The United States lists sodium on nutrition labels while salt is more common in the European Union. Salt and sodium are not the same, and a standardized term would only cause confusion.
‘I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter!’ When it comes to transparency you can’t get much clearer than Unilever’s famous exclamation-turned-margarine-brand. But new labelling rules to prevent one food masquerading as another should distinguish between intent...
All is not well down on the novel foods farm. If food innovation in Europe is to thrive anew, MEPs and the Council need to get past the recriminations over the failed talks and remove the troublesome question of cloned foods from the negotiating table.
Today is Pancake Day. It is also International Women’s Day. An important date, then, not just for food lovers in countries where Mardi Gras is a big deal, but a day to consider the role – and the potential – of women involved in food provision all over...
The food industry has a responsibility to label allergenic ingredients as big and bold as they can – but also not to over-egg the slimmest of slim possibilities that a trace amount of an allergen may have slipped into a product.
When Tunisian street vegetable vendor Mohamed Bouazizi chose to end his life in fiery suicide, no one could have foreseen the firestorm his death would unleash across the Arab world. But, two months later, as the Arab Revolt shows no sign of fading, the...
The food industry should not rage against the idea of professionalised local food systems, nor unleash its lobbying force to uproot them before their green shoots can reach maturity. Rather, it should explore ways to benefit from local foods and, in turn,...
It was an Emperor’s New Clothes moment for the US food industry last week, when it was revealed that a major initiative touting its responsible advertising to kids actually allows promotion of many unhealthy foods. Is anyone really surprised?
The complacency being exhibited by Brussels over the ongoing dioxin contamination incident is every bit as concerning as the carcinogenic chemical that has found its way into the food and feed chains since the end of last year.
Change4Life healthy food vouchers are just the ticket for food industry marketers. But changing eating habits requires consistent, co-ordinated policy – not hand-outs to ease the population’s post-Christmas conscience.
As 2010 draws to a close, our journalists look back at the issues that have topped agendas across the food, beverage and dietary supplements industries in the last 12 months. Commodity prices, Bisphenol A, obesity, health claims, safety regulations, and...
When PepsiCo put up $5.4bn last week to acquire Wimm-Bill-Dann, it was seduced by the promise of high revenue growth but like any high-yield investment the Russian deal does not come without risks.
The hand on the tiller that is food safety in Europe has been left somewhat unsteady by the recent regulatory actions taken by the European Commission on BPA and food colours – moves that are pandering to consumer fear and showing contempt for the food...
As all parties would probably admit in these stressful times for the European Union functional food industry, we are still some way away from resolving the core issues that resulted in the adoption of Regulation 1924/2006 – the 2006 nutrition and health...
Uh-oh, surely not another industry-sponsored front-of-pack nutrition label! Food industry engagement is welcome, but let’s take it slowly – no one benefits until we figure out a system that works.
Somewhere, in some time, there exists a land of beauty and promise for nutricosmetics products, where beauty supplements, foods and drinks can frolic, happy in the knowledge of their justifiable claims.The problem is that getting to this promised land...
To BPA or not to BPA? While the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) backed the continued use of bisphenol A last week, the real question is whether the verdict was a full-blown reprieve for the controversial chemical or merely a stay of execution.
Once upon a time sugar was sugar, and sugar was most definitely not good for you. So the Corn Refiners Association move to rebrand high fructose corn syrup as corn sugar is a daring move – but should do little to sweeten its reputation.
There’s something incongruous about the hi-tech modern food industry sniffing around the Palaeolithic era for the next big consumer trend. But hold the side order of cynicism. There might just be some logic to good old-fashioned instinctive eating.
Kids are not going to stop liking chocolate, pizza, ice cream, or fries. Heck, neither am I. So why is industry so afraid of mandatory restrictions on marketing to children?
There’s nothing like a shortage of wheat to send some news media searching for superlatives. Talk of “soaring” wheat prices and “rocketing” bread prices were common, in the British press, after Russia decided to temporarily ban grain exports earlier this...
The world’s first 100 percent biodegradable chip packet attracted a lot of noise last week, but not the buzz that SunChips’ maker FritoLay had been hoping for.
Do you want a statin with that cheeseburger and milkshake? Touting pharmaceuticals as the neutralisers of fast food is not the answer to unhealthy diets and even the suggestion sends out the wrong message.
Big oops. Meat and milk from the offspring of cloned animals has entered the UK food chain. Cue scary headlines and scared consumers. But the leviathan of EU-lawmaking means no-one actually knows if it’s legal or not. And that’s an even bigger oops.
Let's get talking about nanotech. The science of the very small has filled the food industry with big ideas – but industry is torn on how to present nanotechnology to consumers, stalling product development.
Here’s a radical thought for the marketers - the benefits of antioxidants may not be related to antioxidant activity. Last week’s NutraIngredients Antioxidants Conference suggested some tough choices are ahead.
‘Billion dollar deal’ was not a phrase bandied about the food ingredients industry much last year. With BASF buying Cognis for €3.1bn and Corn Products International paying $1.3bn for National Starch, M&A looks to be thawing – but best not get over-excited...
Always read the small print. Good advice and nowhere more so than in food labelling with today’s increasingly savvy consumers demanding to know what’s in their food, where it came from and what it’s going to do to them.
Sorry guys, the World Cup is not all about football. It’s about food too, and this year’s tournament should kick off a whole new debate about our sporting food culture.
Are organic foods healthier? The sad truth is that nearly 100,000 studies later, we just don't know. Meanwhile, this lack of certainty presents major business opportunities for the organic food industry.
Please: A big round of applause for Jozsef Kapuvári. Who? You might well ask. Kapuvári is the author of an EU report that highlights the importance of realistic food prices – not just to underpin the food supply chain but to maintain the fabric of European...
The call for better biomarkers to substantiate health claims is a bold and timely move, but we need to move away from trying to judge foods as pharmaceuticals.
It’s a sticky issue that just won’t go away. There are sugar-free, tooth whitening and nicotine added versions but none from leading makers, as yet, that are dissolvable in rain.
Voting is a basic human right. Eating is a basic human need. British voters who eat should mull future meal plans carefully before putting an X in any box on Thursday.
There is a pile of evidence linking artificial trans fats with heart disease, so why is it still in our food? It’s time to get real and recognize that artificial trans fat is an adulterant with no place in the global food supply.
“Many in industry are pinning their hopes on EFSA showing them the light at the meeting, including the likes of Danone, which withdrew three probiotic immunity/digestive health article 13.5 claims in April, citing clarification it is expecting on Big...
Bisphenol A (BPA) is living on borrowed time. And not just in the United States but now in Europe too where mounting consumer hostility and scientific concern over its safety have combined to push the chemical towards the point of no return.
Soft drink makers could end up swallowing a £10m bill for no good reason by embracing the Food Standards Agency (FSA) recommendations for new slim-line 250ml drinks.
This month marks the 10th anniversary of the UK’s Food Standards Agency. Sue Davies, chief policy advisor at consumer group Which?, which fought for the FSA’s creation in the wake of the BSE crisis, shares her views on its job over the last 10 years.
No race should have rules that favour the strongest competitors. But unless the capabilities and interests of SMEs are taken into consideration before the starting gun is fired for new food regulations, they will struggle to keep up and may have to drop...
Food companies must ensure their supply chains are transparent and socially responsible in order to prevent backlashes from consumer activists and non-governmental groups on Facebook or Twitter, which could have costly brand repercussions.
Not again! It emerged last week that Basic Food Flavors, the company behind the ongoing HVP recall, knew its products were tainted with salmonella but carried on shipping them anyway. Déjà vu anyone?
Timber! The latest axe blow from EFSA has fallen, and this time it has taken one of the biggest trees in the nutrition forest: Antioxidants. But let’s not mourn the loss of the tree; let’s look forward to the new opportunities a clear view of the sky...
Never before has the dangling of golden carrots in the boardroom been so closely scrutinised. DSM and others’ decisions to ensure those carrots have green shoots of sustainability attached to them is a wise and forward thinking move.
Energy shot drinks have come under fire from German authorities which are employing an old-school prohibition logic that history has repeatedly dunce-hatted.
