05 May 2017 --- In January 2016, the EU imposed a maximum limit of inorganic arsenic on manufacturers in a bid to mitigate associated health risks. Researchers at the Institute for Global Food Security at Queen's have found that little has changed since this law was passed and that 50 per cent of baby rice food products still contain an illegal level of inorganic arsenic.
10 Feb 2017 --- Mead Johnson Nutrition Company has reached an agreement to be acquired by Reckitt Benckiser Group plc (RB), the world's leading consumer health and hygiene company. Under the agreement, shareholders will receive $90 in cash for each share of common stock, valuing the total equity at $16.6 billion. As a result of this transaction, Mead Johnson will become a new division of RB with its globally-recognized Enfamil and Nutramigen brands joining RB's portfolio of leading consumer health brands.
19 Jan 2017 --- Nestlé is gearing up to bid for US infant formula and vitamin maker Mead Johnson, according to a report. There has been speculation that Mead Johnson, which makes Enfamil baby formula, could be a target for Nestlé for some time, as it would help it grow in Latin America and Asia.
07 Oct 2016 --- Nestlé is to triple production of infant formula with the opening of its new factory in Jalisco, Mexico. At a cost of $245m, the new factory becomes Nestlé’s biggest investment in infant nutrition worldwide in the last 10 years.
22 Jun 2016 --- Perrigo Company plc have announced it has received final US Food and Drug Administration clearance for three milk-based, store brand non-GMO infant formulas. Shipments to retail customers have already commenced.
18 May 2016 --- Popular infant formulas sold throughout the United States have been found to contain infinitesimally small ingredients known as engineered nanoparticles. A growing body of scientific research demonstrates that nanoparticles pose threats to human health, raising concerns about their use in food and many other consumer products.
13 Apr 2016 --- Food regulators are examining whether infant milk formula labels need to change in Australia.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is reviewing standards in the industry code that regulates infant formula milk products sold in Australia.
21 Jan 2016 --- Draft EU rules that would allow baby foods to continue to contain up to three times more sugar than is recommended by the World Health Organisation were vetoed by the European Parliament yesterday, as they fail to protect infants and young children against obesity, say MEPs. Instead, they advocate reducing the EU sugar content limit to match the WHO recommendations.
20 Jan 2016 --- At the end of 2015, GEA received a major order from Danone to equip a new state-of-the-art facility for its international Early Life Nutrition brands with several production lines.
01 Dec 2015 --- Fonterra Australia and Bellamy’s Australia Limited (Bellamy’s) have announced plans to enter into a five year, multi-million dollar strategic agreement to manufacture a range of new baby nutritional powders.
13 Nov 2015 --- Australia is experiencing a shortage of infant formula, said to be as a result of Chinese buyers bulk-buying and sending it back to China where demand is so high it can’t be met. Problems were exacerbated this week as China’s Singles Day, the world’s largest online shopping event, encouraged more consumers to buy large amounts of baby formula.
10 Nov 2015 --- FrieslandCampina has opened a new production facility for galacto-oligosaccharides (Vivinal GOS) in Borculo. Its Vivinal GOS is used in a range of infant nutrition products. The expansion of production will enable FrieslandCampina to respond to the increasing worldwide demand for high-quality ingredients for use in infant nutrition.
02 Jul 2015 --- Consumers all around the world pay closer attention than ever to what they eat every day. This already becomes apparent in the supermarket: more than half of all Europeans (53 percent) and 64 percent of US-Americans take a critical look at the label of food and beverages before they put them in their shopping trolley.
30 Jun 2015 --- Ingredient supplier FMC has noted that the FAO/WHO Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) released its full technical report, including a monograph regarding the safety of carrageenan in infant formula, and concluded that the use of carrageenan in infant formula was 'not of concern'.
23 Apr 2015 --- Arla Foods Ingredients has doubled its capacity for producing Alpha-lactalbumin in a bid to meet growing demand from the global infant formula market.
06 Apr 2015 --- IOI Loders Croklaan and Kerry Group have reached an agreement to form a joint venture company to manufacture and promote the nutrition lipid Betapol business. The parties expect to conclude negotiations over the coming weeks subject to competition approval. The equal share alliance is centered around Betapol, a specialty lipid for infant nutrition.
10 Mar 2015 --- Ingredion Incorporated, a leading global provider of ingredient solutions, has published the global texture and taste trends that it claims are shaping the future of product development through the company’s Idea Labs CULINOLOGY group. The trends identified stem from North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australasia and capture the emerging food texture trends in each region.
06 Mar 2015 --- Glanbia Ingredients Ireland has opened a €235m hi-spec infant formula standard facility in Belview, a move that will create 1,600 direct and indirect jobs in South East.
12 Feb 2015 --- Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited submitted to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange a partial tender offer to acquire up to 20 per cent of leading Chinese infant formula manufacturer, Beingmate Baby & Child Food Company Ltd.
15 Jan 2015 --- Fonterra Co-operative Group advises that China’s Ministry of Commerce has now granted anti-trust and strategic foreign investment approval for the proposed partnership with leading Chinese infant food manufacturer Beingmate.
