When compared to the same amount of glucose, consuming fructose could cause ‘significant’ weight gain, physical inactivity, and body fat deposition, say researchers.
The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) has urged the European commissioner for health and food safety to practice caution when making ‘adjustments’ to health claim and botanical rules.
Many fruit snacks aimed at children contain more sugar than confectionery – but could be misconstrued as ‘healthy’ because of their association with real fruit, according to pressure group Action on Sugar.
While swapping out calorific sugars for a zero-calorie sweetener may seem like a common sense public health policy, some recent reports have suggested that the reverse may be true. We take a look at the evidence and arguments for both sides of the story.
Research suggests boys eat more fast food and are more susceptible to junk food marketing than girls, prompting renewed calls for limits on advertising to children.
Educating secondary school students about low-calorie foods and drinks may have little effect on their vending machine purchases, according to a study from The Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO).
Drinking water or unsweetened tea or coffee in place of one sugary drink per day could slash the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by up to a quarter, say researchers.
Chewing gum may have been responsible for the death of a 19-year old girl – but there is little evidence to suggest artificial sweeteners were at fault, a UK inquest found yesterday.
Yes we can: By making healthy food choices Convenient, Attractive and Normal companies and policy-makers can foster healthy eating habits in all contexts, say researchers.
The German confectionery industry has slammed plans for a 19% tax proposal on sugar aimed at reducing obesity - but the social democrat party denies that such a 'sin tax' is on the cards.
Front-of-pack labelling can be useful but health policy-makers are naïve if they think that this alone will result in healthier food choices, say researchers - environment, motivation and psychology must be actively influenced too.
Sugar-sweetened drinks may reduce stress levels and therefore be harder to reduce than aspartame say scientists - but campaigners are still calling on industry to reduce both.
An analysis of the G8 nations has highlighted striking differences in calories and other macronutrients purchased from packaged food in these countries with Mediterranean and Japanese diets being the healthiest, according to Euromonitor.
The combined use of TV brand placements with advertising could increase the effect on children's brand awareness and behaviour towards junk food, a new study has said.
Making small, consistent changes to the types of protein- and carbohydrate-rich foods we eat may have a big impact on long-term weight, say researchers behind a new large-scale diet study.
Older adults with a poor appetite may have a higher preference for variation in foods compared with older adults with a good appetite, according to a study.
From obesity to malnutrition and water scarcity, the world is facing an ever-growing number of food-related problems. But how responsible is the food industry for fighting back against these issues?
Manufacturers need to be innovative and clever if costs to reformulate food products are to be kept low, says Cindy Beeren at Leatherhead Food Research.
As sugar has become one of the most maligned ingredients within food, Euromonitor International research analyst Jack Skelly says the future may prove trickyfor manufacturers.
European food companies are illegally grabbing land from smallhold farmers in Africa as part of the G8 New Alliance project, says an Action Aid report published this month.
Trans-fat bans, and limiting the availability of sugary and fatty foods are the best ways to battle obesity, while nutrition information fails to deliver benefits, says a new review of anti-obesity policies.
Creating a successful new soft drink has more to do with connecting with consumers than its taste or nutritional profile, says co-founder of Akuō – Drink to Think Lukas von Grebmer.
On the back of a deal with a ‘strong’ equity partner, Barentz International will use the additional funds to accelerate growth in its key markets in Europe, India, China and Asia Pacific, it said.
Online grocery shoppers tend to prefer navigating to product pages rather than searching for specific products, according to a study funded by the European Research Council.
The World Health Organisation has said that companies need to reduce the marketing of sugar-rich products if consumers are to slash their intake to 10% of daily calories.
The Children’s Food Campaign claims a 20p tax on sugary drinks could have major positive impact on health but academics and industry say evidence is lacking.
By producing stevia through fermentation and solvent-based extraction the industry risks losing its most promising natural sweetener - but this may create a new market for new niche stevia products, say analysts.
The food industry has criticised the WHO’s recommendation to reduce the intake of added sugar for being backed by ‘moderate’ and ‘very low quality’ evidence.
The onus should not be on consumers to choose healthy foods but on companies to help reduce consumption, says Food Policy professor at City University London, Tim Lang.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has said erythritol is safe for use in soft drinks at a maximum level of 1.6%, bringing the zero-calorie sweetener a step closer to EU approval for beverages.
Just 6.6% of new private label food and drink products carried a low, no, or reduced fat claim in the UK last year – while 45% of consumers said they sought foods that were low in saturated fat.
Academics have welcomed the WHO’s recommendation to slash added sugar intake to 5-10% of calories – but the food industry has said it is misleading and based on weak evidence.
Attempting to tackle the obesity crisis through ‘negatively-focused’ tactics is ineffective, and may in fact worsen the situation, according to various researchers.
Children aged 6 to 8 may already be at increased risk of cardiometabolic disease if they eat a lot of low-fat margarine, red meat and sugary drinks and little vegetable oil, according to Finnish research.
Manufacturers of children’s food need to appeal to both children’s taste preferences and parental concerns over nutrition - but is excessive sugar warping children's tastes?
