20/06/2013: Nibulon plans to increase grain harvest; merchandiser buys grain to make feed; consistent food labelling in UK

Nibulon, one of the largest producers and exporters of grain and oilseed in Ukraine, plans to harvest over 400,000 tonnes of grain in 2013, compared to 300,000 tonnes in 2012.
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Well-fed hogs are healthy hogs, and quality grain is one way the swine become suitable to take to market, such as Smithfield Foods. Finding the food, however, is the work of David Hull from Williamsburg.

“I buy all of the grain we use to produce feed at the Waverly mill of Murphy-Brown LLC for their hogs,” said the merchandiser. “We’re the largest hog producer in the world. Waverly alone uses about eight million bushels of grain annually, and on the East Coast it’s about 80 million bushels annually.”
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A new consistent system of front-of-pack food labelling is to be introduced in the UK, the government says.

The system, which provides nutritional information through colour coding, will be used to show how much fat, salt and sugar and calories are in each product.

As the system is voluntary, only 60 percent of foods will be covered.
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Grains, the largest food group in many nutrition guides, includes oats, barley and bread. Cookies, however, are categorized as sugars. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

12/03/2013: New enzyme to extend shelf-life; feed additive labeling: CLP vs. current

Good news for bakers as Engrain announce new enzyme development that will extend the shelf life of packaged breads and other bread based products. 

'Cerezesl' and 'Cerez soft', available for purchase through research products in the US, are specialised blends of enzymes that reduce the staling effect in packaged bread. The enzymes transform how the bread ages, resulting in a longer shelf life long after traditional products have begun to stale. 

"When it comes to the shelf life of bread, there are many factors which influence a consumer’s perception of the freshness of packaged sandwich bread. Two of the most critical factors which determine the freshness are softness of the bread and whether or not the bread has remained free of mold growth," Engrain said. 

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New legislation is set to change the classification and labeling of chemicals. The CLP project (classification labeling and packaging) aims to draw on the information of EU legislation with the GHS (Globally harmonised system of classification and labeling of chemicals) to identify hazardous chemicals and to inform users about these hazards.

Until now the many different systems for classifying and labeling chemicals have been causing confusion, errors and misunderstandings among workers and consumers alike. Due to this, the main purpose of the CLP is to amend the system for classifying and labeling and have the same classification for chemicals in all countries.

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Bread - Photo by Michel Marcon (Photo credit: Wikipedia)