Fruit, vegetable, nut ingredients

Eating vegetables alone ‘not enough’ to reduce heart risk: study

21-Feb-2022 By Oliver Morrison

A sufficient intake of vegetables is important for maintaining a balanced diet and avoiding a wide range of diseases. But might a diet rich in vegetables also lower the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD)?

Tackling deforestation: What lessons can palm oil teach other problematic commodities?

18-Feb-2022 By Flora Southey

Which tools and strategies employed to combat deforestation in palm oil supply chains can be leveraged for other commodities? Should we be wary of taking a ‘cookie cutter’ approach? Experts weigh in.

Future Crops develops vertical farm-adapted basil variety for European market

17-Feb-2022 By Flora Southey

Israeli-Dutch vertical farming start-up Future Crops is increasing output of its proprietary basil variety, developed specifically for cultivation in closed and controlled environments.

The FoodNavigator Podcast: How big is the healthy ageing opportunity?

17-Feb-2022 By Oliver Morrison

Is the industry ignoring the growing numbers of older people? Or do older people just not want to be directly targeted by the food sector? FoodNavigator investigates.

Old spice: Salt reduction potential found in adding spice to older populations’ food

16-Feb-2022 By Flora Southey

Spices, such as chipotle, can help maintain the perception of saltiness amongst older populations, while reducing the white stuff.

Has palm oil become a deforestation scapegoat? ‘We need to stop focusing just on oil palm and look across all deforestation drivers’

16-Feb-2022 By Flora Southey

When it comes to deforestation, is there too much focus on palm oil? Experts advocate for a broader approach to tackling forest and biodiversity loss.

GUEST ARTICLE

Industry Insights from NIZO: Scaling up plant production processes

16-Feb-2022 By René Floris, NIZO Food Research Division Manager

How can brands prove the viability of new plant protein and get it market-ready?

European algae industry to be ‘accelerated’ by Commission: ‘Algae production and consumption is too slow’

15-Feb-2022 By Flora Southey

The European Commission is launching an algae stakeholder platform to promote algae for nutrition across the bloc.

Study shows the potential of pea isolate as a 'high-quality protein'

10-Feb-2022 By Oliver Morrison

Roquette’s pea protein isolate displayed a well-balanced indispensable amino acid composition associated with a high digestibility.

Deforestation: What are the challenges and ‘unintended consequences’ of government action?

09-Feb-2022 By Flora Southey

As policymakers move to stamp out deforestation in global supply chains, experts consider: what are the hurdles and potential fallouts?

‘Microalgae could be cultivated on Mars’: Experts detail less obvious benefits of algae production

03-Feb-2022 By Flora Southey

Aside from its obvious lack of dependency on limited natural resources, just how sustainable is micro- and macroalgae cultivation? Sophie's BioNutrients and Genesea, amongst others, weigh in.

Food and drink companies join pledge to boost fibre

03-Feb-2022 By Oliver Morrison

Over 20 food and drink brands have pledged their support to increase the amount of fibre in consumer’s diets after backing the Action on Fibre initiative launched by the Food and Drink Federation (FDF).

Traditional growing regions for coffee, cashews, and avocados predicted to shift as Earth warms

02-Feb-2022 By Oliver Morrison

The most suitable regions for growing coffee arabica, cashews, and avocados will decline in some of the main countries that produce these crops as climate change progresses, predicts new first-of-its-kind analysis.

PureOaty’s ‘new look’: If Glebe Farm won the Oatly dispute, why change its branding?

01-Feb-2022 By Flora Southey

Having won the IP infringement case against Oatly last year, meaning Glebe Farm could keep its packaging as is, the British oat drink maker has decided to rebrand anyway.

‘Ocean-cultivated seaweed is a regenerative force’: BettaF!sh and Nordic Oceanfruit founder talks turning the tide on ocean destruction

31-Jan-2022 By Flora Southey

German food brands BettaF!sh and Nordic Oceanfruit are bringing ocean-cultivated seaweed to the masses. We hear co-founder Jacob von Manteuffel talk macroalgae diversity, product formulation, and the ‘sustainable’ force of cultivation.

Plant-based: Mitigating against ingredient bottlenecks to disrupt 6% of global meat market

28-Jan-2022 By Flora Southey

In a new report the Good Food Institute investigates what ingredient requirements will help the plant-based meat industry achieve 6% penetration of the global meat market by the end of the decade.

‘Sustainable, nutritious and unique’ Ethiopian orphan crop promises food security solution

27-Jan-2022 By Oliver Morrison

A banana-like plant grown in Ethiopia can be grown on a wider scale across Africa, say scientists.

‘Yellow is the new brown’: Protective coating for fresh produce made from squeezed fruit and vegetable peels

26-Jan-2022 By Flora Southey

Lidl Switzerland has joined forces with research institute Empa to co-develop a cellulose protective coating for fruit and vegetables.

The sustainability trends to watch… and if they'll survive the cost of living crisis

19-Jan-2022 By Oliver Morrison

Increasing citizen awareness, investor pressure and government action around the health, environmental, social, and animal welfare impacts of our food systems, means that in 2022 the chorus to translate words into actions, to transform a food system many...

Cry-free onions developed via crossbreeding introduced to UK market

14-Jan-2022 By Flora Southey

A variety of sweet onion that doesn’t reduce the cook to tears has secured a listing at Waitrose & Partners. US-headquartered BASF is behind the innovation.

Increased focus on nutrition among shoppers offer golden opportunity for food brands, claims Birds Eye

13-Jan-2022 By Oliver Morrison

A new report from Birds Eye outlines the efforts it has made to improve the nutritional health credentials of its products.

Start-up pivots to seaweed to fill gap in market for ‘kind and healthy’ alternatives that don’t compromise on taste

06-Jan-2022 By Oliver Morrison

A UK start-up claims seaweed is key to creating new allergen-free, soya-free, and plant-based alternatives to fish, soya, and oyster sauces.

RTRS expands into corn to combat environmental challenges in supply chain

05-Jan-2022 By Flora Southey

The Round Table on Sustainable Soy (RTRS) is launching a Corn Standard for certified soy farmers currently located in Argentina, Brazil, India, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

Nutritionally charged lettuce developed with CRISPR/Cas gene editing tech

04-Jan-2022 By Flora Southey

A scientist in Israel is ‘tricking’ lettuce into producing nutrients in higher quantities thanks to gene editing technology CRISPR/Cas. FoodNavigator hears how.

Forget FOPMAP? Diet ‘less important than realised’ in IBS sufferers, study claims

21-Dec-2021 By Oliver Morrison

Irritable bowel syndrome is more complex than a simple connection to diet, reveals fresh research.

‘Creamy’ ingredient developed from plant seeds targets alt dairy: ‘Sunflower fat is highly similar to milk fat’

14-Dec-2021 By Flora Southey

A Wageningen University spin-off is developing a plant-based fat ingredient from European-grown sunflower seeds, designed to boost alt dairy’s nutritional and sustainability profile, as well as mouthfeel.

‘Their numbers are growing but they are unserved by NPD‘: Beneo spots ‘huge potential‘ in the over 55s

14-Dec-2021 By Oliver Morrison

Older consumers are a growing cohort -- though a pitiful number of new products specifically target them, it’s claimed. Supplier Beneo therefore sees ‘huge potential‘ for its functional ingredients aimed at this group.

First soil-based indoor vertical farm developed for greater crop stability and resistance

09-Dec-2021 By Flora Southey

Herbs and leafy greens are being grown from a soil substrate composition within Future Crops’ indoor vertical farming system. FoodNavigator asks co-founder and CEO Gary Grinspan what makes this development an ‘industry first’.

Appetite control: Fresh research pits prunes against excess calorie consumption

07-Dec-2021 By Flora Southey

Researchers in the UK have examined the effects of prunes and raisins on appetite, and whether the latter undermines weight loss.

'The novelty is waning': Can moving 'beyond mimicking' help avoid plant-based fatigue?

03-Dec-2021 By Oliver Morrison

Most consumers are not interested in mimicking, ingredients supplier IFF says. People instead want more novel experiences from the meat alternatives category.

Fatty acid in palm oil associated with spread of cancerous cells

01-Dec-2021 By Flora Southey

New research has identified a link between the spread of mouth and skin cancer in mice and the consumption of palmitic acid.

Herbs and spices authenticity scrutinised in Europe: ‘These supply chains are amongst the most vulnerable to fraud’

26-Nov-2021 By Flora Southey

The European Commission has published results of the first ever EU-wide survey into herbs and spices authenticity, focusing on pepper, cumin, turmeric, saffron, and paprika.

Banana sector ‘ripe for innovation’ amid price wars and disease threat

23-Nov-2021 By Oliver Morrison

Exploiting wild banana varieties may yield a solution to the so-called banana pandemic and provide consumers with new tastes and eating occasions.

Bringing fruit and veg QC into the ‘digital age’: ‘We want to be the golden standard for fresh produce quality control’

19-Nov-2021 By Flora Southey

Israeli start-up Clarifruit wants to swap out ‘subjective, inconsistent, and slow’ manual quality control processes in the fresh produce supply chain for an AI-powered digital alternative.

What do flexitarian consumers want? Plant-based innovation opportunities revealed

16-Nov-2021 By Katy Askew

A pan-European study shows ‘booming’ interest in plant-based products. But barriers to consumption remain with improved health and taste alongside availability and affordability coming out as flexitarian consumers’ top asks.

Sustainable diets ‘a third cheaper than typical foods’ claims research

11-Nov-2021 By Oliver Morrison

So-called sustainable ‘flexitarian’ or ‘planetary’ diets can prove significant cheaper than typical foods, according to ‘surprising’ study.

Nexira looks to locust bean gum to fuel plant beverage expansion plans

02-Nov-2021 By Oliver Morrison

The French supplier says its acquisition of Swiss-based locust bean gum specialist UNIPEKTIN Ingredients will allow it to push into new markets and applications.

Importaco uses bio-amplification to boost probiotic count in nuts

21-Oct-2021 By Lynda Searby

Analysis conducted by Spanish nut processor Importaco finds three probiotic bacteria strains with potential benefits for human health are present in pistachios, almonds, walnuts and peanuts.

The battle for shelf space is the next key challenge for healthy kids food

20-Oct-2021 By Oliver Morrison

Kids remain ‘desperately underserved’ by the market, claim start-ups. They say there is a clear trend that more parents are prioritising home-style, fresh food for young children over shelf-stable food. But their next challenge is competition for shelf...

Eat Just mung bean protein gets novel foods nod: ‘Bringing JUST Egg to Europe will be one of the most important milestones for our company’

20-Oct-2021 By Katy Askew

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has green-lighted the mung bean protein ingredient used in Eat Just’s egg substitute product, paving the way for the company to launch its JUST Egg plant-based alternative in Europe.

Making protein isolates from seaweed, not soy: ‘There is no reason to grow industrial ingredients on land’

19-Oct-2021 By Flora Southey

In an effort to reduce reliance on terrestrial crops for ingredients manufacture, Israeli-based Genesea is looking offshore to marine macroalgae, co-founder Alexander Golberg tells FoodNavigator.

Boosting coffee transparency with ‘100% direct trade’: Online platform works to improve farmer profits and roaster value

18-Oct-2021 By Flora Southey

Online platform Typica is allowing coffee producers and coffee roasters to directly trade coffee from a single 60kg jute bag, rather than the standard 18 tonne shipping container. The aim is to ‘ensure transparency’, we were told, and ‘help resolve the...

Food fraud: Scientists develop ‘low-cost’ country of origin detection method

12-Oct-2021 By Katy Askew

A model that can be used to determine the origin of food in ‘an efficient and low-cost manner’ has been developed by botanists at the University of Basel.

What’s next in plant-based? Nestlé accelerates innovation with new shrimp and egg alternatives

07-Oct-2021 By Katy Askew

Nestlé wants to drive growth in plant-based sales through innovation. At an event to unveil its latest creations – plant-based shrimp and egg alternatives – the company’s management weighed in on where the category is likely to go next.

'Potatoes with purpose': First carbon neutral spud produced for UK market

06-Oct-2021 By Flora Southey

Grown using sustainable farming practices and packaged in plastic-free bags, the carbon neutral spuds will be the first of many products to tackle the food industry’s ‘huge impact’ on climate change, hopes Puffin Produce CEO Huw Thomas.

Mars Wrigley and SwissDeCode team up to tackle Cocoa Swollen Shoot Disease

30-Sep-2021 By Katy Askew

Swiss agrifood testing company SwissDeCode is working with confectionery giant Mars Wrigley to find an early detection solution that can identify Cocoa Swollen Shoot Disease (CSSD), a virus that can devastate cocoa crops.

How Nestlé is supporting regenerative agriculture: ‘We need to source in the right way’

28-Sep-2021 By Katy Askew

Seventy percent of Nestlé’s emissions lie in the raw materials it sources. Agriculture is therefore central to the Swiss food giant’s target to hit net zero by 2050. Pascal Chapot, Nestlé Head of Sustainable Agriculture, discusses the challenges and opportunities...

Edible insects ‘more sustainable as food rather than animal feed’

27-Sep-2021 By Oliver Morrison

Insects fed from industrial side-stream waste and then directly consumed as food have the ‘greatest potential to reduce the carbon footprints of European consumers’, claims a new study.

New meat analogue developed with ‘less salt, fat, and more flavour than real meat’

23-Sep-2021 By Flora Southey

Researchers in Lithuania and Finland say a new plant-based product made with soybean pulp, otherwise known as okara, has the potential to change the meat analogue landscape.

Nutri-Score does not blight image of olive oil, finds survey

22-Sep-2021 By Flora Southey

Despite criticism from producers that Nutri-Score’s ‘C’ ranking of olive oil penalises the product, fresh research out of Spain suggests the nutrition labelling scheme does not negatively impact consumer perception, nor intention to purchase.