Health and nutritional ingredients

Sustainable food on a budget: Action for industry and consumers

29-Feb-2024 By Donna Eastlake

The World Wildlife Fund is launching a campaign to not only get Europeans eating sustainably, but affordably too. So, what’s involved and can anyone give it a go?

Could a plant-based diet prevent chronic diseases in women?

28-Feb-2024 By Donna Eastlake

Plant-based diets are proving hugely popular amongst men and women across the globe, with everything from animal cruelty to environmental impact being cited as the reason. But could the plant-based way of life also prevent against chronic diseases in...

Stop the rot! Scientists find way to keep vegetables fresher for longer

27-Feb-2024 By Donna Eastlake

Fighting food waste is one of the most impactful ways we can help to prevent climate change. Now researchers at the University of Bath say they’ve found a way of keeping veggies fresh all the way to our fork.

Hope on the horizon for onion farmers as DEFRA works to prevent crop loss

26-Feb-2024 By Donna Eastlake

DEFRA is putting onions high on the agenda with a new research project aimed at detecting, managing and preventing onion crop loss to fusarium basal rot. So what’s the plan and what does it mean for farmers?

The case against ultra-processed food: 'UPF is designed to increase consumption and profit'

23-Feb-2024 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Do ultra-processed foods lead to poor health outcomes by definition? A ‘hyper-literal’ focus on definitions is not the point, suggest Henry Dimbleby and Chris van Tulleken: ‘ultra-processed food’ as a category encapsulates the toll that an industry dominated...

‘They still want to go out and enjoy themselves’: Non-alcoholic beer consumers want fun, flavour and pints on tap

21-Feb-2024 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

The market for non-alcoholic beer has steadily shifted away from niche in recent years, with many big brands releasing their own 0.0% and alcohol free brands. But consumers who drink alcohol-free beer are often looking for the same thing as those who...

Are red nets an eco-friendly alternative to pesticides?

20-Feb-2024 By Donna Eastlake

A recent study has found that red nets are more effective than black or white nets in preventing onion thrips from damaging crops. So, could red nets be the solution environmentalists have been searching for to help reduce agricultural reliance on the...

Food as medicine: The functional ingredients promising health and wellness

15-Feb-2024 By Flora Southey

With ‘wellness’ meaning different things to different people, what exactly do consumers want from functional food and drink? Join us at FoodNavigator’s upcoming digital summit Positive Nutrition 2024 to find out.

Is fibre essential for brain health?

14-Feb-2024 By Donna Eastlake

The importance of dietary fibre for a healthy gut has been hailed for years now. But is it also the secret to a healthy brain?

‘Insects will be seen as normal food’: How industry is combatting consumer reluctance to eat insect protein

09-Feb-2024 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Insects are not only thought to contain at least as much protein as conventional meat, but are also more environmentally sustainable. However, their novelty on the market poses challenges in consumer acceptance. How do start-ups persuade consumers to...

Fight for agricultural reform intensifies as Commission caves on pesticide bill

09-Feb-2024 By Donna Eastlake

The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has announced that plans to cut pesticide use across the European Union have been dropped but environmentalists say the battle is far from over.

3 start-ups boosting food quality in Europe

05-Feb-2024 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Food quality technology plays a vital role both in ensuring that food is safe to eat, therefore reducing food waste, and providing insights around its health and composition. Three European start-ups tell FoodNavigator how technology can help them understand...

Could eating beans aid cancer prevention?

05-Feb-2024 By Donna Eastlake

Research suggests consuming nutrient and fibre-rich foods, such as beans, which support the health of good bacteria in the gut, could help in the prevention and treatment of colorectal cancer

Healthy plant-based diet could reduce risk of developing type two diabetes by 24%

31-Jan-2024 By Donna Eastlake

A recent study has found that a nutritious plant-based diet, incorporating a reduced intake of processed and sugary foods, could decrease the risk of developing type two diabetes by improving metabolism and organ function.

Protein, collagen, non-UPF: Bone broth as a functional food

30-Jan-2024 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Broth has been used for centuries as a component of traditional meals such as soups and stews. But many consumers are now attracted to it for a different reason – it has a range of health benefits, and is non-UPF (ultra-processed food). Startup Freja...

Bee study reveals environmental vulnerability and food production threat

29-Jan-2024 By Donna Eastlake

Research revealing bees’ ability to synthesise specific nutrients, to support the colonisation of their gut bacteria, offers insights into the symbiotic relationship they have with their gut microbiota. But changes to their habitat is placing this delicate...

Finetuning ‘beany, earthy, and bitter’ off notes in plant-based meat alternatives

26-Jan-2024 By Donna Eastlake

Off notes or flavour challenges in meat-free products has been a headache for the food industry for years, but new research could put that problem to bed once and for all.

Vertical farming gets boost with major investment

25-Jan-2024 By Donna Eastlake

Things are looking up for the vertical farming industry as investors back vertical farm tech provider, Intelligent Growth Solutions

Plant-based diet, whether ‘healthy’ or ‘unhealthy’, linked to weight loss

24-Jan-2024 By Donna Eastlake

Latest research suggests replacing animal products with vegan alternatives provides multiple health benefits, including weight loss.

Researchers develop ‘perfect meal’ for male astronauts

10-Jan-2024 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Producing the right food in space is difficult, given the particular nutritional needs of astronauts and the difficulty of growing anything in the final frontier. Luckily, researchers have developed the ‘perfect meal’ for male astronauts: a vegetarian...

OECD report puts UK and Ireland top for five-a-day fruit and veg consumption

05-Jan-2024 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

‘Health at a Glance’, a new report from the OECD, has revealed the UK and Ireland consume the most fruit and vegetables out of 30 countries assessed. However, there has been a slight reduction in overall fruit and vegetable consumption since it was last...

From ‘travelling through taste’ to cognitive health: The 2024 trends predicted to shake-up food and beverage

03-Jan-2024 By Flora Southey

What food and drink trends have been predicted for 2024? We catch up with ingredients suppliers ADM, Arla Foods Ingredients, and Prinova Europe to ask how they’re preparing for the year ahead.

What are consumer attitudes to fortification? Consumers often care about taste over health, study reveals

12-Dec-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Fortification has the potential to provide abundant health benefits, endowing products with a higher level of important nutrients than they otherwise would have possessed. However, taste and texture can be affected by it, which can in turn affect consumer...

NPD Trend Tracker: From non-alcoholic IPA to paper cheese packaging

11-Dec-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

In this week’s NPD Trend Tracker, we’re preparing for dry January with non-alcoholic products from Lucky Saint and a collaboration between MOMO Kombucha and Orbit beers, as well as whiskey flavours from Synergy Flavours. Alongside this, we have breathable...

How can industry turn the tide on seaweed consumption?

07-Dec-2023 By Flora Southey

In Europe, many consumers associated seaweed with the rotting, smelly kelp that washes up on beaches. How can industry cultivate consumer appetite for marine plants?

Bakery waste to be put to use as sustainable oils and fats in new partnership

29-Nov-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

How can bread waste products be put to good use? In a new partnership between UK-based Clean Food Group and Roberts Bakery, the former will use its fermentation technology to transform the waste products of the latter into oils and fats that can be used...

Cell-based breast milk in development to replace ‘suboptimal’ bovine infant formula

27-Nov-2023 By Flora Southey

Can the complexities of breast milk be replicated by cows? France-based Nūmi doesn’t think so. The start-up is turning to cell culture to develop the ‘closest thing possible’ to breast milk.

‘We believe consumer demand for healthier choices is there’: PepsiCo expands its use of diverse ingredients

24-Nov-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Ingredients such as whole grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds and plant-based protein are highly nutritious. Snacks major PepsiCo, in its shift towards expanding its ‘diverse ingredients’ portfolio, plans to produce products containing...

Consuming the right diet can add years onto our lives even in old age, study suggests

23-Nov-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

What are the main benefits of eating a healthy diet? Well, according to a new study, living longer for one.. In fact, some longevity-related diets, particularly involving whole grains and nuts, can increase our lives by up to a decade.

From pest to protein? 'Naked clams' a potential solution for sustainable nutrition, find researchers

22-Nov-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Naked clams, because of the abundance of nutrients they contain, are already highly beneficial to human health. A recent study showed that they can be made even more so, through combining their wood-based diet with an algae-based microencapsulated feed.

Sugar levy brings fall in hospital admissions, yet sugar in products still high across UK

17-Nov-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

The UK’s soft drinks levy is responsible for a 5,500 fall in hospital admissions for tooth decay, according to research published by the BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health.

Biofortified crop potential: Researchers discover mutation in peas leading to high iron content

17-Nov-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Researchers have discovered the genetic sequencing behind two mutations in peas responsible for high iron content. This discovery could aid future research into improving biofortification.

Ultra-processed foods, but not bread or breakfast cereals, linked to multimorbidity: The Lancet

16-Nov-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

A recent study published in medical journal The Lancet has found that ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption is often linked to multimorbidity. However the study found no link between multimorbidity and consumption of UPFs including breakfast cereals,...

EU project pushes for adoption of Mediterranean diet as road to ‘healthy, active lifestyle’

15-Nov-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

The EU is funding a project aimed at promoting the Mediterranean diet as a route to a ‘healthy, active lifestyle.’ Coined MEDIET4ALL, the project will work with ten partners across eight countries, brings together expert knowledge from Europe and Africa...

EIT Food expands to Latin America for burgeoning food tech start-ups

14-Nov-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), partnering with Foodtech HUB Latam, is expanding its Food Accelerator Network (FAN) to Brazil, where it will open a hub that will help develop burgeoning agrifood-tech start-ups in the Latin America...

‘Cigarette-style’ climate, pandemic and health labels on meat can reduce meat consumption, study suggests

07-Nov-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

In the past, health warning labels on products such as cigarettes and alcohol have influenced consumer behaviour. Now, a new study shows that, with the right images, warnings on meat products about health effects, contribution to climate change, and potential...

‘The times they are a-changin': Alcohol has gone out of style and out of the music charts, research reveals

01-Nov-2023 By Oliver Morrison

As surveys find that Gen Zs are drinking less than any other age group, new data also shows a significant decline in chart-topping songs that reference being drunk.

Start-up’s chickpea-based protein isolate boosts protein content in dairy-free cheese

01-Nov-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Israel-headquartered plant-based ingredients start-up ChickP has developed a chickpea-based protein isolate that can be incorporated into a range of cheese substitutes.

More than half of consumers are ‘climatarians’ and show concern for environment, Tetra Pak Index suggests

30-Oct-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Consumers are adapting their attitudes about food to a changing climate and aiming for more sustainable eating habits, research in Tetra Pak’s 2023 Index suggests. The research also indicated that consumers are gravitating towards healthier products,...

Is it time for the ‘outdated’ supermarket free from aisle to evolve?

27-Oct-2023 By Oliver Morrison

As free from brands spot long-term growth potential, a perpetual debate is reigniting: is it best for these products to be in separate or standard aisles?

GUEST ARTICLE

Industry Insights from NIZO: Great flavour without compromise for plant-based food

26-Oct-2023 By René Floris, NIZO Food Research Division Manager

To successfully launch a plant-based product onto the market today, businesses have to go above and beyond in flavour to stand out. How can a new, more holistic flavour approach put an end to organoleptic compromise?

Could ancient Peruvian crops promote a healthy gut and help those living with type 2 diabetes?

24-Oct-2023 By Oliver Morrison

The Andes has traditionally been a source of excellent food and medicinal plants. Now science is turning to ancient Peruvian crops to explore their benefits in boosting the gut health and preventing and treating type 2 diabetes.

Broccoli sprouts contain an abundance of polysulfide molecules, research shows

24-Oct-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Broccoli is already widely known for its nutritional qualities. However, a new study reveals that broccoli sprouts contain an abundance of polysulfide molecules, which exhibit a range of health benefits. This is significantly more than does mature broccoli....

Denmark unveils the ‘world's first’ action plan for plant-based foods

23-Oct-2023 By Oliver Morrison

Eighteen months after the Agreement on the green transformation of Danish agriculture was approved by the Danish Parliament, Food Minister Jacob Jensen has launched the government's new action plan for plant-based foods.

NPD Trend Tracker: From dandelion-spiced rum to gut-health-boosting dairy-free yoghurt

23-Oct-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

In this week's NPD Trend Tracker, we have a medical drink to help children with disease-related malnutrition and an educational programme to help children learn about food waste. We also have a dandelion-spiced rum, condiments that help metabolic...

Algae discovery could be used to enhance the productivity of crops

20-Oct-2023 By Oliver Morrison

Scientists have found a ‘climate change coping mechanism’ that may be able to counter the reduction in the productivity of crops.

International food trade has overall positive effect on health, but red meat imports can lead to excess death, study suggests

19-Oct-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

While international trade in food can lead to positive outcomes, it depends on the food being traded. The trade in nuts, legumes, fruit and vegetables usually leads to improved health outcomes in the country that imports it. However, trade in red meat...

‘It is crucial for consumer acceptance’: Replacing animal fats in plant-based food

18-Oct-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

While with any food, ‘taste is king,’ texture is also extremely important, especially in products aiming to mimic meat. For optimal texture, many manufacturers argue, animal fats, which contribute significantly to the texture of real meat, must be replicated...

News in brief

French food tech firm Umiami raises €32.5 million to speed up distribution in Europe

17-Oct-2023 By Oliver Morrison

French plant-based whole-cut chicken producer Umiami has secured a further €32.5 million Series A funding, bringing its total raised to date to over €100 million.

‘It’s imperative to recognise that not all CBD is created the same’: CBD players digest potential ‘dagger-blow to the UK industry’

12-Oct-2023 By Oliver Morrison

In a move that has potentially far-reaching implications for the CBD industry in the UK, the Food Standards Agency has issued new precautionary advice, recommending healthy adults should limit their consumption of CBD from food to 10mg per day, down from...