William Reed confirms go-ahead for UK Food & Drink Shows in Birmingham By Anthony Myers William Reed Business Media, publisher of The Grocer, ConfectioneryNews and BakeryandSnacks, has confirmed that its Food & Drink Shows will go ahead this July at Birmingham’s NEC following the UK government’s ‘Roadmap out of Lockdown’ announcement.
Andrew Reed, Managing Director, Events & Exhibitions for William Reed, said his organisation is extremely positive that it has
an irreversible plan that means large events can start to run from the middle of June in the UK.
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Whilst we understand the challenges and the measures that need to be met over these four stages it importantly allows the food & drink industry to reunite at the NEC Birmingham from 5th – 7th July, at the UK Food & Drink Shows comprising Food & Drink Expo, Farm Shop & Deli Show, The Ingredients Show, Foodex, National Convenience Show and
EU and US alcohol industry associations are welcoming the four month suspension of retaliatory tariffs related to the Airbus-Boeing dispute.
The alcohol industry has suffered collateral damage in a long-running dispute between the EU and US over aircraft subsidies: with several rounds of tariffs on unrelated goods – including alcohol – brought into force since 2019.
In October that year, the US imposed 25% tariffs on drinks such as French wine, Scotch and Irish whiskies; followed by the EU’s imposition of 25% tariffs on US alcohol such as rum, brandy, vodka and vermouth in November 2020; and US imposition on further EU goods such as Cognac in January 2021.
UK scientists to trial genome-edited wheat developed to slash acrylamide levels Scientists from Rothamsted Research – the longest-running agricultural research institute in the world – have used genome editing to develop a type of wheat that is less likely to produce acrylamide when baked.
The UK researchers are hoping to take their trials to the next level. The team has applied to the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to run a field trial of the
genome-edited wheat – the first such trial to be carried out in Europe – slated to begin in the autumn.
Acrylamide was first discovered in food in 2002 and is described as ‘extremely hazardous’.
Grummies democratizes superfoods with a gummy format Many consumers are aware of the nutritional value so-called superfoods have, but few can commit to a daily diet packed with turmeric, ashwagandha, and elderberry (and even fewer enjoy the taste). This hangup was the impetus for Grummies, a brand of gummies containing a variety of functional ingredients.
The global gummy vitamins market is estimated to be valued at $5.9bn in 2020 and is projected to reach $10.6bn by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 12.5%.
Grummies is taking what founders Nick Michlewicz and Colin Darretta believe is a cleaner approach to making their gummies. Gummies are the fastest growing category in the wellness space, but most are not very good for you, claimed Michlewicz, pointing out the category s use of sweeteners such as corn syrup and glucose syrup, and use of artificial colors and flavors.
National European cocoa sustainability platforms agree closer ties with MOU By Anthony Myers Memorandum of Understanding signed by Dutch Initiative on Sustainable Cocoa, Belgium’s Beyond Chocolate, the German Initiative on Sustainable Cocoa and the Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa agreeing to closer collaboration, Chocoa21 delegates told.
Launched in September 2020, the Dutch Initiative on Sustainable Cocoa (DISCO) is the latest national joint vision for a sustainable cocoa sector and dates back to the success of The Netherlands’ Letter of Intent, ‘Sustainable cocoa consumption and cocoa production,’ signed into action in 2010 to achieve 100% guaranteed sustainable cocoa consumption by 2025 on all cocoa imported into the country.