A daily dose of blueberries can do a lot to keep the doctor away, recent research has shown, as they can actually improve blood pressure in healthy people. Scientists tested the effect on healthy volunteers of consuming 200 grams, or two cupfuls, of blueberries for a month. Over the course of the study participants’ systolic blood pressure, the pressure that builds up in blood vessels, was lowered by an average of five millimetres of mercury.
Finnish food group Raisio has reported a €7.6 million year-on-year drop in net sales in the third quarter of its financial year. The performance has been attributed to the interrupted export of Raisioaqua’s fish feeds to Russia. The company, which makes Benecol, expects sales profit to amount to €12.5 million.
For the full year 2018, Fresh Del Monte Produce reported a loss per share of $0.45, compared with earnings per diluted share of $2.39 for 2017. The Company reported an adjusted earnings per diluted share of $0.44 for the full year 2018, compared with adjusted earnings per diluted share of $2.43 for the full year 2017. The Company reported a loss per share of $0.70 in the fourth quarter of 2018, compared with a loss per share of $0.13 in the fourth quarter of 2017.
Larry Goodman-owned ABP Food Group has launched a new meat-free brand in the UK known as Equals. Equals is a range of fresh plant-based products aimed at those cutting down on meat or who have given it up completely. The first product in the range to hit the shelves is a meatless quarter-pounder burger made of a mix of seasoned pea and soy proteins.
Chocolate maker Ferrero has temporarily halted activity at the biggest production plant of its Nutella spread. The company said it relates to quality checks at its Villers-Écalles factory in France. The issue was noticed on Tuesday after reading results of one of the quality checks at the plant.
Andrew Doyle, the Minister of State for Food, Forestry, and Horticulture, has announced that he will seek the Fine Gael nomination for the Ireland South constituency in this year’s elections for the European Parliament. Doyle said that his motivation was Brexit, and how it has shown Irish people the role the European Union plays here, adding that he felt it was important that all sections of Irish society be represented in the parliament.
© 2019 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
