UK bakers could benefit from the expertise of a new consultancy firm, it has been revealed.
Brian Clark, who has over 30 years of experience in the sector, is now the head of European Food Consultants.
British firms who are currently struggling to make a profit in the present financial climate could consider working with the company to improve their fortunes.
Read the rest of this entry »
Scientists at the University of Liverpool have decoded the genome of wheat which could help boost British wheat yields, it has been revealed.
The information will be made available to crop breeders to assist them in cultivating various varieties of wheat.
Neil Hall from the Institute of Integrative claimed the new breakthrough will help combat the current food shortages.
Read the rest of this entry »
More large-scale projects are predicted to take place in the electrical waste processing industry, according to an expert.
Dr Philip Morton of Recycling Electrical Producers' Industry Consortium, which aims to increase the recycling rates of electrical goods, claimed the industry will evolve following regulatory changes.
He told letsrecycle.com: "If you want to click forward, you can imagine there will be seven to ten bigger regional treatment plants and a few specialised players and I think we will get fewer but bigger schemes."
Read the rest of this entry »
Crops earmarked for the biofuel sector could soon be eligible for an industry-recognised accreditation.
Crops which meet sustainable standards and biofuels certified by the EU would be awarded the Red Tractor Assured Combinable Crops and Sugar Beet Scheme certificate.
The accreditation would allow farmers to distinguish their high-quality crops from their rivals and should encourage farms to produce a higher standard of produce.
Read the rest of this entry »
e been urged to consider their pricing strategy to ensure the industry survives the recent commodity price hikes.
According to market research firm Mintec, the price of vegetable oil has increased by around 15-20 per cent since the start of July, while the price of cocoa beans has risen by 11 per cent in the past year.
Paul Morrow, managing director of Bakels International, expressed his belief that bakers need to find the right price which will maintain sales levels as well as profit margins.
He told bakeryinfo.co.uk: "We've been here before and I think it was worse three years ago. Bakers need to look at their business carefully to make sure they've got all costs taken out, but because all the rises can't be absorbed, they will need to price carefully."
Despite the rapid growth in food prices, many industry officials, including the Association of Bakery Ingredient Manufacturers, believe prices have not yet reached their peak.
Meanwhile, Keith Cunningham, managing director of bakery firm Zeelandia, claimed consumers will always pay for premium products irrelevant of the price.
Read the rest of this entry »
Increasing levels of phosphate in Britain's soils could help farmers achieve higher crop yields, a newly-released paper has concluded.
New research carried out by the Professional Agricultural Analysis Group has revealed that just one in three of those soil samples analysed hit the target indices for both phosphates and potash.
Furthermore, around one in four samples were found to be below the target for both, indicating that a significant proportion of UK farmers could be struggling to achieve high levels of yields on their land.
Read the rest of this entry »
Plans for an innovative new waste processing plant in Yorkshire are to be unveiled to the public over the next few days.
Geared towards cutting back on levels of waste across North Yorkshire, the proposed recycling facility would include a multi-million pound incinerator capable of dealing with hundreds of tonnes of waste a year.
However, while North Yorkshire County Council has already thrown its weight behind the plans for the Allerton Waste Recovery Park, the public remain largely unconvinced, with this prompting those behind the scheme to decide to showcase the blueprints and move to reassure people over any misgivings they may have over the coming weeks.
Read the rest of this entry »
The UK farming industry has been boosted by calls to increase production, it has been revealed.
There have been severe crop shortages following the recent drought in Russia and Ukraine, as well as the floods currently devastating Pakistan, which has led for many to urge European farmers to increase production to ensure food security.
Robert Wyn Evans, Meirionnydd county chairman of the Farmers' Union of Wales, claimed the European Union (EU) should rely on local produce rather than imports.
Read the rest of this entry »
Farmers across Norfolk are having to change their usual grain cutting patterns as they look to adapt to poor weather, it has been reported.
Following on from the high temperatures seen over the start of the summer, farmers across the east of England are now experiencing patchy showers, with this impacting upon their grain-cutting operations.
According to the Eastern Daily Press, such a shift in weather patterns has prompted many farmers to start cutting their grain at higher levels of moistness than would be ideal, with many thereby calling on the services of grain storage providers capable of keeping the associated decline in quality to a minimum.
Read the rest of this entry »
