• The top three winners of this year's Danisco Knowledge Awards are: First Place, Clemson University and team leader Michael Ryan for Jala~Mango, a multi-functional sauce, marinade, and glaze that fuses Mexican and Asian flavors; Second Place, Cornell University and team leader Elizabeth Tomasino for Moschata Butternut Squash Pie; and, in a tie for Third Place, Jessica Yee and her team from California Polytechnic State University for a probiotic strawberry cheesecake frozen bar novelty, and University of Massachusetts team leader Sylvia Gaysinsky and her team for Better Health Croutons, a new and healthful way to enrich salads and soups.

  • A&B Ingredients and Duas Rodas have entered an agreement through which A&B Ingredients will represent some of Duas Rodas' products, such as tropical extracts and organic banana products, in North America.

  • U.S. Flavors & Fragrances Inc. changed its name to Synergy, reflecting the company's business realignment to focus exclusively on expanding its flavor business.

  • DuPont and Tate & Lyle have formed a joint venture to build a $100 million plant under construction in Loudon, Tenn., which promises to create 50 new manufacturing jobs and help create a bio-based economy that will help reduce U.S. reliance on foreign oil by using renewable resources to make high-performance products and energy.

  • Wholly Healthy has changed its name to Wholly Wholesome to “better represent who it is and what the brand stands for.”

  • Ventura Foods LLC completed the purchase of Marie's dressings and Dean's dips businesses from Dean Foods.

  • Dairy Management Inc. (DMI) has unveiled innovate withdairy.com, a new website which integrates the content from doitwithdairy.com and extraordinarydairy.com with relevant nutrition information.

  • Fortitech Inc. appointed Tim Nguyen as West Coast regional sales manager and Dominic Kwiatkowski as Midwest and Southeast regional sales manager.

  • Bunge North America named Francine Reisman territory sales manager for Bunge Oils. Chr. Hansen announced it is focusing on the process cheese segment, which is evolving and growing in correlation to the foodservice market, another prime focal point of the company. Chr. Hansen has a broader definition of process cheese: cheese processed in any way.

  • Degussa has appointed Chris Proulx technical market manager for the company's Advanced Fillers & Pigments business. In his new position, Proulx is responsible for providing technical assistance for the company's specialty precipitated silica products sold into the North American food, feed and nutraceuticals industries.

  • Private equity firm Circle Peak Capital LLC acquired Hill & Valley Inc., a national manufacturer of baked sugar-free and no-sugar-added sweet goods, sold in both private label form and under the Hill & Valley brand label.

  • Tully's Coffee Corporation named Mark DaCosta vice president of wholesale operations and Dean Olson senior director of licensing and business development.

  • Cargill announced it will invest $50 million in a malt plant in Alvear, Santa Fe, Argentina.

  • Inner Mongolia Mengniu Dairy Co. Ltd. will cooperate with Arla Foods in the production of high-grade formula milk powder.

  • Pinnacle Foods. Corp. named Hank Lambert vice president and general manager, foodservice.

  • 7-Eleven Inc. launched Formula 7, a proprietary line of functional foods and beverages.

  • Land O'Lakes Inc. promoted Steve Dunphy to executive vice president and chief operating officer of dairy foods value-added business, Alan Pierson to executive vice president and chief operating officer of dairy foods industrial business, and Barry Wolfish to vice president of strategy and business development.

  • Dean Foods announced the addition of Joseph E. Scalzo as president and chief executive officer of WhiteWave Foods.

  • Birds Eye Foods Inc. sold its Celaya, Mexico, manufacturing facility and all of its equipment to Congelados Don Jose S.P.R. de R.L.

  • Rear Admiral Linda R. Tollefson was named assistant commissioner for science with FDA.