Sweeteners (intense, bulk, polyols)

The changing American diet, 1999-2012: ERS data shows steady decline in consumption of ice cream and corn-based sweeteners

03-Jun-2014 By Elaine Watson

While data showing that fluid milk consumption has continued to fall in the past 15 years probably won’t shock many readers, they may be more surprised to learn that consumption of caloric sweeteners and ice cream has also dropped substantially since...

Truvía exceeds sustainability goals, aims for ‘continuous improvement’

02-Jun-2014 By Maggie Hennessy

Cargill’s stevia-based sweetener brand Truvía met its 2015 goals in carbon emissions and waste ahead of schedule and is well on its way to achieving its 2020 sustainability goals, though the supplier’s head of sustainability and clean energy acknowledged...

Cargill: Ongoing sugar scrutiny has beverage formulators seeking alternatives

29-May-2014 By Maggie Hennessy

The healthy beverage segment continues to steal market share from sugar-sweetened soft drinks and diet soda, as consumers’ perception of the role of beverage in their diets evolves alongside changing policy and public health initiatives. 

Study supports diet soda’s potential for weight management

28-May-2014 By Stephen Daniells

Consuming diet sodas along with a weight loss program may lead to shedding more pounds than when water alone is consumed along with the weight loss program, says a new study from the University of Colorado and sponsored by the American Beverage Association.

New artificial sweetener gains FDA approval

22-May-2014 By Maggie Hennessy

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the sweetener advantame for general use in food and beverages. 

Special edition: Organics & Non-GMO

BI Nutraceuticals boss: If you believe GMOs are safe and provide value, get out there and champion the cause

13-May-2014 By Elaine WATSON

If biotech’s big guns want to seize the initiative in the GMO debate, they should ditch their defensive strategy (telling consumers why they don’t need GMO labels) and go on the offensive, launching a positive campaign about the merits of GM crops, according...

Sucrose vs. artificial sweeteners: examining energy intake & expenditure

12-May-2014 By Maggie Hennessy

The steady climb in worldwide obesity rates is often dually attributed to an increasingly sedentary lifestyle and the energy content of modern diets, with a growing body of research linking increased sugar consumption with higher body weight (see here...

Flawed FDA guidance on evaporated cane juice has caused chaos for the food industry, say Chobani, Amy's Kitchen et al

08-May-2014 By Elaine WATSON

The FDA’s “flawed” 2009 draft guidance on ‘evaporated cane juice’ has put food manufacturers and retailers between a rock and a hard place when deciding what to put on their labels, says a group of leading manufacturers.

FoodNavigator-USA Exclusive

PureCircle slashes carbon footprint by 15%

29-Apr-2014 By Maggie Hennessy

In its third year of tracking greenhouse gas emissions, global stevia supplier PureCircle has lowered its carbon emissions by 15% compared to 2012, resulting in carbon savings of nearly 40,000 MT of GHG, according to the company's most recent carbon...

Term 'evaporated cane juice ' misleads consumers, says nutrition education group

25-Apr-2014 By Elaine WATSON

Consumers are confused about what evaporated cane juice (ECJ) is, but the FDA’s preferred term - ‘dried cane syrup’ - is not much better, according to one of the first groups to respond to the agency’s new request for comments on ECJ.

Judge throws out lawsuit alleging HFCS caused girl’s type 2 diabetes

23-Apr-2014 By Elaine WATSON

A product liability lawsuit alleging high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is to blame for a teenage girl’s type 2 diabetes has been dismissed by a federal judge in New York.

Water, only better? AquaBall explodes into healthy hydration market for kids

11-Apr-2014 By Elaine WATSON

Water is boring, soda is off limits, juices are nutrient-packed but sugary, and milk isn’t cool, so what do you put in your kids lunchbox?  

Insights from IFT Wellness 2014

Why should we care about what @Susan thinks of stevia?

03-Apr-2014 By Maggie Hennessy

Despite a trend toward reduced sugar consumption in the US, many Americans are still getting far too much added sugar in their diets. But how do consumers really feel about sugar? And how should manufacturers address sugar and sugar reduction efforts...

Saturated fat in the dock: ‘Our nutritional courts tried and convicted the wrong man’

01-Apr-2014 By Elaine WATSON

As the debate over the role of saturated fat in cardiovascular disease intensifies, the authors of a new commentary claim that the “real villains” in the American diet are trans fat, sugar, and high-GI foods that rapidly convert to sugar.

Evaporated cane juice lawsuit on ice as FDA weighs in. But what does this mean for industry?

31-Mar-2014 By Elaine Watson

A class action lawsuit accusing Coca-Cola subsidiary Odwalla of misleading consumers and misbranding its products by using the term ‘evaporated cane juice’ (ECJ) on labels has been put on ice by a California judge following the FDA's decision to...

Insights from IFT Wellness 2014

How should the industry tackle sugar reduction?

28-Mar-2014 By Maggie Hennessy

Attending a series of sessions on sugar reduction during the Institute of Food Technologists’ (IFT) 2014 Wellness conference, a few common themes kept resurfacing: that obesity remains a big problem, and that—like it or not—the sugar industry is assuming...

Energy drinks on fire, but diet soda still in a funk, says Wells Fargo as Coke and Pepsi battle to 'reinvent' cola

27-Mar-2014 By Elaine Watson

Diet soda sales remain in a funk according to the latest Nielsen data, with dollar sales in the four weeks to March 15 plunging 7.3%. Regular soda fared somewhat better (+ 0.6%), while energy drinks (+8.3%) and sparkling water (+26.2%) continued to steam...

Diabetes expert: 'Juices are the worst, you might as well drink Coke...'

27-Mar-2014 By Elaine WATSON

Rates of type two diabetes have rocketed in recent years, with poor diet and a lack of exercise largely to blame. But as dietary guidelines for people with diabetes are the same as for the general population, and the FDA doesn't think diabetics need...

GMO Answers: Biotech's big guns seek to claw back initiative in GM debate

21-Mar-2014 By Elaine WATSON

While die-hard opponents of GM crops probably won’t undergo a damascene conversion after checking out the latest updates on ag-biotech-funded website GMO Answers, they are not the target audience, say its backers.

Stevia expert PureCircle posts much-reduced net loss ($1.9m) in H1, 2014; Sales surge 32% to $34.9m

19-Mar-2014 By Elaine WATSON

Leading stevia supplier PureCircle posted a (much reduced) net loss of $1.9m in the six months to Dec 31, 2013, while sales surged 32% to $34.9m over the same period.  (In the same period in 2012, net losses were $6.9m.)

Tea company leverages Whole Foods partnership for new product launch

19-Mar-2014 By Hank Schultz

The makers of Third Street Chai have leveraged their partnership with Whole Foods Markets into a new line of ready-to-drink teas that will launch nationwide with the natural foods retailer this spring.

Expo West highlights: ‘Unless you've literally pulled it out of the ground yourself and stuck it in a box, don't call it all-natural’

17-Mar-2014 By Elaine WATSON

If it’s in the natural channel today, it could be in food, drug and mass merchandise stores tomorrow, so food and beverage trend-spotters were out in force at the Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim on March 6-9. 

Senomyx rapped over knuckles by FDA over wording of GRAS press release on sweet taste modifier

13-Mar-2014 By Elaine WATSON

Flavor expert Senomyx - which is collaborating with PepsiCo over sweet taste modifier Sweetmyx (S617) - has been rapped over the knuckles by the FDA for implying that the agency had approved (ie. sent a letter of ‘no objection’ about) its GRAS determination...

SPECIAL FEATURE: What exactly is evaporated cane juice?

10-Mar-2014 By Elaine WATSON

It’s been gracing food labels for years, but more recently, it’s also prompted a tsunami of civil litigation against firms from Chobani to Trader Joe’s. So what exactly is ‘evaporated cane juice’ (ECJ), and does the name accurately reflect what it actually...

WHO recommends halving sugar intake advice

06-Mar-2014 By Caroline SCOTT-THOMAS

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has advised halving sugar intake advice from 10% of total calories to 5% of total calories in a new dietary guideline proposal.

Groundbreaking stevia launch opens up completely new territory for formulators with sugar reductions of “50, 60, 75 and in some cases 100%”, says Cargill

06-Mar-2014 By Elaine WATSON

The word ‘game-changer’ is used so liberally these days that Cargill has not given in to the temptation to employ it here. But ViaTech - its new range of stevia-based sweeteners - opens up completely new territory for food and beverage formulators, enabling...

CSPI: ‘Facts Up Front is a joke that should be roundly ignored by the FDA’

03-Mar-2014 By Elaine WATSON

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has again urged the FDA to come up with its own mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labeling system and “ignore” the industry-backed, voluntary ‘Facts up Front’ scheme.

What will happen to food prices in 2014?

01-Mar-2014 By Elaine WATSON

While the consumer price index (all food) rose a modest 1.4% in 2013, it is likely to rise 2.5-3.5% in 2014, predict USDA economists, who believe food price inflation will “return to a range closer to the historical norm”.

Novozymes: ‘Remarkable’ enzyme breakthrough promises radical efficiency boost for HFCS production

28-Feb-2014 By Elaine WATSON

Novozymes has developed a "completely new" enzyme it claims will prove a game-changer for the sweeteners industry by making the process of converting starch into products such as high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), crystalline dextrose and fermented...

Veri Soda aims for sweet spot in US soda market with low-calorie organic carbonated soft drinks

25-Feb-2014 By Elaine WATSON

Launching a new brand in the ultra-competitive US carbonated soft drinks market - which is facing well-documented problems right now - is notoriously tough, but the Dutch entrepreneur behind new market entrant Veri Soda is convinced he has found the sweet...

Stevia-sweetened Coca-Cola Life to enter new markets this year - but Coke won't say which ones

24-Feb-2014 By Elaine WATSON

Coca-Cola Life - a stevia-sweetened cola with 50% less sugar than regular Coke - will be introduced into other markets this year following a successful debut in Argentina and Chile.

'Pepsi's been outmaeuvered by coke, outshone by dr pepper' - crusading investor

‘Coke has mediocre PepsiCo on its heels’: Peltz’s withering verdict

21-Feb-2014 By Ben BOUCKLEY

Nelson Peltz insists that Coke has PepsiCo on the back foot and says the latter is even outshone by Dr Pepper despite a stellar beverage portfolio including Gatorade, Tropicana and Mountain Dew.

GLG Life Tech moves into monk fruit (luo han guo) market as more firms combine it with stevia

20-Feb-2014 By Elaine WATSON

Vancouver-based stevia supplier GLG Life Tech is moving into the monk fruit (luo han guo) sweeteners market and expects to have commercial quantities of high-purity extracts available later this year.

PepsiCo: New non-cola beverages with stevia and sugar launching in US this year; colas in other markets

13-Feb-2014 By Elaine WATSON

New non-cola products sweetened with stevia and sugar will hit the US market this year, while cola products combining stevia and sugar will be tested in other markets, says PepsiCo.

Glut of unsold Chinese sucralose impacts outlook at Tate & Lyle: 2015 sucralose prices 15% lower

13-Feb-2014 By Elaine WATSON

Tate & Lyle says it predicts a substantial deterioration in sucralose pricing owing to a glut of unsold Chinese sucralose which has forced it to reduce pricing in recently renewed contracts. 

Tate & Lyle renews sucralose partnership with McNeil Nutritionals

13-Feb-2014

Tate & Lyle PLC has renewed its partnership with McNeil Nutritionals, LLC to develop the global market for sucralose and the Splenda brand.

Soda fizz or fizzle out? Stevia-sweetened Dr Pepper a US ‘litmus test’

13-Feb-2014 By Ben BOUCKLEY

Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS) will trial stevia sweetened versions of flag sodas Dr Pepper, 7-UP and Canada Dry in the US this year in a bold move one analyst says is a ‘litmus test’ for the future success of all-natural sodas.

Brazzein entrepreneur seeks partner to take next-generation natural sweetener to market

11-Feb-2014 By Elaine WATSON

Brazzein - a protein from the berry of the West African plant Oubli claimed to be 2,500+ times sweeter than sucrose - could play a key role in the natural sweeteners market in future as formulators look beyond stevia, says one entrepreneur intent on commercializing...

Judge says GLG Life Tech did not mislead shareholders over ‘doomed’ relationship with Cargill

06-Feb-2014 By Elaine WATSON

A judge has dismissed a shareholder lawsuit filed in 2011 against stevia firm GLG Life Tech Corporation for alleged failures to disclose the decline of its relationship with Cargill, then its largest customer.

Energy done better? Consumers want energy and taste, minus the calories, says Hydrive Energy Water

06-Feb-2014 By Elaine WATSON

In the early days, energy drinks offered a sugary, cough-syrup-tasting ‘punch in the mouth’ caffeine hit. Pretty soon, many other options emerged, but the category is still growing and evolving, creating new opportunities for brands that can find its...

Gruma Corp to FDA: Yes, it IS your job to determine if GMOs belong in all-natural products

31-Jan-2014 By Elaine WATSON

Civil litigation over whether GMOs belong in ‘all-natural’ products will continue to clog up US courts owing to the FDA’s refusal to weigh in on this issue, says Mission tortilla chips maker Gruma Corp.

Food 'compensation' means diet drinks are not a weight loss solution, warn researchers

22-Jan-2014 By Nathan Gray

Overweight and obese adults who drink sugar-free or diet beverages consume more calories from food than overweight people who drink regular soda, according to new data.

Euromonitor: All eyes now on Kellogg as Gen Mills and Post Foods throw down Non-GMO gauntlet

22-Jan-2014 By Elaine WATSON

Many big brands are “playing a waiting game” right now to see whether moves by General Mills and Post Foods to axe GMOs from iconic brands (Cheerios and Grape Nuts) will have a domino effect, say analysts at Euromonitor International.

PepsiCo axes stevia-sweetened Gatorade lines in US

21-Jan-2014 By Ben BOUCKLEY

PepsiCo admits that it discontinued its Natural Gatorade drinks G Natural and G2 last November as the products did not resonate with their core consumer group of athletes.

Beware cheap imitations! Sweet Green Fields launches ‘fully compliant’ organic stevia extracts: ‘It was a Herculean task’

17-Jan-2014 By Elaine WATSON

It was a “Herculean task”, but the years spent developing the technology and protocols to comply with USDA organic regulations and produce commercially viable organic stevia crops have paid off, say bosses at Sweet Green Fields (SGF) after launching their...

Sugar concerns spark market gains for sweeteners

13-Jan-2014 By Caroline SCOTT-THOMAS

The market for high intensity sweeteners is growing rapidly, with plant-derived stevia providing the fastest growth, according to a new report from Mintel and Leatherhead Food Research.

Sugar under siege: Reformulation can win the battle, says Barry Callebaut

09-Jan-2014 By Oliver Nieburg

Replacing sugar with fibers in chocolate could be more effective in reducing global sugar consumption than cutting portion sizes, but will come at a cost, according to Barry Callebaut.

Diet soda in a funk? Not ours, says Zevia boss as he adds monk fruit to his zero-cal menu: Zevia could be a $1bn brand

09-Jan-2014 By Elaine WATSON

As Coke and Pepsi watch their diet soda sales stagnate, the arrows on the sales growth chart on Zevia CEO Paddy Spence’s wall are going in the opposite direction, with growth of his zero-calorie sodas up in the triple digits.  

Health-conscious US consumers weigh in on low-calorie chocolate: Lucintel

06-Jan-2014 By Oliver Nieburg

Low-calorie products such as sugar-free chocolates will be the driving force behind modest growth in the US chocolate market in the next five years, according to market analysts Lucintel.

PureCircle and Coke get OK from FDA for Reb M stevia

03-Jan-2014 By Maggie Hennessy

PureCircle has received a GRAS (generally regarded as safe) letter from the US Food and Drug Administration for its high-purity Rebaudioside M sweetener (also known as Reb M or Reb X), clearing the way for PureCircle to use the sweetener in soft drinks...