Premium Ingredients Group, Carol Stream, Ill., has announced its exclusive distribution agreement with The NutraSweet Co. to sell aspartame in the United States and Canada. NutraSweet® is company’s brand name for the low-calorie sweetener aspartame.

London-based Tate & Lyle has has announced the signing of agreements to acquire specialty food ingredients company Continental Custom Ingredients, Sycamore, Ill., and the Italian based Cesalpinia group of companies, owned by MARE Group. The transactions are expected to be completed by the first quarter of the 2006 calendar year for $128 million. This broadens Tate & Lyle’s product mix, technology and customer base in expanding areas such as blends and fortification, according to the company.

Homewood, Ill.- based Silliker Inc. acquired Dr. A. Verwey, an independent analytical laboratory, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and its three additional facilities. The acquisition is part of Silliker’s planned expansion of its chemistry services both in the United States and abroad, according to the company. In other news, The Silliker Inc. Research Center has changed its name to the Silliker Food Science Center, South Holland, Ill.

Blue, red and white ribbons were given to members of the National Ice Cream Retailers Association for their vanilla and strawberry ice cream. Members of the Elk Grove Village, Ill.-based association submitted their wares to a professor of dairy science prior to the group’s annual convention. Judged were 34 samples of vanilla and 22 samples of strawberry ice cream on color, texture, taste and bacterial count. Top honors for vanilla went to Ashby’s Sterling Ice Cream, Shelby Township, Mich., and Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream Co., Madison, Wis.

Mastertaste Inc., a global developer and manufacturer of high-quality flavors and flavor and fragrance bases, realigned its global management structure, including a new managing director of European operations and new president of its Natural Products Division and Manheimer Fragrance business. Teterboro, N.J.-based Mastertaste is a division of Kerry Group plc.