Global Agriculture, Food & Nutrition updates - 28Sept'15 !

1. Investment-grade farmland prices have doubled to £12,500 an acre over five years, with prices soaring faster than luxury London homes, according to Knight Frank research.

2. The government has blocked the purchase of the country's largest dairy farm (Lochinver), halting the Chinese conglomerate's (Shangai Pengxin's) ambition to build a NZ$1bn farm empire.

3. Stripes Group invests $50m in California almond milk producer.

4.Farmland Partners eyes international expansion as it launches $25m offer.

5. Ireland and China signed an agreement to co-operate on food safety and build on agri-food partnerships.

6. Governments must to stop food manufacturers and distributors producing and selling unhealthy, cheap, salty junk food, warns World Health Organisation (WHO) advisor Professor Francesco Cappuccio.

7. Mumbai has banned slaughter and the sale of meat, following a demand from the strictly vegetarian Jain community, sparking outrage among meat-eaters already upset by a permanent beef ban imposed this year.

8. Latvia has banned the use of trans fats in domestically produced and imported food, joining ranks with Austria, Hungary and Denmark - but campaigners are pushing for an EU-wide ban.

9. Food Industry Asia (FIA) will scale-up food safety capacity building in ASEAN and China after signing an agreement with the World Bank for the Global Food Safety Partnership (GFSP).

10.  USDA announced $2.5 million in grants for projects to educate new and underserved farmers about USDA Farm Service Agency programs that can provide financial, disaster or technical assistance to the agricultural community.

Global Agriculture, Food & Nutrition updates - 17Sept'15 !

1. Sigma-Aldrich has signed an agreement with Public Health England (PHE) to manufacture and supply Certified Reference Materials (CRMs) for use as controls in food, water and environmental testing microbiology laboratories.

2. Nescafé is abandoning its traditional websites in favour of Tumblr: a move aimed to appeal to millennial consumers and particularly those using smart phones and tablets.

3. Halloumi cheese and infused oils that could pose a serious health risk are among the products that have been recalled over the past week.

4. Eating a Mediterranean-style diet with extra-virgin olive oil may lower the risk of developing breast cancer, according to a new analysis of a trial in Spain.

5. USDA announced the award of $20.5 million through its Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) program for 45 projects that will develop and advance the conservation of natural resources.

6. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has furthered its interest in the Turkish dairy sector with a €10m loan.

7. Consumption of low-fat milk and yogurt is associated with a decreased risk of frailty among the elderly, according to a recent study.

8. Dairy processors with technology leverage of Filtration, Ultraviolet (UVA) light and Sound, have the ability to produce milk and dairy beverages with a shelf life of up to 90 days, without the off-taste caused by heat treatment. Processors can also separate key components and recombine them to produce milk higher in protein, lower in fat and lactose-free.

9.Farmers across the 28 European Union (EU) Member States will share €420m in European Commission (EC) targeted financial aid.

10. A total ban on trans fats in processed foods could prevent deaths from coronary heart disease, claims researchers. 

11. Scientists have identified a genetic defect in oil palms, called bad karma, which reduces yields – a finding that could save industry both time and money.

World Organic Story !

1. Globally Organic Farming is in practice in 130 Countries spanning 4.3 Crore Hectares.

2. In Organic farming, yields are 9.2% less while investment costs are 11.7% low and Organic Foods are 20-40% costlier.

3. America (USA) is the biggest Organic Foods Market in the world, followed by France, Germany and Canada.

4. India stands in 10th position with 5.1 Lakh Hectares of Organic cultivation. 70% of it's organic exports include Basmati Rice, Sugar, Grains and Millets. National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) is pioneering Organic effort in the country. Madhyapradesh, Himachal Pradesh & Rajasthan are the top 3 states in this arena.

5. In Bhutan 95% Crops and 98% Fruit varieties are cultivated using Organic methods.

6. Organic farming spreads across 21 Lakh hectares in China.

7. Japan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Bangladesh are fast catching and showing inclination towards Organic Farming.


 

Global Agriculture, Food & Nutrition updates - 15Sept'15 !

1. International food commodity prices saw the sharpest fall in nearly seven years as the FAO index plummeted by 5.2% in August.

2. The European Commission (EC) is part-funding a project that will examine the use of high voltage electric nano pulses to sterilize raw milk.

3. Poor economic outlook hits Chinese beef industry and Garlic prices from China on the rise.

4. A rare form of graphite, better known for helping charge battery-powered gadgets, is currently being investigated by scientists in South Australia as a potential soil conditioner.

5. The African country, Nigeria has called on foreign investors to invest in its large agriculture sector, as it looks to reduce its reliance on imported foods and expand its exports beyond oil.

6. One Earth Foods Investments is developing Cambodia's first state-of-the-art coconut plantation, with a $5 Million investment.

7. Frutarom has acquired 79% of Spanish firm Nutrafur in a €10.3 m sale which will help the company develop its portfolio of natural plant extracts for food preservation.

8. E.coli linked to prepacked salads has sickened 40 people in the UK, according to Public Health England (PHE).

9. Cargill will pay a $110,000 civil penalty over alleged violations of the Clean Air Act at its Vitamin E manufacturing facility in Eddyville, Iowa.

10. Latvia has banned the use of trans fats in domestically produced and imported food, joining ranks with Austria, Hungary and Denmark - but campaigners are pushing for an EU-wide ban.
 

Global Agriculture, Food & Nutrition udpates - 13Sept'15 !

1. Imperial College London has partnered with ADMIT BioSuccInnovate Consortium to investigate how agricultural waste can be used to make biodegradable packaging.

2. Reseraches found the increasing usage of Flax Seeds, Oil & Powder (Lin Seeds) would deteriorate Psoriatic condition of affected patients acting as an immune booster, antoxidant.

3. Many multinational food and beverage brands are missing their biggest chance to address climate risks, according to the global non-profit group CDP, which says companies need to work closer with suppliers to improve agricultural emissions.

4. Drinking 500 ml of water around 30 minutes before main meals could help obese and overweight people to lose more weight, according to new research.

Global Agriculture, Food & Nutrition udpates - 11thSept'15 !

1. The Danish food authorities have introduced a guidance value on fluorinated substances in food packaging, which includes baking paper, pizza boxes and food wrapping.

2. Multivac says it is planning massive investments in Germany, US, UK and Japan with the first announcement being a €15m plant for machine parts in Bulgaria.

3. After successfully raising $627,644 from 8,015 supporters via Kickstarter, Minneapolis-based Hidrate Inc will launch its HidrateMe smart water bottle product in December.

4. Almost 300 people in U.S. have been sickened by Salmonella in an outbreak linked to cucumbers imported from Mexico.

5. Dairy producers will receive the "most significant part" of a €500m ($558m) European Commission (EC) agricultural support package announced, but the European Milk Board (EMB) regarded the package as 'very dissapointing'.

6. High intakes of saturated fats could lead to an increased risk of inflammation and tissue damage, say scientists.

7. E.coli linked to prepacked salads has sickened 38 people in the UK, according to Public Health England (PHE).

8. Nestlé UK and Ireland has partnered with the National Centre for Food Manufacturing at the University of Lincoln to find the chocolate makers of the future.

9. Dairy industry representatives have welcomed the European Commission’s £362.5M (€500M) aid package for farmers but criticised its refusal to lift the intervention price.

10.. Scotland’s food and drink sector turnover has grown at twice the UK rate since 2008, taking it to a record £14.3bn in 2013, according to the Scottish government.

11.  The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is developing an open-access database to measure water usage in the Middle East and North Africa, to improve water productivity and reduce scarcity issues.

12. Kuwaiti consumers boycotting fish in protest at unprecedentedly high prices have forced market rates down, and drawn support from government officials.

13. New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra has opened a NZ$37m (US$23.5m) plant in Indonesia - its first manufacturing facility in the South East Asian country.
 

India Agriculture & Food updates - 6thSept'15 !

1. NDDB’s (National Dairy Development Board) Pashu Poshan app crosses 1,000 downloads.

2. A senior Government advisor pitched for “no irrational resistance” to genetically-modified (GM) crops and believed that nanotechnology could help Indian agriculture overcome problems of food scarcity.

3. With prices of pulses skyrocketing, the Government has decided to import an additional 5,000 tonnes of tur dal through state-owned MMTC in the coming days.

4. Westbengal is planning to setup Cold Storage in all Kisan Mandi's.

5. The seventh Biofach India together with India Organic, an important organic fair in the country, will be held at Kochi from November 5 to 7.

6. Kerala's all-women network Kudumbashree has decided to expand organic farming extensively across the state.

7. About 30-40 lakh tonnes of onions get wasted every year due to inadequate storage facilities in the country, a senior Commerce official.

Global Agriculture, Food & Nutrition updates - 6thSept'15!

1. Solidus Solutions is working on scaling up a process to produce solid board with tomato plant fibres.

2. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has taken action against three firms (Univar), including two dairy companies (Advanced Food Products & Milk Specialities Global), for Clean Water Act violations.

3. The FDA has taken another step in its war on powdered caffeine. The controversial ingredient linked to a pair of deaths was the subject of a slew of new FDA warning letters to companies selling the substance to consumers.

4. Peru is set to triple its fruit and vegetable production within the next 5 years to 3 million tonnes.

5. Ongoing consumer interest in gluten-free foods has opened a door for less common ancient grains (amaranth, buckwheat, corn, millet, oats, quinoa, rice, sorghum, teff and wildrice) to step into the limelight that wheat, rye and barley have dominated for so long.

6. There is a direct link between salt intake and obesity, says 1200-strong CASH study – but health experts say the findings should be taken with a pinch of salt.

7. Mondelēz International has opened a $30m line in Poland to produce popular brands such as Milka, Cadbury and Oreo as it anticipates a recovery in Europe’s chocolate market.

8. Vietnam's fizzy drinks market going great guns as category escapes tax.

9. General Mills has struck a deal to sell its Green Giant and Le Sueur vegetable businesses to B&G Foods, for approximately $765m in cash.

10. Arla Foods has installed technology to measure potential milk spoilage which it believes will reduce overall testing time by 300%.

11. Upgraded biosecurity measures to combat fruit fly will be introduced in Australia, bringing added confidence to international trade markets.

12. Europe is facing an “epidemic” of folic acid-preventable neural tube defects (NTD), spina bifida and anencephaly, researchers have said.

13. European supermarkets are losing out on halal meat sales because of trust issues and a lack of clear labelling, driving Muslim consumers to independent butchers, according to Euromonitor

Global Agriculture, Food & Nutrition updates - 03Sept'15 !

1. Agroisolab UK has launched a food authenticity service using a technique to verify the origin of foods and boost traceability efforts.

2. France’s major retailers, including Carrefour, Aldi and Lidl, have signed a voluntary contract to replace the food waste law – but a British industry group has called it a distraction from the real issue, saying similar measures are not needed in the UK.

3. Biotech giant Monsanto has said it will abide by requests from Latvia and Greece to be excluded from its application for re-authorisation of its MON180 maize in the European Union, but accused the countries of ignoring science.

4. Arla Foods has partnered with companies in Nigeria and Senegal to boost its "distribution backbone" in West Africa.

5. MycoTechnology – which has developed a pioneering new food processing platform using mushroom roots (mycelium) – has secured $6.7m in a Series A round of financing, with a second round expected to close before the end of the year.

6. A ban on genetically modified (GM) crops in Scotland would seriously undermine the nation’s food and drink industry, warn nearly 30 leading organisations.