Carbohydrates and fibres (sugar, starches)

Stakeholders launch International Fair Trade Charter: 'Our goal is to render Fair Trade labels unnecessary'

26-Sep-2018 By Niamh Michail

Over 300 organisations have launched an International Fair Trade Charter that sets down the fundamental values of Fair Trade.

UK yogurt study finds high sugar content

25-Sep-2018 By Jim Cornall

A study in the Journal of Dairy Science on sugar reduction in dairy products comes at a time when yogurt is under the spotlight for its sugar content in the UK.

PepsiCo innovation chief on seaweed, insects & accessible nutrition: 'It’s through experimenting that you work out what consumers will buy'

19-Sep-2018 By Niamh Michail

PepsiCo is on a drive to grow its healthy portfolio faster than its core 'treat' products. We talk to its director of innovation about finding the right healthy ingredients, working with start-ups and how it plans to give 'more nutritious...

Could sorghum syrup rival beet as Europe's home-grown sugar?

18-Sep-2018 By Niamh Michail

A Hungarian company is bringing sorghum syrup to Europe for the first time, a liquid sweetener with a caramel flavour that can be used across food and beverage categories.

Welcome to the age of ‘multi-localism’: How to survive and thrive with personalisation, hyper-local sourcing & tailored flavours

17-Sep-2018 By Niamh Michail

If food companies are to survive today's tariff-prone, populist global economy, they need to radically re-engineer their supply chains and start offering consumers personalised products that are locally sourced, says a report.

MycoTech brings mushroom-based bitter blocker to Europe

17-Sep-2018 By Niamh Michail

As US supplier MycoTechnology turns its attention to the European market, its CEO explains how fermented mushrooms can reduce sugar, block bitterness and improve the nutritional content of plant protein. “It’s really unlimited what we can do with our...

The nutrition label that encourages larger portions of unhealthy foods? ENL shows 'inconsistent' results

11-Sep-2018 By Niamh Michail

The food industry's Evolved Nutrition Label (ENL) showed "inconsistent" results across food categories, and even appeared to nudge consumers towards choosing more chocolate spread than no label at all in a 25,000-strong study.

From compost to cakes: Carrot pulp flour gives healthy reformulation green credentials

10-Sep-2018 By Niamh Michail

Danish wholesaler Greens has developed a high-fibre, baking-friendly carrot flour made from carrot pulp, a by-product of the juicing industry, that previously went to compost.

NPD trend tracker: Quinoa pasta, bars for gut health & fava bean crackers

10-Sep-2018 By Niamh Michail

Launches this month include quinoa pasta, probiotic bars and fava bean crackers while some manufacturers are gearing up for Halloween and Christmas with seasonal products.

Flavoured jackfruit snack start-up Jacked promises to shake up the 'dead' dried fruit category

07-Sep-2018 By Niamh Michail

While people know jackfruit as a plant-based meat alternative, they are less familiar with it as a healthy snack. 'The dried fruit market is also not that interesting in the UK," says newcomer Jacked Foods. "We’ve created a quirky brand...

Low-calorie sweeteners do not trigger sweet cravings, says study

07-Sep-2018 By Niamh Michail

Beverages sweetened with low-calorie sweeteners do not increase total energy intake any more than water when drunk with a meal, according to an industry-funded study.

The new soda? No sugar or sweeteners make Ugly Drinks 'an everyday staple'

06-Sep-2018 By Niamh Michail

UK firm Ugly Drinks uses fruit-based essential oils and sparkling water to create “totally unsweet” fizzy drinks with a nutritional content of “zero” that are an everyday fridge staple, it says.

Taste, texture, smell or appearance: Which is most important in overall liking?

04-Sep-2018 By Niamh Michail

New product developers often focus on overall liking of a food or drink during the NPD stage - but which sensory characteristic is most important? Danish researchers tried to find out.

INFOGRAPHIC

Biodiversity and dietary diversity: Are we running a race to the bottom?

04-Sep-2018 By Niamh Michail

Despite living on a planet with 50,000 edible plants, 60% of our energy intake comes from just three: rice, maize and wheat. What is this lack of dietary diversity doing to our health and the environment?

Food can activate healthy, energy-burning brown fat

30-Aug-2018 By Niamh Michail

Eating a carbohydrate-rich meal may activate healthy brown fat that burns energy, suggesting future possibilities to preventing obestiy, researchers say.

Fresh avocados add health halo to indulgent chocolate dessert, says Onist

27-Aug-2018 By Niamh Michail

Using fresh avocados and banishing empty calories from sugar helped UK start-up Onist, founded by registered nutritionist-turned-food entrepreneur, create its healthy indulgent dessert.

Sugar reduction through Hydrosol’s new texturing systems

22-Aug-2018 By Jim Cornall

Sugar reduction in foods is a topic of great interest around the world, leading to a growing number of sugar-reduced or sugar-free products.

Keto may be the next ‘fad’ diet but is it healthy?

21-Aug-2018 By Katy Askew

The keto diet has been tipped as the next big fad by analysts – but evidence over its longer-term health implications is less clear cut.

Study shows techniques for reducing sugar content in dairy products show promise

21-Aug-2018 By Jim Cornall

Progress is being made in producing reduced-sugar dairy products that are more acceptable to consumers, researchers from the Southeast Dairy Foods Research Center, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, say in a report in the Journal of Dairy Science.

Sugar replaces price as consumers’ top food worry

20-Aug-2018 By Katy Askew

The amount of sugar contained in food has risen up the consumer agenda and replaced price as consumers’ biggest food concern, research from the UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) reveals.

Low and high carbohydrate diets cut life expectancy, study finds

20-Aug-2018 By Katy Askew

People who follow an extreme low carb diet that replaces carbohydrates with animal protein and fat could shorten their life expectancy by four years, new research in published in The Lancet suggests.

‘This solves a real headache’: Ulrick & Short addresses ‘troublesome’ processes with cold swelling starch

17-Aug-2018 By Katy Askew

UK ingredients maker Ulrick & Short is extending its line of clean label starches with the addition of a cold swelling starch that the company says will offer a stability and thickening solution for manufacturers using “gentle factory processes”.

Could tapioca rival ‘pervasive dominance’ of corn and potato starch?

14-Aug-2018 By Katy Askew

Global demand for products made with tapioca starch is set to rise, supported by increased interest in products that deliver health benefits and are free from gluten and other allergens.

Borregaard’s ‘radical innovation’: A wood-based dietary fibre that can replace fat

13-Aug-2018 By Katy Askew

Norway’s Borregaard is a technology leader in biorefineries, producing biochemical and biomaterials that replace oil-based products. A recent innovation from the group is a wood-based dietary fibre that works as a fat-replacer.

New product trend tracker: Ready-to-eat wheatberry & quinoa, spreadable skyr and gourmet instant desserts

03-Aug-2018 By Niamh Michail

From ready-to-eat pouches of wheatberry & quinoa, spreadable skyr and gourmet instant desserts with cocoa and chia seeds, we take a loot at some of the recent new product launches that stand out.

KiSS sweetness modulators ‘fool our sensory systems’ for sugar reduction

01-Aug-2018 By Katy Askew

KiSS UK, part of REG Chemicals, has developed a line of flavour modulators that, it says, address the three main challenges of sugar reduction: sweetness, aftertaste and mouthfeel.

DouxMatok & Südzucker bring sugar tech to Europe: 'We want to be like Intel Inside, powering industry's sugar reduction,' says CEO

01-Aug-2018 By Niamh Michail

Israeli start-up DouxMatok has partnered with German sugar giant Südzucker to produce, market and sell its patented sugar-reducing technology to Europe.

From almond husk sugar to nutritious okara flour: High-value ingredients from food by-products

30-Jul-2018 By Niamh Michail

From a nutritious (and cheap) flour made from the by-product of tofu production to sugar, beer and biodegradable plastic made from almond husks, 'waste' is a dirty word in today's food industry. FoodNavigator found out more at this year's...

Focus on food choices to tackle NCDs, not specific nutrients

27-Jul-2018 By Niamh Michail

Understanding the role of specific nutrients in food, such as sugar and saturated fat, is important but not enough to fully understand how diets impact risk of obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs), says one scientist.

Renmatix on its multifunctional simple cellulose: 'This is a new-to-the-world ingredient'

24-Jul-2018 By Niamh Michail

An emulsifier, humectant, texturiser and egg replacement, Renmatix's patent-protected simple cellulose is native, natural and multifunctional, it says. "This is a very unique and new-to-the-world form of cellulose,” says the CEO.

Portugal to set mandatory maximum salt levels in bread

23-Jul-2018 By Niamh Michail

Portugal will set mandatory maximum levels for salt in bread, with incrementally increasing targets over the next four years.

Clash or compromise: Can consumer demands and responsible food ever match?

20-Jul-2018 By Niamh Michail

Consumers want clean, healthy food. But are companies providing it and what if demands for clean food are in direct conflict with food safety or sustainability? Four industry stakeholders debated the issue at this week's IFT in Chicago.

'Not particularly good news': Processing strips maize of healthy nutrients

12-Jul-2018 By Niamh Michail

The process of making corn flakes strips maize of its healthy phenolic compounds and tocopherols, meaning fortification with additives is the best solution to make corn products healthier, scientists have found.

300,000-strong survey 'confirms positive impact' of NutriScore logo

11-Jul-2018 By Niamh Michail

Leading French retailer E.Leclerc is definitively backing the NutriScore logo after a survey of 300,000-consumers showed it is best in encouraging healthy food choices, especially among younger shoppers and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

New product trend tracker: Seaweed-infused oils, granola for kids and cocktail sweets for adults

09-Jul-2018 By Niamh Michail

From algae-infused cooking oils to baobab herbal teas; cocktail-flavoured sweets and low-sugar yoghurts with no sweeteners, we take a look at some new product launches that stand out from the crowd.

EFSA closes the door on titanium dioxide re-evaluation

06-Jul-2018 By Niamh Michail

There is no merit in re-evaluating the safety of titanium dioxide after four studies highlighted safety concerns, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has advised the Commission.

Orkla expands in Denmark with bakery filling acquisition

06-Jul-2018 By Niamh Michail

Orkla Food Ingredients has inked a "strategically important" deal to acquire Danish fruit filling, syrup and marmalade supplier Igos.

Prepared meals and ethnic flavours on the rise in Spain

04-Jul-2018 By Niamh Michail

Spaniards are buying more prepared meals and the number of people eating ethnic cuisine has more than doubled in recent years, says a government report on food consumption.

'A serious health concern': Undeclared allergens are causing accidental allergic reactions

04-Jul-2018 By Niamh Michail

Undeclared allergens at 'concerning' concentrations in packaged food are causing accidental allergic reactions, according to a study. "There is a perception that food allergens are no longer an issue," says one expert. "This is...

Tesco-Carrefour deal will have 'detrimental effect' on suppliers, FDE warns

03-Jul-2018 By Niamh Michail

The buying alliance between retail giants Tesco and Carrefour will create an imbalance in bargaining power that has a detrimental effect on the whole supply chain, suppliers and manufacturers have warned.

UK food industry is not failing on sugar reduction targets, says expert

02-Jul-2018 By Niamh Michail

UK food and drink manufacturers are achieving "substantially better" sugar reductions than has been reported, according to a health policy expert. "It's good news for public health as well as private business."

Fat-carb combo intensifies brain reward signals and triggers overeating: Study

29-Jun-2018 By Niamh Michail

Combining fat and carbohydrates in food intensifies the reward signalling to the brain regardless of calorie-count, liking or portion size, creating a desire to eat even beyond satiety, researchers have found.

Summer trendwatch: Jackfruit, 'naturally essenced' water and snack pairing

28-Jun-2018 By Niamh Michail

Forget hot dogs and soda, this summer's staples will be barbecued jackfruit, naturally 'essenced' water and snacks that 'perfectly pair' with alcoholic drinks, according to market research analysts at Mintel.

Isoglucose is not more of a health risk than sugar - if its fructose content does not increase: BfR

28-Jun-2018 By Niamh Michail

The type of isuglucose currently used in Europe poses no greater health risk than sucrose – but if manufacturers increase its proportion of fructose, the potential risks must be communicated, said the German risk authority.

'Help to avoid food waste in the sharing economy': Denmark relaxes rules on individuals selling food

25-Jun-2018 By Niamh Michail

The Danish government has made it easier for non-food businesses to sell food as the popularity of digital food sharing applications grows, saying it will help fight food waste.

UK firm claims to have first commercially viable scale-up process for brazzein

22-Jun-2018 By Niamh Michail

Magellan Life Sciences says its patent-pending fermentation process to scale up the sweet-tasting protein brazzein will make it the first company to market the natural, zero-calorie sweetener.

Chewing the fat: Reformulation and the texture challenge

20-Jun-2018 By Katy Askew

The relationship between texture and taste means that texturants can play an important role in fat reduction efforts.

A texture, taste and legal challenge: Chocolate start-up shirks sugar for dates

20-Jun-2018 By Niamh Michail

London start-up Kaakao managed to overcome texture and flavour challenges when sweetening its chocolate with dates instead of sugar but the regulatory challenge - the EU definition of chocolate - is proving to be more difficult.

‘A largely unexplored opportunity’: The science linking texture and calorie reduction

20-Jun-2018 By Katy Askew

The texture of food can influence people’s calorie intake, Dr Ciarán Forde of the National University of Singapore and Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences believes.

Pea protein trio of isolate-starch-fibre best to mimic meaty texture, says Cosucra

20-Jun-2018 By Niamh Michail

Manufacturers are moving from soy to pea protein to accurately mimic the texture of meat and dairy in plant-based alternatives, according to pea supplier Cosucra. “It’s part of their new product development (NPD) priority,” says its managing director.