Irish tourism is facing more uncertainty after the US issued warnings about travel to parts of Italy and the French authorities closed the Louvre Museum in Paris over concerns for its staff catching the coronavirus from the hundreds of people streaming through its doors.

The world's biggest brewer, AB InBev, which makes Budweiser, Corona, and Stella Artois beers, along with car rental giants Hertz and Avis, and the shares of European airlines became the latest high-profile casualties of the coronavirus fallout.

While plastic, which is polluting the seas, may take 1,000 years to decompose, the production of aluminium creates far more carbon dioxide, so cans are problematic, too, says Eric Onstad

Reckitt Benckiser cut its full-year revenue target, after lower-than-expected sales in its last quarter under long-time chief executive, Rakesh Kapoor, hurt by a surprise slowdown in demand for infant formula in China.

Here on the western coast of France (east of Roscoff), the temperature has climbed to 32 degrees for my holiday week!

Communications firm Edelman has promoted Emma Williams, Jennifer Hyland and David Callaghan, who have been appointed as directors on foot of significant new business wins.

Barnardos has defended its choice of sponsor for its Big Toddle event after a group of high-level academics wrote a letter to the charity expressing concerns.

Barnardos has defended its choice of sponsor for its Big Toddle event after a group of high-level academics wrote a letter to the charity expressing concerns.

Life is all change for TV host and food writer Donal Skehan. A move to Los Angeles four years ago shook things up, but the real whirlwind was the arrival of his son, Noah, 16 months ago.

Drinks group Pernod Ricard, which is being targeted by activist investor Elliott, is banking that its push into socially and environmentally sound business practices will boost its growth in the coming decade.

Frits Potgieter has been appointed as general manager of the 5-star Muckross Park Hotel & Spa in Killarney, part of the iNua Collection.

Ireland’s Kerry Group and France’s Danone are “in the vanguard” of sating global consumer demands for natural foods but they face huge challenges, according to a major report by Davy.

Danone has directly touched the lives of 60,000 children and has made an impact on them all, writes Fergus Finlay

French foods group Danone is to sell a €1.5bn stake in Japanese company Yakult in its latest initiative to boost shareholder returns.

It is gradually becoming unacceptable to pollute for free and pass the bill on to future generations. Some 40 countries are now putting a price on carbon pollution, write Catherine McKenna and Feike Sijbesma

Nestle, the world’s largest packaged food firm, said it would reorganise its infant nutrition business to improve performance, five months after the new CEO listed the category as one of its priorities for growth.

A Spanish union representing Nestle workers is pushing back against calls for a boycott of Catalan products, saying that punishing a major employer in the region with separatist ambitions could backfire on the country’s economy.

Ireland’s €1.2bn infant formula industry has been accused of exploiting fears among vulnerable populations to gain market share and adding unnecessary extra ingredients purely to charge a premium price.

Unilever has reported disappointing third-quarter sales having lost market share to smaller rivals, dampening hopes that a failed takeover bid by Kraft Heinz would spark a swift improvement in performance.

Unilever has reported disappointing third-quarter sales having lost market share to smaller rivals, dampening hopes that a failed takeover bid by Kraft Heinz would spark a swift improvement in performance.

Danone’s sales of baby milk formula in China rose strongly in the third quarter, beating forecasts and sending the French food company’s shares to a record high. 

Corvex Management, the activist fund run by Keith Meister, has built a stake in French yogurt maker Danone because it views the company as significantly undervalued, according to sources.

Shares in French food group Danone rose after the New York Post newspaper said in a report over the weekend that Danone could be a takeover target.

Outgoing Kerry Group boss Stan McCarthy yesterday pointed to bright times ahead for the Tralee-based diversified food group, as he prepared to formally hand the running of the company over to chief executive designate Edmond Scanlon.

Nestlé warned sales growth this year will be the weakest in at least two decades, giving activist investor Dan Loeb ammunition for his campaign to overhaul the world’s largest food firm, while Danone kept its 2017 goals despite a sales slowdown in the second quarter.

Reckitt Benckiser has agreed to buy US baby formula maker Mead Johnson Nutrition for £13bn (€15.25bn), giving the British consumer goods company a new product line and expanding its presence in developing markets.

Shares in Danone fell 3% as the €39bn French food giant lowered its sales growth forecast following a weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter performance at its European dairy business.

Unilever plans to acquire Dollar Shave Club in the US in a deal worth about $1bn (€905m), gaining a firmer foothold in the burgeoning market for male grooming products and opening up a new front in its battle against Procter & Gamble.

Irish agri-food companies are poorly-prepared for the post-Brexit risks and other challenges they face, according to a report by risk management experts Aon.

French multinational food and nutrition group Danone has forecast profitability will improve this year as it contains costs to adjust for difficult markets such as China and Russia.

The global dairy industry is being reshaped by a wave of dealmaking driven by low milk prices and growing demand for products like yoghurt and baby formula in Asia and the Middle East.

Danone, the world’s largest yoghurt producer, has turned its Russian business around by finding growth in the most unlikely of places — Siberian bogs. 

Danone is predicting stronger than expected Q1 sales and said it is on track to deliver higher sales and profits this year.

Cost cuts, rising baby food sales in Asia, and an improvement at its dairy business in Europe will all help Danone deliver higher sales and profits this year despite volatile emerging markets, the French food group said yesterday.

Following years of food scandals, from milk contaminated with an industrial chemical to the use of industrial dyes in eggs, and soya sauce made from hair clippings swept off salon floors, China has finally brought out a range of food safety regulations and legal penalties to clean up its food industry.

Danone, the world’s biggest yoghurt maker, gave a higher sales goal for the first time in four years yesterday as it pledged to boost profitability at its fresh-dairy business, which represents more than half of the French company’s revenue.

Exports of goods and services from Ireland into the Chinese market continue to show fine growth, with food exports proving a particularly bright spot, despite the gloomy economic commentary from that market.

The quota system was of its time, but in a more globalised market has generally run contrary to our best interests. All that is about to change, writes Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney