Safeguards to minimise children’s exposure to unhealthy food marketing have fallen short of a World Health Organization (WHO) resolution to ease the obesity burden, a study has concluded.
Over twenty health, consumer and professional organisations have joined together in support of the UK’s Eatwell guide following attacks by “maverick commentators and interested industry with an axe to grind”.
Sugar alternatives may actually increase an individual’s appetite for real sugar by interfering with the way glucose is used in the body, a study has found.
A study by Cancer Research UK has found … wait for it … kids like sweets, crisps and fast food. The adverts for these products are also far too funny, addictive and tempting, so they should be banned before 9pm.
Industry has lamented yesterday’s European Parliament plenary vote to block four caffeine claims, which otherwise seemed set to pass into EU law books after years of delay.
German ingredients supplier Beneo and Belgian sugar producer Raffinerie Tirlemontoise have invested nearly €5m in research and development (R&D) at its Belgian laboratory facility.
Food companies may now add national dietary guidelines to their products packaging and marketing material in order to help boost healthy eating, Livsmedelverket, Sweden’s National Food Agency (NFA), has decided.
Adverts for unhealthy foods like sweets and fast foods are so tempting to children that they should be banned before 9pm, says charity Cancer Research UK.
The European Commission has started the first phase of its investigation into the need for nutrient profiles, with a report expected in spring 2017. Yet with the caffeine claim fiasco ongoing, it’s never been clearer how necessary the profiles are.
Announced last week, details of the five Nordic countries’ request that the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) looks at recommending reference values for added sugar in food and drink have been published online.
The European Commission has started the first phase of its investigation into the need for nutrient profiles, which it hopes will settle the issue once and for all.
A small group of Italian politicians have presented a bill to the Senate proposing a tax on sugary and diet drinks as well as palm oil and industrial trans fats in a bid to stem rising obesity rates.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has adopted a draft opinion on the energy conversion factor for 'functional sweetener' D-tagatose, meaning its calorie count can be listed on product labels.
Europe must accelerate efforts to introduce a “holistic nutrition policy”, complete with targets in relation to reformulation, marketing and labelling.
Wearable technology that provides feedback on meal behaviour could help people lose weight as research has revealed the effectiveness of a new interactive tool in monitoring food intake.
Meal times should be considered in future national dietary guidelines as irregular meal patterns may contribute to a higher BMI and blood pressure than for people who eat at set times with others, say scientists.
The liberalisation of the EU sugar market next year must be accompanied by market measures to maintain sugar beet production and allow the sector to retain its strategic importance, according to a recent EU report.
Mothers who consume a diet high in fat and sugar risk passing on a number of metabolic problems to next generations, even if their offspring follow a healthy diet.
Belvita owner Mondelēz International has said a UK study claiming breakfast biscuits may be “no healthier for you than a bowl of Kellogg’s Coco Pops” has ignored the full nutritional profile of its products.
The global discourse on obesity is full of people saying it's a complex problem but offering simple solutions - it's time we put in place a bottom-up and top-down approach, says food and health expert Dr Mike Gibney.
Food and drink brands are restricting their use of websites to promote unhealthy products to children, instead using social media giant Facebook, an Irish report has found.
For the second time in 13 months Juice Garden has been pulled up by the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for making unauthorised health claims.
The UK's sugar tax will spur some companies to reformulate. Here, a leading R&D tax consultant at Ayming UK explores how manufacturers can make full use of R&D tax reliefs to offset the investment costs and challenges.
Belgian manufacturers and retailers have signed a voluntary convention with the Health Minister to cut the nation's calorie intake by 5% by next year - but without independent monitoring, critics say it lacks credibility.
Global sales of energy drinks hit €38.2 billion last year and will be worth €53.4bn in 2020 according to Euromonitor International, even as regulatory winds blow ill beneath the sector's wings.
When it comes to joint stakeholder efforts on public health issues such as obesity and reformulation, where does cooperation end and 'dictating' policy begin? UK industry group Food and Drink Federation and NGO Action on Sugar can't decide.
Replacing half the sugar content of food with a plant-based sweetener could lead to improved sugar control without affecting textural properties, a study has shown.
From 20th June, manufacturers will be able to claim a “lower blood glucose rise” when using non-digestible carbohydrates as sugar replacers, following the publication of a new article 13.5 claim in the EU Official Journal.
European children are ‘in crisis’ over the risk of gut disease and obesity, according to a new report that calls for renewed focus on pediatric digestive health.
Glucose’s mysterious positive effect on self control could be due to the brain’s natural instinct to grab immediate rewards when deprived of sugary foods, a new theory suggests.
The added sugars portion of the newly revamped nutrition facts labels for food products will provide a significant opportunity for purveyors of alternative sweeteners, an industry expert says.
In contrast with previous reports that link artificial sweeteners with weight gain, new research on rats has found the non-nutritive sweetener saccharin has no effect on weight, while glucose does.
The Coca-Cola Company could face a bill as high as £226M a year under the sugar tax, if it doesn’t pass on the increased charge for its sugary drinks to consumers, according to market research firm Euromonitor.
Four board members of the National Obesity Forum (NOF) have resigned because they were not consulted before the publication of a controversial report which slammed public health advice for fuelling the obesity crisis.
Nutrition labels in the US will now have to tell consumers how much sugar has been added by manufacturers and how much is naturally occurring. Is it time Europe introduced similar measures so consumers know whether the food they are eating is healthy?
Health lobby group the National Obesity Forum (NOF) has come under swingeing attacks from some of its own medical advisers in press reports over the past weekend, following controversial advice it rushed out last week advising people to eat more fatty...
In the wake of the European Parliament's no vote last month, the Czech Republic has drawn up a draft decree to apply nutrient profiles on food sold and advertised in schools and ban foods that exceed maximum levels for sugar, salt and fat.
Obesity cannot be solved by pointing fingers at consumers, industry or governments, but all parties must demonstrate accountability and responsibility in solving this public health crisis.
