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.
Bravo! The beverage industry has responded enthusiastically to Mrs. Obama’s campaign to tackle childhood obesity - but there’d better be more than froth behind that sparkling rhetoric.
“An army marches on its stomach.” This advice, from French military adventurer Napoleon, seems to have impressed the US military which is considering fortifying troops’ rations with omega-3 fatty acids. What is it waiting for?
Excess salt can cause hypertension, heart disease, death. That’s the scientific consensus behind public health campaigns to reduce consumption of sodium chloride in the diet. But not everyone reads the science as conclusive, and when it comes to minerals...
Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated, quipped Mark Twain. Predictions of the demise of Cadbury following the approval of Kraft’s offer are premature and are flawed by knee-jerk anti-Americanism.
50,000 and counting. We'll probably never know exactly how many perished in the 7.0 earthquake that brought Haiti, quite literally, crashing down last Tuesday, 12th January 2010, just before 5pm. But for those who survived and who make it through...
“More snow on the way.” So say the weathermen, and Europe is stocking up and hunkering down for a long, cold winter. But while the fluffy flakes will halt, at least come Spring, for the food sector the chill could be felt throughout 2010.
Each day the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) dithers in delivering its verdict on the safety of bisphenol A (BPA), its authority is diminished and its credibility wanes.
Return to profitability. It’s a phrase that businesses have been yearning for, but as more of them are starting to use it, it’s time to ask: At what cost?
The krill category and the science backing it are still emerging, but there are many who believe krill extracts have the potential to 'go big' in the healthy foods arena. Very big.
There’s a perfect storm building for food prices. You don’t have to scan the horizon to see the signs; the clouds are developing all around us - at a faster rate than anyone expected.
Climate change dominates the CSR agenda but new USDA figures on food insecurity are a sharp reminder that alleviating poverty and hunger should always be the top priority.
Ka-CHING! Hear that? No it’s not the sound of overflowing cash registers as consumers throw endless wads of euros at scientifically-backed, healthy foods in greater numbers than ever before.
There’s gold to be found in them health claims mountains, but prospectors from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) must be happy with the little chunks that add up to a lot, and stop searching for nuggets the size of your fist.
Everybody wants food to be safe - but the recent slugging match over how best to protect US consumers from E.coli-tainted meat highlights whether legislation or self-regulation is the answer to mending the country's flawed safety system.
Will we all be waking up bleary-eyed to bowls of tattooed Corn Flakes any time soon? Probably not, but by suggesting that we could, Kellogg’s has hit on a winning marketing ploy.
Is taxing soda really an evil plan to curb your individual freedom? Conspiracy theories aside, perhaps it’s simply a sensible scheme to tackle obesity when personal choice has failed.
October 1 was not a good day for many in the functional foods and food supplements business in the European Union as the meaning of life under a highly restrictive health claims regime came more into focus.
By Sneha Pasricha, research analyst, Frost & Sullivan
A sustainable supply chain, adherence to quality standards and alliances with flavour companies are all keys to success in the increasingly competitive stevia sweeteners market, says Sneha Pasricha of Frost & Sullivan.
By Sneha Pasricha, research analyst, Frost & Sullivan
Aspartame and sugar are likely to be the main substitution targets for emerging stevia sweeteners, and beverages the initial main application, writes Sneha Pasricha, a research analyst for Frost & Sullivan, in the first of two guest articles.
Nestle is being slammed for sourcing milk from a Mugabe-owned farm in Zimbabwe. In a world where both business and information are globalised, any big business practices deemed unacceptable – wherever they take place – are liable to unleash a furious...
Get your pitchforks ready! There are evil-doers out there! We’ve been conned: Probiotics don’t work. Dannon’s settling out of court, EFSA’s rejecting health claims, and the media is starting a witch hunt.
The US FDA is being sued over its health claims regime – actions that are unlikely to succeed according to most pundits – but they raise serious questions about healthy food messaging and free speech that are being felt globally.
Thousands of food companies make and sell products; why do some become so much more successful than others? Is it luck, or is it better people? Dr Michael Lee of CPL Executive Search says individuals make all the difference – and firms need to use the...
Sugar politics means high prices are a bitter pill for US and Indian sweet food and beverage makers; while the European industry is sitting pretty on the back of the recent sugar reforms.
Look at the globe and you’d be hard pressed to find two countries further apart than Ireland and New Zealand. But they stand side-by-side on the folic acid fortification issue – it is not needed.
How best should Britain plan to secure reliable supplies of reasonably-priced food? Should the nation put its trust in home production or food imports from the world market?
It looks like the FDA has finally got some muscle. Never mind new legislation – if anything can prevent America acquiring a weedy reputation for food safety, it’s the might of Dr Margaret Hamburg.
Cutting back meat consumption is the new darling cause of pop stars. But if necessary environmental and health goals are to be achieved, the whole supply chain needs to be strumming along in tune.
Not again! As if industry is not struggling enough with the severity of the European Food Safety Authority’s nutrition and health claims rulings so far, the situation has not been helped by the kind of articles that appeared in the UK press today and...
Industrial accidents are not funny. Does anyone need a reminder? Apparently yes; judging by how some headline writers and bloggers made light of the plight of Vincent Smith who died last week after falling into a vat of liquid chocolate at a New Jersey...
The Atlantic Ocean separates continents; it also separates schools of thought on the definition of nanotechnology. In order to educate manufacturers and consumers on nanotechnology a definition is critical.
The term cosmeceutical has always been controversial, but the blurring boundaries between the worlds of nutrition and cosmetics are highlighting divisions that neither industry can ignore.
The economic recession is biting across the globe, and bleeding casualties litter all industries, but now is not the time to cower. Those willing to spend may provoke a stimulation of their business that could set them up for years, if not decades, to...
You can try your best to avoid it, but when it comes to measuring carbon footprint, almost everything we do these days, either as a business or individuals, is likely to have a negative impact on the environment.
This month saw the final stage in the introduction of a Europe-wide system for registering and protecting geographical names for foodstuffs and drinks. Owen Warnock. food law partner at Eversheds, explains why we will see PDO/PDI labels on more foods...
