Fruit fillings and glazes specialist Bakbel Europe has opened a new €6M plant in Brussels.

Irish researchers have resurrected camelina sativa - a medieval oil seed crop, also known as false flax - as a potential source of omega-3 in yellow spreads.

A new facility has opened in the Western Isles of Scotland boasting a unique two-stage process for making fatty acid concentrates of up to 99% purity from marine or botanical oils.

BASF has confirmed that its Japanese joint venture partner Takeda will stop manufacturing vitamin C by the end of 2007, leaving DSM as the only major vitamin C producer outside of China with its Dalry plant in Scotland.

Sports and energy drinks have consistently outperformed rivals in the European beverages sector over the last five years, showing average value growth of 14.5% a year in a soft drinks market growing at a modest 2.7% a year, according to new research by RTS Resource.

Scientists from the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, believe a probiotic that occurs naturally in soy beans could prove an effective natural alternative to antibiotic treatments for ear and sinus infections.

CP Kelco has blamed rising costs and heavy competition for the closure of its UK xanthan gum plant. The price of xanthan gum, a hydrocolloid used for its thickening and stabilising properties, has remained low in recent years as the Chinese have increased their market share. However, prices are expected to rise again next year.

Prebiotics giant Orafti will raise prices for liquids by 6% and powders by 8% from October 1 owing to sharp cost increases in raw materials and energy.

German flavours and fragrances firm Symrise has acquired Unilever's dry seasonings and wet pastes business in the UK for an undisclosed sum.

Croda is hoping to gain approval under the Novel Food Regulation to market refined echium oil in Europe early next year. The omega-3 oil contains stearidonic acid (SDA), which is converted far more readily into the more beneficial EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) by the body than alpha linolenic acid, the omega-3 found in plants like flax. Paul Kollesoff, marketing manager, Croda Health Care, said: "SDA is also interesting in its own right as it has anti-inflammatory effects. We are planning to conduct further clinical research in this area."

Chr Hansen has set up a new division focused on human health and nutrition. The firm, which has upped its R&D budget by 10%, said the cash would help it explore new applications for starter cultures, probiotics and metabolites.

Friesland Foods has struck a deal with Nandi Proteins to use Nandi's patented technology to create a new breed of whey protein concentrates that also serve as fat replacers.

Nutritional interventions at different life stages can play a decisive part in reducing the risk of developing degenerative diseases from dementia to diabetes, osteoporosis, cataracts and obesity.

Tate & Lyle will be first in the queue to snap up National Starch's specialty starches division if its new owners decide to raise a for sale sign over the division, analysts have predicted.

More functional foods would in future seek to tackle the underlying causes of disease rather than homing in on individual conditions, according to Dutch research organisation TNO Quality of Life.

DSM Nutritional Products is closing its vitamin manufacturing plant in Gonglu, Shanghai, and transferring production to its nearby Xinghuo site, which will be developed as a 'strategic manufacturing base' as part of a restructuring of its Chinese operation.

The marketing and testing of functional ingredients will become much more sophisticated in future to take account of genetic variability between consumers, according to experts in the relationship between diet and genes.

Food Ingredients, Health & Nutrition is launching a conference in Frankfurt on February 7 exploring how nutritional interventions at different life stages may play a decisive part in improving quality of life and reducing the risk of developing degenerative conditions of age.