Ferré & Consulting Blog (English Version)

Leading Spanish food company Grupo Siro has opened a €6m research and development facility in El Espinar, northern Spain to develop a range of new products including ones suitable for consumers who are intolerant to gluten and for children.

A statement from the Madrid-based confectionery and baked goods producer said that the facility will be used for “… the development of new technologies and products to offer consumers the best and most original alternative, ensuring the highest quality of all processes, products or services at lowest cost.”

The 3,000sq m facility includes offices, meeting rooms, clean rooms, workshops, laboratories and tasting and testing areas.

Product assessment

The new centre will be staffed by a team of 40 researchers dedicated to new product development and product assessment. The group is said to work on about 100 new projects each year.

As well as running assessment tests for Grupo Siro products, the R&D centre is already conducting research commissions from other food companies.

Company president Juan Manuel González Serna said at the opening ceremony: “…(research) development is the engine of the Spanish economy in any business. We have the tool (new R&D facility) to achieve excellent results…with these pioneer facilities… “

The company’s food scientists also work in partnership with other researchers based at the Universities of Castilla y León on product development, training and the professional development of students and recruitment of talent.

Horizontal technology

Other key partners include the horizontal technology agencies CARTIF, AINIA and CETEC.

Formed in 1991, Grupo Siro is a leading manufacturer of confectionery, pasta, biscuits, snacks, bakery, bread, and pastries. Its products are marketed under the brand names such as Rio, Reglero, Castello, La familia, and Duran & Hidalgo.

The company is the sixth largest food company in Spain and has one of the best corporate reputations, according to MERCO; a firm which monitors corporate profiles

Last year, Grupo Siro acquired three Spanish bakery plants from US bakery and beverage company Sara Lee.

A total of about 600 workers are employed at the three plants located in Briviesca (Burgos), Antequera (Malaga) and Aguimes (Gran Canaria).

Companies, Research Grupo Siro, R&D centre

An upgrade to the instrumentation attached to a baked goods texture analysis system enables bespoke testing of baked products in a wide range of shapes and sizes, claims its developer, Stable Micro Systems (SMS).

Technology baked goods, texture analysis

Wiener B.V. (a daughter of Duyvis Wiener B.V.) has acquired 100% of the shares of F.B.Lehmann Maschinenfabrik in Germany, effective 8 September 2010.

Duyvis Wiener, which celebrates its 125th anniversary in November 2010, delivers machines for grinding, pressing, pulverising and stabilising of cocoa, as well as processing machines and installations for the production of chocolate.

F.B.Lehmann, founded in 1834, produces machines for cleaning, winnowing, roasting, sterilizing, alkalizing and grinding cocoa, as well as equipment such as ball mills and five roller refiners for the production of chocolate.

In a statement, managing director Mirjam van Dijk, says, “With more than 175 years combined experience in the production of cocoa and chocolate equipment, F.B.Lehmann well complements Duyvis Wiener’s present product range. We are convinced that the joint know-how of Duyvis Wiener and Lehmann will ensure the continuation of high quality products as well as excellent service.”

Van Dijk adds, “We trust that our customers and potential customers will benefit from this acquisition. Trials, development engineering, technological and commercial activities will be combined to achieve a better mutual performance. The result is that we will be able to serve our international clients with complete and integrated solutions in cocoa and chocolate processing.”

Companies Duyvis Wiener, F.B.Lehmann Maschinenfabrik

Efforts to sequence the wheat genome are only in the beginning stages, the International Wheat Genome Sequence Consortium said.

The group’s comments were released days after a professor in the United Kingdom said sequencing the wheat genome had been completed.

Kellye Eversole, executive director of the IWGSC, described the UK work as “significant progress” but said far more work needed to be done.

The confusion emanated from a statement issued by the University of Liverpool claiming that wheat genome sequencing had been completed.

“Sequencing the human genome took 15 years to complete, but with huge advances in DNA technology, the wheat genome took only a year,” said Professor Neil Hall from the Institute of Integrative Biology.

More measured in their assessment of the progress was the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, which funded the UK work.

Describing the researchers work as a “draft sequence,” the BBSRC said the work represents a “step toward a fully annotated genome” and is a “significant contribution to efforts to support global food security.”

Forrest Chumley, president of Heartland Plant Innovations, USA, Manhattan, Kansas, said the announcement has caused confusion, noting that many media outlets had reported that the group had “cracked the code” of the highly complex wheat genome.

Dr. Chumley, who was a founder of the IWGSC in 2005, said sequencing work is still in the early stages.

“When you think of the wheat genome being sequenced, you ask whether you have something in hand that would be comparable with what we have with rice and corn,” Dr. Chumley said. “The answer is ‘no.’ We’re just at the beginning.”

In an official statement, the IWGSC said the ordering and alignment of the wheat sequence is “essential for linking the genetic information to the agronomically important traits that the breeders are targeting for improving wheat varieties.”

The group, which is seeking a publicly available high quality genome sequence for wheat, likened the UK research to “having an unordered string of all the letters from a set of encyclopedia volumes.”

“It is clear that additional resources and effort, by far exceeding those invested to achieve the 5X coverage (announced by the UK researchers), will be needed over the next few years to obtain a wheat genome sequence” the group said.

Dr. Chumley expressed the concern that the recent announcement may make research dollars, already tough to come buy, even more difficult to secure.

“It would be terrible if funders say, ‘Why should I support research on sequencing the wheat genome when it’s already finished?’”

In commenting on the UK research, the consortium emphasized the importance of the ultimate objective, saying a completed sequencing will be a “scientific tour de force” and “the most significant breakthrough in wheat production in 10,000 years.” The group expressed its commitment to a “collaborative international effort” toward truly cracking wheat genetic code.

Research genome sequencing, wheat

Swiss food and beverage giant Nestle is looking for new chocolate tasters for its factory in York, UK.

Applicants have to undergo a rigorous selection process before they are chosen for the paid role, a Nestle spokesperson told the York Press.

It is important that prospective workers are able to tell the difference between sourness and bitterness, which is apparently not something everyone can do.

The tasters also need to be able to articulate themselves and clearly describe the product they are trying out and be able to work as part of a team.

“We believe that the talents of our tasters play a vital role. Nestle produces some of the biggest and most popular confectionery products made to the highest standard. We need passionate individuals with high sensory skills and good communication skills to ensure that taste and quality is not compromised,” the spokesperson told the news provider.

This week, Nestle announced it would be increasing its recycling target in Europe.

Previously, it aimed to make 90 per cent of its packaging recyclable but it has increased this to 95 per cent now.

Source: Ingredients network

Chocolate chocolate tasters, Nestle, United Kingdom

US food giant Kraft Foods has signed a new deal with cocoa supplier and manufacturer Barry Callebaut.

It is a long-term agreement which will see the company supplying Kraft with cocoa products and other chocolate ingredients.

Some of the Cadbury liquid chocolate deliveries will also be part of the deal.

This agreement will more than double Barry Callebaut’s existing business with the food giant.

Due to the increased business, the company has said it plans to invest around $65 million (£42 million) over the next two years to boost its production capacity.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed by Kraft when it announced an agreement had been reached.

After the announcement, shares in Barry Callebaut surged.

A spokesperson for the company told Market Watch: “It’s a significant deal and will put Kraft among our largest customers.”

This week, the former marketing director at Cadbury, who quit after not agreeing new terms with Kraft following the takeover of the brand earlier this year, Phil Rumbol, announced he would be starting up a new marketing agency.

Companies Barry Callebaut, Kraft