Sweeteners (intense, bulk, polyols)

Majority of social media conversations about HFCS are negative: Loudpixel data

06-Dec-2012 By Stephen DANIELLS

Over 65% of social media posts about high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) are negative, according to a new report from social media research firm Loudpixel.

WHAT'S AMERICA DRINKING? FEWER CARBONATED SOFT DRINKS...

Mid-calorie carbonates won’t check US soda fall – BMC predicts

03-Dec-2012 By Ben Bouckley

Beverage Marketing Corporation (BMC), data and research group head, Gary Hemphill, does not think mid-calorie CSDs like Dr. Pepper TEN and Pepsi NEXT can restore the overall category’s ailing fortunes.

Suppliers gear up as Health Canada gives the green light for stevia in Canada

03-Dec-2012 By Elaine WATSON

Stevia suppliers are gearing up for action in Canada after Health Canada gave industry the green light to use steviol glycosides as table top sweeteners and food additives in food and beverages on Friday (November 30).

Sweeteners linked to higher weight gain: Rat study

28-Nov-2012 By Nathan Gray

Consumption of non-nutritive sweeteners such as saccharin and aspartame could lead to increases in weight, according to new data in rats.

Correlation vs causation: Is there a link between HFCS and diabetes?

28-Nov-2012 By Stephen Daniells

A new study reports that there is an association between HFCS consumption and the incidence of diabetes, but the findings have been dismissed by the Corn Refiners Association.

Majority of Americans trying to consume less sugar and HFCS: IFIC survey

26-Nov-2012 By Stephen Daniells

Some food and nutrition messages are being heard by American consumers, with survey data from the International Food Information Council Foundation (IFIC) indicating that 70 and 63% of consumers trying to consume less sugar and HFCS, respectively.

Tate & Lyle: New stevia sweetener can cut cola sugar levels by 50%

22-Nov-2012 By Ben BOUCKLEY

Tate & Lyle tells BeverageDaily.com that its new stevia ingredient, Tasteva, can be used to halve sucrose levels in cola drinks without a bitter aftertaste, and does not use masking agents.

Sodium reduction trend to stay for another 10 years: Univar

21-Nov-2012 By Stephen Daniells

The trend for sodium reduction will remain strong for at least another 10 years, and the solutions need to be ‘natural’, says the director of food industry with Univar.

Tate & Lyle on monk fruit: 'Consumers intuitively understand that sweetness that comes from fruit is natural'

19-Nov-2012 By Elaine WATSON

While stevia has attracted more publicity, monk fruit has just as much potential in the natural sweeteners market, argues Tate & Lyle.

Sourcing non-GMO: Prop 37 supporters have lost the battle, but may ultimately win the war, predicts The Scoular Company

15-Nov-2012 By Elaine WATSON

Despite the ‘NO’ vote on Prop 37, the momentum behind sourcing non-GMO ingredients remains as strong as ever, with non-GMO Project verified sales up 66% and a new class action lawsuit against a major food brand over ‘all-natural’ claims on products containing...

GLG Life Tech: We are still ‘very much’ in business

13-Nov-2012 By Elaine WATSON

Loss-making stevia supplier GLG Life Tech has reassured investors that it is still “very much” in business in a Q&A document designed to answer questions about its financial affairs.

How much will this summer’s drought impact food prices in 2013?

06-Nov-2012 By Elaine WATSON

While the cost inflation situation has eased recently eased for many food manufacturers, summer drought conditions are widely expected to put renewed pressure on food prices in 2013.

Scientists report 'guidelines' for tagatose use in food and beverages

05-Nov-2012 By Stephen Daniells

Using tagatose to sweeten food and drink products has taken a step forward as Korean scientists report the ‘first quantitative data on the relationship between the sweetness of tagatose and sucrose over a range of sweetness levels commonly encountered...

Sugar and corn refiners accuse each other of hypocrisy as HFCS lawsuit gets ugly

31-Oct-2012 By Elaine WATSON

Both sides have accused the other of hypocrisy as the increasingly bitter legal dispute between corn and sugar refiners moved into a new phase this week.

Will the ‘processed food’ definition in Prop 37 really kill off ‘natural’ claims on pack?

26-Oct-2012 By Elaine WATSON

The dispute over whether Californian GMO labeling initiative Prop 37 will prevent manufacturers from using the term ‘natural’ on foods that contain no GMOs at all continues to rage, with Yes and No campaigns offering diametrically opposed interpretations...

Special edition: Natural sweeteners

Novel oat-based sweetener rides crest of non-GMO wave

25-Oct-2012 By Elaine WATSON

The first wave of products containing a new natural sweetener from oats called OatSweet have hit shelves in the US, and the firm behind it is now in talks with leading food and beverage manufacturers about incorporating it into everything from ice cream...

Special Edition: Natural Sweeteners

Shakeout foreseen on supply end of stevia market

24-Oct-2012 By Hank Schultz

The popularity of stevia as an alternative sweetener has unleashed a blizzard of competition to supply the ingredient, mostly from mainland China, raising the question of whether the market is becoming unbalanced on the supply end.

Special Edition: Natural sweeteners

Monk fruit launches gain momentum while stevia cools off

23-Oct-2012 By Hank Schultz

There is a new challenger in the no cal alternative sweetener space. Stevia may still be king, but monk fruit is building its own power base.

Special edition: Natural sweeteners

Formulating with natural sweeteners: 'There is significant interaction between steviol glycosides and flavors'

23-Oct-2012 By Elaine WATSON

While the latest blends of steviol glycosides do not have the same bitter, licorice and lingering off-notes associated with some earlier stevia extracts on the market, some still contain “noticeable off-tastes compared to sugar”, says flavors giant Givaudan.

DISPATCHES FROM INTERBEV 2012, LAS VEGAS

Big beverage players were ‘stuck behind the 8 ball’ on HFCS – Consultant

22-Oct-2012 By Ben Bouckley

Martin Concannon, founder and MD of Kentucky-based consultancy, Lafayette Associates, tells BeverageDaily.com how the media firestorm that followed High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) in recent years was in part whipped-up by social media following a 2004...

Special edition: Natural sweeteners

Beyond stevia: Will brazzein make the natural sweeteners premier league?

22-Oct-2012 By Elaine WATSON

The entrepreneur behind Cweet - a natural high-intensity sweetener from a protein called brazzein- says he expects to secure regulatory approval to sell it in the US in one to two years.

What’s trending on Twitter? (And is this really an accurate measure of what most consumers think about GMOs?)

16-Oct-2012 By Elaine WATSON

Sentiment analysis tools that trawl though posts on blogs, facebook, Twitter and other online forums to help companies find out what consumers think about hot-button issues should be applied with more caution, according to one social media specialist.

Special edition: Natural sweeteners

Forget diet soda, stevia 3.0 is all about ‘re-inventing the regular’, says PureCircle

16-Oct-2012 By Elaine WATSON

Food manufacturers are increasingly seeing stevia as a way to “reinvent the regular” by helping them deliver incremental calorie reductions in everyday foods, rather than simply serving as a replacement for artificial sweeteners in ‘diet’ products, says...

Special edition: Natural sweeteners

Quality of stevia products ‘assured’, says new analysis

15-Oct-2012 By Stephen Daniells

The addition of steviol glycosides to a variety of food does not alter the quality or shelf-life of the products, says a new study.

Evaporated cane juice lawsuit latest: Chobani’s ‘no sugar added’ assurances violate federal law, says complaint

12-Oct-2012 By Elaine WATSON

Californian plaintiff Katie Kane has filed her second amended complaint against Greek yogurt giant Chobani accusing it of violating federal law by claiming its yogurts have “no sugar added” despite the fact they contain evaporated cane juice (dried sugar...

Unilever outlines new open innovation ‘challenges and wants’

11-Oct-2012 By Caroline Scott-Thomas

Unilever has added new ‘challenges and wants’ to its open innovation platform, this time seeking help with a stable natural red colour for fruit and dairy, and technologies to reduce sugar in ready to drink teas.

Lawyer: Prop 37 will overtake Prop 65 as a source of consumer litigation in California

11-Oct-2012 By Elaine WATSON

Prop 37 is likely to surpass Prop 65 as a source of consumer litigation in California if the controversial GMO labeling initiative gets the green light next month, predicts one San Francisco-based lawyer.

What's the next stevia? Senomyx evaluates novel natural sweeteners

04-Oct-2012 By Elaine WATSON

San-Diego-based flavor innovator Senomyx is screening a series of novel plant-based high-potency natural sweetening compounds in a bid to find the next stevia, monk-fruit or monatin.

Stevia set to be a ‘mass volume, mainstream ingredient’, says PureCircle after striking deal with Coca-Cola

28-Sep-2012 By Elaine WATSON

PureCircle says it is one step closer to establishing its high-purity stevia as a “mass volume, mainstream ingredient” after signing a joint development and supply agreement with soft drinks giant Coca-Cola.

Cardiologist: High fructose corn syrup is 'one of the most misunderstood food ingredients'

24-Sep-2012 By Elaine WATSON

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is “one of the most misunderstood food ingredients”, and continues to be lambasted in the media and on the internet long after the scientific debate over its relative contribution to the obesity epidemic vs sugar has run...

Tate & Lyle: Expect a significant uptick in monk fruit launches in six months

17-Sep-2012 By Elaine WATSON

There will be a “significant uptick” in US product launches containing Purefruit in the next six months, while the monk fruit-based sweetener is also moving towards price parity with stevia on a cost-in-use basis for many applications, claims Tate &...

Stevia in transition: Reb A accounted for 40% of PureCircle revenues in 2012 v 90% in 2009

12-Sep-2012 By Elaine WATSON

Further evidence that steviol glycoside Reb A is no longer the only game in town when it comes to delivering high intensity natural sweetness has emerged in PureCircle’s full-year results, which show rebaudioside A accounted for just 40% of revenues in...

Tate & Lyle says new stevia sweetener ‘won’t turn off bitter-sensitive consumers’

12-Sep-2012 By Caroline Scott-Thomas

Tate & Lyle has developed a new stevia sweetener, which it claims does not have the bitter flavour associated with many stevia sweeteners on the market.

Sugar and corn giants trade insults as high fructose corn syrup row heats up

05-Sep-2012 By Elaine Watson

Leading corn refiners have accused sugar producers of conducting a “systematic campaign” to vilify high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in a counter claim filed in California yesterday as part of the high-profile legal dispute over the sweetener.

Would consumers benefit from changes to the way HFCS is labeled?

05-Sep-2012 By Elaine WATSON

As the row between sugar and corn refiners heats up this week, advocacy group Citizens for Health has entered the fray with a citizen’s petition calling for the FDA to change the way high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is labeled.

Jamba Juice all-natural lawsuit moves into new phase

04-Sep-2012 By Elaine Watson

A California judge has granted in part a motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit filed against Jamba Juice over ‘all-natural’ claims, but has given the plaintiff the right to amend his complaint.

Cargill builds science for new high-intensity Monatin sweetener

04-Sep-2012 By Stephen Daniells

Extracts from the South African plant Sclerochiton ilicifolius are amongst the ‘most potently sweet naturally occurring substances known’, report scientists from ingredients giant Cargill.

Aspartame 'breakdown' drives Diet Pepsi dance for new sweetening system?

31-Aug-2012 By Ben Bouckley

As reports circulate suggesting PepsiCo is trialing an alternative sweetening system for Diet Pepsi, the company insists that it has no intention of altering the drink’s formula or taste.

‘Avoid sweetened drinks’: Scandinavian scientists warn pregnant mothers

31-Aug-2012 By Ben Bouckley

Artificially and sugar-sweetened drinks may be linked to preterm child birth, according to Scandinavian researchers who have conducted a controversial new study.

Sunwin Stevia International and Wild Flavors GmbH enter global distribution deal

30-Aug-2012 By Caroline Scott-Thomas

Sunwin USA has ended its distribution deal with Wild Flavors, Inc. to facilitate a global partnership between parent companies Sunwin Stevia International, Inc. and Germany-based Wild Flavors GmbH.

Children’s diet soft drink consumption doubles in a decade

20-Aug-2012 By Caroline Scott-Thomas

Children’s consumption of beverages sweetened with low-calorie or no-calorie sweeteners has more than doubled over the past decade in the United States, according to a new study.

GLG reports H1 losses after filing delay

20-Aug-2012 By Caroline Scott-Thomas

Stevia supplier GLG Life Tech has reported losses in the 2011 fiscal year and the first half of 2012, following a filing delay that led it to stop trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

CSPI targets marketing of Splenda Essentials in new lawsuit

13-Aug-2012 By Caroline Scott-Thomas

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has taken aim at McNeil Nutritionals’ Splenda Essentials sweetener in a lawsuit filed in a California district court, alleging that the fortified sweetener’s marketing violates consumer protection laws.

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