NEWS & ANALYSIS
INDUSTRY NEWS
Longping and Jones named 2004 World Food Prize winners
Yuan Longping, of the China National Hybrid Rice Research and Development Center, and Monty Jones, of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa, have been named the winners of the 2004 World Food Prize, known as the “Nobel Prize for Food and Agriculture.”
IFT Executive Vice President Barbara Byrd Keenan made the announcement July 12 at the IFT Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, Nev. This year’s Laureates are being honored for breakthroughs in rice breeding that increased grain outputs in China and Africa.
The annual international prize recognizes individuals for achievements that significantly improved the quality, quantity, or availability of the world’s food supply, thereby advancing human development, Keenan said.
Yuan’s scientific research led to the first commercially successful hybrid rice varieties, tripling Chinese rice production and feeding 60 million more people. Jones led genetics research that combined African and Asian rice species, dramatically increasing rice yields for West Africa’s 20 million farmers.
Longping and Jones will formally receive the prize and $250,000 in mid-October in Des Moines, Iowa.
Smart Spot™ identifies healthier PepsiCo products
PepsiCo Inc., Purchase, N.Y., has introduced a new symbol to help U.S. consumers to identify more than 100 of the company’s food and beverage choices that contribute to healthier lifestyles. The Smart Spot logo appeared nationally beginning September 1 on certain PepsiCo brands, including Tropicana, Gatorade, Frito-Lay, Quaker, and Diet Pepsi.
Products with the Smart Spot designation—a bright green symbol in the front lower-right corner of packaging—meet nutrition criteria based on authoritative statements from the Food and Drug Administration and the National Academy of Sciences. The criteria include limits on the amount of fat, cholesterol, sodium, and added sugar, and the symbol identifies products that have reduced amounts of ingredients such as fat or sugar. Additionally, the symbol identifies many products that contain fiber, vitamins, and other important nutrients and those that have been formulated to have specific health or wellness benefits.
The back of all Smart Spot product packaging will explain why the product earned the use of the symbol. PepsiCo is committed to have at least half of its new U.S. products qualify for the symbol.
Tetra Recart™ package debuts in U.S.
Hormel® Chili and Stagg® Chili, both part of the Hormel Foods Corp.’s portfolio of brands, are now available in Tetra Recart carton packages manufactured by Tetra Pak, Lausanne, Switzerland. This marks the debut of the Tetra Recart packaging system in the U.S.
In markets across the U.S., Hormel began converting packaging from cans to Tetra Recart cartons in July. The package is a square carton made from a new paperboard laminate material designed for food products traditionally packed in cans, glass jars, or pouches. Hormel Foods is the first and only company to offer chili in Tetra Recart packaging. The package’s material allows the product in the package to be sterilized in the same manner as the traditional canning process, and it has an easy-to-open feature that does not require a can opener. The packaging material is recyclable and complies with FDA and U.S. Dept. of Agriculture standards.
Tetra Pak received IFT’s 2004 Food Technology Industrial Achievement Award for its Tetra Recart retortable packaging system.
Are childhood obesity initiatives shaping up?
Most experts agree that childhood obesity is one of the most important health issues in the country, but a new research project raises questions about whether programs and initiatives to address this complex problem are taking the right approach.
David McCarron, M.D., President of the Academic Network in Portland, Ore., revealed the initial findings of a national initiative called Shaping America’s Youth at a symposium, “Politics of Obesity: Revisited,” held during the IFT Annual Meeting. The initiative surveyed more than 1,300 organizations targeting the problem of inactive and overweight children.
A staggering 92% of the organizations that started the survey answered all 73–111 questions, providing the most comprehensive look to date of organizational efforts to deal with childhood obesity.
The results showed some stark contradictions between what steps medical experts say are necessary and what actually is being done. For instance, experts agree that family involvement is a key to reducing childhood obesity, but only 8% of the programs involve other family members. The survey also found that 80% of the programs target children above age 6, long after health habits have been established.
“Most of the programs are based on providing educational material rather than helping make active structural changes in the child’s environment,” McCarron said. “The programs are not tying back into children’s lives—they are talking rather than making changes.”
Shaping America’s Youth began in July 2003, and the survey was completed in February 2004. The initiative was sponsored jointly by Nike, McNeil Pharmaceuticals, and Campbell Soup Co., with the involvement of the U.S. Surgeon General’s Office, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Diabetes Association, and Kaiser Permanente. More information is available at www.shapingamericasyouth.com.
Let them eat (ice cream) cake!
To celebrate its 70th birthday, Carvel Corp., Atlanta, Ga., built the world’s largest ice cream cake. According to the Guinness Book of World Records™, the cake, which weighed in at 12,096 lb, officially broke the previous world record. It took 54 people 75 minutes to build the cake, which was 19 ft long, 9 ft wide, and 2 ft high. Carvel created ice cream sheet cakes at –120°F, and maintained them in a freezer truck at –20°F until it came time to build the cake.
At the conclusion of the festivities, which were recently held in New York City’s Union Square Park, the leftover ice cream cake and other treats were donated to City Harvest, an organization that distributes food to a network of more than 800 emergency food programs throughout New York City.
In 1934, Tom Carvel’s vending truck broke down and his ice cream started to melt. The “soft” ice cream he sold that day turned out to be quite popular, and this led him to develop manufacturing equipment, processes, and marketing tools for soft-serve ice cream. He opened his first store in 1936 on the site of the broken-down truck, and the company continued to expand.
COMPANY NEWS
ACH Food Companies Inc., Memphis, Tenn., has acquired the international yeast, bakery ingredients, and United States herbs and spices businesses from Australia’s Burns, Philp & Co. Ltd. The deal includes the Tone Brothers Inc. division, Ankeny, Iowa, which operates the largest spice production facility in the world and is the second-leading spice provider in the U.S. ACH will now add several brands such as Spice Islands, Durkee, French’s, Tone’s, Trader’s Choice, and Dec-A-Cake to its consumer and food service product lines. ACH Food is a subsidiary of London-based Associated British Foods plc.
Adolph Coors Co., Golden, Colo., and Molson Inc., Montreal, Quebec, Canada, recently announced an agreement to merge, creating a new company, Molson Coors Brewing Co. With combined beer sales of 51 million U.S. barrels, the new company will be the world’s fifth-largest brewing company by volume. The transaction brings together Coors, founded in 1873, the third-largest brewer in the U.S. and the second-largest brewer in the UK, with Molson, North America’s oldest beer company, founded in 1786, and Canada’s leading brewer and the third-largest brewer in Brazil. The new company will have executive headquarters in Denver, Colo., and Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Archer Daniels Midland Co., Decatur, Ill., recently announced that it would begin marketing Eugene Science’s Euchol™ phytosterol technology in North America and Europe. Euchol will join ADM’s CardioAid™ family of phytosterol ingredients. Applications for Eugene Science’s phytosterol powder and liquid ingredients include milk, soymilk, juices, functional beverages, yogurts, and other beverages and foods. The company also plans to expand production capacity at four of its key processing plants in its North American Oilseeds Div. The locations of the plants are Mankato, Minn.; Des Moines, Iowa; Lincoln, Neb.; and Enderlin, N.D. The expansions are scheduled for completion by September 2005.
Ball Corp. recently completed the relocation of its PET plastic technology center from Smyrna, Ga., to Westminster, Colo. The company built a state-of-the-art, 30,000-sq-ft addition to its existing metal packaging R&D building and renamed the facility— the Edmund R. Ball Technology and Innovation Center—in recognition of its emphasis on innovation. A ribbon-cutting ceremony and grand opening is planned for October 14.
Barry Callebaut AG, Zürich, Switzerland, has signed an agreement with Arla Foods amba of Denmark to acquire the business of Arla’s subsidiary, AM Foods K/S. AM Foods will be integrated into Barry Callebaut’s Gourmet & Specialties business unit.
Campofrio Alimentacion SA, Madrid, Spain, and Smithfield Foods Inc., Smithfield, Va., recently signed a letter of intent for Campofrio to sell Poland–based Morliny SA to Smithfield Foods. Smithfield Foods bought a 15% stake in Campofrio in February 2004.
Cargill Inc., Minneapolis, Minn., and MGP Ingredients Inc., Atchison, Kan., have formed a business alliance to produce and market a new resistant starch product called Fibersym™ HA. Formerly known as MGPI’s FiberStar™ brand, the line was renamed to convey its functional similarities to fiber rather than to typical starches.
Dixon Valve & Coupling Co., Chestertown, Md., recently opened a new distribution center in Tampa, Fla. The center has 7,000 sq ft of space and will house approximately 15,000 different parts and components from various Dixon companies.
Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream Holdings Inc., Oakland, Calif., has completed the acquisition of Silhouette Brands Inc., New York, N.Y. Silhouette Brands sells low-fat and low-carbohydrate ice cream snacks under the Skinny Cow® and Skinny Carb® brands.
Embotelladoras Arca SA de CV, Monterrey, Mexico, recently signed a letter of intent to sell its Joya drink brand to Coca-Cola Co., Atlanta, Ga. Under the agreement, Embotelladoras Arca will continue to produce and distribute Joya in Mexico.
Groupe Danone, Paris France, recently finalized the sale of its Ireland– based biscuit operations, W&R Jacob Ltd., to Fruitfield Foods Ltd. W&R Jacob leads the Irish biscuit market in sales and has a portfolio of brands that includes Kimberley, Mikado, and Jacob’s Fig Rolls.
J.M. Huber Corp., Edison, N.J., has entered into a definitive agreement for Huber to acquire CP Kelco, Chicago, Ill. Huber currently owns a minority position in the company, which it acquired from Hercules Inc. in February 2004.
Kraft Foods Inc., Northfield, Ill., and Starbucks Coffee Co., Seattle, Wash., have announced an expansion of their supply, licensing, and distribution agreement. The new agreement includes six additional Starbucks® coffees, three new distribution channels, and the national distribution of Seattle’s Best Coffee® and Torrefazione Italia® brands.
Lifeway Foods Inc., Morton Grove, Ill., has completed its acquisition of Ilya’s Farms, which is based in the Philadelphia, Pa., area. In addition to tangible assets, Lifeway also purchased recipes and the brand name from Ilya’s Foods.
Loders Croklaan, Wormerveer, Netherlands, has entered into an agreement by which it intends to purchase Soctek Sdn Bhd, which is based in Malaysia. Soctek operates a palm oil production site in southern Malaysia.
Nestlé S.A., Vaud, Switzerland, and Coca-Cola Co., Atlanta, Ga., have formed a 50:50 joint venture partnership in Indonesia called Waters Partners Bottling. The joint venture has acquired a 65% majority share of the Indonesian bottled water company PT AdeS Alfindo Putrasetia Tbk.
Archer Daniels Midland Co., Decatur, Ill., has named Yashwant K. Chandra Vice President of Ocean Freight for the ADM Grain Group. He will be responsible for all ADM North American and South American grain and oilseed ocean freight trading and operations and will help coordinate ADM’s global chartering business.
Crocifissa (Croci) Mandracchia has been named General Manager of ADM Kao LLC, a joint venture formed between Archer Daniels Midland Co. and Andrew Jergens Co., a U.S. subsidiary of Kao Corp. of Japan. She will be responsible for the Enova™ brand oil business.
Mark Staton recently joined Associated Packaging Technologies, Jupiter, Fla., as Chief Executive Officer. He replaces the company’s founder and past CEO, Chuck Buff, who will continue as a member of the board of directors.
Burger King Corp., Miami, Fla., has named Greg Brenneman Chief Executive Officer. He joins the company from his Houston, Tex.–based private equity firm, TurnWorks Inc., founded in 1994.
Coca-Cola Co., Atlanta, Ga., has promoted Charles B. (Chuck) Fruit and Cynthia McCague to the position of Senior Vice President. Fruit is Chief Marketing Officer; McCague is Director of Human Resources.
Chiquita Brands International Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio, recently named Chris Augustijns President of Chiquita Fresh Group–Asia.
Connell Purchasing Services, Naperville, Ill., has hired Bill Lewis as Director of Sales. Prior to joining Connell, Lewis worked for more than 26 years at Printpack Corp.
Fabienne Saadane-Oaks was named President of Danisco’s newly created Cultures Div. She previously was President of Rhodia Food, which Danisco acquired on June 1, 2004. Danisco is based in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Wesley J. Smith recently retired from his position as Chief Operating Officer at Del Monte Foods Co., San Francisco, Calif. He will continue in an advisory role with the company. Del Monte also named Todd Lachman Executive Vice President of Del Monte Foods, Nils Lommerin Executive Vice President of Operations, and Don Binotto Senior Vice President of Operations and Supply Chain.
FKI Logistex North America, Danville, Ky., has promoted Dave Baker to President of Manufacturing Systems Div., John Kelly to President of Airport, Post & Parcel Div., and John Westendorf to President of Warehouse & Distribution Div.
Flowers Foods Inc., Thomasville, Ga., recently promoted Leny J. Garcia-Hill to Vice President of Diversity and Recruitment, Mary A. Krier to Vice President of Communications, and Marta J. Turner to Vice President of Corporate Relations. Melvin T. Stith has been elected to the company’s board of directors.
Galaxy Nutritional Foods Inc., Orlando, Fla., has appointed Michael E. Broll as Chief Executive Officer. He has been a member of the company’s board of directors since December 2003, and he replaces Christopher J. New, who resigned to pursue other opportunities.
Ronald B. Hutchison has been named Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Interstate Bakeries Corp., Kansas City, Mo. He previously served as Executive Vice President of Aurora Foods, St. Louis, Mo.
McCormick & Co. Inc., Hunt Valley, Md., has promoted Michael Porzio to Distinguished Scientist at its Technical Innovation Center. Porzio, the first McCormick scientist to reach this senior position, is the creator of two commercial flavor encapsulation technologies, and holds a number of patents in the field of flavor delivery and encapsulation.
RQA Inc., Darien, Ill., has named Jerome Mithen Vice President and General Manager of its Manufacturing Services Business Unit. He worked for the past 30 years at the American Institute of Baking.
Sargento Foods Inc., Plymouth, Wis., recently announced plans to restructure its Logistics Dept. The company promoted Kathy Ott to Customer Service Manager and Mike McEvoy to Transportation Manager. Bredt Wilhelmsen’s title has been changed to Logistics Information Manager.
Timothy Crafts has joined Sartorius North America, Edgewood, N.Y., as Director of Process Weighing & Control, Business Area Manager, Mechatronics Div.
Matthew Cowdery has joined Strasburger & Siegel, Hanover, Md., as Account Manager. He brings six years of sales experience in the food research laboratory equipment industry and 20 years of professional sales experience to the company.
Velvet Ice Cream Co., Utica, Ohio, has named its vice president of marketing and sales, Luconda Dager, to its board of directors.
SOCIETIES & ASSOCIATIONS
Flavor Heritage Society founded
The creation of the Flavor Heritage Society (FHS) was announced at the IFT Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, Nev. The society will collect, preserve, and display significant historical artifacts denoting the growth and contributions of the flavor industry to the food industry and U.S. consumers. Membership is open to all interested individuals and corporations.
Historical print material and photographs will be preserved in the FHS Library. Collection of such historical artifacts from the flavor industry has started and will be used for display in the future Flavor Heritage Society Museum. A newsletter, Web site, a Flavor Heritage publication, and public lectures/meetings are in the planning stage.
For further information, contact John Cassens, Executive Director, The Flavor Heritage Society, 100 Old Palisades Rd., Ste. 3712, Fort Lee, NJ 07024, [email protected].
NFPA names Ferenc EVP and Chief Science Officer
Susan Ferenc this month joined the National Food Processors Association as Executive Vice President of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs and Chief Science Officer. Her responsibilities include directing NFPA’s three laboratory centers and NFPA–Asia, NFPA’s regional office in Bangkok, Thailand.
Additionally, she will oversee NFPA’s technical, regulatory, and research functions, as well as NFPA’s training courses and seminars. She will be NFPA’s chief scientific spokesperson on a range of issues related to food science, food safety, food security, and nutrition.
Previously, Ferenc has served as Principal and Senior Consultant for SAF* RISK LC and Vice President of Scientific and Regulatory Policy for the Grocery Manufacturers of America. She has held senior positions with the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s Office of Risk Assessment.
Ferenc received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Michigan State University and her Ph.D. degree in agricultural economics from the University of Florida.
Cooks society chooses presidium leader
The American Culinary Federation (ACF) recently named Ferdinand E. Metz President of the presidium for the World Association of Cooks Societies (WACS). He will hold the position until 2008.
Metz, a certified master chef, was president of the Culinary Institute of America from 1980 to 2001, and during that time he led efforts to develop innovative educational programs for aspiring chefs and to strengthen the culinary industry as a whole. As president emeritus, he works to increase CIA’s endowment and funding for student scholarships.
During his career, Metz won the Lifetime Achievement Award from the James Beard Foundation, The ACF’s 1968 Chef of the Year Award, and the 1967 Medal of the French Republic.
The WACS represents more than eight million culinarians from more than 70 countries through their national culinary federations.
RCA elects two new officers
The Research Chefs Association has elected Marilyn Carlson Chair of the RCA Certification Commission and David Burke to its board of directors.
Carlson is Senior Manager for Research and Development at Oberto Sausage, Kent, Wash., and has more than 25 years of experience in the food industry. An active member of RCA since 2001, she also participates on other committees and is actively involved in helping to coordinate RCA and IFT activities in her region.
Burke, owner of davidburke & donatella restaurant in New York City, is a renowned chef, entrepreneur, and food innovator. He has won numerous culinary awards, including the Meilleurs Ouvriers de France Diplome d’Honneur—he is the first American to win this award—and Japan’s Nippon Award of Culinary Excellence.
American Egg Board unveils new portfolio
A concise, easy-to-read, informative portfolio which addresses egg-related topics of interest is now available from the American Egg Board (AEB). Entitled EGGsolutions, the portfolio is the latest effort by the organization to educate food manufacturers, product developers, marketers, other segments of the industry, and consumers about the benefits of using egg products.
The portfolio details different types of egg products, identifies the appropriate egg products for various food categories, and highlights the many functions and advantages of eggs, as well as their processing, storage, and handling aspects. A particular area of interest will be a “Frequently Asked Questions” section on egg products and processing authored by Glenn Froning, AEB’s Food Technology Advisor.
For more information, contact AEB at 847-296-7043 or visit www.aeb.org.
by KAREN BANASIAK
Assistant Editor
[email protected]