The EU has issued data it claims will play down fears that the abolition of milk production quotas in 2015 could flood markets with cheap milk and drive some producers to the wall.In a food commodity forecast to 2020 released yesterday, (13 January), the Commission concludes said the end of quotas was projected to have a “limited impact on milk deliveries at the aggregate EU level”. It said milk production should actually remain below the last 2015 quota cap, with production falls caused... ...Read more »

An ACCC investigation has left Sanitarium and its parent company Australian Health and Nutrition Association Limited with egg on their face, having overstated the fruit content on the packaging of many of their best-selling cereal lines. Between February 2009 and October 2010, Sanitarium described a ‘percentage fruit content’ on their packaging which included other substances, such as sugars, wheat fibre and gelling agents. The overstated fruit percentages were shown on the company’s... ...Read more »

US food manufacturer General Mills has said it has reduced sugar in cereals advertised to children by an additional 8% during 2010. The Big G manufacturer said it has achieved sugar reductions of 14% on cereals advertised to children since 2007, with some cereals reduced as much as 28% during the period. The company said that a year ago it committed to reduce sugar in all Big G cereals advertised to children under 12 to “single-digit levels of grams of sugar per serving”. It said yesterday... ...Read more »

A study conducted by Menzies Research Institute Tasmania (Menzies) suggests that skipping breakfast over a long period of time may increase risk of heart disease and diabetes. The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and funded by grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council, the National Heart Foundation, the Tasmanian Community Fund, and Veolia Environmental Services, examined data from a national study to compare breakfast habits to health risk factors. First... ...Read more »

Foodbank Australia, the nation’s largest hunger relief organisation, today announced the national distribution of the beloved Australian breakfast cereal, Weet-Bix, to 2,200 welfare agencies across the country. The Sanitarium Health & Wellbeing Company has worked collaboratively with Foodbank and its partners to coordinate the production of the breakfast cereal, which will create 1.3 million bowls of Weet-Bix and provide Australians in need with a nutritious and substantial breakfast. Enzo... ...Read more »

Falling sales in the US and overseas have hit third-quarter profits at US food group Kellogg, with the cereal giant announcing that net earnings dropped 6% to US$338 million for the quarter to 2 October. Kellogg’s operating profit fell 4.5% to US$541 million. Operating profit in North America dropped 3% due to lower sales and higher advertising costs. The Crunchy Nut maker’s operating profit from its overseas businesses decreased 11% due to lower earnings in Latin America and Asia Pacific. Kellogg’s... ...Read more »

The US National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus has recommended that General Mills stop the five-second tags that were paired with broadcast ads for original and Honey Nut Cheerios. The recommendation from the advertising industry’s self-regulator came following a challenge from Kellogg. “The challenger in this case contended that General Mills has long promoted the heart-health and cholesterol-lowering benefits of the soluble fiber and whole grain... ...Read more »

Kellogg’s Special K brand in the U.S. has reformulated many of its cereals to include fibre, offering more positive nutrition to a brand long associated with weight management.Many Special K brand cereals are now a good source of fibre, with three grams per serving.  Special K cereal flavours that now offer fiber include Red Berries, Fruit & Yogurt, Cinnamon Pecan, Vanilla Almond, Blueberry and Chocolatey Delight. “We’re excited to add positive nutrition to our portfolio of... ...Read more »

Kellogg is to cut the amount of sugar in its Coco Pops cereals in the UK as part of a revamp of the range that includes a new, healthier line aimed at kids dubbed Choc N’ Roll. The US food giant said yesterday it would reduce the sugar in its Coco Pops stable by 15% by the middle of next year, cut the amount of sugar per serving to one-and-a-half teaspoons and remove artificial sweeteners. The number of calories in each serving of Coco Pops would remain at 116, Kellogg said. A revamped Coco... ...Read more »

Kellogg said yesterday (29 July) that it saw net earnings decline 15% in the second quarter of 2010 due to the competition in the US cereals business and the impact of a product recall last month. The US cereals giant booked net income of US$302m for the three months to 3 July, down 15% on the year. The company said “weakness” in the North American cereal category, lower sales of Eggo waffles and the voluntary recall of select packages of breakfast cereals in June had hit earnings. Operating... ...Read more »