Cadbury has apologised to Naomi Campbell after its Dairy Milk Bliss adverts “upset” the supermodel. The print campaign for Dairy Milk Bliss featured the slogan: “Move over Naomi, there’s a new diva in town”. After Campbell threatened to sue the company, the chocolate manufacturer published an apology on its website on Friday (3 June). Cadbury said that it was “seriously sorry” and that it was not its intention to “offend Naomi, her family or anybody... ...Read more »

Brazil has become the top-ranked developing market for retail expansion, according to consultants at A.T. Kearney.The firm said today (6 June) that Brazil jumped from fifth last year on its Global Retail Development Index (GRDI). Brazil’s rise came as India and China slipped in the list. The GDRI ranking mirrors the “dramatic changes” that have taken place in global markets, and the varying impacts they have had on different emerging economies, said A.T. Kearney. It found that South... ...Read more »

Scientists have said that the E.coli serotype that has caused a series of deaths and thousands of illnesses across Europe is a new “super-toxic” E.coli strain resistant to antibiotic treatment.The Beijing Genomics Institute said last week that the O104 E.coli strain has not been involved in any previous E.coli outbreaks and that it has several antibiotic resistance genes, making antibiotic treatment difficult. Meanwhile, a study by the Institute of Hygiene at the University Hospital Munster... ...Read more »

Fisherman’s Friend throat lozenges have announced a new campaign aimed at double-digit growth for the brand. The campaign, designed by Stuart Alexander, marks a switch from TV advertising, which has seen steady growth for the brand, to an “aggressive below-the-line marketing campaign, driven by experiential sampling”. The campaign introduces two new “Fisherwoman”, in green (Fresh) and hot red latex (Feisty) ‘waders’, to represent both the Fresh Mint and Original... ...Read more »

Nestlé has added a hot cereal product to its Milo cereal range, Milo Oats. The microwaveable oats, with the addition of milk or water, are ready in 90 seconds. The new hot breakfast addition, launched at the beginning of winter, joins Milo and Milo Duo cereals in the range, all of which now bear the Heart Foundation tick. Milo and Milo Duo were reformulated late last year, along with almost all of the company’s cereal offerings. Milo Oats are available in 300g packs, containing 10 30g sachets,... ...Read more »

Woolworths has announced plans to add Daily Intake Guide information to the front of all of its private label foods Daily Intake Guide thumbnail labels already feature on more than 4000 supermarket products across Australia, and Woolworths said it plans to increase their use to its full range of products within the next 12 months. The move was applauded by the Australian Food and Grocery Council, which has championed the use of DIG labelling over other front-of-pack nutritional labelling styles,... ...Read more »

Sugar giant Sucrogen today announced an agreement to buy the Proserpine Co-operative Sugar Milling Association Limited (PCSMA) for $115 million dollars. The move will increase Sucrogen’s throughput capacity to 17 million tonnes of cane, and raw sugar production to 2.2 million tonnes. Proserpine also produces molasses and exports electricity as well as recently investing in facilities to manufacture and market furfural, a globally traded industrial chemical used in solvent extraction, foundry... ...Read more »

The deadly European E.Coli outbreak began in Hamburg and has spread its way across Europe. With news on this serious issue moving quickly, here’s a timeline of what’s happened so far. 26 May 2011 – GERMANY: E.coli linked to Spanish cucumbers The European Commission notifies its member states that organic cucumbers from two locations in Spain are the source of the E.Coli outbreak affecting Germany and four other EU countries. The Commission says the outbreak is responsible for two... ...Read more »

US spice maker McCormick & Co. is to set up a joint venture in India with local food company Kohinoor Foods.The deal, which remains subject to regulatory approval in India, will see McCormick take an 85% interest in the Kohinoor Speciality Foods India venture. Kohinoor Foods will own the other 15%. The new company will have annual sales of around US$85m and sell Kohinoor branded food products in India. The Kohinoor brand holds over 15% of the basmati rice category in India. The namesake Indian... ...Read more »

Taiwan has been hit with the latest food-adulteration scandal, after Yu Shen Chemical Co was found to be selling an emulsifier manufactured using a carcinogenic plasticising compound, Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, more commonly known as DEHP. DEHP, which can cause endocrine and hormonal dysfunction and feminization in boys as well as cancer, was being used by the company in place of more expensive palm oil in the emulsifier. The emulsifier itself has not been identified specifically, but is described... ...Read more »