August’s top stories: First lab-grown hamburger unveiled, Heinz to cut jobs

World’s first cultured beef burger taste-tested in UK

The world’s first cultured beef hamburger, made from meat grown in a laboratory using stem cells, has been unveiled at Riverside Studios in West London, at a public tasting event marking the launch of the innovation.

The burger was cooked by chef Richard McGeown at a news conference on 5 August and was tasted by Chicago-based author Josh Schonwald and Austrian food researcher Hanni Rützler.

The burger was made using lab-grown beef and other ingredients, such as salt, egg powder and breadcrumbs; red beet juice and saffron were added to bring out its natural colours.

China imposes fines on infant formula companies over price fixing

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of China has imposed a total of $109m fines on six foreign and domestic baby formula manufacturers for alleged price fixing and anti-competitive practices.

This development comes after a four-month antitrust and anti-competition investigation by the Chinese authorities.

The implicated companies include Mead Johnson, Biostime, Danone, Abbot, Friesland and Fonterra; among these only Biostime is headquartered in China.

HJ Heinz to eliminate 600 jobs in North America

American food company HJ Heinz has announced plans to eliminate 600 jobs across its operations in the US and Canada, as part of its efforts to support growth while further strengthening its leading brands.

This development comes after the sale of the company to an investment consortium comprised of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and private equity firm 3G Capital, in a deal worth $28bn earlier this year.

All the layoffs, which represent nine percent of the company’s workforce in North America, are white collar jobs.

Fonterra whey products do not contain botulism-causing bacteria, says MPI

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) of New Zealand has announced that the whey protein concentrate (WPC) manufactured by dairy co-operative Fonterra does not contain Clostridium botulinum, a bacteria that can cause botulism.

Fonterra’s products were at the centre of a global contamination scare that triggered a recall and temporary ban on imports of the products in countries, including China, Russia and Sri Lanka.

MPI stated that tests of products containing the implicated WPC revealed the presence of clostridium sporogenes, which does not cause botulism; however, at elevated levels certain strains may be associated with food spoilage.

New campaign in Wales seeks to boost food and drink industry

The Welsh Food & Drink Skills Project has launched a campaign to recruit 75,000 people from Wales in order to bridge the future gaps across the food and drink sector.

The campaign has been launched in response to a research conducted by the project, which highlighted significant skills gaps across the supply chain.

The campaign, titled ‘future skills … food for thought’, will be conducted across the Wales region during the 2013 – 14 period and will engage with leading employers and membership bodies from across the industry.

US FDA announces new standards for ‘gluten free’ labelling

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a new regulation for the ‘gluten-free’ labelling of food products, a move that will to help nearly three million Americans suffering from celiac disease.

Under the new regulation, in order to use the term ‘gluten-free’ on the label, a food must comply with all requirements of the definition, including that the food must contain less than 20 parts per million of gluten.

In addition, it requires foods with the claims ‘no gluten’, ‘free of gluten’ and ‘without gluten’ to comply with the definition of ‘gluten-free’.

Dole Food strikes deal to go private

US-based Dole Food has announced that it has entered into an agreement with the company’s chairman of the board and CEO David H Murdock, pursuant to which Murdock will acquire all of the outstanding shares, in a deal which values Dole at $1.6bn.

Under the terms of the agreement, Murdock will pay $13.5 in cash for each share of Dole common stock.

This price represents an increase of $1.5 per share from the original proposal by Murdock on 10 June and a premium of 32% over the $10.2 per share price of the stock immediately prior to the proposal.

Private equity firm Investcorp acquires crisps maker Tyrrells

Bahrain-based private equity firm Investcorp has entered into an agreement to acquire UK-based producer of premium crisps Tyrrells from Langholm Capital for £100m.

Tyrrells, established in 2002 and based in Herefordshire, UK, is a manufacturer of hand-cooked potato crisps, as well as a range of premium snacks, including popcorn and savoury nibbles.

Its products are available across a range of UK distribution channels, and the company has also forayed into markets such as Germany, France, the Netherlands and North America, which together account for approximately 20% of the group’s turnover.