Food safety

Rethinking an ‘arduous and onerous’ process: What could Brexit mean for novel foods?

24-Jan-2020 By Flora Southey

With the UK due to leave the European Union in a matter of days, FoodNavigator looks at the implications on novel foods. Could quitting the EU-28 help speed up the regulatory processes?

Horsemeat scam shows weak links in food chain: ‘Traceability, controls, sanctions and transparency must be improved’

22-Jan-2020 By Katy Askew

Europol revealed details of arrests made in Spain this week over a fresh horsemeat scam. But rather than feeling reassured, observers suggest this is further evidence of systemic weaknesses in the food chain that are exploited by criminal elements.

What are the emerging trends in novel foods?

20-Jan-2020 By Flora Southey

What novel food applications are manufacturers pushing for authorisation? According to Chair of the UK’s Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes, Professor Peter Gregory, emerging trends include sustainability, meat analogues, and ‘healthy’ foods.

Nestlé wants to ‘lead the shift’ from virgin plastics

17-Jan-2020 By Katy Askew

Nestlé has said it will invest up to CHF2bn (€1.9bn) to ‘lead the shift’ from virgin plastics to food-grade recycled plastics and develop ‘innovative sustainable packaging’.

‘Much higher’ herbicide residues found in glyphosate-resistant soybeans: ‘Glyphosate should not be in the food chain’

16-Jan-2020 By Flora Southey

Researchers in Europe are concerned about the increased levels of herbicide residues found in harvested plants and food products, which they associate with the use of glyphosate-resistant soybeans.

Could 2020 be year of the baobab?

15-Jan-2020 By Oliver Morrison

Nestlé is just one of the large food and beverage firms investigating the potential of the African 'superfruit', according to an ingredients supplier.

Meat-free, convenience, and traceability: EHL Ingredients reveals 2020 food trends

15-Jan-2020 By Flora Southey

UK ingredients supplier EHL has released its 2020 ‘top trends’, covering plant-based innovations, mindful eating, traceability and allergen awareness.

UK food sceptical as government insists 'no dilution of standards' for post-Brexit trade deals

10-Jan-2020 By Katy Askew

The UK government’s food and farming minister has insisted that environmental, animal welfare and safety standards will not be put on the line in trade deals struck after Brexit. But calls for a food standards commission to scrutinise future agreements...

Brussels Bulletin: Brexit certainty as UK election landslide boosts Boris

13-Dec-2019 By Oliver Morrison

Our latest news and views from Brussels takes in the UK’s general election result, a ban on chlorpyrifos and the EU’s food waste and sustainability plans.

Foodwatch France calls for a ban on nitrite additives in processed meats

11-Dec-2019 By Jenny Eagle

Foodwatch France has partnered with Yuka and the Cancer League to demand a diet without added nitrite including; E249 (potassium nitrite), E 250 (sodium nitrite), E251 (sodium nitrate) and E252 (nitrate) used in processed meats such as industrial sausages.

From allergies to climate change to food fraud – the business resilience issues facing the food sector in 2020

06-Dec-2019 By Oliver Morrison

A host of factors have the potential to damage the reputation of food brands next year, warns an expert.

From optimised production to traceability: Agritask ‘pushing the boundaries of data analytics’

26-Nov-2019 By Katy Askew

Israeli food tech company Agritask has secured fresh capital to invest in R&D and expand the customer network for its precision agriculture solution, which is already employed by the likes of General Mills.

Kerry’s clean label answer to acrylamide

26-Nov-2019 By Katy Askew

Acrylamide is a hot topic for food makers. It has been a year since the European Commission regulation obliging food business operators to apply acrylamide mitigation measures came into force. Kerry Group aims to help manufacturers step up to the mark...

How Mother Nature’s backyard is bringing a fruitful approach to sugar reduction

24-Nov-2019 By Flora Southey

As industry considers how best to reduce sugar in sweetened food and beverages, could fruit-derived ingredients provide a ‘natural’ alternative to the refined sweet stuff?

6 sustainable food trends businesses must watch

22-Nov-2019 By Oliver Morrison

As the food industry continues to explore plant-based innovations, they must deliberate the health and sustainability credentials of these products, according to experts.

Microbes ‘set to be an integral part of agriculture over the next 20-30 years’: Joyn Bio

21-Nov-2019 By Oliver Morrison

The acceptance of the trendy microbiome diet among consumers has put wind in the sails of ag-biotech start up Joyn Bio, which is engineering microbes for more sustainable agriculture.

From clean label reformulation to plastic-free packaging: Algaia says seaweed ‘ticks all the boxes’

18-Nov-2019 By Katy Askew

French ingredients supplier Algaia is leaning in on the innovation that can be delivered utilising seaweed to produce ‘more sustainable’ and ‘tastier’ products.

FENS 2019: EFSA’s decade of toil to establish safe and adequate sodium levels

18-Nov-2019 By Will Chu

The publication of dietary reference values (DRVs) for sodium and chloride brings to a close ten years of work that began with a request by the European Commission to update values last set in the 1990s.

Extracting protein from grass: ‘It should be cheap to buy, offer good functionality in food, and it must be tasty’

13-Nov-2019 By Flora Southey

Denmark’s National Food Institute is contributing to a novel food application for grass protein, which researchers say need not be reserved for ruminants.

Protein bars under fire from consumer group: ‘We simply don’t need this extra, highly processed protein’

13-Nov-2019 By Oliver Morrison

High-protein products, in particular high-protein bars, are not as healthy as perceived by consumers, while there is no conclusive evidence to suggest that consumption of protein above the recommended intake levels provides healthy individuals with additional...

From personalisation to indulgence: FrieslandCampina Ingredients talks food trends and how to ‘get ahead of the curve’

12-Nov-2019 By Katy Askew

FrieslandCampina Ingredients Food & Beverages recently released a report pinpointing the trends it believes will shape the future of the food and beverage market. FoodNavigator spoke to Anneke van de Geijn, global marketing director at FrieslandCampina...

Guest article

Where do we stand on nutrition and health claims?

07-Nov-2019 By Katia Merten-Lentz and Manon Ombredane, legal experts at Keller and Heckman

How have the current EU regulations on health and nutrition claims evolved and where are they likely to go? Katia Merten-Lentz and Manon Ombredane, legal experts at law firm Keller and Heckman, weigh in.

‘Everybody accepts the cultured meat trend is happening’: Biotech Foods

05-Nov-2019 By Oliver Morrison

FoodNavigator caught up with the confident Spanish cell-based animal protein start up.

Zero Egg develops all-purpose egg replacement: ‘Our mission is to make plant-based foods the obvious choice’

31-Oct-2019 By Flora Southey

Israeli start-up Zero Egg has developed an all-purpose, plant-based egg replacement for food manufacturers, which it claims tastes, looks and functions like the real thing.

Anti-E171 campaigners call for independent and clear research

31-Oct-2019 By Oliver Morrison

Consumer groups hope the new EU Commission will heed to their calls for a ban on much-debated colourant E171.

Fusarium disease: Researchers race to save Cavendish bananas from extinction

28-Oct-2019 By Jenny Eagle

A global threat is facing the production of Cavendish bananas following the outbreak of Fusarium disease (also known as Panama disease) and scientists are working on finding a gene that is resistant to the strain.

Siemens applies IoT to food: ‘We want to digitise food supply chains to make them more transparent’

23-Oct-2019 By Flora Southey

The tech giant is working to boost transparency across the food value chain through digitalisation, project lead Dr Rudolf Sollacher tells FoodNavigator.

‘Act now on food safety’, out-of-home chains told

18-Oct-2019 By Oliver Morrison

Out-of-home (OOH) food and drink firms should ‘do the right thing’ and ‘demonstrate a strong commitment to food safety’, without the threat of legislation, says Instinctif Partners, which gives advice to brands on risk and crisis management.

Brussels Bulletin: Brexit deal reached, UK instates environmental watchdog, and pesticides again under EU spotlight

18-Oct-2019 By Flora Southey

This latest edition of FoodNavigator's Brussels Bulletin covers the UK Prime Minister's Brexit deal, a new environmental watchdog in the UK, and an open consultation on pesticide residue in food.

7 ways business leaders can transform the food system

16-Oct-2019 By Oliver Morrison

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development has published a seven-point action plan that aims to positively transform the global food system and potentially unlock $4.5 trillion in new business opportunities.

‘Consumer demands, supply chain challenges and new tech have created an innovation space’: IOFI’s Sven Ballschmiede talks flavours innovation

09-Oct-2019 By Katy Askew

The International Organization of the Flavor Industry (IOFI) is celebrating its 50th birthday this week. FoodNavigator caught up with IOFI executive director Sven Ballschmiede to learn about the challenges facing flavours manufacturers today and the trends...

Behind the scenes at Nestlé Packaging Science: A 5-step approach to the plastic problem

08-Oct-2019 By Katy Askew

Swiss food giant Nestlé recently inaugurated its new research facility focused on tackling the problem of packaging waste. The company is taking a 5-step approach to this challenge. FoodNavigator goes behind the scenes at the facility to learn more.

UK allergy-related food recalls may rise further after Natasha’s Law

08-Oct-2019 By Oliver Morrison

Food recalls over allergy fears are a growing problem in the UK, says a report.

Rice ‘fingerprinting’ to fight fraud: '20-50% of all premium rice is adulterated’

01-Oct-2019 By Katy Askew

Fraud is a big problem for rice brands. The commodity is susceptible to various scams, from passing off low-grade rice as premium to mixing it with bleached moldy rice, paper or even plastic. New research has developed a novel approach to detect food...

‘Best before, often good after’: Unilever adopts anti-food waste labels on food packaging

13-Sep-2019 By Flora Southey

Unilever is placing a new packaging label directly after the ‘best before’ text on certain food products: ‘often good after’. The initiative, developed in collaboration with Too Good To Go and industry players, aims to reduce food waste at the consumer...

Government documents lay bare the ‘grisly crisis facing the UK’s food and drink supply chain’

12-Sep-2019 By Oliver Morrison

Some fresh food supplies will fall in the UK while “critical dependencies for the food chain” such as key ingredients “may be in shorter supply” in the event of a no-deal Brexit, UK government planning documents have confirmed.

FSAI 2019

From fake rice, to edible glitter & the Horsemeat scandal, food safety experts face challenging times ahead

05-Sep-2019 By Jenny Eagle

From contaminated infant formula, to fake rice, edible glitter cakes and the Horsemeat scandal, attendees at the recent FSAI Conference (Food Safety Authority Ireland) in Dublin (August 21-22) were told challenging times lie ahead.

GM crops ‘will need to be part of the solution’

02-Sep-2019 By Oliver Morrison

An industry group promoting the use of controversial GM crops is urging Europe to embrace new crop techniques.

Dr. Oetker slammed over E171: ‘Stop using titanium dioxide’

30-Aug-2019 By Katy Askew

A consumer watchdog has launched a campaign calling on Dr. Oetker to stop using the controversial ingredient titanium dioxide (E171) in its bakery ingredients and decorations in Germany.

Bühler urges industry collaboration to meet climate challenge

29-Aug-2019 By Oliver Morrison

Global food tech company Bühler wants to expand its sustainability impact, and is calling for industry cooperation to deal with the threats posed by climate change.

Tensions heat up over glyphosate debate as French mayors limit herbicide use

28-Aug-2019 By Flora Southey

Without a national or EU-wide ban on herbicide glyphosate, a number of mayors in France are attempting to limit its use within their communities.

Ciguatera fish poisoning is becoming an increasing risk in Europe

28-Aug-2019 By Jenny Eagle

Ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) is becoming an increasing risk in Europe with a 60% rise of ciguatoxin (CTX) cases in the last decade, according to AESAN (Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition).

Germany concerned over energy drink buzz: ‘Excessive consumption increases health risk’

26-Aug-2019 By Flora Southey

Having assessed the effects of energy drinks on the cardiovascular system, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment warns that excessive consumption can pose a health risk in young adults.

Brussels Bulletin: French absinthe receives protected status

23-Aug-2019 By Oliver Morrison

A round-up of news and views from across the EU.

Consuming gluten in childhood linked to higher risk of coeliac disease: study

19-Aug-2019 By Oliver Morrison

The risk of developing coeliac disease is connected to the amount of gluten children consume, a study has confirmed – but its authors stressed the study is observational and therefore does not prove causation.

Europe ‘dynamic’ for CBD food innovation but legal hurdles remain

14-Aug-2019 By Katy Askew

Global demand for foods containing hemp or CBD is expanding and levels of innovation in the European region have been ‘dynamic’. However, the future of the market hangs in the balance as regulators consider whether Cannabis sativa L. (industrial hemp)...

IBM’s AI assisted e-tongue could fight food fraud

09-Aug-2019 By Katy Askew

IBM is developing robotic flavour detection technology that, the company believes, could help combat food fraud.

Brussels Bulletin: A round-up of news and views from the EU

09-Aug-2019 By Flora Southey

In this edition of the Brussels Bulletin, the European Union agrees to accept 35,000 tonnes of non-hormone treated beef from the United States, EFSA questions the safety of a whipworm egg as a food supplement, and pesticide chlorphyrifos comes under the...

TotalCtrl automates expiry date inventory to cut supermarket food waste by 85%

06-Aug-2019 By Flora Southey

Norwegian start-up TotalCtrl has developed software that tracks expiration dates in supermarkets, food banks, restaurants, and hotels. The end goal? “To eliminate food waste throughout the entire value chain, from farmer to consumer”, CEO and co-founder...

Anheuser-Busch InBev joins new IBM blockchain

06-Aug-2019 By Oliver Morrison

Beverage giant Anheuser-Busch InBev is among the big firms to join IBM’s new blockchain project called Trust Your Supplier, aimed at improving supply chain transparency.