Chocolate and confectionery ingredients

Spanish manufacturers promise to make 3,500 products healthier

06-Feb-2018 By Niamh Michail

Over 500 companies in Spain have pledged a 10% voluntary reduction in salt, sugar and fat in over 3,500 products. "This is a business transformation," says the country's health minister.

Images help people who are not 'health-conscious' make better food choices

05-Feb-2018 By Niamh Michail

Health-conscious people will choose healthy foods anyway – but visual cues, rather than words, can help those who are less health-conscious to make better food choices, researchers say.

Commission urges Europeans to ‘vote with their purses’ through dual quality boycott

02-Feb-2018 By Niamh Michail

The Commission’s method to test for dual quality products will be ready in April and, when the results are published, Europeans should “vote with their purses and refuse to buy products they consider of lower quality,” the commissioner for justice, consumers...

Superfruit sea buckthorn is top natural preservative for clean labels, says Superfruiticals

01-Feb-2018 By Niamh Michail

Whole sea buckthorn is a natural preservative that has an even cleaner label than rosemary (which must be listed as an extract) for foods ranging from meat to confectionery. "It's the most powerful superfruit that gets the least amount of attention,"...

Is OptiBiotix’s prebiotic fibre a contender to topple sugar’s standing?

01-Feb-2018 By Will Chu

The development of a viable low calorie prebiotic sweetener that disrupts the industry’s use of sugar took another step forward after OptiBiotix Health revealed details of its latest taste study.

La French FoodTech: Meeting the fruit of France's 'start-up nation' ambitions

31-Jan-2018 By Niamh Michail

Last year French President Emmanuel Macron said he wanted France to become a start-up nation. FoodNavigator headed to La French FoodTech's incubator in Lyon to meet some of the rising food stars of La French Tech.

Danish government slams 'political mudslinging' at heart of nutrient profile debate

29-Jan-2018 By Niamh Michail

The Danish government has reiterated its call for nutrient profiles to stop unhealthy foods making health claims, slamming the "political mudslinging" that has prevented them from becoming a reality so far.

Nestlé Switzerland targets 100% ‘responsible sourcing’ by 2020

23-Jan-2018 By Katy Askew

Nestlé aims to ensure 100% “responsible sourcing” in its supply chain across 12 categories of key raw materials in Switzerland by 2020.

Four manufacturers face Paris High Court legal complaint over undeclared nanoparticles

23-Jan-2018 By Niamh Michail

French consumer group UFC-Que Choisir has filed a legal complaint to the High Court of Paris against Mars, Casino, McCormick and Jacobs Douwe Egberts due to the “significant proportion” of undeclared nanoparticles in their products.

'Ultra-processed' food is obesogenic and must be made less available & affordable, say researchers

19-Jan-2018 By Niamh Michail

There is a "significant" link between eating ultra-processed food and obesity levels in adults, say researchers who studied data for 19 European countries.

Food firms pledge more inclusive advertising in France

18-Jan-2018 By Niamh Michail

Nespresso, Unilever, Danone and Avril are among the companies that have pledged to advertise responsibly with fewer stereotypes, signing a 15-point voluntary chart launched by the Union of Advertisers (UDA).

What categories will win as free-from foods gain popularity?

17-Jan-2018 By Katy Askew

Demand for free-from foods has jumped in Europe as consumers buy into the concept as part of a broader understanding of what constitutes a “healthy lifestyle”. FoodNavigator examines the categories that will be the biggest winners.

Calorie caps in processed food: Industry welcomes ‘focus beyond sugar’

17-Jan-2018 By Niamh Michail

Calories in processed foods such as pizzas and readymade sandwiches could be capped in the UK, according to recommendations in an upcoming report by advisory body Public Health England (PHE).

New CEO for Tate & Lyle

16-Jan-2018 By Niamh Michail

Nick Hampton, the company’s current chief financial officer, will take over as CEO of ingredient supplier Tate & Lyle in April.

Spirulina finds success in Dutch start-up's algae chocolate

11-Jan-2018 By Niamh Michail

Dutch start-up The Algae Factory is pushing the foodpairing boundaries with its algae chocolate that contains sustainably sourced spirulina.

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EFSA wants feedback on how to calculate maximum levels for sugar

10-Jan-2018 By Niamh Michail

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) wants feedback on the method it plans to use to calculate the maximum amount of sugar that can be included in a healthy diet.

FlavorWiki's digital flavour profiling promises to slash NPD costs

10-Jan-2018 By Niamh Michail

FlavorWiki’s patent-pending digital technology measures taste perception and consumer flavour preferences at scale, promising to fine-tune the new product development (NPD) process at a tenth of the price of traditional sensory panels.

‘90% sugar and fat but no red light': Foodwatch slams industry’s Evolved Nutrition logo

09-Jan-2018 By Niamh Michail

Manufacturers' Evolved Nutrition logo makes foods high in sugar, fat and salt seem healthier than they are, according to campaign group Foodwatch which has compared products under the UK's traffic light and the industry-own label.

Organic Trade Board overcomes final hurdle to bag €10m in EU funding

05-Jan-2018 By Niamh Michail

Sustainable bank Triodos has stepped in to ensure the UK’s Organic Trade Board (OTB) can unlock over €10m in EU funding to promote the British organic industry.

Making the cut: Is fat more important in sweet or savoury foods?

05-Jan-2018 By Niamh Michail

A liking for fatty foods is linked to obesity. But when these foods are also sweet, salty or both, to what extent is the fat content driving our taste preferences?

Dutch supermarket app will recommend healthier products over unhealthy ones

04-Jan-2018 By Niamh Michail

The Netherlands’ government-backed Nutrition Centre has launched an app that consumers can use to compare brands in store and find the healthiest one. "We hope to unleash a revolution in the supermarket," it says.

Study links processed carb consumption to weight gain

03-Jan-2018 By Katy Askew

The insulin spike that follows consumption of processed carbs could contribute to higher risk of weight gain and obesity, a new study concludes.

2018 and beyond: Five mega-trends set to shape the food industry

03-Jan-2018 By Katy Askew

FoodNavigator looks at five mega-trends that are set to influence the future of innovation in the food sector.

Kids to swap chocolate with healthier snacks under new Public Health England guidelines

03-Jan-2018 By Douglas Yu

Public Health England (PHE) has launched ‘Change4Life’ Campaign to urge children to take a maximum of two 100-calorie snacks per day.

‘The Google Maps for taste and scent’: Aromyx’s bio-chip sensor could fuel future reformulation, it says

21-Dec-2017 By Niamh Michail

Aromyx has developed a biosensor that places the human taste and olfactory receptors into a bio-chip, digitising taste and smell for empirical and tailored reformulation.

Climate change may impact cocoa bean quality as well as yield, says study

14-Dec-2017 By Oliver Nieburg

Changes in temperature and rainfall are likely to impact cocoa bean quality, not just yields, according to research.

Barry Callebaut sweetens appeal of healthier chocolate with low-sugar range

12-Dec-2017 By Will Chu

Barry Callebaut has made available a range of low-sugar chocolate designed to promote an improved nutritional profile to confectionery that doesn’t compromise on taste.

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Cocoa+ sees gap for protein in UK luxury chocolate market

04-Dec-2017 By Douglas Yu

Functional chocolate startup Cocoa+ is eyeing the UK’s luxury market with a protein-enriched milk chocolate.

‘It can produce good chocolate’: Nestlé supports CCN-51 cocoa growing in Ecuador

30-Nov-2017 By Oliver Nieburg

Nestlé Ecuador says CCN-51 can produce ‘good chocolate’ as it provides technical assistance to farmers growing the high yielding cocoa variety.

RSPO focuses on smallholders in support of sustainable palm oil

29-Nov-2017 By Katy Askew

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil and United Nations Environment Project have joined forces to help promote sustainable practices among smallholders producing palm oil as the environmental group sharpens its focus on smallholder farmers.

Alternative emulsifier: Bayn touts oat lecithin for sugar-reduced chocolate

23-Nov-2017 By Oliver Nieburg

Swedish supplier Bayn Europe claims oat oil is an alternative, clean label emulsifier providing better yield stress in sugar-reduced chocolate than polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) and soy lecithin.

Bayn CEO: Cloud-based sugar reformulation tool can fix ‘broken’ food chain

16-Nov-2017 By Katy Askew

Bayn Europe is developing a new cloud-based reformulation tool that, its chief executive says, can help fix the “broken” food chain and heighten sugar-reduction efforts.

Government intervention on food needed to safeguard children’s health: Report

15-Nov-2017 By Will Chu

Imposing taxes on high fat and sugar foods will improve children's diets, the British Psychological Society (BPS) said this week, highlighting the need for government intervention in food reformulation and education.

Ferrero defends 'fine-tuning' of Nutella recipe

08-Nov-2017 By Niamh Michail

Ferrero has been accused of secretly changing the recipe of Nutella to replace expensive cocoa with cheaper milk powder, but it says it has merely "fine-tuned" the recipe.

Savoury is the new sweet: Category-defying launches from vegetable cereals to vinegar soft drinks

07-Nov-2017 By Niamh Michail

Creating less sugary food doesn’t have to be about swapping sugar for sweeteners. We take a look at some adventurous savoury launches in traditionally sweet categories, from vegetable-based breakfast cereals to cheesy chocolate and vinegar soft drinks....

Chr. Hansen goes beyond natural colours with colouring foodstuffs

03-Nov-2017 By Katy Askew

Chr. Hansen is pushing back the boundaries of ‘natural’ ingredients and expanding its range of colouring foodstuffs to help food and beverage manufacturers take clean labels to the next level.

Touton teams with Cocobod to tackle forest devastation in Ghana

30-Oct-2017 By Oliver Nieburg

Cocoa trader Touton has partnered with Ghanaian government agency Cocobod to curb deforestation in Ghana, where cocoa is the main driver of 3.2% of protected forest loss each year.

Can natural liquorice extract be an effective sweetness enhancer?

27-Oct-2017 By Niamh Michail

Glycyrrhizin acid, the sweet-tasting and bitter-masking component of liquorice, has been used in the pharmaceutical industry for years but remains relatively unknown among food makers. UK supplier Thew Arnott wants to change that.

Divine Chocolate NPD focused on ‘high cocoa trends’

25-Oct-2017 By Gill Hyslop

Social enterprise Divine Chocolate is pushing NPD innovation to capitalize on the growing higher cocoa trend evident in the popularity of its 85% chocolate bar.

Tainted tastes a bitter ‘no-no’ for consumers as firms battle cost-cutting culture

24-Oct-2017 By Will Chu

The quest to produce nutritionally enhanced food despite the industry’s cost-cutting culture is one of the biggest challenges the food industry is currently facing, according to Mondelez’s Gil Horsky.

BASF becomes 'supporting' member of the Forum for Sustainable Palm Oil

20-Oct-2017 By Will Chu

BASF have become the latest member of the Forum for Sustainable Palm Oil (FONAP), joining the initiative as a “Supporter” of sustainably produced palm oil for the German, Austrian and Swiss markets.

NHS England bans ‘super-sized’ chocolate bars

16-Oct-2017 By Oliver Nieburg

England’s National Health Service (NHS England) has set a 250 calorie limit on confectionery sold in hospital canteens, stores, vending machines and its other outlets.

Marketing, prices and policy blamed for tenfold increase in childhood obesity

11-Oct-2017 By Katy Askew

Food marketing, the higher price of healthy food and government policy have been blamed for the ten-fold increase in childhood obesity over the past four decades.

Ambrosus is bringing farm-to-fork Blockchain technology to industry 'pioneers'

10-Oct-2017 By Niamh Michail

Swiss tech firm Ambrosus is bringing Blockchain technology to the food industry, making it accessible to small start-ups and billion-euro brands alike. "This technology is here to stay - the pioneers who adopt it first will have the competitive advantage,"...

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