Few, if any, industries appear likely to escape the full brunt of the global economic slowdown. Yet, wine producers throughout the world hope robust demand in emerging markets will help them outlive the crisis.
French food giant Danone and China's largest soft drink maker Wahaha announced on Wednesday that they would put an end to their joint venture, thereby settling a long-standing dispute between the two firms.
Confectionery maker Cadbury, the British brand home to Dairy Milk chocolate and Trident chewing gum, has refused a takeover bid by US food giant Kraft Foods, which offered €11.7 billion for the company.
French restaurants are expected to cut prices on meals and soft drinks after the government slashed value added tax from 19.6% to a lowly 5.5%. The move, approved by the European Union, follows years of French lobbying in Brussels.
The European Commission has dropped its plans to allow rosé wine to be made by blending red and white wines. The decision follows intense lobbying efforts by European wine producers, who felt that mixing the wines would undermine the value of rosé.
The WHO predicts that 2.3 billion adults will be overweight by 2015, HEALTH finds out that chewing your food is vital in the fight against obesity. Meanwhile too much salt is raising blood pressures of one in three people.
The French are discovering sushi, with the help of Japanese cooks willing to bend the rules and include in their creation elements not normally associated with the raw fish dish. Salad, tomoatoes, cheese, Nutella: no combination is too outlandish.
The American cupcake is becoming Paris's latest fashionable gateau. Popular because of its size, eye-catching decoration and ability to be customized, it also lends itself to workshops where you can "create the cupcake of your dreams".
After years of lobbying, the French government has secured a huge cut in VAT for the catering industry from its EU partners, in a bid to boost employment in the sector and offer lower prices for diners.
