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Anyone who develops new products for a living must be aware of a multitude of influences. Acknowledging this, we cover

scientific discoveries

consumer trends

product design and formulation

engineering technology

process engineering

manufacturing

filling and packaging

logistics and distribution

retail merchandising

end of life disposal

Then there are the legal and regulatory issues, such as safety and labelling, as well as intellectual property rights, brand management, competition and international trade that we have to take into account.

But it all means nothing without the creativity and insights of men and women who can put things together in new ways to create new products that improve our lives.

We celebrate those people.

Ian Grant

Publisher

Interbrew pubs open to other beers
Spaniards use ion exchange to cut waste
Liikanen sees biology as model for sustainability

Beer

Interbrew pubs open to other beers

The European Commission today approved the amended supply agreements between Interbrew, the largest brewer in Belgium, and about 10,000 “tied” pubs, restaurants and hotels (horeca outlets) in Belgium.

This opens the way for other brewers to supply them with any beers, but Interbrew retains the exclusive right to supply draught pils, namely the Stella, Jupiler and Safir brands in 30 and 50-litre kegs.

At the same time, Interbrew said it has sold its 44 percent stake in NBL Investment Holdings, for 31 million euros to a joint venture controlled by Diageo and Heineken. As a result, Heineken and Diageo now have an effective 28.9 percent stake in Namibia’s only brewer, Namibia Breweries.

NBL will continue to brew and distribute Interbrew’s Beck’s beer in the region for another 10 years. Heineken, which recently scrapped its distribution deal with the region’s biggest brewer, SA Breweries, said it will consider letting NBL make as well as distribute its eponymous flagship beer.

"Southern Africa is not part of Interbrew's current strategic geographic focus. However, we look forward to continuing our relationship with Namibian Breweries through the license agreement." said Interbrew chief executive John Brock. Interbrew acquired the stake when it took over the German Brauerei Beck’s in February 2002.

Namibia Breweries sold 1.1 million hectolitres of beer and 300,000 hectolitres of soft drinks. More than half is exported to 22 countries. Heineken says it could double production “with a minimum capital investment”.

Its main beer brands are Windhoek Lager, Windhoek Light and Tafel Lager. Other beer brands include Windhoek Special Lager, Windhoek Export, Das Pilsener, Urbock and a beer shandy called Club Shandy, while Beck's and Guinness are brewed under licence.

Waste

Spaniards use ion exchange to cut waste

A Spanish university has developed an ion exchange separation process to recover valuable products from waste effluents from the food and chemical industry using. The process can also be used in waste treatment plants.

Ion exchange separations are normally used in wastewater treatment plants to extract heavy metals from water. The current research aims to improve this, and also to develop the process to separate proteins from the residuals of the food industries, for example from milk, eggs, fish and vegetables. This may also be used in the chemistry industry to purify liquid flows. This avoids depuration costs and yields valuable products.

The researchers claim the equipment is cheap and simple to operate compared with other separation techniques, and easy to automate. Having two alternating columns allows the process to work continuously.

They are looking for partners from the food and/or chemical processing sectors to commercialise the product. Contact  Carlos Encinas.

Innovation

Liikanen sees biology as model for sustainability

Innovation in many fields will look to biological models for their next generation products, predicts Erkki Liikanen, European Commission member for enterprise and the information society.

Speaking the World Life Sciences Forum in Lyon last week, Liikanen said “We should be able to exploit important characteristics of biological systems, such as their ability of single units to massively reproduce with near-zero error rate, the capability to self-assemble into highly complex systems, the ability to adapt their functions to changing conditions, to detect damage and self-repair, and to communicate among themselves.”

He singled out electronics, information technology and communication systems as developing synergistically with biotechnology. This would improve sustainability of economic growth, social cohesion and the environment, he said.

Referring to the EC’s new 30-point biotechnology action plan, he said “The main priorities are tackling fragmentation in research, strengthening the industry's development by supporting the protection of intellectual property rights, actively implementing the new GMOs legislation, and improving biotechnology companies' access to finance.

Liikanen said only six countries have enacted a 1998 Directive protecting intellectual property rights in biotechnology. This left researchers unsure whether they owned the rights and so undermined investment.

“The scale of the financial crisis presently facing the biotechnology industry is worrying. A persistent lack of capital could raise the risk that Europe will lose part of the knowledge base that has been built up,” he warned.