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Fire breaks out at Chinese packaging plant
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July 18: Three firefighters were killed while attempting to put out a fire at Rexam’s plastic packaging factory in Shanghai. Nine other firefighters were injured, reported the Shanghai Daily.
The blaze broke out at lunchtime yesterday in the warehouse of Rexam Plastic Packaging (Shanghai) Co Ltd in Fengxian District, according to the municipal firefighting and work safety departments.
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Viscous foods easier to fill in scavenging PET
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July 18: Container manufacturer Constar has expanded its range of PET jars to include a wide-mouth design that makes more viscous foods easier to hot-fill.
The monolayer jars provide an alternative to glass and multi-layer plastic containers for processed foods like tomato and other pasta sauces, salsas, jellies and jams, as well as many other foods and beverages, says Constar.
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High fructose corn syrup is natural, says FDA
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July 17: Sugary drinks sweetened with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) can now be described as natural without fear of action from the Food & Drugs Administration (FDA), provided they contain no other synthetic ingredients.
The US-based FDA has told the Corn Refiners Association (CRA) just when the lobby group had begun a multi-million dollar campaign in the US vigorously defending HFCS that said it “has the same natural sweeteners as table sugar”.
The promotion had followed public criticism that HFCS may have played a not-so-sweet role in the health of Americans.
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‘Natural’ zero-calorie drinks imminent
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July 17: Launch of a ‘natural’ zero-calorie sweetener for drinks is imminent now that the Food and Drug Administration in the US has announced that it is safe for use.
Until now Rebaudioside A – which is refined from the herb stevia – has only been allowed to be used as a dietary supplement but is expected to be used as a ‘natural’ alternative to synthesised sweeteners.
Two filings for GRAS (generally recognised as safe) status for the sweetener have been published by the FDA.
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Anheuser-Busch accepts $52bn offer from Inbev
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July 14: Anheuser-Busch agreed last night to be taken over by InBev to form the world’s largest brewer. InBev's successful $52 billion bid – up from $46.7bn – was unanimously accepted by A-B’s board.
The new company will be called Anheuser-Busch InBev and with its headquarters in St Louis, Missouri, have annual sales of $36.4bn, equivalent to 460 million hectolitres of beer, based on the two companies' respective performances last year. Combined pre-tax profits last year were $10.7bn.
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Anheuser-Busch in talks with InBev
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July 11: Anheuser-Busch executives have reportedly been in talks with Inbev, the Belgium-based brewer whose $46.7 billion acquisition bid for the Budweiser brand owner was rejected last week.
According to today’s New York Times, the talks could still break down, but it said that its sources had been “briefed on the matter” and that one person had indicated that InBev was willing to pay more than the $65 a share it had originally offered in June.
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Graham Packaging plans IPO
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July 9: US-based food and drinks container manufacturer Graham Packaging Holdings will finally be floated on the New York Stock Exchange by means of a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) because of the difficulty of launching IPOs in the economic downturn.
The world’s biggest leveraged buyout firm, New York-based Blackstone, has owned GPH for ten years with a 79 percent stake that it now wishes to divest. But it plans to guide the Pennsylvania-based plastics container manufacturer through the transition for two years.
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InBev to split Busch family loyalties
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July 8: Anheuser-Busch, brewer of Budweiser, the official international beer of the 2008 Olympic Games, has responded angrily to yesterday’s move to have its board of directors replaced by a group favourable to InBev’s $46.5 billion takeover bid.
It said in a release that the move was a “self-serving effort” to acquire the US brewer on the cheap. But Anheuser Busch added that it would be open to consider any proposal that would provide full and certain value to its shareholders.
Amongst the alternative board – who will each reportedly receive $50,000 – is Adolphus Busch, uncle of A-B’s chief executive August A Busch IV, potentially leading to a Busch family rift.
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Coca-Cola pays almost $140 million to settle class action
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July 7: Coca-Cola has agreed to pay $137.5 million to settle a “channel stuffing” lawsuit brought by a group of shareholders that claimed the world’s largest drinks company attempted to artificially boost its share price, according to court records.
The shareholders alleged that in 1999 Coca-Cola forced some bottlers to buy hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of excess syrup used for making the cola, by so-called channel stuffing. The additional sales would have improved its financial performance and appeal to the stock market.
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Inbev attempts to change board of Anheuser-Busch
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July 7: Brewer Inbev will raise the stakes in its bid to buy Anheuser-Busch (A-B) today with an attempt to remove its board of directors and replace them with a group favourable to its $46.5 billion offer.
Inbev says it wants to provide A-B shareholders with an opportunity to have a direct voice in the proposed merger with InBev.
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| Thursday, July 03 | | · | Activist appointed to Cott board |
| · | Management failures blamed for botulism in cans |
| Wednesday, July 02 | | · | Miller and Coors join forces in North America |
| · | Dongwon agrees to buy Starkist from Del Monte |
| · | Coke’s coffee comes with a kick |
| · | Coca-Cola eyes energy drinks in India |
| Monday, June 30 | | · | Mixed plastics bottle recycling plant opens |
| Friday, June 27 | | · | Anheuser-Busch rejects InBev offer |
| · | Food and drinks firms share and save fuel in UK |
| · | Brewer SABMiller to invest in Tanzania |
| Wednesday, June 25 | | · | Del Monte may sell Starkist tuna business |
| · | Management buy out for Guala Closures |
| Tuesday, June 24 | | · | Tetra Pak to invest in Pakistan |
| Friday, June 20 | | · | Modelo chief resigns from Anheuser-Busch board |
| Thursday, June 19 | | · | Two shot dead at bottling plant |
| Wednesday, June 18 | | · | Dr Pepper to build huge filling plant in California |
| Tuesday, June 17 | | · | Crescendo forces Cott to play its hand |
| Monday, June 16 | | · | Coca-Cola pilots two-litre contour bottle |
| · | InBev warns Budweiser brewer against Modelo deal |
| Thursday, June 12 | | · | Management shake up for Coca-Cola |
| · | Inbev’s $47bn bid for Anheuser-Busch: it’s official |
| Wednesday, June 11 | | · | Sustainability targets for British soft drinks producers |
| Monday, June 09 | | · | Green light for MillerCoors joint venture |
| Friday, June 06 | | · | Desperados finds a new home in France |
| Wednesday, June 04 | | · | Anheuser-Busch to sell part of its packaging unit |
| Tuesday, June 03 | | · | Hot fill PET bottles without crinkly labels |
| · | Carton filling productivity increases with iLine |
| · | Private equity fund calls for changes at Cott |
| Wednesday, May 28 | | · | Coca-Cola UK pulls sodium benzoate |
| Saturday, May 24 | | · | Inbev plans move on Anheuser-Busch |
| Thursday, May 22 | | · | Britvic refocuses on ‘healthier’ beverages |
| Friday, May 16 | | · | Bud brewer supports Chinese quake relief |
| · | Heinz backs China quake-aid effort |
| Saturday, May 10 | | · | Guinness brewer to restructure operations |
| Friday, May 09 | | · | Coffee chain launches energy drink |
| · | Pepsi uses its lightest-ever PET bottle |
| · | Leading beer markets hit Inbev’s volumes |
| Tuesday, May 06 | | · | Cobra charms its way back to the UK |
| Friday, May 02 | | · | PepsiCo buys into vitamin water in the UK |
| Monday, April 28 | | · | Dr Pepper kicks off separation with its share issue |
| Friday, April 25 | | · | Gatorade launches into the UK |
| Thursday, April 17 | | · | Global soft drink sales worth $776bn |
| Monday, April 14 | | · | Rebranding for closure manufacturer |
| Thursday, April 10 | | · | Heineken buys into Swiss beer |
| Wednesday, April 09 | | · | Ambient drinks cartons launched by Tetra Pak |
| · | Glass particles found in Samuel Adams bottled beer |
| · | Lightweight wine bottles cut carbon footprint |
| Friday, April 04 | | · | Red Bull changes formula to get into France |
| Thursday, April 03 | | · | Aseptic filling technology passed in US |
| · | Anheuser-Busch to relocate Chinese brewery |
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