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Business & Policy
Nexera canola: healthy premiums and oil
Demand has been growing for Dow AgroSciences’ Nexera canola because of the oil’s special qualities, which include natural stability and high levels of heart-healthy omega-9 fatty acids. Frito Lay Canada’s recent adoption of this oil could be the first step in a whole new level of demand.
And that bodes well for the western Canadian canola industry. With a premium price and solid yield potential, Nexera canola is likely to appeal to many growers for the 2012 season. “We think we have the most profitable canola that a farmer can produce,” says David Dzisiak, commercial leader. Grains & Oils for North America at Dow AgroSciences.
Steven James, senior director of Purchasing with PepsiCo and Frito Lay, explains that at one time Frito Lay had used regular canola oil. However, regular canola oil has to be hydrogenated to provide the extended shelf life needed in the food industry. Unfortunately hydrogenation creates trans fats, which increase the risk of heart disease.
As an early adopter of zero-trans-fats food manufacturing, Frito Lay had switched to other oils, using mainly sunflower oil and some corn oil in its snack food products. “Dow AgroSciences’ work on the omega-9s brought a canola oil back into the market of oils that we could use and still achieve the nutritional profile of very low saturated fats and zero trans fats – that was a must-have in our program,” says James.
Along with its health attributes, Nexera canola oil has a suite of other characteristics important to Frito Lay. The oil’s natural stability maintains product freshness, and the oil works well in Frito Lay’s processing system. As well, there’s an assuredness of supply, with the increasing acres of Nexera canola and the expanding capacity of the canola crushing industry.
And most importantly, the oil meets Frito Lay’s taste requirements. James explains: “Taste is the trump card for brands like ours that consumers tend to interact with fairly frequently. They never want you to go backwards in taste. Make it better, but you also need to be very clear that what you think is better and what they believe is better is the same thing. So we do a lot of consumer testing before we ever make a change to a major brand. You have to be absolutely sure that the people who love and use your brand every day are acknowledging and valuing
Frito Lay Canada is now a big user of Nexera canola oil. “In the first quarter of 2010, we took all of our potato chip brands over to the omega-9s; that includes Lay’s, Ruffles, and Kettle brands. And in the first quarter of 2011, we included omega-9s in our corn products; that’s Doritos, Tostitos, Cheetos and a few others,” says James. He adds, “From a western Canadian perspective, this is new demand. Western Canada wasn’t providing any of the acreage for sunflower oil and very little to none of the acreage for corn oil. And all of the canola oil is essentially coming from Western Canada.”
According to Dzisiak, about five percent of Canadian canola acres were planted to Nexera canola in 2011, and Dow AgroSciences sees significant potential for increased acreage in 2012.
Frito Lay is North America’s single largest vegetable oil user, using about one billion pounds annually, and Nexera canola oil is already an important part of that total. What’s more, its proportion of that total could increase: according to James, the Canadian market was a pilot for Frito Lay’s use of this oil in its other markets. “We believe the Canadian canola oil industry has every right to be competitive with other oils that we’re using today, to continue to grow towards that billion pounds. Some of that will be in Canada, some in the U.S. and we think in some international operations as well.”
Frito Lay’s adoption of Nexera canola could be the start of another big boost in demand since Dow AgroSciences released the first varieties in the late 1990s. Dzisiak says, “At that time we had a very small program that was targeted toward the Japanese market, and we were very early in our breeding. Then when trans-fat labelling happened in 2005, we had a very large program growth, as the food services industry began to move away from hydrogenated oils into these naturally stable oils. And then in the last year or so, we’ve been putting a lot of effort into the consumer packaged-goods product category, which is the largest part of the food business. So now we’re beginning to work with people like PepsiCo to introduce this ingredient there, and that is going to drive the next leg of the program.” Dzisiak also notes, “The use of canola oil in the U.S. has doubled over the last four or five years, and over 80 percent of that doubling has been from the high stability category, to replace hydrogenated soybean oil.” However, the vegetable oil industry is strongly competitive and, with high-stability soybean varieties coming along, the canola oil industry can expect continued competition.
Nexera canola is grown under an Identity Preserved contract with a buyer. Dzisiak says, “We have a very broad network involved, including Louis Dreyfus, Richardson, Bunge, Viterra, and ADM. So there are many local options that producers can tap into to take a look at the program and understand what it can offer them.”
Nexera canola doesn’t require any special production practices. Growers just follow good agronomic practices for canola, and then harvest and store the Nexera separately from their regular canola.
Yields are comparable to those for regular canola. Dzisiak says, “We are in the process right now with converting our whole lineup to hybrid canola. From the grower data and the strip trials by third parties, we have a very competitive set of hybrids that yield very comparably with what a farmer would expect from commodity canola.”
Those yields plus production premiums that are generally over $1 per bushel make Nexera of interest to many canola growers.
‘Four-way stacked win’
James calls Frito Lay’s adoption of omega-9 canola oil “a four-way stacked win” with benefits for not only for western Canadian canola growers and the company, but also for canola crushers and consumers.
Crushers benefit from the increased canola volume. Dzisiak explains: “Over the last two years, the crush capacity in the canola industry in North America has doubled, and there will be further expansion in the next couple of years. I think the increasing demand for Nexera canola has allowed these plants to operate at a much fuller capacity than perhaps they would have otherwise. So it’s been the right thing at the right time to really help with that capacity utilization.”
Consumers are getting taste and freshness plus nutritional improvements. “This is a good example of how agricultural plant science research has really created benefits for consumers. Nexera canola oil is very high in monounsaturated fats, which are very heart-healthy; they reduce bad cholesterol, and they increase good cholesterol. It has a similar fat profile to olive oil but with half the saturated fat,” says Dzisiak.
He notes, “Over the course of the last five years, we’ve calculated that we’ve taken a billion pounds of bad fats out of the North American diet, over 800 million pounds of trans fats and over 200 million pounds of saturated fats.”
February 1, 2012 By Carolyn King


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We dissect the story you might have missed
The French are falling out of love with bread.
Sacré bleu. I thought the morning baguette was… sacrée?
Not any more: too many people are in too much of a rush.
What’s being done about it?
The bakers’ lobby has launched a billboard campaign in 130 cities.
“Coucou, tu as pris le pain?” (“Hi there, have you picked up the bread?”)
Sounds like the answer is “Non”.
Not exactly: 10bn baguettes are sold a year in France. The French still have the highest density of independent bakeries in the world: 32,000.
So what’s the problem?
In 1950 there were 54,000. The average Frenchman now eats half a baguette a day, compared with a whole one in 1970 and three in 1900.

domain: news


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Topic: subscriber numbers
Research firm Strategy Analytics believes AT&T’s DirecTV Now could soon overtake the Dish Network streaming platform.
Analysts at investment firm Macquarie Research see Comcast’s first-quarter video revenue dipping by 0.7% due to lower net video adds and ARPU.
Newly surfaced internal Amazon Prime numbers from early 2017 suggest the service’s films and TV series attracted a U.S. audience of about 26 million.
ESPN has officially found its new chief in Disney exec James Pitaro, and ahead of him lies a potential minefield of rights negotiations and more.
Linear pay TV services lost 560,000 customers in the fourth quarter, a 23% blood-loss year over year, an Evercore ISI analyst noted.
Dish Network finally peeled back the curtain on its three-year-old virtual MVPD, revealing that Sling TV now has 2.21 million subscribers.
Dish Network continued to experience deterioration to its core satellite TV business in the fourth quarter, losing an estimated 197,000 more customers.
HBO Now has reportedly surpassed 5 million subscribers, tripling its previous annual rate of subscriber growth. Can its competitors keep pace?
Comcast said it lost 33,000 pay TV customers in the fourth quarter, but it also saw video revenue increase 1.5% during the period.
Comcast and Dish Network have each begun notifying their pay TV subscribers of pending price increases.


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Data traffic from exploding mobile use will increase eight-fold over the next five years, according to a report released Wednesday by Cisco. The Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI) Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast (2015 to 2020) says that 70 percent of the world’s population, or 5.5 billion people, will be mobile users by 2020.
There are now four times as many mobile users as in 2000, when the first camera phone was introduced, according to Cisco. More users, more devices, 4G networks, and particularly mobile video are now driving an even greater surge in data. By 2020, video will make up three-quarters of mobile data traffic and 4G connectivity share is projected to surpass 3G.
“With the ever-increasing billions of people and things that are being connected, mobility is the predominant medium that’s enabling today’s global digitization transformation,” said Doug Webster, vice president of service provider marketing, Cisco. “Future mobile innovations in cellular, such as 5G, and Wi-Fi solutions will be needed to further address new scale requirements, security concerns, and user demands. IoT advancements will continue to fuel tangible benefits for people, businesses, and societies.”
IPv6 traffic made up only 13 percent of mobile traffic in 2015, but will reach 54 percent by 2020 as the number of IPv6-capable devices rises from 36 percent to 66 percent. Machine-to-machine connections, wearable devices, and voice-over-Wi-Fi are all expected to contribute to the traffic growth as well.
While the forecast sees data traffic increases in all regions, there is a significant geographic spread in expected growth rates. North America and Western Europe data traffic are expected to grow by six times, while the Middle East and Africa are expected to generate fifteen times as much data traffic in five years.
Cisco also predicts connection speeds to increase from 2 Mbps to 6.5 Mbps by 2020, with the average user taking advantage to transfer 3.3 GB per month, up from just under half a gig in 2015.


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Herman Miller announced that it has negotiated an International strategic alliance agreement with POSH Office Systems (Hong Kong) Ltd.
POSH is a leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of office systems across the Asia Pacific region.
The agreement, which comes into effect on the 1st October 2008, allows Herman Miller and POSH access to each others' product portfolio and distribution network.
Both businesses will work closely together to ensure the expanded reach of their respective brands as they continue to support their rapidly expanding international customer base.
The alliance brings the strengths of both businesses together, developing a capability which creates significant growth opportunities for both companies and enables them to offer their customers a wider product offering and a greater choice of solutions.
Commenting on the alliance John Portlock, Herman Miller's President for International said: "We have found the best partner to accelerate our progress in Greater China and Asia.
I am delighted at the prospect of working with Eric Yim and his talented team as we extend our reach together".


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The Canadian Property Bubble Reached The Point Where Few People Can Actually Buy
Canada’s property bubble is reaching the point where few people in the country can buy. Home price growth is still surging across the country, but sales are falling. The odd combination made us curious how many households can still afford to buy.
To the surprise of no Millennials, very few people can afford to buy anywhere across the country. We looked at the National Bank of Canada (NBC) affordability index for Q1 2021. Using their minimum income to carry a mortgage, we found less than a third of households can afford a home at these prices.
Original Article Source Credits: Better Dwelling , https://betterdwelling.com/
Article Written By: Daniel Wong
Original Article Posted on:


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Mastercard has added 11 companies to its Accelerate FinTech programme.
11 new companies will be added to the Start Path startup engagement programme.
Mastercard Accelerate works with FinTechs at all stages to help them grow.
It can help with market entry, expansion, product development, diversification and innovation.
What does this mean?
Mastercard says the time is right to be focusing on FinTEch thanks to huge shifts toward digital payment and the growth of new technologies.
Start Path itself is a six month programme which offers technical and operational support as well as commercial support through the Mastercard ecosystem. It has so far helped more than 200 startups.


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BEIJING — While metaverse hype has swept the world this year, one of China’s tech giants in the game has revealed a version of the virtual ecosystem that’s underwhelming so far.
The metaverse can be loosely defined as the next generation of the internet — a virtual world in which humans interact through three-dimensional avatars. Social network giant Facebook jumped into the trend in October, changing its name to Meta and announcing plans for $10 billion in related investments in the next year.
China is similarly abuzz with metaverse headlines. Beijing-based Baidu plans to hold its annual developers’ event Monday in the virtual world of its metaverse app, XiRang. The company claims it will be China’s first metaverse conference.
However, at a preview event Tuesday, the executive in charge of XiRang downplayed expectations by noting how many aspects weren’t yet up to par.
Development of the app began last December, but it is still “negative six” years to full launch, Ma Jie, a vice president at Baidu, told reporters in Mandarin. In response to questions such as one asking for details on that timeline, Ma struck an apologetic tone: “That’s a very good question, but I may not have a very good answer.”
Baidu’s app, as it exists now, can host 100,000 virtual attendees for Monday’s conference, Ma said, showing reporters a graphic rendering of the virtual stadium.
He said Baidu aims to build an open-source platform for metaverse developers — an infrastructure for a virtual world.
Monday’s event marks the opening of XiRang to developers, primarily in China for now.
“The metaverse, while a buzzword in the global tech and investment community, is still very much in its infancy,” Brian Tycangco, analyst at Stansberry Research, said in email. “A lot of people don’t even fully understand what the word means today or will mean in the next 3 to 5 years.”


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Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has made a lot of hay out of Disney’s multiple fumbles on its “woke” business practices. The company is making itself an easy pinata to hit. In the latest revelation, Disney’s LGBTQ-embracing “Pride” clothing collection is made in China, a nation that in the past year has declared homosexuality a mental disorder and announced a society-wide campaign against “sissy men.”
“It’s hypocritical, but it’s not surprising, that a woke company like Disney would threaten the rights of parents in Florida but would happily do business with the Chinese Communist Party – one of the world’s worst human rights abusers,” a DeSantis campaign spokesperson told Breitbart News in response to that site’s May 24 article on the subject.
It is indeed unsurprising. But it is not hypocritical. “Highly effective corporate strategy” might be a better term for a practice that has been going on in full fervor for more than two decades. Only, it doesn’t seem to be working very well anymore.
M&Ms: China as ‘Second Home’
Like most US-based major multinational corporations today, Disney is locked at the hip to China. The company would greatly prefer that its American consumers not focus on that. Enter fashionable politically-charged social preening. Disney’s wokeness is a deliberate domestic attempt to construct a fig leaf to conceal an aggressively enthusiastic canoodling with the tyrannical Asian regime so strong that the company can’t even refrain from ordering communist-manufactured rainbow mouse ears.
Let’s look at a couple of other egregious examples.
Woke M&Ms hit the 24-hour news cycle in January with word that the candy’s signature mascots would be more “gender-neutral.” The controversy came just as parent company Mars, Inc. was gearing up to serve as a sponsor for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing in February. Curious timing.
How devoted is Mars, Inc. to its Chinese business partners? In a 2015 interview with state-run news outlet China Daily, CEO Grant Reid went over the top and then some.
“[W]e have deep roots in China,” Reid gushed. “We are not looking at an investment for one or two years. Instead, we see it as something for 50 or even 100 years. We consider China more like our second home.”
Gillette: China Is ‘The Future’
Then there is Gillette, the razor blade company that spawned a storm of outrage in 2019 with its bizarre campaign against “toxic masculinity.” Men acting masculine might offend Gillette, but China suppressing and enslaving its Uighur minority does not.
Procter & Gamble, parent company of Gillette, was another prominent sponsor of the Beijing Olympics. P&G Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard was the very public face of the corporation’s toxic masculinity campaign, which proved a financial disaster. Pritchard was tireless in his hand-wringing over the pressing nature of the crisis.
It seems his moral thermometer does not get as overheated when discussing China, however. In 2021, advertising industry news site The Drum quoted Pritchard’s remarks to Raja Rajamannar, Mastercard chief marketing officer and president of The World Federation of Advertisers:
“‘If you want to see the future look to China,’ is Pritchard’s advice to his marketing peers. ‘China is where there is transformation happening. The market flipped a few years ago from the old brand building model to a digital ecosystem, from bricks and mortar to e-commerce.’
China is P&G’s second largest market globally and since 2014 it’s been the FMCG firm’s largest e-commerce market. Last year, the business announced plans to invest $100m over the next three years in its China Digital Innovation Centre in Guangzhou Development District….
‘The break throughs happening in this region are extraordinary,’ Pritchard adds.”
See how it works?
Rainbow mouse ears made in China and anti-masculine men’s razors are not a mistake but a very deliberate attempt at deflection. Disney, Mars, and P&G are wholly committed to their lucrative Chinese business ventures. Mickey Mouse clothing and countless other product offerings are going to be manufactured there.
The expectation – which has been an overwhelmingly successful one for some 20-odd years – is that happy, shiny PC product rollouts will give a cheap moral sheen to a manifestly amoral, bottom line-oriented corporation.
The Wokeness China Syndrome attempts to put a human face on icy steel. That served a purpose in 2002. It does nothing but provide more ammunition to critics in 2022.
It will be interesting to see how these U.S. multinationals react to the obsolescence of their trusty old ploy. They will not be separating themselves from the bosom of their profitable Asian communist cronies anytime soon. And they are as out of touch with regular Americans as the most wooden of Swamp politicians in Washington.
If anything, a ratcheting up of the wokeness should be expected as the heat in the kitchen grows. Only now, it will serve a slightly different purpose. Instead of providing a curtain to distract customers, the woke drivel will serve as a security blanket for profit-hungry executives who do not want to face up to the moral bankruptcy of their China dealings.
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Shake Shack reveals first store location in Manila!
Shake Shack Manila store will be at the Central Square mall, Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. The famous burger joint is set to open early next year.
Set to open in the first quarter of 2019, New York’s critically-acclaimed, modern day “roadside” burger stand Shake Shack, in
partnership with the SSI Group, is finally coming to our shores. Where exactly? Today, Shake Shack Manila announced that its first store location will be at the Central Square, Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.
Shake Shack Manila: Why parents would love it?
Fast-food has often been vilified because of its use of genetically-modified ingredients—something that parents do not want to feed their kids! Shake Shack is trying to break from that mold.
The restaurant is a critically-acclaimed, modern-day “roadside” burger stand known for its 100% all-natural Angus beef burgers and flat-top Vienna beef dogs (no added hormones and no antibiotics ever), 100% all-natural cage-free chicken (no antibiotics ever), spun-fresh frozen custard, crinkle cut fries, craft beer and wine and more.
Shake Shack’s fine dining heritage and commitment to premium ingredients, coupled with its fun and lively environment has earned the brand a cult-like following around the world. The menu will feature Shake Shack’s signature items including the ShackBurger®, Shack-cago Dog®, classic crinkle-cut fries, beer, wine and frozen custard ice cream.
In keeping with its mission to Stand For Something Good®, Shake Shack intends to work with local purveyors and producers to create a one-of-a-kind Shack for the Manila community.


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On a sizzling summer time’s day final 12 months, the 90’s boy band Backstreet Boys clambered on to a stage in Pennsylvania and belted out hits as 44 million viewers tuned in from 1000’s of miles away for the web live performance hosted by China’s WeChat Channels.
The present is only one of many occasions held by WeChat proprietor Tencent to advertise the app’s short-video platform – described by the tech big’s founder Pony Ma as “the hope of the company”.
Tencent Holdings Ltd has tapped different entertainers too like Taiwan’s Jay Chou and Irish boy band Westlife for livestreamed concert events and, in keeping with a supply, has arrange a workforce to construct a group of content material creators because it seeks to problem the dominance of ByteDance, the proprietor of TikTok and Douyin, and Kuaishou within the short-video enterprise.
“Tencent hopes it can turn Channels into the next WeChat Pay. It has a shot at it. But it is also going to be difficult,” stated Liao Xuhua, a senior analyst at analysis agency Analysys.
WeChat Pay grew to become the second-biggest participant in China’s cell cost market inside a 12 months of its 2013 launch, behind Alipay which is owned by Jack Ma-founded Ant Group.
Two sources acquainted with Tencent stated the significance of Channels has been repeatedly communicated throughout the firm.
The two-year previous platform has been a shiny spot for Tencent in an in any other case dismal 2022 when income for its different merchandise, corresponding to video games and cost companies, had been slammed by tighter gaming laws and strict COVID-19 curbs.
The whole variety of views on Channels surged greater than three-fold final 12 months, Tencent stated this week because it revealed its newest development figures for the platform.
Daily lively creators and video uploads greater than doubled.
Gross merchandise worth (GMV) from livestreaming e-commerce, the place telegenic personalities hawk items on-line in actual time, jumped greater than 800 % on Channels, the corporate stated.
It didn’t disclose absolute figures.
A LatePost report says Channels’ each day transactions from livestreamed gross sales pitches reached greater than CNY100 million ($15 million, or roughly Rs. 122 crore) in September 2022 for the primary time, indicating an annual fee of about CNY36 billion (roughly Rs. 43,000 crore).
But Douyin was already aiming to deliver its GMV to over 1 trillion yuan ($155 billion or roughly Rs. 12 lakh crore) in 2021, a six-fold leap from 2020 ranges, sources stated on the time. ByteDance doesn’t publicly disclosee official GMV numbers.
Tencent has been integrating lots of its merchandise, starting from Tencent Meetings to WeChat Mini Program, with Channels to assist creators livestream content material identical to the U.S. band Backstreet Boys.
Tencent Meetings is a Zoom-like teleconference service whereas mini packages are like apps on Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android working methods however much less knowledge intensive and run inside WeChat.
An integration would permit, for instance, a podcast host to conduct an interview on Meetings and livestream it on Channels. If the host recommends a product in the course of the chat, a hyperlink can pop up on the display to take viewers to a Mini Program the place they’ll purchase the product utilizing WeChat Pay.
Tencent has additionally slashed the edge for monetisation on Channels, permitting customers with as few as 10 followers, versus 1,000 earlier, to start out making a living by way of commercials.
TikTok requires content material creators to have greater than 10,000 followers to start out monetising.
Channels has additionally opened up advert alternatives “like never before”, stated Li Yikai, normal supervisor of Americas and EMEA at advert company Nativex, versus WeChat that pushes a number of advertisements a day.
“When you are already scrolling and come across an ad, you don’t think twice about it. So naturally you come across a lot more ads with short videos,” Li stated.
In November, Tencent President Martin Lau stated Channels’ promoting income was on monitor to achieve 1 billion yuan within the fourth quarter of 2022.
For TikTok and Douyin, analysis agency Insider Intelligence estimated in April final 12 months that advert revenues would collectively attain greater than $30 billion (roughly Rs. 2.4 lakh crore) for 2022.
Channels has additionally began charging e-commerce retailers a 1 % to five % fee payment from this month.
Douyin has been charging 1 % to 10 % since 2020.
While some analysts see Channels as Tencent’s finest probability to meet up with ByteDance, others imagine it will likely be powerful for it to change into as large as Douyin, the Chinese model of TikTok.
“When you have to start from being a social network app and then enter into the short-video space, you have to build up a whole e-commerce system to support it … I won’t say they can’t get there but it’s very difficult,” Analysys’ Liao stated.
But Shawn Yang, managing director at analysis group Blue Lotus Capital Advisors, is bullish on Channels given the potential of WeChat’s site visitors.
WeChat, China’s hottest chat app, has greater than a billion lively customers.
“For example, in Douyin or Kuaishou, you won’t be able to ask your viewers to add you on WeChat. But on Channels, you can quickly add somebody on WeChat,” Yang stated.
“This is very beneficial to those who already have their own private traffic on WeChat,” he stated.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
#Tencent #Betting #Big #WeChat #Channels #Challenge #TikToks #Dominance


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Iberdrola and IKEA have inked a deal with the energy operator installing more than 50 e-vehicle charging stations and supplying 100% renewable energy to the stores, logistics centres and corporate buildings of the company in Spain in 2019.
IKEA will offer free electric vehicle charging to all its customers at shops in Málaga, Badalona and Zaragoza to start.
In parallel, Iberdrola will install charging stations at IKEA main offices in San Sebastián de los Reyes and its logistics centre in Valls (Tarragona). The roll-out in Spain, which will start this month, will be completed in 2019.
Customers and users of these IKEA stations will recharge batteries with 100% green energy, which comes from clean generating sources and has a certificate guaranteeing its renewable origins.
Whether customers of Iberdrola or not, drivers will be able to manage charging on mobile phones using the app the company has developed as part of its Smart Mobility plan. With the Iberdrola Public Charging App, e-vehicle drivers will be able to locate and book a charging station.
Iberdrola has developed a Sustainable Mobility Plan which includes the installation of 25,000 charging stations in Spain in four years. The plan also includes implementing a network of fast, superfast and ultrafast charging stations, installed every 100 km on major motorways and corridors of Spain between 2018 and 2019, which will make it possible to cross Spain from end to end in an electric car.
“At the same time, the company is working on developing specific policies and actions to mobilise all players involved: the administration, companies, car manufacturers,” said an Iberdrola statement.
“Iberdrola has therefore reached agreements or pacts with the various players involved to promote sustainability, such as AVIA, BMW, Renault, Hyundai, PSA, Volkswagen, Telefónica, the Spanish Electricity Grid, Pelayo, Auchan Retail Group Spain and ZITY.”


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We know D.C. Get our free newsletter to stay in the know.
While Mary Cheh‘s push to regulate luxury cab service Uber has stalled for now, some recent tough talk from D.C. taxi commission head Ron Linton suggests such efforts will return eventually. Hopefully the attempt to regulate Uber will focus on the fracas’s real victims: people who find both sides despicable.
Washington’s news spectators have been pretty lucky in their controversies lately. Whether it’s a councilmember who stole money from kids or a power company that can’t keep the lights on, the choices for our heroes and villains are usually pretty easy.
Not so in the Uber tussle, though. The initial impulse is to be on the side of the smartphone innovators shaking up the cab industry. Washington’s taxi drivers are, for the most part, opposed to every change that will make a cab ride more pleasant. They opposed the switch from zones to meters, and, more recently, the mandate to install credit cards and GPS trackers.
Instead, a read through Uber’s Twitter feed—-with its leitmotif that using Uber makes one look like a rock star—-makes you want to join a cab strike and roll out the guillotine. As frustrating as D.C.’s cab drivers are, the reflexive opposition to government regulation by Uber’s supporters is just as grating. Without the cab commission, the only barrier to operating as a cab driver would be getting a car, wrecking any chance of cab drivers making a living wage.
But just when you’re on the cab drivers’ side, you remember that Uber serves neighborhoods the taxis won’t, and you’re back where you started.
Washington hasn’t seen so intense rivalry since the 2010 primary fight between Vince Gray and Adrian Fenty. That muddle eventually clarified in a flood of indictments. With luck, the Uber-taxi fight will end with everyone involved going to prison, too.


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AnchorFree (www.anchorfree.com), which specializes in consumer online privacy and Internet freedom, has unveiled its latest survey results revealing parents’ sentiments over children’s online privacy and the measures they take to protect it. The responses surveyed more than 600 parents in the U.S. between the ages of 35 and 54 who have children who are under the age of 18.
The study reveals newfound amounts of digitally connected children with more than three out of four parents (76% stating that their children use at least one digital device. However, with a newfound increase in digitally connected children, there is a clear disconnect when it comes to child safety. In fact:
° Three out of five parents (61%) said they were concerned about their child’s online safety
° Sixty-five percent of parents said they would allow children to access a product or app even if they knew it was collecting personally identifiable information (PII) like email addresses, location, account login details and age
While many would consider eliminating devices a futile feat, parents whose children are not using digital devices are also the least worried about their children’s online privacy – only 47% of them answered that they worry about online privacy compared to an average of 66% of parents whose minors use one or more devices
“As today’s children interact with more devices and face a significantly higher risk online, it’s more important than ever for parents to be aware of the steps they can take to protect them,” said David Gorodyansky, CEO of AnchorFree. “With over half of parents not realizing the long-term consequences for protecting their children’s PII online – we need to find the disconnect, articulate threats and explain how they can be prevented now and in the future instead of eliminating devices altogether.”
Despite worrying about their child’s safety online, parents indicate having the skills to protect them with as many as 85 percent of respondents feeling they have taken the necessary measures for online protection. But even parents that have a high level of online privacy awareness are not taking adequate precautions.
Although the majority of parents reported proactively installing security solutions on their devices, educating their children about the issue and placing limitations when necessary, the survey found that:
° Eighty-four percent of parents who feel equipped to adequately protect their children do not physically monitor their child’s online activity
Respondents who felt less capable of protecting their children online try to limit the number of the devices they use to 1-2 or even 0.
° Parents who feel fully capable of protecting children’s privacy are very active overall at using security software, educating their children on the issue, monitoring their social profiles, etc.


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It wasn’t long after Google first revealed its Glass project in 2012 that technology companies reconsidered eyewear as a platform for wearable computing.
Lenovo, the Chinese computing giant, was one of them. The world’s largest PC vendor, known for an experimental hardware streak that brought the world numerous convertible laptops and a concentric mobile keyboard, knew it had the software and applications that could power such a device. So it set upon making one for its home market in China, where Glass failed to tread.
As the company marched toward a summer rollout, it realized it had a problem. Weeks away from presenting to investors and consumers that were hungry for a Glass alternative, the prototype was still not ready. It needed a Plan B, and quickly.
The Rochester, N.Y. company, best known for its line of head-mounted video eyewear favored by soldiers and gamers (as well as a 2009 cameo on The Oprah Winfrey Show), launched its own smart glasses at the end of 2013. The company had sold off its defense business the year before and was in search of new markets.
How about China?
“I met with them back in May and they said, ‘Look, we haven’t done so well and we have this major announcement we are planning for the summer. Is there any way we can strike a deal?’” said Dan Cui, Vuzix’s vice president of business development. “I said absolutely.”
In late July, the two companies announced a year-long partnership that allows a co-branded version of Vuzix’s M100 to be sold and marketed in China. Lenovo has already started taking orders for the headset, which with a touch of irony runs on Google’s Android operating system, and expects to start selling it for 8,000 Yuan (approx. $1,302) beginning this month. Prices are similar in the United States.
This week, Vuzix announced that it had begun shipping its M-100 smart glasses to Lenovo in China.
“We are very happy to partner with Vuzix. It’s a great start,” said Yuli Bai, Lenovo’s general manager of new business development. “Vuzix has a long history and the most advanced technology in smart glasses globally. Along with the M100, we are also considering other partnerships with Vuzix on future products. And we’re only not looking to market in China with Vuzix but also globally.”
The partnership allows Lenovo to move quickly to corner its lucrative home market, which this year supplanted North America as the world’s largest for consumer electronics, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. It also gives Vuzix entrance into what can often be a tricky place for foreign companies to operate and the support of a tech company that is many times larger than it. (Lenovo, a Fortune Global 500 company, counts more than 33,000 employees in 60 countries. Vuzix has just 35.)
Both companies seek to make a splash in the nascent wearable technology market, which IMS, the market research arm of IHS, predicts will be worth at least $6 billion by 2016. Taiwan-based Industrial Economics and Knowledge Center predicts the global wearables market will reach $20.6 billion by 2018. IDC, another market research firm, predicts China’s wearables market to grow from just 30,000 units this year to 1.38 million by 2018.
There are challenges: existing wearables, from watches to glasses, have been criticized as clunky, unattractive, and expensive. While Samsung, Google, and Apple battle it out for the hearts of consumers, Lenovo believes its chances are better in the enterprise market. Think BlackBerry, but for glasses.
“We’ve been at this for along time. We know the average guy walking down the street is not going to wear something that will make him look like he has a problem or came off the Starship enterprise,” said Paul Travers, the company’s energetic and fast-talking chief executive, in a recent visit to Fortune‘s New York offices. “It doesn’t fit in that marketplace. The number one question we get from customers is, ‘Can’t you hire a decent industrial design firm and make these things look sexy?’ I’m telling you, man—when you have 10 pounds of shit, it don’t fit in a sexy bag. It is what it is. As a tool, it works.”
Fortune 500 companies across industries can save millions by using the devices, Travers says. The savings, he claims, are found in the efficiencies that wearable computers bring to industries such as airline, field services, manufacturing, and health care. With the glasses, workers can read a bar code to fill orders in a warehouse, bring up a three-dimensional visual showing them how to repair a machine on a factory floor, or communicate by video link with other employees wherever they are—all with hands free.
Both companies are gambling that businesses’ focus on function and not fashion will be conducive to gaining traction in that market. The M100 can take photos, record and play video, connect to the Internet, and link to a phone. Its display, positioned in the wearer’s peripheral vision, is equivalent to a four-inch screen on a smartphone that is held about a foot away.
“Every company out there has people in the field. Imagine now if they are enabled with wearable technology and are immediately able to solve problems,” Cui said. “So, gee, I don’t understand how that works. Let me call the guy in the office and the technician sees what I am looking at and, in addition, when I’m wearing the glasses, they recognize that part and the relevant information comes up. Now you have provided peer-to-peer communication, machine-to-machine interfacing, and additional oversight in the field, all in one small, wearable device.”
Outside of China, the company has collaborated with several large tech companies including SAP, Nokia, and NTT Docomo to develop applications for the device.
“When you send a technician out to do anything, they walk into an environment and the only have certain tools available to them,” said Paul Boris, a global vice president for SAP, whose warehouse picking software will be on the device later this year. “What we are doing is we’re giving them a set of digital tools that overlay very nicely with the all the physical tools they have. So we don’t require them to do more. We require them to do less.”
Boris added that SAP chose Vuzix because its device was “a little better suited for industrial use” and was the only one that was “available in quantity.” Since its official launch eight months ago, Vuzix says it has sold “thousands” of M100 glasses. The co-branded version for the Chinese market began shipping this month. It expects the device to eventually account for 50% of its sales by the end of the year.
Analysts are bullish on the companies’ prospects. “They are in one of those precious and rare situations that its easier to go from enterprise to a consumer solutions instead of starting off as consumer solution,” said Ramon Llamas, a wearables analyst for IDC. “They need to build on this and there will be opportunities for expansion.”
For now, Vuzix is only getting started. “This is an important device for our future,” he said. “Wearable technology was just coming around the corner to mean something to people. We felt that if we didn’t get on the stick and move to these next generations products, we were going to get run over by the big guys.”


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Madrid (EFE).- The withdrawal of packaged potato tortillas from several supermarkets for sanitary reasons has become one of the “star” issues this week. What has happened to them? Is it not safe to eat packaged potato tortilla? What is botulism? We review what is known so far:
What has happened?
The alert voice was given in Italy, on July 11. The country’s authorities notified through the European Union Early Warning and Response System (EWRS) two cases of botulism in people who had consumed packaged potato omelette in Spain.
Three days later, on July 14, it was Madrid and the Valencian Community that notified the National Epidemiological Surveillance Network (Renave) of two other cases compatible with botulism after eating the same food.
It was then that the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) began to investigate the botulism outbreak. The common bond? That those affected had taken in the previous days packaged potato omelette purchased in different supermarkets in various autonomous communities.
Who makes the tortillas?
All eyes are on the Palacios group from La Rioja, which sells tortillas under its brand but is also a supplier for the private label of several supermarket chains, although up to now it has not been possible to establish evidence, neither in the products nor in the processes, that directly relates the product to botulinum toxin.
This same morning the company published a statement in which it urged all consumers who have purchased its packaged tortillas to “refrain from consuming it and proceed to return it to the point of sale where they purchased it, where the amount will be refunded.”
Specifically, it requests not to eat tortillas packaged under the Chef Select, Auchan, Eroski, Unide, Consum, DIA, Ametller, Condis, El Corte Inglés, Carrefour, Alipende and Rikissimo brands.
The company also says it has decided “voluntarily, as a precaution, to remove from the shelves of the points of sale the fresh packaged potato omelette produced in the Mudrián (Segovia) factory, as well as to temporarily stop its manufacture.” However, it maintains that “it has not been possible to establish evidence, neither in the products nor in the processes, that relate cause and effect” with respect to this company as a manufacturer of the product, as the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) stated on Tuesday in an informative note.
The manufacturer, based in La Rioja, is one of the main food companies in Spain and has a turnover of more than 250 million euros per year. Founded in Albelda de Iregua in 1960, it employs more than a thousand people and has five production plants in Spain and one in the United States. The company operates in the categories of sausages and sausages, Spanish tortilla, refrigerated pizzas and frozen pastries.
Where were they sold?
As the manufacturer itself revealed, its tortillas are marketed in various supermarket chains (through its brand but also through other white brands).
The first to announce the withdrawal of their tortillas from the shelves were the Ahorramas and Eroski supermarkets. The Madrid chain reported its decision on Monday the 17th and placed posters in its stores asking those who had purchased to return them for a refund of the amount.
How is the investigation progressing?
Now the investigations continue with the collaboration of the production company. The possibility that there is a product on the market that is not safe or that there are deviations in the production and transport processes that justify the existence of this risk is also being studied.
What is botulism and what are its symptoms?
Botulism is a serious disease that can be fatal if not diagnosed and treated early. Symptoms begin with fatigue, weakness, and dizziness and continue with blurred vision, dry mouth, dysphagia or dysarthria, and other neurological symptoms that move from the shoulders down.
It is generally caused by the ingestion of food contaminated with toxins produced by the Clostridium botulinum bacterium and rarely by some strains of Clostridium baratii. It can also be caused by open wounds or cosmetic treatments.
The foods most frequently associated with botulism are homemade preserves, especially vegetables such as chillies in oil, asparagus, green beans; fish, including canned tuna and those that are fermented, salted, and smoked; and meat products.
It is a notifiable disease in Spain and “in the face of an outbreak, the declaration from the communities is urgent.” All samples from the affected cases are being processed at the National Center for Microbiology.
Between 2015 and 2022 inclusive, Spain has detected a total of 88 cases of botulism (which gives an annual average of 11 cases), of which 20 were suspected, 20 probable and 48 confirmed.
According to the WHO, mortality is between 5% and 10% of cases but if they are diagnosed and treated early, most patients recover. Hence the need to act quickly by going to the emergency medical services or calling 112.
How many cases are confirmed?
According to the CCAES, those affected by botulism remain at seven, now with five confirmed -in addition to the one from Madrid, the two Italian citizens who bought one of these tortillas in Valladolid on June 30 and two other people from Asturias and Galicia- and two probable ones, one in Malaga -a 27-year-old person who has not needed hospitalization- and the Valencian Community.
What can you do as a consumer?
The Facua consumer association has called for “clarifying the origin of the outbreak as soon as possible” and has indicated that “obvious” that no tortilla of the brand should be consumed “as a preventive measure regardless of whether they were affected or not.”
The Aesan has already asked the autonomous communities to verify the withdrawal of the tortillas manufactured by the Palacios group from the stores.
The WHO reminds consumers of the importance of respecting basic principles of safety and hygiene. Keep food cold and follow consumption instructions. In the case of packaged potato tortillas, they must be kept refrigerated, never at room temperature.
The AESAN has urged to follow the instructions for use indicated by the manufacturers. These guarantee the safety of the products for which an expiration date is established.
This is especially important in the case of packaged potato tortillas. You may have “the false feeling” that they are like preserves, that they have thermal stability. But keeping them without refrigeration at the current room temperature can lead to health problems.
On the other hand, the Palacios group has made available to the client a telephone line with the number 941 27 77 00 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and the email [email protected] “to clarify any doubts or concerns”.


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Mobile commerce currently accounts for 37% of the world’s online spending, with the number climbing to around 50% in the U.K., Australia and China. And mobile wallets, with their seamless payment flows, backed by powerful brands like Apple, are helping to drive this trend.
Adoption in different markets and industries varies greatly, due to different regulations, infrastructure, and level of consumer readiness. Apple Pay and Android Pay are currently targeting main markets like Europe, Asia Pacific and the U.S., while Samsung Pay, which is currently an in-store method, is also turning its attention on developing markets in South America. Meanwhile wallets like Alipay and WeChat Pay have become mainstream across China, and beyond.
The leading mobile wallets
Apple Pay: The leader in luxury and convenience
Two years after launch, Apple Pay has announced 12 million users across the U.S., Canada, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, the U.K., Switzerland and France. Based on volume processed on our platform we see it is the fastest growing native wallet, with 400% growth in the past year.
As a trailblazer, Apple Pay has fought hard to drive adoption. In London and Tokyo it partnered with transport networks to enable Apple Pay as an alternative to travel cards. Now with Apple Pay for the web, it is attracting web-based shoppers as well. And it seems to have worked; Apple Pay volume on our platform doubled in the past two months. In store Apple Pay payments are possible via any NFC enabled terminal, with no additional integration required.
For businesses, Apple Pay has two core benefits: The first is its user demographic; iOS users are typically affluent early adopters, an ideal target for luxury brands.
The second is Apple’s signature sleek user experience, which drives conversions by making payments totally frictionless. One luxury clothing brand, uses Apple Pay to eliminate the need to build a shopping basket; shoppers simply tap on the Apple icon below an item and confirm payment with Touch ID.
Apple Pay also helps businesses that rely on high frequency orders, such a food delivery companies and coffee outlets. JustEat, for example, makes repeat orders even easier by enabling them via the Apple Watch.
The airline industry has also benefited from supporting Apple Pay. The ability to store boarding passes, and make payments, via the Apple Wallet makes it the ideal travel companion. Vueling, for example, is seeing significant gains since supporting Apple Pay.
Android Pay: The potential floodgates
Android Pay launched in the U.S. in September 2015, and now has users across the U.S. the U.K., Poland, Australia, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
It is worth noting that Android users outrank iOS users in key markets, and has over 80% of smartphone market share worldwide, according to Statista. So while Apple users might lead the charge, Android could be the one to open the floodgates.
Android Pay is available in-app, in store via NFC, and most recently, via mobile web.
Samsung Pay: The broadest reach for in store payments
After launching in South Korea in August 2015, Samsung Pay entered the U.S. as an in-store payment method. Since then it has extended its coverage to China, Singapore, Australia, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Russia, and Spain. It currently has 5 million registered users.
In addition to credit cards, Samsung Pay supports membership cards, gift cards and coupons, thereby opening the wallet to a broader segment of users. And it sets itself apart by being able to imitate a magnetic strip through MST technology. This makes it possible to pay when no NFC terminal is available – a bonus in the U.S., where EMV adoption is still ramping up. On Adyen terminals contactless EMV is fully supported, in which case Samsung Pay transactions will be handled as NFC payments.
Meanwhile in China…
In terms of mobile wallets adoption, China is light-years ahead and, at 560 million, it is the largest smartphone user base in the world. There are two main players in this market:
Alipay accounts for 50% of allonline paymentsmarket in China. And, with 450 million users, it is a driving force behind mobile payments in the country.
Alipay is popular with digital businesses like Evernote, making it easy to onboard freemium users in China. For luxury retailers it is a great method for connecting with a critical mass of Chinese shoppers, both home and abroad. The Cambridge Satchel Company saw an uplift of 15% after rolling out Alipay, and Daniel Wellington reported that it was able to reach Chinese shoppers quickly and easily by supporting Alipay.
The current hot topic is WeChat Pay, which has 300 million users and growing. It is an exciting method because it marks the birth of Conversational Commerce, which is the ability for shoppers to make a payment directly inside a chat thread. WeChat has built an entire ecosystem in which Chinese can chat, network, and interact with brands. By introducing payments WeChat is closing the loop, making everything possible in one application.
WeChat Pay is only available for shoppers with a Chinese bank account. But, like Alipay, it is critical for reaching Chinese shoppers, and we are currently integrating it for luxury brands, airlines and travel booking sites.
Mobile wallets are a crucial mechanism for unlocking the customer journeys your shoppers increasingly expect. We work closely with all the mainpayment methods, including mobile wallets, to ensure we provide you with the best integrations, as soon as they become available. And, our local experts will help you choose the payment mix best suited to your business model and shopper requirements.
So you can delight shoppers with the best payment experiences, all over the world.


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Safety software showcase
16 October 2014
Brady is presenting its award winning LINK360 safety software at Expoprotection in Paris, and will also show new lockout/tagout products in a European premiere at the tradeshow.
With the new LINK360 safety software, the process of managing, creating, reviewing, scaling and visualising safety procedures becomes a matter of clicks. LINK360 Software is said to be an extremely powerful tool enabling swift roll out of new or updated safety procedures in lockout/tagout, confined spaces and equipment reliability across multiple sites and countries. LINK360 has been critically acclaimed and won the innovation award at Preventica 2014 in Nantes.
Based on customer requests, Brady will also launch transparent pushbutton covers at Expoprotection, as a line extension of the original red push button covers. The new Perma-mount Ball Valve lockout device, keeping your critical valves ready for correct lockout, will also be on display, along with many more lockout/tagout products.
Hall 1, Stand T18


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Pulses have made an incredible comeback on our menu in recent years. Resource-saving cultivation, their nutrient richness, and the continuing trend towards vegetarianism or flexitarianism are just some of the reasons for the rapid rise of pulses to “superfood” status. As the largest processor and distributor of pulses in Northern Europe, Müller’s Mühle has always had a keen sense of the market and with the installation of a processing plant to produce concentrates from pulses, they’re now catering to an almost insatiable hunger for meat substitute products. The long-established German company is benefiting from the partnership between Bühler and Hosokawa Alpine.
Lukas Hofstetter, June 2022
The question driving food producers, politicians, and aid organizations around the world is more acute than ever:
How can we feed up to 10 billion people sustainably and healthily in 2050? How do we, as a society, provide 50 percent more protein over the next three decades and produce these 265 million tons of additional protein with existing resources?
There are many promising approaches, such as algae, insect farming, or cultured meat. In terms of health benefits and sustainability, pulses offer the complete package. They are gluten-free, have a high fiber and protein content, are low in fat, and boost important micronutrients such as iron, potassium, magnesium, and zinc. According to a study by the United Nations, lentils, beans, or chickpeas require only about 160 liters of water to produce 500 grams; by comparison, 500 grams of beef require nearly 7,000 liters of water.
The comeback of pulses from their niche in Europe comes as no surprise to Markus Prantl, Managing Director at Müller’s Mühle in Gelsenkirchen, Westphalia. “We have been processing pulses for around 125 years and also sell them as our own brand,” he explains. As Northern Europe’s largest processor, Müller’s Mühle feels the pulse of the market like no other. The trend toward healthier, more sustainable diets and the increased demand for meat substitutes for vegans, vegetarians, or flexitarians – people who live on a predominantly vegetarian diet but occasionally consume high-quality meat – has been strongly felt by Müller’s Mühle for several years.
“We were unable to produce the protein concentrates in line with customer requirements using our technology at the time. After a thorough analysis, we decided to build ‘Plant II’ on our premises with Bühler, which focuses on the production of protein concentrates,” explains Prantl.
We have been working with Bühler for decades and are very satisfied with their expertise and service.
Markus Prantl, Managing Director at Müller’s Mühle
From the very beginning, Müller’s Mühle wanted to work with Bühler and Hosokawa Alpine to design and build the process equipment. “We have been working with Bühler in particular for decades and are very satisfied with their expertise and service,” Prantl says. The teams from Bühler and Hosokawa – which entered into a strategic collaboration in June 2021 to accelerate and strengthen the production of healthier and more sustainable plant protein solutions – immediately sat down together and each developed customized solutions in their areas of expertise for “Plant II”.
Alexander Langer, Area Sales Manager for the Food Division at Hosokawa Alpine, sees the seamless process transitions as decisive for the successful outcome of the project. “In this state-of-the-art plant, Bühler covers the upstream steps of coarse and fine cleaning, as well as shelling. Then the pulses are transferred to our process steps.
This gives us certainty that the material is of impeccable quality before it enters our fine grinding and air classification stages. In this step, the protein and starch fractions are separated. The goal is always to achieve the highest possible protein content and maximum yield,” Langer explains.
While starch fractions are used to produce baked goods, pasta, and noodles, protein concentrate is the basis to produce either animal feed or meat substitutes using dry or wet extrusion.
This consistently high quality throughout the entire value chain not only guarantees flawless end products, but also reduces food waste and ultimately increases Müller’s Mühle’s yield and margins
Alexander Langer, Hosokawa Alpine
The fact that Müller’s Mühle wanted to enter the fast-growing market for meat substitute products came as no surprise to Randy Urban. He is the Team Manager for Customer Service Sales at Bühler and was up close and personal with the project from the initial idea to the start-up. “I have been privileged to support Müller’s Mühle for many years with our solutions for processing pulses and rice. With the exploding demand for concentrates made from pulse proteins for the production of plant-based meat alternatives, it was the logical step for Müller’s Mühle to enter this market,” says Urban.
Urban’s colleague Alexandra Londoño-Baderschneider is the Head of Market Segment Pulses at Bühler and is responsible for the fast-growing pulses business. “What is special about “Plant II” is that the entire project originated from our Customer Service organization, from customer consulting to commissioning of the plant. In addition, after years of planning, we started the installation in the middle of the second wave of Covid-19 in November 2020, which required maximum flexibility from everyone involved,” she recalls.
Despite the challenging circumstances, Müller’s Mühle started up the plant on schedule in April 2021. “Our team, led by Randy, was always there for Müller’s Mühle during this challenging time and found an answer to every challenge – this was the only way we were able to deliver on schedule.”
For Londoño-Baderschneider, “Plant II” in Gelsenkirchen is emblematic. “The fact that pulses are making such an incredible comeback to our menu and enabling Müller’s Mühle to open up new areas of business naturally makes us very happy. But the plant here is also a sign that consumers are increasingly concerned with the impact of their diet on health, sustainability, and our environment as a holistic system,” she explains.
Pulses offer more than nutritional benefits for consumers. At the very beginning of the value chain, they contribute strongly to improving soil quality by fixing nitrogen from the atmosphere and improving soil biodiversity, fertility, and structure.
It is the daily purchasing decisions of customers that are ultimately critical to transforming the entire value chain and, in turn, closing the protein gap
Londoño-Baderschneider, Head of Market Segment Pulse at Bühler
Tobias Breuer is checking production parameters at his table in the state-of-the-art plant. As Plant Manager at Müller’s Mühle, he is responsible for the planning, construction, and operation of “Plant II”.
Initially, Müller’s Mühle were a little hesitant in taking the step to start producing protein concentrates. “We were very motivated to include protein concentrates in our portfolio, especially since the demand from our industrial customers was growing with each passing day. Nevertheless, you cannot acquire the expertise in grinding and protein shifting overnight,” Breuer recalls. “Thanks to the solutions and expertise of Bühler and Hosokawa, we now have a plant in operation that can process up to 5 tons of pulses per hour into protein concentrates – that’s 120 metric tons per day in full operation.”
Thanks to the solutions and expertise of Bühler and Hosokawa, we now have a plant in operation that can process up to 5 tons of pulses into protein concentrates per hour.
Tobias Breuer, Plant Manager at Müller’s Mühle
With this state-of-the-art plant, Müller’s Mühle is ideally equipped for the ongoing boom in the vegetable meat alternatives business. This begs the question of where the journey will lead. “There is always potential for optimization in daily operations. We are currently working on a TotalCare service agreement to ensure reliable operation of the plant. In addition, we want to use digital solutions to ensure that Müller’s Mühle can get the maximum out of the plant,” Urban explains.
For Markus Prantl, “Plant II” represents a stopover on a longer journey. “We see our plant here in Gelsenkirchen as a foundation for a promising future. Pulses offer a lot of potential for further growth, for example as alternatives to dairy products. It is good for us to know that with Bühler and Hosokawa, we can count on a well-coordinated team with which we can successfully continue on our chosen path.


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It’s A Hit! Broad Street Wawa’s Opening Weekend Smashes Retail Theft Records
By Glen Jessie
It was good news across the board for Wawa on Sunday after it was announced that the store’s new flagship location on Broad Street shattered opening-weekend retail theft records.
The newly constructed store, which opened two months early to a line of customers stretching across the block, had nearly four-hundred confirmed instances of retail theft.
“We’re ecstatic. We have never seen numbers like this before,” said Wawa Director of Operations David Simonetti.
The 391 instances of retail theft, which led to over one hundred arrests, included theft of hoagies, stuffed pretzels, mozzarella sticks, and all new spinach and artichoke bites.
“We were out of stuffed pretzels, hotdogs, and all of our cold medicines before we even sold a single one,” he added.
The store also includes in-door bar seating along the windows, a first for Wawa.
“The hope for the seating is that people will eat the food they steal in-house. It’ll make it easier to detect,” Simonetti said.
Local residents are quickly taking a liking to the store’s conveniences. Recidivist thief Kyle Whitney said that the store has already changed the Center City Philadelphia retail theft landscape.
“It’s huge. Filled with customers. Right in the commotion of Center City. It’s just perfect,” Whitney said.
Whitney was arrested at 8:03 a.m. on Friday at the Wawa’s Grand Opening for retail theft and four bench warrants for missed court dates.
The store was also the site of three arrests for assault when local residents vied to become the new regular door-holder/beggar for the Broad and Walnut Street location.
“Numbers don’t lie. This store was very much in demand,” Simonetti said.


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There seems to be no end of photos showing just how out of control Beijing's shared-bike fad has become. Don’t get us wrong. We love Mobike. And Ofo. And some of the others too. But we actually do enjoy walking (and biking!) on the city’s sidewalks without having to climb over a colorful sea of bikes.
And it appears that we’re not alone.
Things got particularly crazy during the Dragon Boat Festival. Because of the sheer number of tourists who visited Beijing during the long holiday weekend, the number of shared bikes being dumped around the city caused a headache for many hutong dwellers.
The hutongs near the popular Shichahai Lake were unsurprisingly completely flooded with bikes throughout the holiday.
And because of the vast numbers of people who traveled by train, there were piles upon piles of bikes clogging up the hutongs near the Beijing East Railway Station, Global Times reports. Taxi drivers even had to get out of their cars and toss the bikes in piles just to pass through the area.
"Many people rode to the station, but only a small number of people arriving in Beijing rode those bikes away," a witness, surnamed Teng, said. "[It] caused the blockage."
One hutong alleyway that was particularly impacted only measures four meters wide, so the mounds of bikes made things particularly frustrating.
The bikes were eventually hauled away, but residents and tourists alike were not happy with the inconvenience.


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Newly-crowned Miss Universe Philippines Gazini Ganados may be the first beauty queen to take off her makeup on national television.
Ganados took the challenge to prove her detractors that she is beautiful even without makeup.
"Sorry, pero gusto mo tanggalin natin?" she told host Boy Abunda.
"Sa tinagal tanggal ko po sa telebisyon, this is the first time that a beauty queen actually takes off her makeup in front of me on national television," Abunda said.


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In this week’s cannabis news round-up, MasterCard stops cannabis purchases with debit cards in the US; Nevada grants first conditional license for stand-alone cannabis consumption lounge; new study shows cannabis enhances ‘runner’s high’ and reduces pain during exercise and PAX introduces “My PAX” for customized vapes.
Mastercard Stops Cannabis Purchases with Debit Cards in the US
Mastercard has told US banks to stop allowing cannabis purchases with its debit cards, citing the complex legal and financial issues faced by the cannabis industry, despite the increasing legalization of cannabis in many states.
In an official statement on Thursday, Mastercard clarified that the federal government considers cannabis sales illegal, leading the company to ban such purchases on its systems. Mastercard promptly notified financial institutions connected to cannabis merchants to terminate these activities in line with their policies.
“As we were made aware of this matter, we quickly investigated it,” the company said. “In accordance with our policies, we instructed the financial institutions that offer payments services to cannabis merchants and connects them to Mastercard to terminate the activity.”
Following Mastercard’s cease-and-desist letters, companies using PIN debit payments for cannabis are now searching for alternative solutions for dispensaries that rely on these services. The crackdown is expected to limit convenient payment options for cannabis consumers, leading them towards cash-based transactions. Due to the federal illegality of the plant, major banks and credit card companies have typically restricted cannabis transactions, leaving limited payment options for buyers in states where it is legal.
“This news, while extremely disappointing, doesn’t come as a surprise,” Wendy Bronfein, co-founder of vertically integrated Maryland operator Curio Wellness, says. “The cannabis industry notoriously lacks access to traditional financial resources. With the stalling of the SAFE Banking Act in Congress and now this Mastercard roadblock, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that something must be done on the federal level to lift these constraints.”
Nevada Grants First Conditional License for Stand-Alone Cannabis Consumption Lounge
The Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board (CCB) has taken a significant step forward by granting a conditional license to the first independent cannabis consumption lounge. This approval opens the door for the launch of the first social-use cannabis lounges in the fall and marks a significant development in the Silver State’s cannabis industry.
The coveted license was awarded to La Lounge, LLC, who revealed plans to establish the lounge in Clark County, along with a restaurant. The exact location has not been disclosed yet.
Last year, the CCB issued prospective licenses for 40 cannabis consumption lounges linked to adult-use dispensaries. Recently, three dispensaries received conditional licenses from the CCB to proceed with opening their lounges.
New Study Shows Cannabis Enhances ‘Runner’s High,’ Reduces Pain During Exercise
A recent study reveals that cannabis is linked to an improved exercise experience, particularly for runners, making their runs more enjoyable and less painful. Researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder conducted a survey with 49 runners, asking them to rate their runs after using cannabis and without it.
Published in the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, the study found that participants reported “less negative affect, greater feelings of positive affect, tranquility, enjoyment and dissociation, and more runner’s high symptoms during their cannabis (vs. non-cannabis) runs.”
Although the runners were slightly slower after consuming cannabis, with a difference of 31 seconds per mile, the researchers noted that this change was not statistically significant. The study also revealed that participants experienced lower pain levels after their cannabis-infused runs, while the perceived exertion during both runs remained similar.
PAX Introduces My PAX Program for Customized Cannabis Vaporizer Devices
PAX is taking personalization to the next level, giving cannabis fans the chance to design devices that truly reflect their unique style and preferences with its latest initiative, My PAX. Building upon the success of the company’s in-store program, which has engraved tens of thousands of vapes, My PAX is now available online.
The artwork covers a wide range of themes to cater to various consumer trends and preferences, including cannabis culture, patterns and prints, Americana-style tattoo designs, mandalas, ‘90s culture, zodiac symbols, state pride and more.
“People are hungry for more personalized versions of their favorite products—a trend we’ve seen firsthand through successful artist and brand collaborations,” Luke Droulez, VP of marketing at PAX said. “Cannabis consumption is highly personal and a form of self-expression for many, so we’re thrilled to be launching a platform for creativity so that consumers everywhere can experience the magic of personalization and how it reflects their cannabis identities.”
One of the highlights of the launch is the exclusive library of custom designs created by the talented multi-hyphenate artist, Akiko Tsuji. The artist, ceramicist, editor, publisher and fashion designer has previously collaborated with PAX on a limited-edition collection. PAX intends to collaborate with other leading artists to introduce fresh perspectives and innovative designs for device personalization.


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- pcb007 Magazine
Getting to Know Your Designer
In this issue, we examine how fabs work with their design customers, educating them on the critical elements of fabrication needed to be successful, as well as the many tradeoffs involved. How well do you really know your customer? What makes for a closer, more synchronized working relationship?
In this issue, the biggest names in PCB manufacturing share their economic outlook for the upcoming year and beyond. As you will see, they were all bullish on our industry, but there was some apprehension as well. No one wants to get burned by another the supply chain disruption.
- Events||| MENU
- pcb007 Magazine
IPC: Over 100 Industry Executives Urge U.S. Congress to Strengthen Electronics Supply ChainJuly 14, 2022 | IPC
Estimated reading time: 1 minute
More than 100 top executives representing companies in the U.S. electronics manufacturing industry are urging the U.S. Congress to address critical shortcomings in the printed circuit board (PCB) industry and the entire U.S. electronics supply chain.
The letter, organized by IPC, a global electronics manufacturing association, urged all members of the U.S. House to support H.R. 7677, the Supporting American Printed Circuit Boards Act of 2022, which would incentivize purchases of domestically produced PCBs as well as industry investments in factories, equipment, workforce training, and research and development (R&D).
The letter stressed that the legislation, introduced by Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Blake Moore (R-UT), is critical to rebuilding a severely depleted but still-critical U.S. manufacturing sector; would ease an already strained U.S. supply chain; and would strengthen U.S. national security. PCBs are a critical component of the electronics ecosystem and are as integral to electronics as semiconductors. In fact, electronic systems cannot function without PCBs, and yet the United States is overwhelmingly reliant on non-domestic sources of them and is falling behind in cutting-edge PCB technologies.
“Despite the importance of PCBs to electronics systems, they have been an afterthought to policymakers for decades,” said IPC President and CEO John Mitchell. “This bipartisan legislation, if passed, will stimulate critical investments in PCB research and manufacturing in the United States. We’re glad to see so many industry leaders agree and join us in urging congressional support for this bill.”
A recent IPC report found that the United States has lost its historic dominance in PCB fabrication. Since 2000, U.S. share of global PCB production has fallen from over 30% to just 4%; China now dominates the sector at around 50%. The report also emphasized that any loss of access to non-domestic sources of PCBs would be “catastrophic” to the United States’ ability to produce electronics for weapons systems, communications equipment, medical devices, energy systems, and more.
ROCKA Solutions is excited to announce that Justin Worden, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, will present at the upcoming SMTA Dallas Expo & Tech Forum. The event is scheduled to take place Tuesday, March 19, 2024 at the Plano Event Center.
KYZEN, the global leader in innovative environmentally friendly cleaning chemistries, is thrilled to announce the premier of a new online video series “Ask Dr. Adam.”
I-Connect007 has just released the latest episode of its podcast series, On the Line with..., which focuses on designing for reality in the electronics industry. In this episode, host Nolan Johnson talks with ASC Sunstone VP/Manager Matt Stevenson about CAD tool features and data formats that help designers make better decisions and transfer better designs to manufacturing.
TT Electronics, a leading provider of global manufacturing solutions and engineered technologies, proudly announces the grand opening of its newest manufacturing facility located in Mexicali, Mexico.
NEOTech Launches World-Class NPI and Electronics Manufacturing Center of Excellence in Silicon Valley, Northern CA02/20/2024 | NEOTech
NEOTech, a leading provider of electronic manufacturing services (EMS), design engineering, and supply chain solutions in the high-tech industrial, medical device, and aerospace/defense markets, is excited to announce the upcoming launch of a state-of-the-art New Product Introduction (NPI) and electronics manufacturing center of excellence at its Fremont, CA facility.


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For those who have always dreamed of owning an Evangelion robot, this might be the closest you get.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the popular “Neon Genesis Evangelion” animated series, Sharp is releasing a special smartphone that pays homage to the show both in the device’s hardware and software.
The phone itself is detailed in purple and green with a backside decorated with an Evangelion mech. Naturally the phone’s custom interface echoes the show’s iconic purple and green coloring. For the extra devout, there’s a special themed phone cover.
Perhaps the biggest fanboy perk is 365 different wallpapers that feature illustrations and concept art from the show. Its calendar app will reveal a new wallpaper each day of the year. In addition, the phone will have original character voices and sound effects from the anime.
“Evangelion” fans can apply for the phone, which costs a hefty ¥84,240, at 7-Elevens nationwide on Nov. 2 (or register online). Make sure to suit up and grab yours because the company only plans to make 30,000 units, to be divvied out in December (5,000) and April (25,000).
In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.
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Sub-committee of State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) for export promotion organized by J&K Bank met here Monday at the Bank’s Corporate Headquarters. Executive President of the Bank, O. P. Sharma chaired the meeting.
A wide range of issues including setting up of Inland Container Depot (ICD) at Srinagar, Brand certification of Kashmir made products, setting up of Pashmina testing laboratory at Srinagar and providing of liberal finance to the artisans & weavers at concessional rate of interest were discussed in the meeting.
The meeting, which was fifth in series, was attended among others by Nayeemullah, President A&AP, J&K Bank, Ravinder Koul, Assistant General Manager Reserve Bank of India, Karanjit Singh Assistant Vice-President FEBD, J&K Bank, M. Muazzam M.D. SIDCO, P. Saibabu Assistant Director General of Foreign Trade Srinagar, Farooq Ahmad, Joint Director Handicrafts Kashmir, Mohammad Ashraf Mir President FCIK, Shiekh Ashiq, Sr. Vice President KCCI and the representatives of ECGC and banks operating in J&K.
M.D.SIDCO informed that work on inland container depot (ICD) at Srinagar is almost complete and they in coordination with KCCI Intend to commission it soon.
Joint Director Handicrafts informed the house that Brand certification of Kashmir made products is in final stage and Pashmina testing laboratory is also being set up at CDI, Baghi-Ali Mardan Khan and both the facilities are expected to be commissioned in a months time.
Mr. Ravinder Koul, AGM RBI, suggested that innovative designs and products should be launched in consultation with some qualified agency to promote sale of Kashmir made products.
As a step to facilitate the exporters Assistant Director General of Foreign Trade informed that the office is functional in Srinagar since 02-05-2012 and informed that I. E. Code is being issued within one day.
Meeting concluded with vote of thanks by Nayeemullah, President J&K Bank.


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Business News Asia
BMW said it delivered a total of 2.1 million vehicles in 2022, down 5.1% from the previous year but still number one in the global premium segment.
BMW Group said it delivered a total of 2.4 million vehicles in 2022, down 4.8% from 2021, with total sales of 215,755 all-electric vehicles more than doubling.
The BMW AG Board of Management member responsible for Customer Care, Brand, and Sales said, “We are confident that we will build on this success in 2023 as we continue to see record highs in orders. Especially for our fully electric models.”


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Marketing leaders to share thoughts in the most exciting QSR conference of the year
The event would also see several speaking sessions about the latest industry challenges.
Faced with ever-changing challenges, marketing leaders from the top fast-food restaurant brands in the UK are getting together to talk about the latest trends and opportunities that are essential for the industry in the upcoming QSR Media UK Conference & Awards 2023, powered by Redbull.
The special Marketing Panel will have Josh Birbeck Head of Marketing at Slims Chicken, a fast-casual brand specialising on chicken tenders, Casper Doorten, Director of International Development at Amorino, UK’s premier authentic gelato shop, and Megan Burton-Brown, Marketing Director for Tortilla, known for its unique California-style Mexican food, as they share valuable insights on the latest marketing strategies and techniques that can help take the QSR industry to the next level.
The one-day event will also see several other leaders in the industry speak in special solo speaking sessions on various industry topics that concern the fast-food industry.
For more information about the event, please visit this link or contact Rose Ruiz at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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DirecTV tees up 4K Masters Golf
March 10, 2016
By Colin Mann
AT&T has confirmed that its DirecTV DTH satellite subsidiary will deliver the first-ever live 4K broadcast in the US with April’s Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club, marking the inaugural live event on the new DirecTV 4K Channel.
“Golf’s premier event deserves the best viewing experience that 4K UHD on DirecTV provides,” said Dan York, chief content officer, AT&T Entertainment Group. “Once you see it in 4K on DirecTV, it’s going to be tough to see it any other way – unless you’re there in person.”
In announcing the inaugural event, AT&T revealed the new DirecTV 4K channel would launch as part of the DirecTV ULTIMATE and PREMIER Packages, including 4K UHD content from AUDIENCE Network, documentaries and more.
DirecTV was the first multichannel video provider to deliver 4K UHD Video on Demand programming in November 2014.
DirecTV SVP, Video & Space Communications, Phil Goswitz confirmed late November 2015 that the broadcaster’s goal was to have as much linear live UHD content, especially sports content, as soon as possible, suggesting this would be early in 2016.
Customers who want the premium 4K UHD live experience via the DirecTV 4K Channel will need a DirecTV ULTIMATE or PREMIER Package subscription with an authorised 4K customer account, the latest Genie HD DVR (HR54) or either a DIRECTV 4K Ready TV or a compatible 4K TV connected to the latest 4K Genie Mini.


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With the vast potential of the growing metaverse, how can brands leverage the new immersive virtual-world experience to affect real-world opportunities for their business? Industry leaders from agencies, Meta, and WPP came together to share views, guidance and experiences as this new platform takes shape.
Hainan Free Trade Port is set to become China’s new duty-free shopping hub as the country’s domestic tourism market continues to thrive, in stark contrast to the massive decline in sales of the big four international duty-free groups.
What is the current state of independent agencies, what and where is the growth potential – and how can you capture that? Indie leaders from around the world were optimistic that ‘this is our moment’ when they gathered at the recent Worldwide Partners, Inc. (WPI) conference in Las Vegas to discuss the future – here are the highlights.


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News tagged ‘fun’
The Pangu team has released a jailbreak for the fourth-generation Apple TV. The first announcement about the work on a completely new tool was made a couple of weeks ago. A week ago or so, the hackers informed the community that the tool was undergoing final pre-release testing. Finally, on Wednesday the Pangu team made the Apple TV 4 jailbreak available for download.
Apple released the seventh beta of the iOS 9.3 to the public testers and developers. The new build of the operating system has some interesting features, for example, the Night Shift mode, new CarPlay functionality, some additional 3D Touch options for apps and other enhancements.
The President of the United States Barack Obama had an interview yesterday, in which he shared his opinion about the current encryption conflict and what the results of it may be in the future.
The Pangu team has officially announced it will release a jailbreak for the fourth generation Apple TV as soon as next week. The announcement came alongside the debut of the untethered jailbreak for iOS 9.1, which can now be downloaded from Pangu’s official website.
Apple’s Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi replied to the user named Caleb about whether the iPhone battery life improves when you regularly close apps on your device or not. Originally it was a question to Apple CEO Tim Cook, but Mr. Federighi explained in a short form that this move will not help at all.
YouTube channel EverythingApplePro released an interesting video a couple of days ago. People behind the channel decided to test Samsung’s new smartphone Galaxy S7 Edge and the iPhone 6S in a plastic reservoir filled with water to see if they can get some unexpected results.
According to Samsung, their Galaxy S7 is fully waterproof in accordance with the IP68 standard. Unlike the previous models, the S7 is supposed to work normally after being held in the water for 30 minutes and can be put up to 1,5 meters deep.
Moreover, the company claims to use not only outside waterproof coverage, but inside as well. It means that even USB ports and the headphone jack will work absolutely fine after you drop the smartphone in the water.
According to the latest report from people familiar with the matter, Apple is planning to add Siri to OS X 10.12, which is expected to be released as soon as this fall. Sources claim that the company has been testing Siri on OS X internally for a long period of time and that the virtual assistant is nearly ready for the release.
A well-known iOS developer Luca Todesco has successfully jailbroken several versions of Apple’s iOS. As can be seen in the video below, Todesco hacked the iPhone running iOS 9.2.1 and iOS 9.3 Beta. Earlier this year, Todesco shared a screenshot proving the jailbreak of iOS 9.2.1 was already ready.
According to the latest report from Financial Times, Apple Music now has more than 10 million active subscribers. This number includes users of all popular platforms, including iOS, Mac, PC, Android and Apple TV. Such result allowed Apple’s streaming music service to become the second largest in the world. The leader of the market is Spotify with 75 million active users and more than 20 million paying subscribers.
Nine years ago, Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced a thing that changed the entire world. This thing was the iPhone. The big event took place on January 9th, 2007 at Macworld.
The original iPhone could feature a 3.5-inch touchscreen, 4GB, 8GB or 16GB of storage on board and a 2-megapixel camera and was a revolutionary device. Over 6 million iPhones of this generation were sold during the years of manufacture.
Since that time, many things have changed, but Apple’s iPhone still remains one of the most popular smartphones ever manufactured. Its design and functionality make this device the choice of millions of customers from all over the world.
Below you can take a look at the media event dedicated to the first-generation iPhone. Hope you’ll have a good time watching it!
Apple has recently filed a patent for “Mobile Camera System,” a technology that may in future allow iPhone owners utilize optical zoom with the help of multiple cameras on the device. This sounds like a good idea as many people take hundreds of images using their smartphones on a regular basis, that’s why they need a decent camera capable of capturing things that are quite far away.
A lot of people prefer buying pre-owned iPhones. On the one hand, such devices are much cheaper than new, although offer the exact same functionality. On the other hand, however, a previously used iPhone may be physically damaged as well as locked by carrier and/or iCloud, so it is always good to know what to check before purchasing a second hand iPhone. Below you will find some useful tips.
Three weeks ago, Apple received $548,176,477 from Samsung as a compensation for patent infringements. Last week, the Cupertino-based tech giant requested another $179 million in supplemental damages and $1,192,490 in interest payments, so looks like Samsung has a new problem to solve.
Following the release of the first testing version for a small number of iOS users last month, Microsoft has just released Cortana to users in the United States of America and China. As of Wednesday, Microsoft’s virtual assistant is available on the App Store and can be downloaded for free by all those who have an US or Chinese account.
According to the latest report from DigiTimes reporters, Apple is currently working on the next-generation Apple TV, which is expected to become much faster than its predecessor released in November. The trial production of the device will start later this month and the mass production may begin in January, reporters claim.


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Renault has revealed a prototype version of a two-cylinder two-stroke diesel engine, which aims to halve the amount of space needed in the engine bay and not increase engine noise.
The engine is 50 per cent smaller than the best-selling four-cylinder, four-stroke 1.5-litre dCi unit on which it is based. The 730cc prototype unit, which weighs in at less than 100kg, is 40kg lighter than the 1.5-litre dCi.
Renault says the aim is for this engine to be around 15 per cent more efficient than the equivalent four-cylinder unit, although it stresses that this engine is not yet at that level.
Renault has not revealed any performance figures for the engine, but says it is both supercharged and turbocharged and produces between 48bhp and 68bhp and up to 107lb ft.
A company insider said the engine has been designed with emerging markets in mind and should cost less to produce and buy than the full-sized four-cylinder version due to the reduced number of parts required. However, it will still cost more than a petrol engine of equivalent power to the 1.5 dCi.
The company spokesman also said this engine should sound exactly the same as the four-cylinder version.
Currently, the main prohibiting factor is the cost of the turbocharger. The spokesman said: "We haven't invested yet, but we know how to make it."
A second phase of development is expected before the engine makes its way into production cars.Renault also revealed a host of other new and developing technologies at its Cooperative Innovation Laboratory (LCI) in Paris. They included:
A new engine due to go on sale in the coming months is a petrol/LPG dual-fuel unit. It is based on the 0.9-litre three-cylinder petrol engine found in the likes of the Dacia Sandero.
Renault says this engine is 20 per cent more efficient than an LPG engine of the previous generation, and it cuts emissions by about 10 per cent. Due to a lack of LPG infrastructure, this engine won't be offered in the UK.
Twizy Delivery Concept
Renault’s researchers have taken a standard Twizy and turned it into a small delivery truck. The prototype has no rear seat and instead has a detachable two-wheeled trailer that can carry loads of up to 150kg.
Trials are set to start in April next year before a decision is made on whether to put it into production.


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The Download: Inside the fierce, messy fight over “healthy” sugar tech
Inside the fierce, messy fight over “healthy” sugar tech
In a former insurance office building on the outskirts of Charlottesville, Virginia, a new kind of sugar factory is taking shape. Bonumose, a startup funded in part by Hershey, is developing the facility. It uses maltodextrin, a corn product that is often found in junk food. Maltodextrin, which is calorically very similar to high-fructose corn sugar (sucrose), can cause worse blood sugar spikes than sucrose.
But for Bonumose maltodextrin doesn’t count as an ingredient. It’s a raw matter. It will become a “rare sugar” when it is poured into the company’s sparkling bioreactors later in the year. It is found naturally in small amounts in fruits, grains, and milk. It is almost as sweet as sucrose, but with half the calories. Hershey claims that Bonumose’s technology to convert maltodextrin to tagatose at commercial scales is crucial to its efforts to create “better for you” candies.
Bonumose was created by Yi-Heng “Percival” Zhang at Virginia Tech. Zhang isn’t proudly leading Bonumose’s research division or creating healthy chocolate. In January, MIT Technology Review met Zhang in Tianjin, China. He had just completed a two-year sentence in Virginia for conspiracy, making false statements and obstruction of justice. The global fight to control sugar is already underway. Read the complete story .
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 The US might be in the middle of a covid wave right now
Without even realizing, due to a lack of testing. (Bloomberg $)
Infections keep rising and rising in Shanghai, despite a local lockdown. (SCMP)
Residents trapped indoors are begging for food on WeChat groups. (Rest of World)
More than 50 people have tested positive following an A-list political dinner last week. (NYT $)
But Dr Anthony Fauci is confident President Biden is protected against the virus. (The Guardian)
3 Putin superfans are praising him as a peace-loving hero in Facebook groups
These pages rack up millions of interactions a month. (BBC)
Smartphones and gym mats helped Ukrainians to defend Kiev. (FT $)
What an American has learnt from fighting in Ukraine’s foreign legion. (The Economist $)
4 The crypto industry is pushing for more lenient legislation
5 The remarkable brain of a carpet cleaner who speaks 24 languages
His brain uses oxygen much more efficiently than our non-polyglot gray matter. (WP $)
The first reference charts for brain development have been completed. (The Economist $)
6 Why Amazon’s drone ambitions never really got off the ground
Former employees claim its rapid testing cuts corners when it comes to safety. (Bloomberg $)
Amazon has a huge sustainability problem: its returns. (CNBC)
7 What happens when humans get blamed for decisions made by faulty software?
Our blind faith in computers is leading to miscarriages of justice. (FT $)
8 We’re inventing new terms to get around social media moderation
Like most things these days, it’s spearheaded by trying to appease TikTok’s all-powerful algorithm. (WSJ $)
9 Producing tiny microchips is bigger business than ever
We desperately need more chips, and Intel wants to deliver them. (NYT $)
BMW believes the chip shortage shows no sign of slowing before 2023. (Reuters)
10 South Asia’s brides-to-be are shopping for wedding outfits through WhatsApp
But it’s a risky endeavor–assessing fabric color and quality is harder over video. (The Guardian)
Quote of the day
“This virus is not scary, the scary thing is being in a complete lockdown.”
–A woman from Shanghai who has tested positive for covid fears being taken away from her infant son amid the city’s indefinite lockdown, according to Quartz.
I’m a journalist who specializes in investigative reporting and writing. I have written for the New York Times and other publications.


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We've always wondered about the abundance of foods on a stick at state fairs but recently figured it out: The stick is there to gag yourself with after forcing down the last grease-coated bite.
You're having fries with that whether you want them or not: Burger King, looking to answer McDonald's recent addition of a Grilled Onion Cheddar Burger for a dollar, is expanding its value menu with a new $1 "French Fry Burger," a beef patty topped with four french fries.
The nation's moms, already desperate for school lunch ideas, responded by announcing the new Potato Chip PB&J, saving their children the time-consuming task of placing their potato chips on their sandwiches themselves.
Wile E. Coyote gets his due: The MacArthur Foundation announced that it is increasing the value of its "genius grants" for those who work in music, medicine, the arts and journalism to $625,000 from $500,000. The grants are meant to support the work and creativity of the recipients.
Keep your fingers crossed, folks; The Buzz could soon be another $125,000 better.
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