Health and nutritional ingredients

Could keto diet delay early Alzheimer's?

16-Apr-2024 By Donna Eastlake

The keto diet has been linked to multiple health benefits, including lowered blood pressure and reduced blood sugar, but could it also help to combat the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease?

‘No such thing as a universally healthy diet’: Meeting individual health needs through personalised nutrition

15-Apr-2024 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Personalised nutrition aims to fulfil the specific health needs of each of its individual customers. But with as many sets of health needs as there are people, how is this done?

Organic alternative to chemical pesticides discovered

09-Apr-2024 By Donna Eastlake

Scientists believe they’ve found an organic solution to chemical pesticides

Food security: How can we create resilient food systems for the future?

08-Apr-2024 By Donna Eastlake

The rise of extreme weather events across the globe is posing a major threat to food security. So how can we create more resilient supply chains to ensure food supplies in the future?

Nourished on how to communicate the potential of personalised nutrition to consumers

05-Apr-2024 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Personalised nutrition has immense potential for extremely bespoke nutritional benefits to consumers. But for such a niche category, how does a company communicate this potential?

Food as medicine: Could a healthy diet improve diabetes?

03-Apr-2024 By Donna Eastlake

Diabetes affects around 422 million people worldwide but could diet help to improve the condition and, if yes, how effective is it?

Could a plant-based diet stop sleep apnoea and snoring?

28-Mar-2024 By Donna Eastlake

Obstructive sleep apnoea and snoring have been attributed to a multitude of factors, including weight and gender, but could diet also play a significant role?

Danone, Nestlé, Kraft Heinz baby food ‘unfit for promotion’: ATNI

27-Mar-2024 By Flora Southey

In fact, none of the 1,297 complementary foods tested from six companies were up to scratch, according to the Access to Nutrition Initiative. The food makers disagree.

Taste, appeal, health claims: Getting functional foods to consumers

27-Mar-2024 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Functional food brands face a range of challenges, from taste to health claims, in order to get their products to appeal to consumers, and educate them about product potential.

Is kimchi a weight-loss superfood?

26-Mar-2024 By Donna Eastlake

The popularity of kimchi has been growing in recent years as consumers enjoy it for it’s gut-friendly properties as well as its taste. But is it also an aid to weight loss?

Is the UK investing enough in food and drinks manufacturing?

25-Mar-2024 By Donna Eastlake

Financial uncertainty has proved to be a major challenge for UK food and drinks manufacturers. But is the government investing in the industry and what more can it do to support them?

Changing freshwater cycle: Are we on a collision course with disaster?

22-Mar-2024 By Donna Eastlake

Human activity has significantly altered the freshwater cycle. But is this change reversible, and if not, what does it mean for the future of food and water supplies?

Behind FrieslandCampina’s foray into lab made lactoferrin

21-Mar-2024 By Flora Southey

FrieslandCampina Ingredients is expanding its precision fermentation focus beyond HMOs. But will parents be open to feeding their babies precision fermentation-derived dairy?

How is the food industry supporting childhood nutrition?

21-Mar-2024 By Donna Eastlake

From infancy through to adolescence, nutrition is essential in ensuring a healthy body and mind for our youngsters. So how can this be achieved and what it the food industry doing to help parents?

Gut health business is booming: What's next for this unstoppable health trend?

20-Mar-2024 By Donna Eastlake

The gut health trend is one of the single biggest changes to hit the food and drinks industry in recent decades. So what are gut-loving consumers buying and what gut-friendly products will we see next?

Plant-based: Why some consumers make the switch and others steer clear

15-Mar-2024 By Donna Eastlake

Plant-based diets have grown in popularity in recent years, so what’s encouraging the increased interest in plant-based alternatives and why might others avoid them?

Is hemp the next functional food in vegetarian nutrition?

14-Mar-2024 By Natasha Spencer-Joilliffe

As regulatory restrictions ease, researchers studying Cannabis sativa L. identify its nutritional benefits and potential in vegetarian diets while highlighting the need for clarity on the safety of some concentrated extracts.

Food swaps to stop biodiversity loss

12-Mar-2024 By Donna Eastlake

We’ve all heard of the rallying World War Two cry, ‘Dig for Victory’, urging citizens to combat food shortages by growing fruits and vegetable in their allotments and gardens. Well, now people are being urged to make food swaps to stop biodiversity loss....

NPD Trend Tracker: From gut-friendly sweets and flapjacks to edible insects

11-Mar-2024 By Donna Eastlake

Healthy living is firmly on the agenda in this week’s new product roundup: There are immunity-boosting drinks, gut-friendly sweets and flapjacks, and an alternative protein source in the form of edible insects. Elsewhere we have a sparkling lemonade that's...

Tackling texture of plant-based proteins with non-UPF discovery

07-Mar-2024 By Donna Eastlake

‘Dry’, ‘chalky’ and even 'gritty' are just some of the less than favourable words used to describe the texture of plant-based proteins. However, scientists at the University of Copenhagen believe they have discovered the secret to significantly...

Potassium depletion in soil a major threat to food security

04-Mar-2024 By Donna Eastlake

Potassium deficiency in soil has been revealed as a major threat to livestock and agricultural farming. So what does this mean for global food security and can the current threat be reversed?

Consumers urged to engage with food industry and fight for change

01-Mar-2024 By Donna Eastlake

Food systems and supply chains can be confusing for consumers, often leaving them with little understanding of exactly where their food comes from and its environmental impact. Enter the Inclusive Food movement…

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...