Emulsifiers used in foods may be altering our gut microbiota composition and driving metabolic changes that lead to inflammatory conditions and obesity, say researchers writing in Nature.
Coconut sugar is increasing in popularity because it is seen as being a healthier, more ethical alternative to sugar - but nutritionists remain sceptical of the health claims.
The concept of flavour pairing matches up weird and wonderful combinations – pork liver and jasmine for instance – and there are ways for the food industry to cash in on this niche trend too.
The food industry's role in developing public health policy must be limited to tackle the global obesity epidemic, according to a series of papers published in the Lancet.
With so many new and sometimes strange flavours hitting the market, we take a look at where they come from and how they become mainstream flavour fixtures.
Two MEPs have asked the Commission to detail its plans to tackle high cholesterol among Europeans, who have the highest levels of bad cholesterol in the world.
ISM show organizer Koelnmesse says confectioners are responding to growing consumer concerns on health, noting a surge in free-from and sugar free products.
The focus of a controversial review on randomised control trials ‘oversimplifies the difficult and complex task of developing evidence-based guidelines on nutrition’, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) has warned.
The Children's Food Campaign has said it is disappointed that a UK report on advertising to children failed to bring digital marketing like ‘advergames’ in line with broadcasting rules.
Thirty-year-old guidelines heralding the dangers of fat consumption are stirring up debate among experts after a new meta-analysis claimed the recommendations should never have been issued.
We must follow the example of Sweden and bring together the two “very noisy” movements of workers' trade unions and Fairtrade, the CEO of Fairtrade International Harriet Lamb has said.
A healthy diet that is higher in whole grains, polyunsaturated fats and nuts, and lower in red and processed meat, refined grains and sugary drinks, is associated with a lower risk of developing chronic lung disease, say researchers.
Claims that primary school children are more familiar with beer brands than leading biscuit, crisp and ice cream products have been refuted by advertising trade body ISBA.
Online food and drink advertising rules are sufficient to protect children – but more action is necessary, according to the UK’s Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP).
Sweden’s National Food Association (NFA) has made changes to its Keyhole healthy eating label in light of new nutrition guidelines, meaning less salt, more wholemeal and a broader range of products that can bear the logo.
The debate about childhood obesity will intensify tomorrow (February 5) when a comprehensive review of digital and online food and drink marketing to children is published.
Mood is often assessed in nutrition research but it is ‘hard to define’ and ‘inherently subjective’, according to the researchers behind a review of mood-measuring methodology.
54 countries, 57,000 food brands. “No one else is doing this research.”
Market analyst Euromonitor International has debuted a tool that for the first time breaks down a country’s total nutritional inputs into eight categories from calories to proteins to fibres.
The Malaysian government has launched its own sustainable palm oil certification standard – but will this add to or detract from sustainability and transparency efforts in the sector?
The use of ‘kokumi’ substances could improve the taste of low-fat foods, aiding efforts to reduce levels of fat and calories in foods, say researchers from Japanese firm Ajinomoto.
Dietary sugars intakes are decreasing or stable in most countries, according to a data review of ten European countries, Australia, New Zealand and the US.
There is an urgent need in the UK to close legal loopholes that allow the promotion of unhealthy foods and drinks to children online and on TV, according to the British Heart Foundation (BHF).
We need a strong portfolio of voluntary and mandatory measures to tackle the huge burden of diet-related diseases, according to the chair of the UK Responsibility Deal food network.
It is not about judging companies on waste but joining the dots between businesses with surplus food and charities in need of donations, according to UK charity Plan Zheroes.
The World Health Organisation has outlined potential strategies to reduce premature deaths from non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including junk food taxes and cutting salt intakes.
Products containing genetically modified ingredients will still be required to be labelled as such in the future, despite fears that protection standards could suffer because of new trade agreements.
Weak fourth quarter cocoa grinds in developed markets suggest that consumers have reacted negatively to wholesale chocolate price hikes from the major brands, according to an analyst.
Mondelēz International is letting 250 staff go at its chocolate factory at Bournville, which makes a range of Cadbury branded products, including Cadbury Dairy Milk.
If elected, a UK Labour government will introduce limits on the levels of fat, salt and sugar that manufacturers are allowed to include in food marketed towards children.
Lindt reached record annual sales this morning, surpassing CHF 3bn for the first time - surprising growth given cocoa price hikes and a tough market, an analyst says.
Better defined thresholds at which common allergens trigger reactions in a majority of allergic consumers could improve ‘may contain’ labelling, according to researchers from the University of Manchester.
The European sugar confectionery market is forecast to decline in the next few years as regulators and consumers consider the impact of sugar on public health, according to a report by Frost & Sullivan.
Sugar low: “The use of such a health claim would convey a conflicting and confusing message..."
Five glucose health claims approved by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) back in 2012 have been officially banned by the European Commission due to concerns over what they would say to consumers about sugar consumption.
The leading cocoa processors say they will support brand manufacturers to achieve fully sustainable cocoa, but decline to publicly set their own targets.
Around two thirds of people in the UK do not know how many calories an average person needs to maintain a healthy weight, according to a survey commissioned by two charities and supermarket Tesco.
Kellogg has secured a gateway to introduce its own brands in the promising MEA region by acquiring a controlling stake in Egyptian biscuit maker BiscoMisr, says an analyst.
BARRY CALLEBAUT WORKS WITH PRINCETON UNIVERSITY RESEARCHERS
Chocolate may have a compressive strength-to-weight ratio 24 times less than concrete but that hasn’t stopped US scientists probing its potential as a building material and even building a ‘chocolate pavilion’.
It’s time to get out our crystal balls and predict the hottest trends in the European food and drink sector for the year ahead. What’s in store for 2015?
