The impact of ‘sin taxes’ on competitiveness and consumption habits, food prices, and sustainability were the key points on the agenda for the European Commission’s High Level Forum for a Better Functioning Food Supply Chain.
University of California researchers have warned that regular sugar-sweetened soda drinking could increase the risk of disease development and accelerate cellular aging.
A Mediterranean diet that includes extra-virgin olive oil or nuts may help to reverse symptoms of metabolic syndrome, but cannot be linked to prevention of developing the condition, a long-term study claims.
Food industry ‘tinkering’ with sugar content while foods and drinks remain relatively high in sugar may detract from more basic sugar reduction strategies, warns a public health expert.
All new UK government policies should be considered in the context of rising obesity rates in an effort to reverse the trend, urges a report from independent think tank 2020health.
France’s largest soft drinks firms including Coke and Pepsi have committed to cutting sugar in added sugar soft drinks by an average of 5% in 2015, but the former tells us it still opposes a soda tax that 'unfairly targets and stigmatizes our products...
The use of natural sweeteners is growing rapidly – they were used in one in five new non-caloric drinks launched last year – but it is still dwarfed by other sweeteners, according to a new report from Canadean.
The UK’s traffic light label has incited more objections than the Nordic keyhole system because the former is more negative in its nutrition guidance, says the European Commission.
The European Commission has formally opened infraction proceedings against the UK for its 'traffic light' food labelling system, giving the state two months to defend itself against business complaints.
Just weeks after the US launch of Coca-Cola Life, PepsiCo has unveiled plans to launch its own mid-calorie soda sweetened with a combination of sugar and stevia under the Pepsi True brand.
Around 80% of Swedish people think the keyhole labelling system is a good thing, according to a survey published by the Swedish National Food Agency (NFA).
Science should look beyond LDL cholesterol and saturated fat, which have dominated cardiovascular research until now, towards other contributing factors and a food-group approach to guidelines, according to one researcher.
Both high and low levels of mental wellbeing may be associated with an individual's fruit and vegetable consumption, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal.
Food producers should look at the current obesity crisis as an opportunity to do good business and do good for public health through the reformulation of mass-market products, says one nutrition policy expert.
Eleven of the world’s biggest food and beverage companies have signed a commitment to harmonise nutrition labelling, and approaches to reformulation and marketing to children on a global basis.
British Sugar owner AB Sugar is fighting back against anti-sugar campaigners with the launch of a campaign informing people about sugar’s role in a healthy balanced diet.
Intakes of free dietary sugars should make up no more than 3% of total energy intake in order to battle the ‘significant’ financial and social burdens of tooth decay, warn researchers.
The new European Commission’s ‘better regulation’ mission must keep consumer welfare in mind and not translate to a “one-sided reduction” for businesses, the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) has warned.
Lithuanian politician Vytenis Andriukaitis will be the next commissioner for health and food safety, according to an official announcement today which saw several structure changes to the cabinet.
Manufacturers of baked goods are reaching a point where calls to cut salts, fats and sugars in products are becoming detrimental to the quality of their products, a bakery manager has said.
The global market for high intensity sweeteners is flat lining in Europe and North America as consumers drink fewer soft drinks, according to a market report from IHS.
The taste of common sweeteners is often described as being much more intense than sugar, however new research has suggested that these sugar substitutes are not perceived to be any sweeter than sugar by consumers.
Lithuanian politician Vytenis Andriukaitis has been earmarked as the next commissioner for health and food safety in a leaked Juncker line-up, but officials remain tight lipped.
DNA-based nutrition is set to grow in the UK as 10.3% of food consumption is motivated by a desire for personalised products, according to a Canadean survey.
Sugar-derived methylglyoxal may damage ‘good’ cholesterol which helps protect against heart disease but protective proteins could counter this, according to research from the UK’s University of Warwick.
‘Sin taxes’ as a strategy to curb consumption of foods high in salt, fats and sugar are regressive and disproportionately costly for businesses and consumers, according to an economist from the Institute of Economic Affairs.
Plans to expand the scope of class actions in France could be part of a wider trend towards group claims of damages to health as seen already in the US, according to a law firm urging food and beverage companies to engage on the policy.
Cereal Partner UK's advert for Honey Nut Shredded Wheat is misleading in its use of a 'no added sugar' claim meant for its Shredded Wheat Original counterpart, the UK’s Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has ruled.
The number of UK consumers baking at home fell by 8% this year – a drop likely sparked by fears around sugar but one that could be remedied with stevia, says a Mintel analyst.
Researchers have identified an area of the brain that may be key in regulating how the PPAR-gamma protein affects energy balance and metabolism - including the effects of diet.
A test method pioneered by Irish diagnostic technology company Megazyme International has become the global method of choice for ensuring dietary fibre content is not 'double counted' on nutritional labels.
Mars in 2012 wrote to the UK’s Department of Health to express concern over the potential impact on branding and intellectual property rights should tobacco plain packaging policy be extended to food – something the Institute of Economic Affairs said...
Neocandenatone, a purple pigment found in the heartwood of Dalbergia congestiflora trees, could hold colorant possibilities for gummy and hard candies, according to Mexican research.
Taxes imposed on sugary, salty or fatty foods do lead to reductions in consumption, says the European Commission in a new report. But higher taxes could also encourage consumers to simply go for cheaper products, it warns.
Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) boss John Brock insists people in the UK think Coca-Cola Life tastes just like standard Coke ahead of its September launch, but is this lack of differentiation necessarily good news?
The Irish organic food market has returned to retail value growth for the first time since 2010, but consumers may be driven more by negative perceptions of non-organic than positive of organic, according a report from the Irish food board Bord Bia.
A report from lobby group Pesticide Action Network (PAN UK) claims nearly two thirds of UK bread tested between 2000 and 2013 contained pesticide residues, but DEFRA says there is no threat to human health.
FULL-SUGAR LEMONADE DRINKERS FELT MORE GUILTY THAN STEVIA PLACEBO GROUP
An intriguing French study suggests that students who drank sugary lemonade before completing a ‘guilt inducing’ task felt more guilty than peers who consumed a stevia-sweetened zero-calorie alternative.
Sugar tax is a good idea, but the government may be unwilling to implement it, according to expert panellists taking part in Food Manufacture’s webinar on obesity.
Drinks manufacturers must work to reduce the amount of sugars in their products to lower the nation’s calorie intake, according to Dr Alison Tedstone, Public Health England’s (PHE) chief nutritionist.
Andean Grain Products has received a positive draft novel food opinion from the UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) for its chia seeds – deeming them sufficiently ‘equivalent’ to those already approved for market in the EU.
The UK Labour party will has ruled out the possibility of taxes on sugar or fat, but will take aim at marketing to children and online advergames, says shadow Public Health Minister Luciana Berger.
Amica Chips and ICA Foods have pledged to stop advertising to under 12s and communication with primary schools unless asked as part of a voluntary EU scheme.
Manufacturers should look to reduce overall use and reliance on sugar and not focus on replacing fructose with glucose, while concerns over HFCS should start to disperse as newer research invalidates current thinking, says Laura Jones of Mintel.
International experts and policy makers will debate the findings from the recent SACN report, and whether sugar should be a priority for public health, at the Sugar Reduction Summit next week.
