Northfield, Illinois: Kraft Foods Inc, whose bid for Cadbury Plc was accepted last month, said fourth-quarter profit increased as sales outside the US grew.

Hershey Co may make a $17bn (€11.4bn) bid for UK confectioner Cadbury PLC, topping the recent $16.5bn (€11.1bn) hostile offer by Kraft Foods Inc, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The chairman of confectioner Cadbury PLC said that Kraft Foods Inc undervalued his company in a takeover offer, and he dismissed the suitor as a "low-growth conglomerate".

British chocolate maker Cadbury yesterday said it is recalling 11 types of Chinese-made chocolates found to contain melamine, as police in northern China raided a network accused of adding the banned chemical to milk.

SWISS food giant Nestle appeared yesterday to be moving more quickly than expected towards a multi-billion dollar bid for American chocolate icon Hershey Foods Corp, boosting Hershey’s shares.