Q1 2013 results
Smaller footprint for Dole after Itochu sale
Dole Food company, Inc. has announced financial and operating results for the first quarter ended March 23, 2013. With the completed sale to ITOCHU Corporation on April 1, 2013 for $1.685 billion in cash (subject to certain adjustments), Dole’s former worldwide packaged foods and Asia fresh businesses have.....

Asparagus reduce hangovers
Experts analyzed the components of asparagus and its biochemical effects in the liver of rats and humans, and concluded that the amino acids and minerals contained in the asparagus’ extract (Asparagus officinalis), especially if it’s obtained from its leaves, relieves people from hangovers and protects the.....

Chantler hosts dinner on strategies to combat waste
Chantler Packaging hosted a dinner at this year's CPMA convention in Toronto to talk about some strategies they've implemented to combat food waste. The presentation covered the problem of food waste along the cold chain, the impact it has and the benefits of managing the problem.Chantler's Grant Ferguson.....

Maersk Line signs multi-year agreement with INTTRA
INTTRA and Maersk Line have announced an expanded relationship, entering into a multi-year contract as part of a strategic growth strategy for both companies. As a result, Maersk Line and its brands Seago Line, Safmarine and MCC will extend the benefits of the INTTRA e-commerce shipping network to its.....

Maersk video shows automatic ventilation container benefits
A new video from Maersk Container Industry (MCI) describes easy steps for cargo owners and shipping lines to benefit from automatic ventilation in refrigerated containers.Traditionally, shippers have manually set their reefer ventilation on “open” air exchange, but this old habit incurs unnecessary energy.....

NYK Line, K-Line return to profit in FY 2012
NYK Line says it is beginning a "company-wide bunker-saving campaign" as both it and fellow Japanese shipping line Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K-Line) report a return to profitability in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2013."The container vessel, dry bulk carrier, and VLCC performance are all expected to be.....

Maersk appoints new CCO
Maersk Line has announced that Stephen Schueler has been appointed as the line’s new Chief Commercial Officer, effective from 27 May.Schueler joins Maersk Line from Microsoft Corporation where he was the head of global retail sales and marketing.Prior to Microsoft, Schueler was with Procter & Gamble for.....

Norbert Dentressangle reports strong UK performance
Norbert Dentressangle has released Q1 2013 results, showing a strong performance in the UK. Highlights of the results include:Business held up well, with turnover of €949 million in the first quarter 2013, compared to €958 million in the first quarter 2012, down 1.0% (-1.3% at like for like and exchange.....

Fresh Del Monte profits hit by lower fruit prices
Fresh Del Monte said its profit fell 34 percent in the first quarter as weaker demand led to lower banana prices in Europe.The company, which sells a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, said sales volume for bananas rose 3 percent during the quarter. But the prices it charged worldwide fell by 1 percent.....

Southern Hemishere citrus exports to increase for 2013
Citrus production in the Southern Hemisphere is expected to rise by almost 10% this season on last year, while exports will increase by almost 3%. This according to figures published by SHAFFE and Freshfel.Grapefruit will have the biggest rise in export, 14.89%, and mandarins a slight decrease of 2.86%......

Chiquita announces Rick Frier as Senior VP and CFO
Chiquita Brands announced today the appointment of Rick Frier as the company's senior vice president and chief financial officer. Mr. Frier will be responsible for all aspects of the company's financial operations worldwide. He will assume his new position immediately upon the filing of the company's first.....

Potato consumption linked to increased potassium
A new study has shown that white potato consumption is linked to increased potassium intake. For each additional kilocalorie of white potatoes consumed, there was a 1.6 mg increase in potassium intake among adults 19-years-old and older, and a 1.7 mg increase among children and teens from 2 to 18 years of.....

Mushrooms provide more Vitamin D than daily supplements
A new study suggests that adding more mushrooms to your diet could be a good way to increase Vitamin D levels. A research team from Boston University has found ingesting mushrooms may provide an equivalent amount of vitamin D as taking dietary supplements, according to MedPage.During a small, randomized.....

Grapes help stave off metabolic syndrome
Eating grapes can help reduce the buildup of fat and can protect against cardiovascular disease, a new study suggests.Researchers at the University of Michigan found that natural components found in grapes, known as polyphenols, can aid in the body`s organ function, deterring the chance of metabolic.....

Delhaize announces first quarter revenue of 5.5 billion Euro
Delhaize Group has announced preliminary unaudited figures for the first quarter of 2013 and its decision to postpone its Capital Markets Day.In the first quarter of 2013, Delhaize Group's revenues were EUR5.5 billion, an increase of 2.1% and 1.5% at identical and actual exchange rates, respectively. Organic.....

Nuts and leafy greens combat liver disease
Eating leafy greens - particularly spinach - and nuts could alleviate the symptoms of liver disease, according to new research.Scientists believe that eating foods which are high in vitamin E could reduce the symptoms of liver disease which has been brought on by obesity.Dr Danny Manor, an associate.....

Europe’s participation as a target market recorded a fall
Europe importing less kiwifruit
Globally, in 2012, kiwi exports totalled 1.27 million tons, 2% more when compared to the previous year. It should be noted that exports from Italy, Chile and New Zealand totalled about 901,000 tons, 71% of the total volume exported.These countries, which together have about 53,000 hectares of kiwis planted,.....

With a photo report
International Workshop NEV 2013 on “Nitrates, Environment and Vegetables”
The University of Torino (Italy) in cooperation with the European Commission has organized the International Workshop NEV2013 "Nitrogen, Environment and Vegetables" to support the implementation of Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC).Professor Carlo Grignani (North Italy Working Group for Nitrates Directive).....

Carrefour growth down to Brazil
French distribution chain Carrefour had a rise in sales of 1.3% to 20.83 billion euro in the first quarter of 2013. There were problems for the chain in Europe, with only Belgium performing well.In France, still worth more than 45% of company sales, sales dropped another 0.7%. The fact that Carrefour still.....

Damco appoints Helmut Kaspers
Third party logistics provider Damco appointed Helmut Kaspers as Chief Commercial Officer for its West Europe region.“Helmut Kaspers comes with an outstanding track record of delivering extraordinary growth and there is no doubt he will be a valuable member of the West Europe leadership team, as well as a.....

Pear shipments stagnant
Apple exports from the Southern Hemisphere on a downward trend
Up until week 14, apple exports from the Southern Hemisphere have fallen by 15% compared to the same period last year, down to 306,509 tonnes, according to a report from the World Apple and Pear Association (WAPA).Exports could have been even smaller had it not been for the increase in shipments from New.....

Syngenta meets estimates
Syngenta AG reported sales that met estimates, buoyed by Brazilian operations that helped offset weaker demand for seeds and crop chemicals in parts of Europe as farmers delayed planting because of cold weather.Syngenta sales rose 6 percent to $4.6 billion, the Swiss company reported. That met the $4.57.....

Carrots could be key to prostate cancer treatment
Foods rich in vitamin A such as carrots could be the key to beating prostate cancer in men because it makes the disease far more treatable, a new study has found.Researchers led by Norman Maitland from the University of York in UK have discovered that retinoic acid, a chemical made from vitamin A, can reduce.....

CO2, the tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus, and productivity
Huang, L., Ren, Q., Sun, Y., Ye, L., Cao, H. and Ge, F. 2012 have produced a paper entitled "Lower incidence and severity of tomato virus in elevated CO2 is accompanied by modulated plant induced defense in tomato."The authors write that the tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) "causes severe damage to.....

International group celebrates 25 years and many successes
Looking back over the years from a quiet start in 1988, the Associated International Group of Nurseries, AIGN®, can easily measure its success in terms of both horticultural introductions and membership, now reaching into most of the world’s major tree fruit territories.“It all started with the goal of.....

Tesco to unveil international recovery plan
Tesco's boss, Philip Clarke, will lay out plans to revive the supermarket's largest stores on Wednesday when he reveals the first fall in profits for 20 years.The retailer is expected to report that underlying sales growth has slowed since Christmas despite investing £1bn to boost Tesco's fortunes in the UK.....

Small amount of beetroot improves cardiovascular health
Research shows that just one portion of nitrate rich vegetables per day, can help lower blood pressure. Suitable items include lettuce, beetroot, cabbage or fennel.During the study which produced these results, researchers discovered people with high blood pressure who drank around eight ounces of beetroot.....

Reefer containers set to pay their way under pool plan
The possible formation of a grey pool for reefer containers moved a step closer this week with the publication of a new white paper on the concept and signs that resistance to its introduction is lessening.Steve Alaerts, general manager of perishable-specialist freight forwarder foodcareplus, told The.....

Kuehne + Nagel focus on internal efficiency
In a softened market environment, the Kuehne + Nagel Group concentrated on the improvement of internal efficiency and profitability, resulting in positive achievements in the business units airfreight and contract logistics. Turnover increased by 5.4 per cent to CHF 5,094 million compared to the previous.....

Ozone accelerates decline rate of fungicide residues on table grapes
A research team has studied the residue persistence of fungicides, commonly used in vineyard to reduce the attack from Botrytis cinerea, during the cold storage of ‘Thompson Seedless’ table grape stemmed berries.For the study, the berries were stored at 1) atmosphere of air or 2) 0.3 µL/L ozone enriched air......

Maersk sticks to lower net profit forecast
A.P. Moller-Maersk stuck to its forecast for a lower net profit in 2013 as weak economies in developed markets continue to hold back container shipping rates.Maersk's Chairman Michael Pram Rasmussen told shareholders at the company's annual meeting in Denmark that 2012 was marked by "low growth in the.....

Tesco retail sales surge as it vies for online dominance
Tesco’s online grocery sales are expected to have hit £2.5bn in its last financial year as the retailer pushes forward in its quest to become a global dotcom business.Source: www.retail-week.com

Dry matter and acidity as quality index for Hayward kiwifruit
Scientists from various countries have proposed to use the dry matter content at harvesting as a worldwide quality index for Hayward kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa), because this parameter includes both soluble (sugars and acids) and insoluble (structural carbohydrates and starch) solids and doesn’t change.....

A great concept is more important than a big budget
Fresh Marketing Ideas: Pisani Fresh Marketing has issued the following advice for the development of fresh produce brands:Many believe that you need millions of Euros to create a successful brand. Which is true – if you mean building one of the brands that everyone knows. But is also true that many brands.....

Chocolate to become one of five a day?
Scientists have managed to halve the fat content of chocolate by replacing cocoa butter and milk fats with fruit juice.Although the process, which uses tiny droplets of orange, cranberry or apple juice, gives the bars a slightly fruity taste, it can be applied to milk, dark and white chocolate.Tests are.....

Maersk simplifies surcharges
Maersk Line is to continue to simplify its surcharge structure, consolidating its local surcharges.From 1 May, the Danish carrier will reduce the number of mandatory local surcharges it implements to three for origin and three for destination.These include an origin/destination handling charge, an.....

Aeon to take over Daiei in bid for dominance
Major supermarket chain Aeon Co. announced Wednesday it will increase its stake in Daiei Inc. and make the smaller supermarket retailer a subsidiary, creating a huge retailing group with combined sales exceeding ¥6 trillion.Aeon, which already owns a 19.9 percent stake in Daiei, plans to acquire a further.....

Happy Easter from the FreshPlaza team
The FreshPlaza team would like to wish all our readers a very Happy Easter. We will be back on Tuesday 2nd April with the latest news in the fresh produce sector.

The misunderstanding of many produce websites
Fresh Marketing Ideas: Pisani Fresh Marketing have issued the following advice for the development of fresh produce related websites:Consider this. Business Cards are less and less necessary. Company brochures and catalogues likewise are less seen today. Nowadays, everything is on the internet. And it is.....

Worldwide: Auchan sees sales gains in Europe and Asia
French retailer Auchan posted a 19 percent jump in 2012 sales on Tuesday owing to growing business in eastern Europe and Asia, but said net profit fell by 19 percent owing to one-off items and an unfavourable basis of comparison.Auchan's net profit dropped to 656 million Euro ($850 million), on sales that.....

Origin is a good way to differentiate your products
As all marketing manuals say, consumers believe a successful brand is different from its competitors. But how do you differentiate products that are as similar as fruit & veg?Geographic origin is probably one of the most obvious ways to differentiate. We have a lot of successful examples around the.....

Worldwide: Scientists consider genetic engineering of anti-allergy apple
Apples are not generally amongst the most common foods thought of in relation to allergies. However, 75% of people suffering from a relatively common allergy to birch pollen are also allergic to apples. The issue is common in Central and Northern Europe. This kind of allergies are not easy to identify. “Some.....