Cargill has acquired integrated German chocolate and cocoa company Schwartauer Werke Kakao Verarbeitung Berlin (KVB). The deal makes Cargill the biggest supplier of industrial chocolate in Germany, the largest chocolate market in Europe. KVB has two manufacturing plants in Berlin and will supplement Cargill's current cocoa and chocolate facilities in the country, adding 75,000 metric tonnes to Cargill's production capacity. The deal also adds 180 employees to Cargill's workforce.

The U.S. business of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has launched Walmart Express, a retail concept with outlets that, at 15,000 square feet, are less than 10% of the size of its conventional supercenter stores. The company plans this year to open 15-20 of these stores, carrying 11,000-13,000 stock-keeping units rather than the 100,000 in the supercenters, at both rural and urban sites. Most will have a pharmacy and some will have gasoline stations. The format is designed to address changes to shopper behavior in the face of higher fuel prices and to gain access to urban markets that do not need or cannot accommodate a supersized store. The company believes the strategy will help offset declining sales at its supercenters and build on the success so far of the 40,000 square feet Walmart Market format, but some analysts believe that Wal-Mart must also bring growth back to its core supercenter format.  

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is rolling out its "everyday low prices" (EDLP) retail strategy to more international markets to replace the more usual high-low pricing in emerging markets. EDLP has already been introduced successfully outside the U.S. in the U.K., Mexico and Canada. EDLP means working with suppliers to ensure their prices are constantly low, but also means price changes are kept to a minimum. Wal-Mart's international operations saw 11.5% growth in the first quarter of 2011, helped in part by lower prices. In Brazil, EDLP has helped Wal-Mart reduce the number of price changes by 60% and lines at registers by 53%. The strategy even helped Wal-Mart enhance its public image in Japan's earthquake-ravaged regions. Improving its international business, which accounts for more than 25% of its $420 billion in sales, has gained importance as Wal-Mart's U.S. stores face dropping same-store sales and traffic.

A Swedish study found that preliminary improvements in obstructive sleep apnoea (also apnea) after a low-energy diet can be sustained after one year in overweight men with moderate to severe degrees of the condition. Results of the single-center, prospective observational follow-up study showed that study subjects who lost the most weight or have severe sleep apnoea at the start of the study benefit most from the treatment. The study focused on 63 men, 30 to 65 years old, with a body mass index of 30-40 and moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnoea. They were treated with continuous positive airway pressure. 

Gartner's Supply Chain Top 25 report presents the leading companies in terms of supply chain management in 2011. The study also looks at the future directions for supply chain management. The Top 5 comprises regulars Apple, Dell, and Procter & Gamble as well as last year's new entrants Research In Motion and Amazon. New entrants this year included food companies Nestle and Kraft, as well as Starbucks. Gartner’s recommendations include developing supply chain processes to deal volatile conditions; ensuring the value chain vision is backed by strong and flexible execution; and gauging the success of the supply chain on the basis of the experiences of customers.

Nestlé installed a solar power system at its ice cream factory in Ferentino, Italy, where the company manufactures Coppa del Nonno, a 60-year old ice cream brand unique to Italy. The solar power system was built with technical support from Solar Green Energy Company. It combines three kinds of solar power technology, and will provide all the energy requirements for the ice cream brand's production line, about 14% of the factory's total energy needs.

A review and meta-analysis of several published studies revealed that consumption of at least 250mg of the long-chain n-3 fatty acids (n-3 LCFA) per day reduces the risk of fatal and non-fatal coronary heart disease (CHD) in people with no previous history of CHD. Previous meta-analyses, which were based on U.S. studies, found that risk of CHD death was reduced by n-3 LCFA in degrees depending on dosage, with intake over 250mg per day reducing the risk further. Data from Japan, where residents have high fish consumption levels, suggest that n-3 LCFA intakes of 900-1,000mg/day and higher may prevent non-fatal myocardial infarction.

Rising costs of raw materials are forcing fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies in India to raise the prices of their products. Prices of most commodities remain high; most are still rising and tea prices in May were up over 13% on April, although the price of some edible oils were down in May. Some companies in India have already raised their prices, some more than once, and some will take further pricing action. Others are still considering raising prices, although fierce competition in the shampoo category has seen prices slip there.

A Swedish study based on over 61,000 women, including a subcohort of some 5,000, looked at the association of calcium intake over a 19-years period and the risk of bone fractures, and especially hip fractures and osteoporosis. The study found that 14,738, or some 24% had a first fracture of any type. Of these, 3,871 suffered a first hip fracture. In the subcohort, 20% were osteoporotic. The risk patterns with dietary calcium were non-linear in that a gradual increase in calcium intake above that for the first quintile did not result in further reductions in osteoporosis or risk of fracture.