Stevia specialist Steviva Ingredients has developed an organic syrup combining blue agave nectar and stevia extract that is suitable for formulators looking to cut calories and maintain clean labels in sauces and dressings, bars, beverages and baked goods.
Interview: Greg Estep, president, Olam Spices & Vegetable Ingredients (SVI)
It’s tempting to think of spices and dehydrated vegetables as commodities - in comparison to say stevia, or omega-3s - where price is all that matters. But they are anything but, says the man in charge of the spices and vegetable ingredients (SVI) division...
Despite that one out of every six people in the United States is Latino, 57% of the top 500 advertisers allocate less than 1% of their budgets to targeting Hispanics, according to the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies.
Big intervew: David Israel, Founder and CEO, POP! Gourmet Popcorn
In year one of launching its first retail products, POP! Gourmet Popcorn notched up sales of almost $1m. In year two, it’s looking at $3-4m. Next year, it's aiming for $10m, says founder David Israel, who’s on a mission to turn the bland stuff we...
While its fourth quarter figures make for dismal reading, there are some silver linings to the clouds that have enveloped Diamond Foods for the past couple of years, CEO Brian Driscoll told analysts this week.
The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) announced that it opposes federally mandated voluntary GMO labeling in favor of states’ rights to enforce mandatory GMO labeling, arguing that voluntary labeling could end state GMO laws and legitimate non-GMO-certified...
The traditional snacks category has veered off course with pulses, beans and veg being favored over potato and corn. But what does this mean for old favorites?
Playboy still alleges that CirTran and PlayBev are 'illegitimately conducting’ the Playboy energy drink business and unlawfully making money off the brand, as legal action continues in the state of Illinois.
Almost half of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) employees have been furloughed after the federal government failed to agree a budget deal by the midnight deadline.
A patent application filed by PepsiCo describes methods of enhancing the solubility of steviol glycoside Reb-D such that it can be used in higher amounts in beverages and beverage concentrates, overcoming a key formulation challenge.
Safeway has been hit with a proposed class action lawsuit alleging it misled consumers by describing its Open Nature Multi-Grain and Homestyle waffles as ‘100% natural’ because they contained the chemical additive sodium acid pyrophosphate (SAPP).
Ever wondered why an ice-cold glass of water seems so much more thirst-quenching than a room-temperature one, or why an ice cream cone always hits the spot on a warm day?
A federal judge has dismissed as “ridiculous” allegations in a lawsuit alleging Nabisco misled shoppers by describing its cookies as containing ‘real fruit’ when they in fact contained fruit purée.
Honey, molasses and malt extract have long been incorporated into food products for many other reasons besides their natural sweetening abilities—among them color, aroma, browning, texture, better moisture retention and improved shelf life.
An organic equivalence agreement signed yesterday between the US and Japan will reopen the Japanese market to US organic producers and could provide more—and possibly cheaper—food for US consumers.
A federal judge in California has given the green light to a proposal from Diamond Foods - potentially worth $120m - to settle a class action lawsuit from investors who bought stock in the firm just before its $2.3bn mega-deal to buy Pringles went south...
The owners of a Colorado cantaloupe farm found to be the source of a 2011 listeria outbreak that killed at least 30 people have been charged in relation to the incident.
With the global market for functional foods and beverages on track to reach $176.7 billion this year, this booming category now accounts for 5% of the overall food market and is driving growth for the food industry as a whole, according to Euromonitor.
The European Union now accounts for 40% of all new stevia-containing foods and drink around the world, according to Mintel data, and companies are ramping up efforts to appeal to the market.
Over 70% of Americans may be interested in reduced caffeine energy beverages that can offer the boost of caffeine but without the crash, according to a new survey conducted by Ipsos Research and commissioned by Chromadex.
What do Hunt’s ketchup and Capri Sun have in common? They both switched back to using high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) after taking it out of the recipe, the former citing ‘consumer indifference’ and the latter citing sugar prices. Market data indicates...
There is huge, untapped, potential to incorporate fibers and proteins from rice bran into bars, powdered drink mixes, and other healthy products, says a natural products formulation expert that has just agreed to sell his business to rice bran ingredients...
Amid calls from Italian gay rights groups to boycott Barilla, the pasta company’s chairman, Guido Barilla, apologized for saying he would never use homosexual families in company advertisements.
Amid growing awareness in the US about reducing sodium in baked products, UK-based baking powder specialist Kudos Blends hopes to maintain strong growth across the pond with its zero-sodium potassium bicarbonate and low-sodium baking powders.
Omega 3s will be swimming in uncharted waters with the launch of what Oceans Omega believes is the first shot product featuring EPA and DHA from fish oil.
As consumer and retailer demand for third party-verified non-GMO product labels shows no signs of slowing, NSF International announced that it will join the Non-GMO Project as a technical administrator in early 2014.
Tea is an adult beverage, right? Wrong, says the entrepreneur behind Little Me Tea, who’s on a mission to replace the sugary juice box in your child’s lunchbox with an organic, caffeine-free tea sweetened with fruit and veg juice.
'Dynamic and interactive' event returns to Cannes, France
Innovation, sustainability, cutting-edge food science, and changing consumer behaviour will drive William Reed’s Food Vision event, with the programme offering food science through the focused lens of commercial interest to identify strategies for profitability...
Walmart has kicked off the second iteration of its Get on the Shelf competition with a new crop of hopeful, emerging brands looking for coveted shelf space at the world’s largest retailer.
As consumer demand for local and organic products grow, new research asks whether it a love for these characteristics or a hate for 'conventional' food is driving purchases.
High levels of fiber and/or calcium can be incorporated into a ready-to-eat (RTE) cereal without impacting eating quality by pelletizing the ingredients, General Mills says.
Sweeteners are widely used to replace sugar in diet and low calorie products within the food and beverage industry. However, many consumers are still worried about these ingredients. So, what are the facts behind low calorie sweeteners?
The Andre Agassi Foundation for Education has teamed up with Michigan-based private label specialist V20 Foods to create Andre Agassi's Box Budd!es, a line of kids' snacks that will be sold in grocery stores nationwide.
The FDA says it will permit qualified health claims on the relationship between eating whole grains and a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, but is the wording it has proposed so qualified that no food manufacturer will want to use it?
From August 5, 2014, manufacturers using the term ‘gluten-free’ on food labels must adhere to new FDA rules that set a gluten limit of 20 parts per million (ppm). But can consumers take their word for it, or will they still look for some kind of third...
From the 20th International Congress of Nutrition in Granada, Spain
The food industry came under attack last week at the International Congress of Nutrition (#ICN20) for not doing enough to improve the healthiness of its portfolios…unfairly, says Unilever.
It is hard to fool the brain by providing it with 'energyless' sweet flavours, according to new research in mice that suggests that consumption of zero-calorie sweeteners leads to higher sugar consumption later.
Flowers Foods is bringing Wonder bread back to shelves with retro pack designs in a bid to spark consumer nostalgia in the US, its vice president of marketing says.
The head of an Israeli firm behind a patented functional energy drink WakeUp insists that the ‘sky’s the limit’ if the award-winning drink is accepted by a specific market segment demanding alertness.
Innovation. It’s a word you hear on many executives’ lips. Sure, it’s reassuring rhetoric for investors, as it means a company is not resting on its laurels. But what does it mean, exactly? The answer, for all too many companies, even some large corporations,...
The beverage aisle is easily one of the most dynamic parts of the store, with new energy drinks, teas, waters and fruit drinks entering - and exiting - almost daily. But when it comes to flavored milks, why is there just chocolate, strawberry and vanilla?
More than a year after South Dakota beef processor Beef Products Inc. (BPI) filed a defamation lawsuit against ABC News Inc. for its coverage of lean, finely textured beef (LFTB)—which since gained the infamous moniker “pink slime”—the two sides are awaiting...
Purefruit is making its way into the mainstream sweetener market, as more manufacturers and consumers have become familiar with this zero-calorie, monk fruit-derived sweetener.
