http://tete.spoonylife.com SpoonyLife fr-FR http://tete.spoonylife.com/tata-tea-to-relaunch-himalyan-mineral-water-1023.html Mineral Water Bottle Tata Tea acquired 32 percent in Mount Everest, and added the "Himalayan" natural mineral water brand to its beverage portfolio nearly one year ago. Now, the company has relaunched the Himalayan brand.Water was always good for you, but Tata Tea hopes its rebranded Himalayan will make it better. The packaging all 5 versions are new but the pricing of Rs 25 for a litre remains the same. The new look Himalayan will roll out in almost 19500 Tata Tea retail outlets as well as modern retail stores in Mumbai followed by other regions in the next few months. The natural mineral water brand Himalayan, which has over 50% of the Rs 100 crore natural mineral water market is now officially labeled as a Tata product and the group hopes to take the brand wherever its footprints exist.Percy Siganporia, MD, Tata Tea said, We will use the Himalayan brand to supplement Tata Tea's interest in the beverage market worldwide. We plan to take the product wherever we have other Tata products and obviously use the presence to boost the Himalayan brand.Pradeep Poddar, MD et CEO, Mount Everest Mineral Water said, The benefits of the Tata network will be immediate, especially in the retail area where nearly all retail outlets that Tata Tea stocks in, will also have Himalayan. We will also roll out nationwide.Rediffusion DYR has helped design the bottle and this Rs One crore campaign by the agency will accompany the relaunch. While the Tata product will have to carve out a market for its premium priced natural mineral water, on the retail front it will also have to contend with packaged water market leader Bisleri that corners over 30% of the Rs 1500 crore bottled water market followed by Pepsi's aquafina and Coca cola's Kinley. The group plans to introduce functional and enhanced water variants of Himalayan to ensure it's geared up for competition at all market segments. Tue, 13 May 2008 16:54:00 GMT http://tete.spoonylife.com/method-for-stabilizing-and-preventing-coagulation-of-proteins-in-milk-1020.html Goat Milk Powder The invention pertains to a method for stabilizing and preventing coagulation of proteins in milk comprising a coagulant consisting of 400 ppm of a non-complexed divalent cation, and/or an amount of an acid giving a pH6.2 to the milk, comprising the steps: a) adding to the milk 0.0005 to 0.1% carrageenan and/or gellan as a hydrocolloid mixture comprising at least 0.2% carrageenan and/or gellan based on the total weight of the hydrocolloid mixture, and at least one of the divalent cation and the acid to obtain a solution or dispersion; b) at least partially precipitating proteins from the solution or dispersion by heating the milk at 120-150.degree. C. for 2 to 120 seconds; c) cooling the mixture of step b) to below 100.degree. C., preferably to below 40.degree. C.; and d) applying shear or elongation onto the precipitate to obtain a stabilized divalent cation protein solution or dispersion. The invention further relates to stabilized Ca-enriched milk and the use thereof in spray drying. Tue, 13 May 2008 16:52:00 GMT http://tete.spoonylife.com/state-tells-smokers-to-cough-up-taxes-1019.html Carton Pack "You have been reported to DOR as a person who recently purchased cigarettes where the cigarette use taxes and sales taxes . . . due may not have been paid," the warning letter says.It lays the groundwork for those smokers to be billed if their names show up as repeat buyers from Internet vendors.State officials got the names from Internet cigarette vendors after notifying 75 of those companies that a federal law makes it their responsibility to ensure that taxes owed Wisconsin get paid. Officials won't identify the 75 companies that got those notices, citing laws protecting the privacy of tax information.Internet cigarette buyers who get caught can be billed the $1.77 per pack tax, sales taxes, interest and a $25-per-carton fine, the letter adds. Officials also refused to say how many smokers got the letters, first mailed in February, or how much in taxes smokers who got the letters have paid as a result of threats.If too much information is released about how state officials got the names of Internet cigarette customers, state Revenue Secretary Roger Ervin said, it may jeopardize relationships with those vendors."We've gotten some very good two-way dialogue going with them, and we don't want to have them pull back and not give us those names," he said.Internet vendors remain eager to sell to Wisconsin smokers and, in some cases, appear willing to sidestep the state's cigarette tax.For example, some Wisconsin residents got an ad in the mail last week from an online vendor associated with the Seneca Indian Nation, offering a 10-pack carton of Skydancer cigarettes over the Internet for $12.99 - about $5 less than the Wisconsin taxes owed on it.Another Internet cigarette vendor, smokin4free.com, tells potential customers it won't cooperate with federal or state tax collectors under any circumstances: "IMPORTANT: We have never and do not report any information about our customers to any authorities. We guarantee your safety while shopping with us and will uphold our promise in keeping your information 100% confidential."Asked about such ads, Ervin said his agency is quietly doing all it can to work with Internet vendors, retailers and Indian tribes that sell cigarettes, and Wisconsin smokers who are avoiding the $1.77-per-pack tax."We are continually building and enhancing our education program with taxpayers," Ervin said. "If someone decides they want to purchase from this (Internet) company, we are going to continue to let them know they have a tax obligation on those packs of cigarettes."To help persuade smokers to quit and teens to never start smoking, and to help pay for general programs, Wisconsin raised its cigarette tax by $1 per pack.Wisconsin has the second-highest tax in the region, behind Michigan's $2 per pack. The state tax in Iowa is $1.36; in Illinois, local governments can add to the state tax of 98 cents per pack.Revenue producerWisconsin's $1.77-per-pack tax is expected to raise $523 million next year, or 76% more than what was raised before the tax increase. Because the tax increase took effect on Jan. 1, it is too soon to tell whether it will bring in as much as projected, budget analysts say.It's also too soon to say whether the number of smokers buying cigarettes from the Internet, or in states with lower taxes, has gone up significantly, Ervin said."From January to May is just too short of a time horizon to know what the impact is" on smokers who try to avoid the state tax, Ervin said.Similar warning letters sent in 2005 caused an uproar, and Gov. Jim Doyle told the same agency to stop sending them. But that was before the $1 per pack tax increase and before the state faced a $652 million shortfall in tax collections that Doyle and legislators are trying make up.One legislator and smoker, state Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton), said more Wisconsin smokers may be trying to avoid the $1.77 levy as they try to cope with sharply higher gas and food prices."You're going to try and save whatever (money) you possibly can," said Erpenbach, who added that the $1.77 tax is one reason he now usually smokes less than a pack a day. That's fewer cigarettes than he smoked before the tax increase.Erpenbach said he now pays between $5.70 and $6.28 per pack."It really is very much of an honor system," Erpenbach said about the $1.77 tax. "Someone is always going to find a way around it."At www.NoCigTax.com, a site belonging to the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., toll-free phone numbers appear with urgings to call lawmakers to speak out against rising cigarette taxes.A supervisor reached by phone who identified himself as Hyson Blitz said callers to NoCigTax.com are asked their ZIP codes so they can be given the names and contact information for their local legislators.Taxes on cigarettes "are already high enough," Blitz said, adding that his group does not encourage smokers to buy cigarettes from Internet vendors to avoid taxes. Tue, 13 May 2008 16:50:00 GMT http://tete.spoonylife.com/jamaica-producers-looks-to-an-angel-of-mercy-1018.html banana chip Jamaica Producers had a very tough first quarter, reporting a loss of J$312.7 million on sales of J$3 billion. Taking the more conservative approach of excluding the stock units held by their Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), this translated into a loss per share of J$1.84 for the quarter ended March 22, 2008, or more than three times the loss of sixty cents per share of their corresponding first quarter of 2007.The conservative break up value of conglomerate Jamaica Producers (JP) could be in the J$60 per share region based on the strength of its equity holdings in GraceKennedy, its United Kingdom juice operations and the value of lands held in Jamaica. President and Chief Executive Officer of Stocks et Securities Ltd (SSL), Mark Croskery explains:"The value of the 187-million JP shares outstanding represents a conservative intrinsic value of J$62.48 per share, not inclusive of cash holdings or any other intangible value, nor its shipping and logistics division." He adds that, "The recent Lascelles de Mercado deal is a clear example of the value of specific Jamaican Companies (publicly listed on the JSE) and that with "Caribbeanization" and Globalisation that more and more external investors are looking at Jamaican companies and slowly but surely creating a very serious mergers and acquisition market in Jamaica and the Caribbean."Croskery notes that despite the value that can be unlocked by JP's executives, over the last 52 weeks of trading, the market continues to price the stock in the J$25-$41 price range. He explains why. "What is clear is that there is significant value present but without significant changes, it will not be realised. The recent mammoth loses might bring about these changes."In Jamaica Producer's Chairman's statement, Chairman Charles Johnston described 2008 as " undoubtedly one of the most challenging periods in the recent history of the Group."According to Johnston, Jamaica Producer's first response appears to have been to accelerate its ongoing effort to reduce overheads, through "reduced headcount, frozen salaries, delayed salary increases throughout the group."Unlocking valueReturning to the valuation of the conglomerate, Croskery points to important value drivers. First, JP owns 32 million units of Grace Shares. "Grace's results have rebounded very strongly during the course of last year. Also, the supply of this stock is very limited and many players are interested in buying. And with the Lascelles deal being done, funds will go into a blue chip of this nature naturally." Added to the mix, Croskery notes that, "Grace in itself could also be a takeover candidate." With that in mind, Croskery states, "Let us conservatively use a market price for the Grace shares of $90 per share to value these shares and so 32 million share are worth $2.88 billion."Looking at the United Kingdom operations at Serious Food Co and Sunjuice, Croskery explains, "The revenue is US$60 million on an annual basis and we can conservatively value this at 0.75 times to sales multiple, even though it as currently a significant net loss business, but had a net profit margin of 2.50 per cent to 5 per cent two to three fiscal years ago.And many business like this, sell for 2 times price/sales multiples in other countries." And so, Croskery values this business line at J$8.52 billion (using exchange rate of $71). And then there is the farm lands. He notes that, "Although valued significantly higher, we can place a value of US$4 million or J$284 million."Taking the three segments discussed, Croskery notes that, "The above represents $11.684 Billion in potential value without even considering cash or other fixed income investments on the balance sheet."JP/GK merger?Although JP is a prime takeover/break up candidate, Croskery does not believe the buyer will be a local company. There had been talk that Grace would buy out the UK division of the firm but Grace executives were unavailable for comment up to press time. "We at SSL do not view Grace as a buyer of this business. Firstly, we would view this deal as being too big for them and they recently completed the WT Foods deal which was sizable also." Croskey sees the buyer as another juice manufacturer who could leverage the existing UK market that JP has developed.He adds that, "When the argument comes that a business with negative earnings is not worth it, we don't buy into this as the ales are very significant as the net margins were very attractive up to 2twoyears ago."Nevertheless, Croskery says that he is advising his clients to hold the stock and to buy at $30 per share or below.Turning to strategic alliancesAccording to Jamaica Producer's CEO Jeffrey Hall the group now intends to "develop strategic alliances with world class brands and supermarket retailers to drive growth in their fresh fruit and smoothie business particularly in Europe."This differs from the previous strategy of trying to create their own brand, as the focus will instead be to align with the successful brands of companies who bring marketing expertise.JP's CEO added that while the group will still maintain its house brand to supply food service operations their greater focus will allow JP to keep costs low as to compete with the other low cost private labels for juice.JP is facing a particularly difficult situation because of the UK's very highly concentrated supermarket sector which has a high degree of market power relative to their privater label suppliers such as JP.According to Hall, there has been a less than five per cent price increase in the retail selling price of food over the same 18-month period in the UK.Arguing that JP "can restore profitability by systematically adjusting prices or exiting unprofitable lines of business," Hall stresses his confidence that " we can drive growth in other markets in Europe and in our core juice and smoothie lines."BananasIn his Chairman's statement Johnston noted: "During the quarter, we had no revenues from banana exports or snack food production in Jamaica. Moreover, we had to scale back our shipping and freight forwarding activities that typically rely on the backhaul opportunities that are created by our banana export business."Hurricane Dean drove the decline in revenues from the banana segment, which plunged 55.2 per cent to J$242 million from J$540 million the previous year. JP's banana farms were practically wiped out, and full production will not resume until the third quarter in 2008. Tue, 13 May 2008 16:49:00 GMT http://tete.spoonylife.com/a-trip-across-western-ukraine-1016.html vUkrainian Vodka After having packed several T-shirts, warm sweaters, an extra pair of jeans, firm leather boots in case of heavy rain, my favorite khaki hitchhiking outfit, video and photo camera, and an indispensable map of automobile roads, I was finally ready for the trip to a Carpathian village called Delatyn, where I was going to celebrate Easter.As the train rattled along the tracks I pondered my journey's plan. The only thing I knew for sure at that moment was that after getting off the train in Ternopil in the morning, I was going to buy a bus ticket which would bring me straight to Delatyn, where I was going to stay with my father's friends, an elderly couple.Without any troubles I found my way to Ternopil's bus station the next morning and bought a Hr 40 ticket Ternopil-Yaremche. Later, as the bus, jammed with passengers, rumbled across the entire Ternopil and Ivano-Frankivsk regions, I realized that I made a needless detour. I should had taken the train to Ivano-Frankivsk and changed to the bus there.With the bus' frequent stops, loading and off-loading passengers, I was about two hours late. Thankfully, Yuriy, an elderly hutsul (the name for ethno-cultural inhabitants of Carpathian Mountains) met me at the Delatyn station without a grumble. Apparently, the locals must have gotten used to unhurried way of life. The first place we visited was a three-hundred-year-old Greek-catholic church, where I was introduced to the priest. It turned out that all the fuss came from my father's remarks about my work as a journalist and wish to make a report on the local traditions. Although my inquiries didn't go further than the history and some curious facts about the place, all inhabitants I met seemed flattered.Delatyn, lying along the Prut river, is about six hundred years old and has seen a lot in the course of the twentieth century. During our walks through nearby hills colored in hues of green, brown and pink I was told about Polish, Austro-Hungarian, German, and Red Army occupations, the huge Jewish community that used to live here, Stepan Bandera and Sydir Kovpak leading their troops through the surrounding forests and mountains. Later on while walking alone with a photo camera I realized my camera couldn't capture the beauty that surrounded me.The hosting family was Greek Catholic, and though their faith wasn't a fanatic one, various religious rites were integral parts of their everyday life. One day Yuriy's wife Maria was showing me recent photos of the couple, their relatives and friends. Religious cards were mixed in with the pictures. The conversation was curious as she said, "Here I am next to the car, here is Yura, our daughter and her family in the house, here's Jesus Christ, me again near the car, Yura, a little bit tipsy, my son with his wife in the garden, the Lord's Supper," and so on. Their attitude towards religious issues was simple yet true and sincere.The Greek Catholic rituals were unkown to me, so I decided to plunge deeper into the local ways. I was taken to the church's Christ's shroud, taught how to cross before the entrance and inside the church, how to kiss the shroud, and listened to the youth choir singing hymns under the wooden cupola simply embellished with angels, saints, and traditional Western Ukrainian ornaments. Everything was not so beautiful and decent. I could see some mischievous children, about nine or 10 years old, slipping their hands into the collection bowllife is life even in this peaceful place among the mountains.On the Easter morning like a devout Christian, I woke at four o'clock to prepare myself and my video camera for the Mass. Muffled in T-shirts, sweaters, a jacket and a scarf I was warm while stumbling in the cold, down the dark hill edged by a gurgling mountain creek. Though it was hard to keep awake in the early hours, I managed to endure the whole Mass, received a generous splash of cold sanctified water right into my face from the priest, and eventually strode back to have the long awaited breakfast. The table was modestly laid with traditional hand-made sausages including krovianka (blood sausage), eggs, cheese, horseradish, Easter cakes, and Carpathian banush (corn mush with brynza) accompanied by uzvar (compote), sour goat milk, and of course horilka (vodka in Ukrainian).Later that day, I journeyed further into the mountains. I hopped on an old diesel locomotive and headed to Rakhiv, Zakarpattia region. The train was filled up with tourists and their backpacks. We peacefully slid through mountains covered with fir trees and topped with the snow, crossing narrow arch bridges over blue creeks, passing emerald meadows and small villages scattered here and there. It was a pleasant way to admire the landscape. And as from then on I decided to hitchhike, that short railway trip didn't cost me a dime.Rakhiv, where I got off with several villagers, is a small town and ironically the official central point of Europe. A cheerful taxi driver intermitting his characteristic Ukrainian language with Romanian words eagerly pointed me the direction to the main road, which would bring me towards Uzhhorod. Though the whole settlement spread along one central street it took me quite a long time to get through it and I almost reached the nearby village until I found a straight piece of road to thumb. In less than a minute a dark-blue Opel braked with a creak and a thin young man agreed to give me a lift as far as Khust.Originally from Ivano-Frankivsk he was on his way to visit a friend in Svaliava and, like me, was for the first time in Zakarpattia. The arUkrainian Vodka After having packed several T-shirts, warm sweaters, an extra pair of jeans, firm leather boots in case of heavy rain, my favorite khaki hitchhiking outfit, video and photo camera, and an indispensable map of automobile roads, I was finally ready for the trip to a Carpathian village called Delatyn, where I was going to celebrate Easter.As the train rattled along the tracks I pondered my journey's plan. The only thing I knew for sure at that moment was that after getting off the train in Ternopil in the morning, I was going to buy a bus ticket which would bring me straight to Delatyn, where I was going to stay with my father's friends, an elderly couple.Without any troubles I found my way to Ternopil's bus station the next morning and bought a Hr 40 ticket Ternopil-Yaremche. Later, as the bus, jammed with passengers, rumbled across the entire Ternopil and Ivano-Frankivsk regions, I realized that I made a needless detour. I should had taken the train to Ivano-Frankivsk and changed to the bus there.With the bus' frequent stops, loading and off-loading passengers, I was about two hours late. Thankfully, Yuriy, an elderly hutsul (the name for ethno-cultural inhabitants of Carpathian Mountains) met me at the Delatyn station without a grumble. Apparently, the locals must have gotten used to unhurried way of life. The first place we visited was a three-hundred-year-old Greek-catholic church, where I was introduced to the priest. It turned out that all the fuss came from my father's remarks about my work as a journalist and wish to make a report on the local traditions. Although my inquiries didn't go further than the history and some curious facts about the place, all inhabitants I met seemed flattered.Delatyn, lying along the Prut river, is about six hundred years old and has seen a lot in the course of the twentieth century. During our walks through nearby hills colored in hues of green, brown and pink I was told about Polish, Austro-Hungarian, German, and Red Army occupations, the huge Jewish community that used to live here, Stepan Bandera and Sydir Kovpak leading their troops through the surrounding forests and mountains. Later on while walking alone with a photo camera I realized my camera couldn't capture the beauty that surrounded me.The hosting family was Greek Catholic, and though their faith wasn't a fanatic one, various religious rites were integral parts of their everyday life. One day Yuriy's wife Maria was showing me recent photos of the couple, their relatives and friends. Religious cards were mixed in with the pictures. The conversation was curious as she said, "Here I am next to the car, here is Yura, our daughter and her family in the house, here's Jesus Christ, me again near the car, Yura, a little bit tipsy, my son with his wife in the garden, the Lord's Supper," and so on. Their attitude towards religious issues was simple yet true and sincere.The Greek Catholic rituals were unkown to me, so I decided to plunge deeper into the local ways. I was taken to the church's Christ's shroud, taught how to cross before the entrance and inside the church, how to kiss the shroud, and listened to the youth choir singing hymns under the wooden cupola simply embellished with angels, saints, and traditional Western Ukrainian ornaments. Everything was not so beautiful and decent. I could see some mischievous children, about nine or 10 years old, slipping their hands into the collection bowllife is life even in this peaceful place among the mountains.On the Easter morning like a devout Christian, I woke at four o'clock to prepare myself and my video camera for the Mass. Muffled in T-shirts, sweaters, a jacket and a scarf I was warm while stumbling in the cold, down the dark hill edged by a gurgling mountain creek. Though it was hard to keep awake in the early hours, I managed to endure the whole Mass, received a generous splash of cold sanctified water right into my face from the priest, and eventually strode back to have the long awaited breakfast. The table was modestly laid with traditional hand-made sausages including krovianka (blood sausage), eggs, cheese, horseradish, Easter cakes, and Carpathian banush (corn mush with brynza) accompanied by uzvar (compote), sour goat milk, and of course horilka (vodka in Ukrainian).Later that day, I journeyed further into the mountains. I hopped on an old diesel locomotive and headed to Rakhiv, Zakarpattia region. The train was filled up with tourists and their backpacks. We peacefully slid through mountains covered with fir trees and topped with the snow, crossing narrow arch bridges over blue creeks, passing emerald meadows and small villages scattered here and there. It was a pleasant way to admire the landscape. And as from then on I decided to hitchhike, that short railway trip didn't cost me a dime.Rakhiv, where I got off with several villagers, is a small town and ironically the official central point of Europe. A cheerful taxi driver intermitting his characteristic Ukrainian language with Romanian words eagerly pointed me the direction to the main road, which would bring me towards Uzhhorod. Though the whole settlement spread along one central street it took me quite a long time to get through it and I almost reached the nearby village until I found a straight piece of road to thumb. In less than a minute a dark-blue Opel braked with a creak and a thin young man agreed to give me a lift as far as Khust.Originally from Ivano-Frankivsk he was on his way to visit a friend in Svaliava and, like me, was for the first time in Zakarpattia. The area up to the town Tiachiv seemed to be inhabited either by Romanians or by Ukrainians working abroad. Practically no one understood Ukrainian, practically everyone spoke Romanian and practically everyone lived in a posh house. A small village Bila Tserkva (there is a small village near Kyiv with the same name) appeared a dream place with its castles of brick and wood towering over the road. Once we were even stopped by a check-point (set to stop Eastern immigrants trying to cross Ukrainian border) and asked for our IDs. At the entryway to Khust I said good bye to the emotional driver and spent a good hour and a half getting to the main road on the other side of town. Cursing heat, my sore feet, the backpack that seemed to increase in weight with every step, the absence of buses, twisting streets, and citizens pointing me different directions I finally got out of the city and caught a micro bus that dropped me off at the crossroads near the village Siltse some thirty kilometers from Mukachevo.The driver in the third and last car that picked me up at the crossroads in Siltse was boldly speeding and I sat pressed into my seat a bit nervous. However as it turned out the man was headed to Uzhhorod, a lucky coincidence, so I abandoned my intention to visit the Mukachevo castle and enjoyed the ride. Tired as hell I couldn't bear the idea of continuing on such a crazy trip, bought a night ticket for the bus to Lviv, but that's another story. 2008-05-12 13:48:26ea up to the town Tiachiv seemed to be inhabited either by Romanians or by Ukrainians working abroad. Practically no one understood Ukrainian, practically everyone spoke Romanian and practically everyone lived in a posh house. A small village Bila Tserkva (there is a small village near Kyiv with the same name) appeared a dream place with its castles of brick and wood towering over the road. Once we were even stopped by a check-point (set to stop Eastern immigrants trying to cross Ukrainian border) and asked for our IDs. At the entryway to Khust I said good bye to the emotional driver and spent a good hour and a half getting to the main road on the other side of town. Cursing heat, my sore feet, the backpack that seemed to increase in weight with every step, the absence of buses, twisting streets, and citizens pointing me different directions I finally got out of the city and caught a micro bus that dropped me off at the crossroads near the village Siltse some thirty kilometers from Mukachevo.The driver in the third and last car that picked me up at the crossroads in Siltse was boldly speeding and I sat pressed into my seat a bit nervous. However as it turned out the man was headed to Uzhhorod, a lucky coincidence, so I abandoned my intention to visit the Mukachevo castle and enjoyed the ride. Tired as hell I couldn't bear the idea of continuing on such a crazy trip, bought a night ticket for the bus to Lviv, but that's another story. Tue, 13 May 2008 16:47:00 GMT http://tete.spoonylife.com/goi-might-discard-potable-alcohol-manufacture-license-requirement-1014.html Industrial Alcohol The government might de-license Indian potable alcohol manufacture, in response to a proposal from the Department of Industrial Policy et Promotion (DIPP) and an in-principle approval from Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. Other states are expected to follow the same route.If the license requirement is done away with (like the industrial alcohol industry); beer, wine, rum, whisky and other alcoholic beverages' manufacture will increase. Foreign liquor companies will benefit, as a senior government official comments, "Foreign companies face delays after receiving approval from the Centre, as states take a long time to issue licences." According to the official, the move will lead to increased taxes and duties on the industry, decrease ad-hocism between states and attract investors. DIPP has been instrumental in forming a committee to usher in a more progressive age for alcohol in India. The committee is made up of central and state government officials. It will look into issues like excise duty rationalisation. Tue, 13 May 2008 16:46:00 GMT