Chinese food conglomerate COFCO has formally taken over the Chinese instant noodle maker Wugudaochang, which previously applied for bankruptcy protection. The instant noodle maker will resume production in May 2009. COFCO has appointed Song Guoliang, co-founder of Master Kong and president of Baixiang Instant Noodle, as the general manager of Wugudaochang; Wang Haihui, former executive president of [...]

NutraCea, a world leader in stabilized rice bran, has signed a definitive agreement with the Bright Food Investment Group, a subsidiary of Bright Food Group, to build the world’s largest rice bran oil refinery. The new refinery will process an estimated 500,000 metric tons of raw rice bran annually to produce rice bran oil, new patent-pending defatted rice bran, and stabilized rice bran, all of which will be used in a wide range of food applications.

The facility is estimated to be completed in 2010 and will be the world’s largest rice bran oil manufacturing plant, with the capacity to produce in excess of $200 million in annual gross revenues based on today’s market prices. Both companies are also anticipating future projects together, including constructing additional facilities of similar size.

According to the terms of the agreement, NutraCea will provide 80 percent of the capital and retain 72 percent of

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