Consumer demand for natural foods or products without synthetic or
chemical preservatives has led European processors to pile into the
market with a wave of new offerings, according to research produced
by Mintel.
Ten mega trends stretching from age to individualism will determine
the success and shape of any new products to hit the market in the
near future, claims market analysts Datamonitor.
Indian scientists have developed a way of cross breeding chickpeas,
a feat that to date has been extremely difficult to undertake. The
programme is aiming to develop chickpeas that are more resistant to
disease, in turn boosting crop...
Amendments to Australia's food code continue, with the nation's
food agency calling on companies and organisations to comment on a
host of new proposals, including the addition of phytosterols to
fruit juices and fruit drinks.
Food companies have joined with gusto the legal race to win
monopoly control of discoveries in nanotechnology that could help
them market novel new products, according to a Spanish research
firm.
Ramifications for food formulation as fundamental research on
chocolate smells finds olfaction is uniquely a "dual" sense, in
that the brain perceives the same smell molecule differently if it
arrives through the nose rather...
Strong growth for soy-based alternatives to dairy and meat products
on the back of rising consumer health concerns sees the assured
European market hitting €1.6 billion in 2004.
Nestle, the world's largest food company, depended on its pet
business, beverages and ice creams to keep overall sales growth
humming at 5.2 per cent during the first half of the year, although
Europe remained sluggish at 1.5...
British vegetarians and vegans have lower but stable plasma
concentrations of omega-3 essential fatty acids (EFAs) compared to
their meat-eating compatriots, and the length of time a consumer
adheres to a vegetarian diet has no impact...
If anyone doubted that the US probiotics market's star is rising,
kefir-maker Lifeway Foods' latest results, positive in spite of
milk price vagarities, should be enough to convince them.
The FDA's imminent amendment of its color additive regulations to
provide for the safe use of LycoMato tomato lycopene extract is
good news for the company behind the product.
Chicken consumption in the UK could suffer a temporary setback
after a BBC report indicates chicken are highly contaminated with
antibiotic resistant E. coli bacteria.
Australia's food watchdog has abandoned its 'information on
request' approach to the country of origin labelling of food,
proposing instead a package of measures to provide consumers with
tighter information.
The UK has moved a step closer to relaxing its rules on bovine
spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), potentially opening up a larger
supply of beef for food processors in the UK and throughout Europe.
In among the hollers about obesity and the concerns over nutrition,
food companies now need to work hard to ensure they clinch public
trust, as a matter of insurance. This means more than compliance on
traceability and labeling. This...
With sales growth up and operating profit down in the second
quarter, Belgian supermarket and food group Delhaize serves up
another sign to processors that their western European market is in
direstraits.
With up to 76 per cent of UK chickens testing positive for
Campylobacter, processors and their suppliers will soon be facing a
food safety crackdown from the country's regulator.
Although sales channels for organic foods continue to broaden, the
European market is still dominated by fruit and vegetables. But it
is increased shelf space for organic exotic and tropical fruits
that is expected to provide the...
Swiss-based global fragrance and flavours giant Givaudan says that
a down-turn in its performance for the first six months of the year
was buouyed by a stronger showing from it international fragrance
operations.
The latest survey of the global private label market reveals a €100
billion industry that is increasingly seen as a sign of good
quality, good value food products. But it is Europe, and in
particular the UK, where acceptance and the...
The Sugar Association wants the FDA to introduce more aggressive
labeling regulations that would split out the different sugars and
sweeteners on the nutritional facts panel, just as the labeling of
trans fats will be mandatory from...
A survey of European consumers about peanuts sourced from across
the globe reveals a distinct preference for the quality and flavour
of US-produced nuts.
A group of international scientists has sequenced the complete rice
genome, something that could be used to improve the quality and
size of crops. The discovery may also be developed to apply to
wheat and barley.
An iron compound, developed to fortify foods in countries with high
rates of deficiency, is seeing interest from multinational food
makers looking to overcome the formulation difficulties experienced
with common forms of the mineral.
Dutch biotech company Pharming said today that it has been granted
a Japanese patent on its recombinant human lactoferrin (rhLF), an
ingredient being targeted at nutraceutical and food makers.
Parmalat has sued banks JPMorgan Chase and Unicredito Italiano for
€4.4 billion for their roles in the sale of Parmalat bonds issued
from 1997 through 2001.
Degussa has blamed raw material cost increases for
lower-than-expected earnings in the second-quarter, despite
claiming that the business has"performed satisfactorily".
The UK's food standards agency will meet next week to discuss a new
BSE testing system trialled earlier this year as part of a managed
transition towards replacing the Over Thirty Months Rule.
Better-tasting and convenient performance foods are attracting
growing numbers of Europeans, many of whom are not sports
professionals, reveals a new report.
British confectionery and soft drinks giant Cadbury Schweppes may
be turning its focus to the confectionery market, if recent
speculation on a decision to sell its European soft drinks business
is fulfilled.
Leatherhead Food International is offering a one-stop shop in
analytical service including genetically modified organisms, thanks
to a strategic collaboration with Genetic ID.
A chemically produced folate, said to be several times more
bioavailable than folic acid and recently approved for food use in
Europe, gives premium supplement makers a chance to differentiate
from the commonly marketed form of the...
A new fibre-based fat substitute that can reduce the fat content of
baked goods by 50 per cent is to be launched in Europe by Swiss
marketing group DKSH.
Water, we save. Energy, we conserve. But food, it seems, we can
waste, junk and bin and no-one cares. Except one crusader, whose
20-year project has proven what should have been obvious in the
first place: our attitude to food is...
Leading kefir company Lifeway Foods has announced that its entire
range of low fat kefir flavors will be sweetened with organic cane
juice as a healthier alternative to high fructose corn syrup
(HFCS).
The Corn Refiners Association has claimed that a recent study
linking fructose in soft drinks with added body fat
"mischaracterizes high fructose corn syrup".
Vietnamese rice exports could soon increase as higher than expected
yields allow the government to lift its export restriction,
according to an Asia Pulse report.
With nano-scale technologies poised to become a strategic platform
for the development of new processes for the food and agriculture
sector, the EU is starting to develop a coordinated research
programme so companies can take advantage...
Nutritional oils maker Martek Biosciences has held off another
challenge to the intellectual property on its key product, the
omega-3 fatty acid DHA, although it is still locked up in further
court cases to protect patent rights.
