-hour sleep mode (from 6pm to 6am) saves around 2.5 kWh for a hot and cold cooler and 0.38 kWh for an ambient and cold cooler. At a cost of 12p per kWh this equates to an annual saving of £109.50 for a hot and cold and £16.80 for an ambient and cold cooler. This saving repays the £59.00 cost for SIP in just six months for a hot and cold and three and a half years for an ambient and cold cooler, as well as providing the benefit of automatic overnight sanitisation, every night, 365 days a year. The company has also launched an alarmed drip tray overflow kit for its AA3300, AA4400 and Evolution 35 floor standing coolers. The system connects to a large overflow container. Drainable through a tap, the alarm is activated when the container is full.

*Ebac has just made its 10 millionth WaterTrail – enough trails to dispense 5.4 billion litres of water and stretch halfway around the moon. * Since introduction in 1993, Ebac's patented WaterTrail has become the method of choice for some of the most successful companies in the water cooler business today. As an alternative to sanitisation, WaterTrail has a proven record for hygiene and simplicity of use. Ebac says that unlike traditional sanitisation methods, WaterTrail replacement is 100% effective and carried out onsite in a matter of seconds, helping cooler companies to save time and money by visiting more customers per day.

This environmentally smart system offers foodservice operators a way to serve their own premium carafe water, and reduce their dependency on serving prepackaged water. Mark Selander, marketing manager of Everpure, said: "As the burgeoning green movement makes its way into foodservice industries, businesses across the country, from restaurants and hotels to top US universities and hospitals, are working to minimise their carbon footprint. "To heed that call, Everpure developed the Exubera Pro System, which is a complete filtration and dispensing system that gives foodservice operators the ability to create their own premium water and provide consumers with an environmentally friendly alternative to prepackaged water." To ensure consumers are receiving the same water options as with prepackaged premium water, the Exubera Pro System allows the serving of chilled, chilled carbonated and ambient premium water. It is a turnkey solution that includes only six steps, beginning with the testing of the establishment's water followed by an in-depth analysis resulting in a fully customised, complete filtration system that takes ordinary tap water and makes it extraordinary. Offering under-counter and counter-top models, the Exubera Pro Water Appliance is easy to install and maintain, offers excellent carbonation, little upkeep and advanced features. Most importantly, the system enables the operator to reduce the costs and hassles associated with pre-packaged drinking water including tracking inventory, finding storage space, generating additional waste and purchasing costs. Instead foodservice operators are able to reduce costs, maintain profitability and reduce their waste and environmental footprint.

The Pepsi Bottling Group (PBG) and Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPS) have announced that the companies have signed an agreement to make the Crush beverage portfolio available in the majority of PBG’s territories throughout the US. Under the terms of the agreement, PBG will have a perpetual licence to manufacture, sell and distribute the brand, which includes such flavours as Orange Crush, Diet Orange Crush and Grape Crush, in about 80% of its territories throughout the US. The agreement is effective immediately and PBG will begin distribution in early 2009. Financial terms were not disclosed. The Crush brand is currently available in less than 40% of the US. The agreement with PBG will nearly double its market penetration, positioning the brand well for future growth. Flavoured carbonated soft drinks now account for almost half of all carbonated soft drink sales in the US, and Orange Crush and Diet Orange compete in the fourth largest segment of the flavour category. Orange and grape flavours represent a 5% share of the CSD market in the US. Crush has been a fixture in the CSD space for decades, with tremendous name recognition among consumers. Market research shows that three out of four Americans are aware of the brand.

The Wottle has been designed as an all-year-round 'must have' accessory for drinking water on the move while creating less waste. The 500ml Wottle features Orla Kiely’s signature Stem design, a rubber finger grip that can be adapted for portability and is designed to carry about town in a handbag. Brita and Orla Kiely were committed to creating a bottle that was not only practical and stylish, but also had impeccable ethical credentials. The Wottle is made from 100% recycled materials, including HDPE plastic. To keep its carbon footprint to a minimum, it's made exclusively in the UK, ensuring water drinkers can combine style with environmental responsibility. Orla Kiely said: “To be involved in the redesign of such an everyday product is always a challenge, and working with such a great concept made it all the more inspiring. It was exciting to consider the environment alongside practicalities and aesthetics. "Thinking ‘reusable’ instead of ‘disposable’ is a great place to start becoming environmentally friendly, but style should never be compromised and we’re really happy with the finished product.” The Wottle can be used in conjunction with Brita’s filtered water product range for homes and offices. Brita’s filter cartridges are 100% recyclable – the company has been recycling its cartridges since 1992 and recently launched a major in-store recycling scheme where customers can drop their used cartridges in Brita’s blue recycling bins at participating retailers, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Argos and Robert Dyas. Brita Marketing Director Neal Jones added: “Instead of producing an exclusive, limited edition batch for publicity, our aim as a company is to help change people’s consumption habits and reduce waste by making the Wottle generally available. Working closely with Orla Kiely means we’ve achieved that goal, but also created a unique product for style-conscious consumers.”

One person has died as a result of a listeria monocytogenes outbreak in Ontario. Another 16 people are sick, according to The Public Health Agency of Canada. The agency added that ready-to-eat meat products are being investigated as a possible source. Also this week, Maple Leaf Foods expanded its recall of deli meat products and temporarily closed a plant where products suspected of listeria contamination were made. Maple Leaf and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency have warned the public to avoid these products. "The outbreak has not been definitely linked to Maple Leaf products," said Michael Tansey, Public Health Agency of Canada Media Relations Chief. "Further testing is ongoing. Who's to say what that testing will reveal?" According to the Meatingplace.com report, it will be at least a couple of days before test results will be confirmed. To date, there are 17 confirmed cases of the outbreak strain of listeria in four provinces, including 13 in Ontario, two in British Columbia, one in Saskatchewan and one in Quebec.

UK supplier Kleena Coola has added Beca-Bins to its range. The bin is designed to promote recycling of cups within the office and to collect used disposable cups and any associated waste liquid. The unit has a central funnel for waste liquid, which collects in the base bin ready for emptying. Cups are then placed in one of the outer collection chutes ready for recycling or disposal. The standard Beca-Bin not only helps keep the workplace tidy but also reduces the volume of disposable cups by around 75% and lowers cleaning and waste management costs, while introducing the possibility of recycling.

*Research and development work into boosting the recyclability of plastic milk bottles is to be launched in the UK by WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme). * It is inviting tenders to develop a cost-effective label, ink and adhesive system for use on HDPE milk bottles that will not contaminate the plastic during recycling, with the aim of encouraging its greater use in new bottle manufacture. WRAP’s target is for 50% of the milk industry’s capacity to commit to implementing the new system by 2011. The work will include: assessing the challenges in bottle, ink, adhesive and label design and identifying potential solutions; developing a viable system that does not taint the recycled polymer during the recycling process; evaluating the system’s economic and environmental viability; Large scale trials of a developed solution. Paul Davidson, Plastics Sector Manager, said: “A successful system will not only improve the quality of the recycled polymer, but it will enable new milk bottles to be manufactured with a higher recycled content in closed loop recycling systems. “Increasing the use of recycled content will deliver CO2 savings through greater substitution of virgin polymer in the manufacture of new bottles, as well as conserve valuable resources and divert waste from landfill.” The closing date for tender submissions is 12 September 2009.

*PepsiCo and Starbucks, already partners in a deal to sell bottled Frappucinos, are turning their attention to bottled tea. The two companies plan to give the Tazo brand greater exposure and expand distribution. * Tazo's RTD line will be integrated into the Pepsi/Lipton Tea Partnership (PLP), expanding the joint venture between PepsiCo and Unilever. Starting in mid-October, the bottled teas will be made available nationwide through the PepsiCo bottling system. "By joining forces with the Pepsi/Lipton Tea Partnership, we're tapping into a long history of innovation and expertise in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of refreshment beverages," said Gerry Lopez, President, Global Consumer Products, Foodservice & Seattle's Best Coffee. "This move puts us in a prime position to take our successful Tazo bottled tea business to an even higher level." Starbucks' relationship with PepsiCo dates back to 1994, when the two companies formed the North American Coffee Partnership (NACP) – a joint venture that helped build the RTD coffee category in the US through the development and distribution of Starbucks bottled Frappuccino, Doubleshot espresso, Doubleshot Energy + Coffee and other beverages. "Unilever and Starbucks have been great partners of PepsiCo for over a decade, so culturally it's a great fit," said Mary Barnard, GM/VP, Pepsi/Lipton Tea Partnership. "By engaging the passionate base of Tazo consumers already established by Starbucks, leveraging the strength of the Pepsi bottling system and employing the beverage expertise of the Pepsi/Lipton Tea Partnership, we'll be able to share Tazo RTD products with a larger audience than ever before." "As the leading marketer of tea beverages in the world, we're always looking for opportunities to bring our global expertise to more tea lovers," said James Wong, Vice President, Business Development, Unilever Americas. "We're really excited about this opportunity to expand the Pepsi/Lipton Tea Partnership and enter into this agreement with Starbucks, whose brands and mission we genuinely admire." Tazo has created more than 100 unique tea, fruit and herbal beverages in bottled, filterbag, full leaf and tea latte concentrate varieties. All Tazo tea blending is done on-site at Tazo headquarters in Portland, Oregon, to ensure quality and flavour consistency. Samples from the world's finest tea gardens arrive daily, and after thorough testing, only 10% of the teas tasted find their way into Tazo blends. Acquired by Starbucks in 1999, Tazo is the exclusive tea offered at Starbucks coffeehouses worldwide, and Seattle's Best Coffee cafes in the US. Kraft Foods, which previously distributed the Tazo RTD product line as part of its 10-year relationship with Starbucks, will continue to distribute Tazo filterbag teas and tea latte concentrates, as well as Starbucks and Seattle's Best Coffee packaged coffees in non-cafe channels.