A 'butter-like' extract of natural compounds from rice bran oil shows promise for several food applications, including use as a replacement for butter, margarine and shortening in baked goods, say researchers from the USDA.
INNOBEV GLOBAL SOFT DRINKS CONGRESS: FINAL THOUGHTS
Obesity should be tackled in small steps, acknowledging where people are and not where public health officials wish they were, according to a US scientist.
What is the future of food? Simple communication of complex advances will be crucial, as well as picking up the pace amid a global population boom to feed the world nutritiously and sustainably, according to FoodNavigator and NutraIngredients senior editors.
Consumers don’t really want more nutritional information, they want an easy life, according to a behavioural economist talking at a conference in Brussels.
More research is required before the World Health Organization (WHO) cuts its guidance on daily sugar intake by half, according to the Association of Chocolate, Biscuits and Confectionery Industries of Europe (CAOBISCO).
The average consumer’s desire for simplicity and the average journalist’s desire for a good headline is driving public perception of sweeteners, according to participants of a debate in Brussels.
Pro-organic campaign group the Soil Association has criticised a study by Cancer Research UK and Oxford University that found eating organic foods did not lessen women’s chances of developing cancer.
Private and public sectors actions must take ‘coordinated and forceful’ actions to help to reduce supply chain waste and change consumer behaviours, say FAO officials.
Few may go hungry but vitamin and mineral deficiencies and health problems like growth stunting in children are widespread among the 53 countries of Europe and central Asia, according to the FAO.
Pea protein may be moving in from the food and beverage fringes, however formulating with the fast-growing ingredient is 'no picnic' according to functional confectionery firm Carmit.
An Israeli company that has released a range of coffee alternatives made from roasted date kernel, says the waste material has potential as a sustainable food and drink ingredient stretching far beyond this initial creation.
Increasing taxes on sugar sweetened beverages such as carbonated sodas even modestly could decrease consumption, without driving shoppers to other unhealthy foods, according to new RCT data.
Rates of type two diabetes have rocketed in recent years, with poor diet and a lack of exercise largely to blame. But as dietary guidelines for people with diabetes are the same as for the general population, and the FDA doesn't think diabetics need...
A food industry panel chaired by former UK cabinet minister Michael Portillo has warned that the UK drive to cut sugar and salt levels in food and drink risks being undermined by larger portion sizes.
A French senatorial report has proposed a 'junk-food' tax on products that are linked to heart disease - with the report taking particular aim at soft drinks, which currently benefit from low taxes.
Sugar has been linked to everything from heart disease to obesity and cancers in recent months. But is it as bad as all that? Our free-to-attend debate aims to tackle the key questions in the sugar debate. Have you registered yet?
UPDATED* - A high-profile study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine last week has re-opened the debate about whether saturated fat has been unfairly cast in the role of nutritional bogeyman. But how should policymakers respond?
Using stevia to reformulate just 20% of carbonated soft drinks could slash more than 6,000 calories per year from the diet of consumers, says Diana Cowland of Euromonitor International.
A sweetener produced by isolating agavins from the tequila producing agave plant could offer blood sugar benefits to people with type 2 diabetes and offer weight loss hope to obese people, say researchers.
Food brand mascots advertised to children can spark long-term brand loyalty and biases – a strategy that could be used to benefit public health but one that could also fuel public concern, warn researchers.
Norwegian consumer goods giant Orkla, which also owns Indian brand MTR Foods, has committed to using palm oil from sustainable sources in a move which Greenpeace says should coax other food majors to do similar.
Leading stevia supplier PureCircle posted a (much reduced) net loss of $1.9m in the six months to Dec 31, 2013, while sales surged 32% to $34.9m over the same period. (In the same period in 2012, net losses were $6.9m.)
A review of more than 72 clinical studies has raised further questions over current guidelines relating to fat intake - which generally restrict the consumption of saturated fats and encourage consumption of polyunsaturated fats to prevent heart disease.
Mondelēz International said it may include a pledge to reduce sugar in its new health & wellness program, but only if the World Health Organization (WHO) makes its latest sugar advice formal.
Utilising eye-tracking technologies to assess how health conscious consumers perceive food products could help manufacturers improve label designs and better promote healthy products, say researchers.
Snack makers should consider sourcing quinoa from India where the exotica strain is sweeter, higher in protein and sells at a stable, lower price, says the managing director of Ashtral Biotech.
Food and drink firms must be more proactive at assessing the sustainability of their products and ingredients, rather than reacting to market interest, according to Leatherhead Food Research expert Emma Gubisch.
Premier Foods has recommenced sourcing British wheat for its Hovis brand but cannot bring back its ‘100% British wheat’ pack claim due to continued uncertainty, it says.
Modifying the acidity and calcium levels of sauces, dressings and deserts could be the key to developing new and improved low-fat variations, according to new research supported by ConAgra.
The reasons why people choose plant-based foods have evolved and expanded, boosting their market acceptance, says strategic affairs director for the European Natural Soyfoods Association (ENSA), Koen Bouckaert.
Philibert Savours CEO said a new organic variety in the firm’s Campasine bread mix line may offer value-added possibilities and be closer to his own ethos, but the firm must provide something for everyone’s budget.
Detection of genetically modified (GM) material in internationally traded non-GM food and feed has spiked in the past few years, interrupting trade and adding to food losses, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
NGO STOP THE TRAFFIK has accused Mondelēz International of lagging behind its rivals by attempting to self-regulate child trafficking in the cocoa sector.
By Han De Groot, executive director at UTZ Certified and Liza Murphy, senior relationships manager at UTZ certified.
Traceability is here to stay – and it is industry’s responsibility to put efficient and reliable traceability systems in place to provide real information for consumers.
British Sugar has welcomed the WHO’s continued recommendation that added sugars should account for less than 10% of total calories – although it has said it is concerned about advice to reduce this to 5%.
The question of how to define and label nano-scale ingredients will return to the drawing board, after the European Parliament rejected the Commission’s proposed regulation on Wednesday.
Mondelēz is to cut saturated fat and sodium by 10% by 2020, but suggests reducing consumer sugar intake is manageable with portion controlled products and education.
Mars has committed to ending deforestation associated with its palm oil supply by the end of 2015, becoming the latest multinational to do so, alongside Unilever and Nestlé, among others.
Stronger and bolder flavor combinations are emerging in soft drinks with higher heat and spice levels, while vegetable-based beverages are on the rise, according to Treatt.
A professor of cardiovascular medicine has said industry must get their act together after his UK study found bread and cereal to collectively be the highest contributors to salt consumption among children.
Recommendations to replace saturated fat with carbohydrates or polyunsaturated fat are “severely challenged” and should be revised, claims an editorial published in Open Heart, a new journal from the BMJ Group.
Updated salt targets for packaged foodstuffs are too soft on meat and cheese, a leading expert claims, as the Department of Health (DH) posts foodservice targets for the first time.
