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Some Quarterly reviews are very quiet from a news point of view, this one is different, a whole host of items have cropped up in the last few months.
CP-Kelco seems to be going through its second youth or is it trying to rebuild something of its life prior to the endless corporate shuffling that saw it being owned by Merck, Monsanto and then a bank in quick succession. Peter Kovacs, ex Kelco president is back as an "advisory director" and Akiva Gross, ex Senior Vice President of Technology of only 18 months ago is back as well... Senior Vice President of Technology again. Kelco are also busy announcing an expansion of their blending at Sibonga and I note the article also referred to Sibonga as a gel press and semi refined plant. Everyone has known that Sibonga was making SRC for quite some time although to be economical the plant needs to be well utilised on gel pressed grade. I do not believe the plant can be economical if SRC becomes the dominant product. Kelco have also announced a 10% hike in food grade xanthan prices. I can understand the need for higher prices in the xanthan market as the price has dropped consistently over the past few years but I cannot see how a 10% price rise is achievable with the extra competition and downward price pressure. There is a large price variation in the market. I have heard food grade prices for large contracts as high as $9.00 and as low as $5.50 with non food grade product dropping as low as $5.00. $9.00 is a nice price but $5.00 sounds desperately low.
Talking of Xanthan and cheap Chinese imports we have noted that the GRAS committee in the USA has registered a "no further questions" response to the joint application for the recognition of ethanol precipitated xanthan from ISI and Zibo Zhongxuan Biological Product Co, Ltd.
The Marcel Trading Corporation who have for many years been the lead contender to Shemberg in the semi refined carrageenan world have restructured... or maybe not, it depends on who you listen to! Reading the statements from both sides, which can be found on www.CyberColloids.net, it appears that the RICO company, who are the company who make semi refined carrageenan in the Marcel world, have declared some sort of unilateral declaration of independence and are offering their own carrageenan under trade names that Marcel trading claim they own. Marcel claim RICO is only a manufacturing unit for Marcel but RICO has definitely decided it wants to be more. This story looks like it could twist and turn for quite a while yet leaving the poor Marcel customer wondering who he should be buying from.
Locust bean gum has a notoriously volatile price but for the last couple of years it has been stable with even a slight downward price pressure. Some of us wondered if the advent of konjac, tara and enzyme modified guar as competition had tamed LBG of its precocious ways. Well apparently not. Rumour has it that the very hot summer in Europe has caused problems for the Carob harvest and the price has been rising with even large buyers seeing prices north of $7.50 for the first time in several years.
One group of manufacturers who have been having constant good weather for decades is the European sugar manufacturers who have been receiving massive subsidies on sugar and beet for many years making some of them very rich. Everyone knows the good times will end one day but in true EU style exactly when and how has been debated for almost as long the definition of chocolate and the best shape for an electric plug (two great EU imponderables that have never been standardised because no one can ever agree long enough to put a definition onto paper). This will have some impact on certain hydrocolloid manufacturers, mainly Danisco who have been huge beneficiaries of the sugar subsidy.
Danisco have announced an expansion of their Mexico pectin factory with references to doubling their pectin capacity in Mexico. Danisco have also announced a low dust, dry blended product which is rather ironic as for years they have been touting their integrated emulsifier/hydrocolloid systems as superior to dedusted, dry blended products offered by some of the competition and now it seems Danisco are copying them. The announcement did not elaborate on how the product is dedusted but agglomeration or simple oiling would be the most obvious routes. I have no doubts that integrated products have superior dispersion properties to dry blends but I suspect the actual benefit to the average customer is minimal to non existent and very few customers are actually willing to pay a premium for such a product.
In the UK the Food Standards Agency are compiling some recommendations on the use of Konjac with particular reference to banning it from all jelly products. If you have strong views then you need to register your opinion with:
Mr Kenneth Blacklock
Food Standards Agency,
Room 515c, Aviation House,
125 Kingsway,
London. WC2B 6NH
Tel: 020 7276 8558
Fax: 020 7276 8514
E-mail: Kenneth.blacklock
Responses are requested by: 11 November 2003
The directive in question is: Directive 2003/52/EC
European Parliament and Council Directive 95/2/EC harmonised the use of food additives other than colours and sweeteners (referred to in UK legislation as miscellaneous food additives) throughout the EU. It has been amended on three previous occasions. It contains lists of permitted food additives, the categories of the foods in which they may be used and conditions for their use. Konjac (E 425) is used as a thickener and is permitted under an earlier amendment to Directive 95/2/EC to be used in a wide range of foods.
Directive 2003/52/EC of 18 June 2003, which was published in the Official Journal of the European Communities (L 178) on 17 July 2003, amends Directive 95/2 for the fourth time to prohibit the use of E 425 (konjac) in jelly confectionery, including so called 'jelly mini-cup' sweets. It is intended to complement the action introduced by Commission Decision 2002/247/EC which suspended the marketing, use and import into the EU of jelly confectionery containing konjac, including jelly mini-cups. This followed a number of deaths of children and elderly people in third countries from choking while consuming jelly mini-cups containing konjac. The jelly mini-cups in particular pose a particular risk to consumers of choking both because of the shape and size of this type of confectionery and the chemical and physical properties of konjac.
The proposed regulations
The Miscellaneous Food Additives Regulations 1995 have been amended three times (in 1997, 1999, and 2001) to implement previous amendments to Directive 95/2/EC. The 1999 amendment included an entry in Schedule 3 which permitted konjac E 425 to be used in foods in general at a maximum level of 10 g/kg, with the exception of foods listed in Schedules 6, 7 and 8 of the Regulations. The enclosed draft Miscellaneous Food Additives (Amendment) (England) (No. 2) Regulations 2003 will implement the provisions of Directive 2003/52/EC by adding jelly confectionery, including jelly mini-cups, to the list of foods not permitted to contain konjac.
Member States are required to implement the provisions of the new Directive into national legislation before 17 January 2004. It is planned that the new regulations will come into force in England on 1 January 2004 to ensure that this important consumer health measure takes effect as quickly as possible.
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