UK firm Seaweed & Co's wild harvested knotted kelp (Ascophyllum) beats spirulina for iodine, potassium, calcium and magnesium, and can reduce salt in packaged foods or replace artificial smoke flavours, it says.
From algae-infused cooking oils to baobab herbal teas; cocktail-flavoured sweets and low-sugar yoghurts with no sweeteners, we take a look at some new product launches that stand out from the crowd.
Ethical start-up Aduna's range of herbal teas with baobab and moringa is aiming to take the superfoods to the mass market. "That's where the real impact is going to happen," the CEO tells us.
Campaign group the Organics Council has flagged the “potentially widespread contamination” of glyphosate in organic grain and cereal products but UK certification body the Soil Association played down the findings.
London start-up Kaakao managed to overcome texture and flavour challenges when sweetening its chocolate with dates instead of sugar but the regulatory challenge - the EU definition of chocolate - is proving to be more difficult.
Instead of shipping ingredients across the world, would it be more sustainable to grow them in Europe? From Dutch vanilla to French chia or Italian goji berries, FoodNavigator takes a look at some companies doing just that.
Using heirloom coloured rice, Lotus Foods' premium products pack a nutritional punch and are grown in a sustainable way that yields 'more crop per drop'. "I don’t know of any other farming system that does both environmental and social...
Far from being cocoa's poor cousin, carob powder is the ideal ingredient for healthy confectionery for kids, mimicking the "shine, snap and silky smooth texture" of milk chocolate without the stimulants caffeine and theobromine, says Supertreats...
After a week of debates on the country's Agriculture and Food Bill, French politicians have backed mandatory labelling for GM animal feed and pesticide use on fruit and vegetables but rejected measures to stop marketing unhealthy foods to children.
By Amarjit Sahota, president and founder of Ecovia Intelligence
Blockchain is taking off, with a growing number of food companies and retailers experimenting with this new technology. Consultancy Ecovia Intelligence sees blockchain bringing many sustainability benefits to the food industry.
After helping 2017's winners generate growth worth €10 million, PepsiCo's accelerator programme Nutrition Greenhouse is looking for 10 more start-ups for the 2018 round.
UK market leader in infant snacks, Organix 'savoury finger food for babies’ range is part of its junk-busting mission. "Some infant snack products contain more than 30 ingredients and that is not really necessary," says the managing director.
Many certification schemes are blocking true sustainability by watering down standards in order to get stakeholders on board and even providing 'green cover' for firms that are destroying the environment, according to a report.
The European Parliament has approved new rules that aim to provide consumers with “certainty” over the quality of organic products and support growing organic production in the bloc.
Regenerative agriculture is increasingly on the food sector agenda. The idea that food production can be used to sequester carbon as a means to tackle climate change is compelling. But will it catch on?
Since the horsemeat scandal of 2013 there has been a steady stream of food scares and scandals, which has played neatly into the hands of organic food. Sales were up more than 11% in Europe at the last count, but is the sector making the most of growing...
Tortilla wraps made with 50% seaweed will normalise sustainable eating thanks to their affordable price and ease of use, according to Dutch start-up Seamore.
New research showing organic farming more effectively restores soil carbon and reduces the cause of climate change compared to conventional techniques could sway more shoppers to buy organic – especially as conscious consumerism continues to rise.
The European Court of Auditors (ECA) is to carry out an audit of organic food in the EU in response to growing retail sales within the sector that leaves the industry open to fraudulent organic claims.
The organic sector accounts for almost 10% of Danish food sales and, with opportunity fuelling innovation, Denmark’s organic food makers believe they are uniquely poised for global success.
German legislators have detailed plans to develop an animal welfare label and promote organic agriculture as part of a deal that could enable the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) to head up a coalition government under Angela Merkel.
A study of more than 34,000 people has found that diets high in vegetables are better for the planet than animal-based ones but also flagged that organic production systems have “significant” environmental benefits for plant-based diets.
Free-from labelled foods seem healthier, with GM-free and palm oil-free labels having the strongest effect, according to a study of almost 2000 French, Swedish, British and Polish individuals.
As the UK organic sector hits a record value of £2.2 billion (€2.47bn), what's the secret to its success? Six trends are influencing our food choices today - and organic fits into all of them, says the Soil Association.
Opting for traditional or rare crop varieties, avoiding GM and sourcing ingredients from alternative cultivation regions are just some of the ways food manufacturers can help protect biodiversity, according to the European Business and Biodiversity Campaign...
Last year French President Emmanuel Macron said he wanted France to become a start-up nation. FoodNavigator headed to La French FoodTech's incubator in Lyon to meet some of the rising food stars of La French Tech.
The European Court of Justice Advocate General has issued an opinion that genetic engineering techniques such as CRISPR should be considered exempt from European regulations governing GMOs.
Austrian teenagers and young adults are “especially interested” in the origin of the food they consume and want organic production methods to be further adopted in the country, a new survey reveals.
Sustainable bank Triodos has stepped in to ensure the UK’s Organic Trade Board (OTB) can unlock over €10m in EU funding to promote the British organic industry.
Nearly half of all consumers class low-sugar or sugar-free products as “extremely” or “very” important when deciding what to eat or drink with similar results for products free from genetically modified (GMO) ingredients.
Social enterprise Divine Chocolate is pushing NPD innovation to capitalize on the growing higher cocoa trend evident in the popularity of its 85% chocolate bar.
The UK saw the first commercial crop of organic lentils going on sale last month, in news that highlights how far they’ve fallen in the pecking order of plant-based crops grown for food.
Nestlé has said that it wants to deliver “industry leading volume growth” by leveraging key consumer trends. The company detailed exactly how it intends to achieve this at its investor summit in London yesterday (26 September).
Organic consumers appear to be creatures of habit, preferring to buy more and more organic produce and following a progressively predictable shopping routine.
French farmers and food processors are increasing their investment in organic production in response to growing demand for “bio” products, according to the latest figures.
Increased organic production would support the development of more sustainable food systems across Europe, IFOAM EU’s deputy director and policy manager Eric Gall tells FoodNavigator.
Growing demand for premium and sustainable food products increases the risk of food fraud because of its higher price point, research firm Ecovia Intelligence suggests.
Cheap food has expensive consequences for people and the planet's health but how can we make healthier and more sustainable food a reality for a global population? Grass-root movements will be key but industry must also be receptive, says Carolyn...
Innovative products in the organic sector are continuing to contribute to its growth in 2017, as non-dairy milks, nutty butters and confectionery join traditional recipe snacks.
The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) has developed a new metabolomics fingerprinting methodology that, the researchers say, could be used to authenticate organic food products.
With the US considering a legal definition of ‘natural’ food, does Europe need one too? It would increase clarity for a complex concept, but defining 'degrees of naturalness’ for origin, ingredients and processing may be better, say the researchers...
Food manufacturers sign up to traceability schemes like Fairtrade and Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) to improve their supply chains and traceability rather than bump up the price of their profits and score marketing points, according to new research...
