The market for low-fat and reduced-sugar foods rose 6.7 per cent in value in 2007, moving up from a 4.7 per cent rise in 2006, claims a new report from UK market researcher Key Note.
The food industry will keep up momentum on healthier products, despite economic gloom and consumer focus on price, says the head of the Food & Drink Federation.
The issue of whether businesses are solely driven by profits and will not respond to voluntary guidance to improve the health effects of their products is a matter of hot debate in the British Medical Journal this week.
Danisco has charged an internal task force with identifying new applications for xylitol, as the sweetener continues to blight its otherwise positive financial results – but has reduced production in the meantime.
SinoSweet is stepping up its activities in the UK this month with the opening of a new sales office for aspartame, which it believes will help sales of the sweetener in the face of rival sucralose.
Claims that UK supermarkets are promoting more unhealthy foods than they were two years ago have met with criticism from the retail sector, which has been working with private-label and branded food manufacturers to improve the health profile of products.
A blend of canola oil, palm stearin, and palm kernel oil can produce margarine free of trans-fats and desirable textural properties, says new research from the US.
The number of new food and beverage products containing aspartame has continued to fall since 2005, indicates data from Mintel, while the number of those using sucralose has risen.
Fusion Nutraceuticals is reporting interest in its recently launched sucralose as a replacer for aspartame in food and beverage products, as manufacturers seek to meet retailer and consumer demand for aspartame-free products.
The UK’s average daily salt consumption has fallen from 9.5g to 8.6g since 2000, said the Food Standards Agency (FSA) demonstrating the success of the industry’s reformulation efforts.
The UK Food Standards Agency has set out core challenges for the food industry as part of its strategy to beat obesity, but recognises that work is already underway by industry to make food products healthier.
The European Parliament has adopted a legislative package that will
see products containing any of six artificial colours labelled with
a health warning for children.
Food businesses have suffered from confusing government policies,
said the UK's Food and Drink Federation (FDF), which hopes Prime
Minister Brown's new strategy will provide greater clarity.
A workshop convened by the FSA has identified some food categories
for action on portion sizes, as a report finds that some products
sold in the UK may have increased in size over the last 15-20
years.
The potentially damaging effects of trans fats may also be passed
from a mother to her child during breast feeding, suggests a new
study that heaps more misery on the enfant terrible of the
food industry.
Efforts to reduce salt in packaged foods involve more than just
salt replacers and flavour enhancers, as suppliers contribute to
overall efforts by tweaking processes to make lower sodium
ingredients.
The salt content of vegetarian sausages and burgers can often be
the same as, or even higher than, their meaty equivalents,
according to a recent survey.
