News & Analysis on Food & Beverage Development & Technology
Dispatches from IFT 2014
Since it was created in 2012, Chapul Inc. has been on a mission to integrate edible insects into Western diets, using its cricket energy bars as the vehicle.
A "Top Ten" list identifying foodborne parasites of greatest global concern has been released to create public awareness around the issue.
China
Chinese beef import volumes remain historically high, but still a long way behind last year’s stratospheric growth.
The US$130m Qurun Aquapolis aquaculture project in Oman announced the appointment of its lead contractor this month, with construction scheduled to be completed by 2016.
Australia
Iconic Australian food maker Goodman Fielder has finally agreed to an A$1.34bn (US$1.26bn) offer by Wilmar International and First Pacific Company to acquire the company after the last two bids were turned down.
A coalition of Asian investors is ploughing US$106m (€77.7m) in to Huaxia Dairy Farm to fund an expansion of the Chinese company's farming and processing operations.
Dairy Crest and Fonterra have entered into a strategic partnership to produce and market infant formula ingredients, demineralized whey powder and galacto-oligosaccharide (GOS).
ASPEN IDEAS FESTIVAL 2014, COLORADO
PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi says she didn’t want a short-term ‘cut, slash and burn’ policy that would have seen the company make enormous earnings from 2006 despite the upset her long-term nutritional foods focus caused some investors.
The recent conflict in Iraq has pushed the country to the brink of a food supply crisis through risks to harvests and growing refugee numbers, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has warned.
The UAE’s Saif Al Khaili Group has signed up to build a food processing facility in Abu Dhabi Ports’ Kizad Food Cluster, as part of a major industrial project, Kizad has announced.
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.
The global beef market is set to regain its positive momentum in the third quarter of the year once the current high supply has worked its way through the system, according to Rabobank.
Eliot Beer
The Arab world’s Brazilian coffee imports rose 20% year-on-year by volume in the first five months of 2014, while revenue fell 7.7% over the same period.
Almarai and PepsiCo announced a joint plan to invest US$345m in projects in Egypt over the next five years, taking advantage of the growing stability in the country.
Waters Corporation has introduced two Xevo mass spectrometers for benchtop quantitative and qualitative applications.
The UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has said it will seek to opt out of a proposed pan-EU ban on driftnet fishing.
Barry Callebaut has registered sales growth in its nine month results driven by the recently acquired Petra Foods cocoa business.
Governments across the Middle East are trying to enforce price controls on food staples ahead of Ramadan, as consumers report price rises of up to 40%.
US cranberry juice brand Ocean Spray has announced the official launch of its products in the GCC, to tap into the region’s growth markets.
If you wash chia seeds after you harvest them, they turn into a gelatinous goo. Which can be a problem if you are trying to tackle salmonella, contamination with which is currently causing some big issues in the trade.
Astaxanthin has been a red-hot ingredient in the United States for several years and demand is ramping up worldwide. To meet that demand in the Japanese market, Heliae, an algae technology company based in Gilbert, AZ, is teaming up with Sincere...
The FAO Food Price Index was down for a third consecutive month in June, as good supply and improved global production prospects for wheat, maize and palm oil lowered prices.
Italian food exports to the GCC were up 21% in 2013, with the UAE and Saudi Arabia leading the growth and sales, according to figures from Italian food export organisation Cibus.
Following the group stage of the GlobalMeatNews Meat World Cup, we are now in the second round, where the winning teams from the last round are going head-to-head in terms of beef production stats.
Insights from IFT 2014
The concept of “energy” is a multifaceted one, to be sure: it can come in bursts or slowly; via beverages, shots, biscuits or bars; with appeal that spans sports nutrition, weight management and even kids.
Instant hot cereal is rising in Russia as urban consumers seek healthy, convenient options, but beware - indulgence remains top of mind, says an analyst from Canadean.
South Korea
South Korean women are developing a taste for a tipple at a remarkable rate, with the number who regularly consume alcohol having grown by more than 33% in just over a decade.