First wine institute to be set up near Pune

Viticulture is facing severe skilled-labour crunch. To improve matters, the country's first ever wine institute will be set up in Narayangaon, around 80 km north of Pune - a region considered as the hub of wine production in India. Australia-based University of Adelaide and India's largest wine maker Champagne Indage have signed a memorandum of understanding to set up this institute - Indian Institute of Vine and Wine (IIVW) - on a 65-acre piece of land with an investment of Rs 100 crore. Champagne Indage founder chairman Shamrao Chougule has promoted this concept. Ther institute will offer diploma, degree and post-graduate master's degree programme to its students.

Projections suggest that the Indian wine industry will require some 10,000 viticulturists, 5,000 winery operators, 1,000 wine makers, 2,500 wine marketing executives along with 500 wine experts over the next five years.

"The growth potential for wine industry is huge in India," says Chougule. The University of Adelaide is considered to be the best institute in the field of viticulture education. As the students will receive a degree or diploma from the University of Adelaide, they can get jobs across the world, according to Chougule.

The first batch will be enrolled from June 2009. The course will allow students to study for a couple of years in the campus of the Adelaide University. Students will be enrolled for a three-year diploma after Class 10, for a four-year degree programme after Class 12 and for a two-year master's course after graduation. Specialisation in wine making, finance and wine marketing would be available according to the students' choice.

Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority warns against substandard eggs

Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA) warned the public against consuming a batch of a branded substandard eggs.

The entire batch of Australian Fresh Laid Eggs with production date of April 4, 2008 and expiry date of July 26, 2008, sold at a prominent supermarket branch in Al Ain was found unfit for human consumption, a senior official told .

"Although the outlet in Al Ain withdrew the problematic batch of eggs from their shelves as per our instructions, we have written to General Secretariat of Municipalities to issue a nationwide alert, said Mohammad Jalal Al Reyaysa , Manager of Communication and Information Department at ADFCA.

"So that, Municipalities or other agencies concerned can ensure that problematic batch of the eggs is not sold anywhere in the country", he said.

The official said ADFCA inspectors acted following a complaint from a customer who said he was shocked to find some eggs infested with insects at Choithram Supermarket in Al Ain on Saturday.

The inspectors took the samples and sent them to the lab, said the official.

"We used our power to hold the sale of the eggs until it was cleared and the outlet cooperated with us. Sunday, the lab test results proved that eggs were unfit for human consumption and we ordered to remove the entire stock, said Al Reyaysa.

"Our preliminary investigation suggests that only Choithram supermarkets sell that brand of eggs".

He thanked Choithram for immediately removing the eggs from shelves as per ADFCA instructions. He also thanked the customer who reported the matter to ADFCA.

Choithram in a statement issued said it had promptlly removed the eggs from the shelves, on receiving a customer complaint. "Currently we are investigating the quality issues with respect to the eggs," Choithram said in a statement.

Biofuels pushing 30m into poverty - Oxfam

Brussels: Biofuels are responsible for 30 per cent of the increase in global food prices, pushing 30 million people worldwide into poverty, aid agency Oxfam said in a report on Wednesday.

The use of biofuels is soaring as developed countries try to reduce their dependence on imported oil and cut emissions of carbon dioxide, but critics say they have led to a shortage of grain, pushing up commodity prices.

"Rich countries' demands for more biofuels in their transport fuels are causing spiralling production and food inflation," said Oxfam biofuel policy adviser Rob Bailey, who wrote the report. "Grain reserves are now at an all-time low."

Oxfam called on rich countries to dismantle subsidies for biofuels and reduce import tariffs.

"Rich countries spent up to $15 billion last year supporting biofuels while blocking cheaper Brazilian ethanol, which is far less damaging for global food security," the report said.

The aid agency also urged rich countries to scrap biofuels targets, including European Union plans to get 10 per cent of its transport fuel from renewable sources like biofuels by 2020.

The EU plans strict criteria to ensure biofuels do not do more harm than good. Some member states want targets to be conditional on the commercial availability of second-generation biofuels from farm waste, timber waste and domestic waste.

Oxfam estimates that by 2020, CO2 emissions from land-use change in the palm oil sector may have reached over 3.1 billion tonnes.

Indian crowned 'ME junior chef'

Xavier D’Cruz, a demi chef de partie from the private dining restaurant The Edge, has walked away with the '2008 Middle East Junior Chef of the Year' award, organised by the Emirates Culinary Guild as part of the Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) celebrations.

Xavier, from India, bagged gold medals in three categories - the Five Course Gourmet Menu, Live Cooking (Fish), and Live Cooking (Beef or Lamb) – to seal the contest.

The Emirates Culinary Guild plays an important role in gathering chefs from all over the GCC for an exciting culinary extravaganza.

D'Cruz received the awards amid thuderous applause from hundreds of onlookers at the Times Square Center, which hosted the week-long event.

When asked how he felt on winning the coveted honour, Xavier replied, “The number of participating chefs is by itself an indication of the popularity and esteem the event has across the GCC and to win in this culinary exhibition is always a dream for every chef coming here.”

“Every participant in this contest has a mentor and for me, that mentor is certainly Chef Juraj Kalna, executive chef at The Edge. Over the past year, I’ve learnt immensely from him and without his guidance it would have been almost impossible to win this event,” he added.

Ice-carving duo

After having bagged gold in last year’s Team Ice-carving contest, Wanchalerm Sukseekao, a Kitchen Artist at the Jumeirah, Emirates Towers, repeated his wining streak this year as he struck gold again in the extremely popular ice-carving event.

Along with his team mate Chamila Jayasingha of Fairmont Dubai, Wanchalerm displayed his expertise at carving sculptures over six-feet high from blocks of ice.

Carrefour shares sink as sales fall

Paris: Shares in Carrefour sank to their lowest in five years on Thursday after the French retailer's second-quarter sales at its hypermarkets showed clear signs of a consumer spending slowdown.

The retailer, the world's second-largest after Wal-Mart, posted on Wednesday a sharper than expected drop in French hypermarket revenues as shoppers opted for cheaper non-branded goods and spent less on non-food items.

"Consequently it is natural to ask whether the consumer environment has taken a significant turn for the worse in recent weeks," Bernstein Research said in note.

Consumer confidence in Europe and the United States has deteriorated markedly on the back of a sustained rise in inflation, oil and consumer goods prices.

In France, consumer confidence fell to minus 46 in June, its lowest level since records began in January 1987. Other European retailers are also suffering, including Britain's Marks & Spencer which on July 2 issued a profit warning and said the consumer downturn was likely to last longer than expected.

Carrefour, which issued a profit warning last month, is more sensitive to consumer spending cuts than many of its food retail rivals due to its high proportion of non-food sales.

On Thursday, the stock hit its lowest level since March 2003 and by 1023 GMT it was down 10 per cent at 30.99 euros. Rival Casino's shares were down more than 3.5 per cent.

Market reaction

Carrefour's shares have lost 27 per cent in a month and are down 40 per cent so far this year, while DJ Stoxx European retail index has lost 33 per cent and the CAC 40 index lost 24 per cent.

The share price fall could offer an opportunity to shareholder Blue Capital to raise its stake further from the 10.7 per cent it has built over the past year. The holding company is jointly owned by billionaire Bernard Arnault and property group Colony Capital.

Carrefour on Wednesday declined to comment on a report by French magazine Challenges which said Blue Capital could raise its stake to 15 per cent after Carrefour's trading update.

Strategy

Some analysts said Carrefour's disappointing revenue figure could also partly be blamed on the retailer's promotional strategy.

"In a very depressed environment for consumption, Carrefour lost 0.3 per cent of its market share, particularly in May," Exane BNP Paribas said in a note.

Carrefour said tackling its hypermarkets' market share in France was now a priority and it planned to cut prices to lure shoppers.

It maintained key financial targets for the current year and forecast a rise in first-half operating profit of at least five per cent but some analysts remained sceptical.

"The group tried to reassure but we believe that 2008 targets are over ambitious," Cheuvreux said in a note.

New York restaurants go trans-fat-free

In a first of its kind move among major US cities, New York has banned trans-fats in restaurants.

The move took full effect this week and follows the city's 2003 ban on public smoking.

Artificial trans-fats give french fries their crunch and pie crusts their flakiness and chefs have been figuring out how it was done before trans-fats came into wide use during World War II, when margarine became a substitute for rationed butter and Crisco became a staple in US kitchens.

Artificial trans-fats, which also are known as partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, have just as many calories as other fats but clog arteries in the same way that saturated fats like butter and lard do.

A year ago, New York restaurants were banned from using the artery-clogging fats in cooking oils and spreads. On Tuesday, all trans-fat products were banned, although the city will allow a grace period before issuing fines up to $2,000.

Laura Stanley, a former senior editor for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia who heads the city's Trans-Fat Help Center, a clinic to help restaurants make the transition, said there had been complaints from bakeries and restaurants about trans-fat-free cookies turning out too crisp. It was nothing that could not be fixed with a little adjustment in baking time, she said.

"I don't want to be cavalier and say that it's solved. But I'm really, really optimistic," said Stanley, who has led a series of seminars to educate cooks about trans-fats and posted tips on a city Web site, Notransfatnyc.org.

Dunkin' Donuts, Burger King, and McDonalds Corp., as well as KFC and Pizza Hut, which are both owned by Yum! Brands Inc., all say that they have eliminated trans-fats from their New York restaurants, and they are on track to do the same across the country.

Dabur gets aggressive on juice campaigns

Homegrown FMCG major Dabur is embarking on an aggressive campaign for its fruit juices riding on the health plank. The company, whose 'Real' and 'Active' juices accounts for 13% of sales in its consumer care division, is aiming for more and is focusing on differentiating between fruit juice and fruit drink and highlighting health labels. Dabur has hired international advertising agency Lowe for its '8 times more' campaign to promote Real juices as healthy and nutritious fruit juice. "Lots of players in the market are selling fruit drinks under the garb of fruit juices."

Kuwait bans exports of sheep and frozen chicken

Kuwait City: Kuwait has banned the export of sheep and frozen chicken as of August to maintain sufficient supplies locally as part of efforts to fight record inflation in the Gulf state, the official KUNA news agency said on Tuesday.

The world's seventh-largest oil exporter is fighting record inflation, which hit 10.1 per cent in February, the latest published figure as housing and food costs soar.

As of August 1 the export of live and slaughtered sheep will be banned until the end of 2008 and the export of frozen chicken until further notice, KUNA said, citing a commerce and industry ministry official.

The ministry was implementing a host of measures to prevent unjustified increases in prices, Mohammad Al Anzi, head of the supply department at the ministry, told KUNA.

Separately, daily Al Watan said Commerce and Industry Minister Ahmad Baqer has warned cooperative supermarkets not to increase prices without seeking government approval.

Subsidies

Cooperatives, where citizens can buy basic foods subsidised by the government under a card scheme, "should not increase prices of any food item without consulting the ministry", Al Watan newspaper quoted Baqer as saying.

The paper said Baqer will meet representatives from the Union of Cooperative Societies today to discuss high prices of foods and basic goods.

The cabinet is under pressure from parliament to counter rising prices.

Starbucks to close 600 stores across US

Hit hard by a slowing economy, Starbucks Corpn is closing 600 stores, almost 8.5% of its US company-operated portfolio, signaling an end to the Seattle company's US boom, at least for now. From 1982, when the company had just four stores, until just two years ago, when Starbucks announced plans to triple its number of stores, it seemed as if Starbucks demand knew no bounds. But economic pressures such as rising gas and food prices, combined with increased competition from Dunkin'Donuts and McDonald's, are taking their toll. Starbucks plans to close the company-operated stores by the end of March 2009.

In January, Starbucks brought back its founder and chief executive Howard Schultz to turn around the company. Soon after, Schultz targeted 100 stores for closure - a number that grew by 500 when firm plans were announced last week. Starbucks said the 600 stores are either unprofitable now or are not expected to meet future return thresholds.

All of the targeted units are close to another company-operated store, according to Chief Executive Peter Bocian.

Salmonella outbreak still confounds US food experts

Autlan: Inspectors are collecting soil, water and produce samples, reviewing export logs and combing packing plants in three major tomato-growing states in Mexico.

But the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) appears no closer to finding the source of a mysterious salmonella outbreak that has sickened more than 900 people nationwide.

The FDA is not even 100 per cent sure that tomatoes are the cause - it added peppers and cilantro on Saturday to its list of foods under investigation in the outbreak.

A team of three FDA inspectors has gone through five farms in the western states of Jalisco and Sinaloa in the past two weeks, looking at all aspects of tomato production: the greenhouses where they are grown, the packing plants where they are shut into boxes, the shipping methods for the trip north to the US.

The results can't come too soon for the three Mexican states that were targeted by the FDA, along with farms in Texas and Florida.

Facing big losses

Bonanza 2001 farm in Autlan, Jalisco, which normally exports about 12,000 tonnes of tomatoes a year to the US, has hundreds of tonnes sitting in a warehouse near the Texas-Mexico border as demand has plummeted, said spokesman Luis Almejo.

They may rot. Sinaloa growers also face big losses.

"We're demanding that they release those results as soon as possible so that Sinaloa can be cleared of any suspicion," said Manuel Tarriba, president of Sinaloa's Tomato Growers Association, adding that he expects some results by the end of next week.

Sanjeev Kapoor plans 'quick service restaurant' chain in US

Celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor is planning to launch a chain of 'quick service restaurants' in the US by the end of 2010and is presently working on developing and testing a range of internationally acceptable products from the Indian cuisine that will be sold through these outlets. He said the menu would b tested at a pilot that will be based at a small town in India.

Kapoor recently launched the Pune outlet of his restaurant, The Yellow Chilli (TYC), when he revealed that Kars Foods, the holding company for his restaurant brands, would raise around Rs 20 crore soon through private equity to expand the Khazana and TYC brands in the country. The super chef has chalked out an aggressive growth plan in India, and expects to bring the upscale Khazana restaurant brand, now present only in Dubai and soon to be launched in Qatar, to at least one Indian city. Bangalore is the most likely location for this. Plans are also afoot to take this to London and New York over the next few years.

UAE and Saudi Arabia to get Sharia-compliant hotels

Dubai: Landmark Hotel Management said it will launch 10 Sharia-compliant hotels and service apartments in the UAE and Saudi Arabia by the end of 2010.

Six of the 10 projects will be in Dubai, two in Abu Dhabi, a four-star in Fujairah and one hotel in Jeddah. All the projects will operate on Islamic principles, which means they will be alcohol-free, serve halal food, and provide a percentage of their profit to charity.

SM Sadique, managing director of Landmark, said: "The significant growth in the number of Arab and Muslim tourists and the corresponding increase in consumer spending by Arabs have boosted the demand for Sharia-compliant hotels in the Middle East region. Moreover, with the unprecedented growth in the regional markets, we expect a further surge in Arab tourist inflow."

Suguna, Wal-Marts tie-up to offer branded eggs

Coimbatore-based Suguna is planning a tie-up with the world number one retail chain Wal-Mart to expand its market for branded eggs. Over the last year, Suguna has supplied various Indian retailers with 'healthy' eggs. Dr K Ravindran, General Manager (Layer Marketing, Corporate) explained that the branded eggs are rich in vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acids, which help maintain heart health. The company has a range of four branded eggs: Suguna Heart, Active, Pro and Shakti. Launching the products in Andhra Pradesh, he said the company would next go to Mumbai, New Delhi and Kolkata. In phases, the company will cover tier-I and tier-II cities.

At a press conference in Hyderabad, Dr Ravindran said Suguna sells one million branded eggs each month, contributing about 2% to company revenue. The branded eggs have already been launched in Chennai, Coimbatore and Bangalore.

Tyson to enter India

US-based Tyson Foods have acquired a major ownership in one of the leading poultry processing company Godrej Foods Ltd. Tyson purchased 51% ownership of Mumbai-based Godrej, which is a subsidiary of Godrej Agrovet Ltd, one of India's leading agri businesses. The joint venture between Godrej Agrovet and Tyson Foods will be called Godrej Tyson Foods. Annual sales for the venture are initially expected to be in the range of $50 million and are anticipated to grow as operations are expanded.

"Poultry production and consumption is growing in India and we believe the timing is right for us to bring our expertise and resources to this emerging market," said Rick Greubel, group vice president and international president for Tyson Foods. "India has population of more than 1.1 billion people, and while per capita chicken consumption there is currently less than five pounds a year, its annual growth rate of more than 10% is among the highest in the world."

"We're excited about partnering with Tyson, because of its international reputation for quality and innovation," said Balram Yadav, chief executive officer of Godrej Agrovet Ltd. "We believe this joint venture will boost our continued efforts to modernise the way high quality poultry products are developed, produced and distributed in our country."

The venture includes one chicken processing facility in Mumbai and another in Bangalore. The two plants have a combined production capacity of 60,000 birds per day and have approximately 1,000 contract production workers. The Godrej processing operations are supplied by six contracted hatcheries and a network of contracted broiler operations, which produce live birds to the company's specifications.

Tyson and Godrej plan to immediately initiate efforts to expand the capacity of the poultry plants already in operation. Efforts to build new processing plants in other parts of the country will likely begin within the next several years.

The well-trained, professional sales organisation of Godrej currently sells retail fresh chicken under the "Real Good Chicken" brand name and processed chicken, such as breaded nuggets and patties, along with a line of frozen vegetables, under the "Yummiez" brand. The company, which is also a major supplier to the foodservice market, has an extensive logistics and distribution network designed to effectively serve its customer base in western, southern and northern India.

Greubel also noted, "With the help of our partners, we plan to expand the production capacity of the existing operations and build additional processing facilities to better reach consumers in the northern and eastern regions of the country."

Mars, IBM to sweeten cocoa

Chocolate maker Mars, computer giant IBM and the US Department of Agriculture said they would team up to map the DNA of the cocoa tree to sweeten the crop's $5 billion market. "Sequencing the cocoa genome is a significant scientific step that will allow more direct breeding of cocoa plants and perhaps even enhance the quality of cocoa, the key ingredient in chocolate," privately held Mars said. "The collaboration will enable farmers to plant better quality cocoa and, more importantly, help create healthier, stronger cocoa crops with higher yields, pest and disease resistance and increased water and nutrient use efficiency."

While conventional plant breeding techniques can transform a crop, having the complete genome offer researchers the opportunity to take short-cuts to changing the plant's qualities.

Asha's opens in Qatar

Asha’s, the famous Indian chain of restaurants named after the legendary Bollywood singer Asha Bhosle, has now opened in Qatar.

The contemporary Indian restaurant opened its doors in Villagio Mall with a noteworthy opening event.

The opening comes in partnership with MH Alshaya Company, the leading retailer in the region, as part of the company’s rapid growth in the restaurant industry.

Asha Bhosle, the Indian diva and founder of Asha’s restaurant, has showcased her culinary and hospitality talents with her restaurants’ rapid expansion throughout the UK, Kuwait, UAE and now in Qatar, said an Asha's official.

”It will be a new experience in Qatar for you in the form of an innovative contemporary Indian restaurant, where guests are serviced by knowledgeable staff in a buzzing environment, taking service standards in Qatar’s up to a new level,' he said.

Upon entering Asha’s one is encased with the intimacy of the warm and welcoming décor and the authentic Indian music making a statement in the background.

'Over the years, Bhosle refined her musical talents and culinary interests; as she strived to learn and enhance the diversity of Indian food.'

'Asha’s recipes will capture your heart from the wonderful array of tandoori Kebabs created from succulent meats flavoured with authentic herbs and spices to the recognizable traditional biryanis and curries,' the official said.

A new menu selection, consisting of delicacies from the north-western part of India, her own home specialties and a modern fusion selection are the highlights of the restaurant.