I worked for five years as a USDA-contract organic inspector after growing up on an organic grain farm in Saskatchewan. I had the pleasure of inspecting over 500 organic farms and processors, but I began questioning this career path when I realized the...
US retail sales of organic products grew 11.5% to $35.1bn in 2013, the strongest growth the industry has seen in five years, according to new data from the Organic Trade Association (OTA), which is predicting even higher growth of 12% this year.
The majority of the leading US supplement companies are working on using non-GMO ingredients in their formulations, said Cal Bewicke, CEO of Ethical Naturals Inc (ENI), as the company launches non-GMO vitamin C.
Microwave popcorn was a childhood favorite snack of Kristy Lewis; though her nostalgia turned to disillusionment when as an adult she learned that the chemical-, hydrogenated oil-laden formula hadn’t evolved alongside her growing awareness.
As anti-GMO activists celebrated their first major victory in Vermont this week with the passage of GMO labeling bill H112, the GMA said it would mount a legal challenge within weeks. But while big food companies may well win the courtroom battle ahead,...
Consuming probiotics may decrease the duration of common upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) by up to a day, compared to placebo, according to findings published in the British Journal of Nutrition.
The FDA’s “flawed” 2009 draft guidance on ‘evaporated cane juice’ has put food manufacturers and retailers between a rock and a hard place when deciding what to put on their labels, says a group of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.
Kellogg subsidiary Kashi has joined a growing list of big food companies that have agreed to stop using the term ‘all-natural’ to describe certain products in response to a tidal wave of civil litigation over the controversial term.
84% of US consumers buy organic food sometimes, and 45% of them buy it at least once a month, according to a new national survey of 1,016 adults. However, there is a disparity between what they think the organic seal means and what they think it should...
Big interview: Noha Waibsnaider, founder & CEO, Peeled Snacks
Armed with an MBA from Columbia University, a great contacts book, and a keen understanding of the CPG market after a two-year stint working at Unilever, Noha Waibsnaider was probably better equipped than most to face the challenges ahead when she launched...
While calorie labeling on restaurant menus is still in its infancy - as is academic research attempting to measure its impact - a new study suggests it is not driving a significant change in consumer behavior.
Ganeden Biotech - the Ohio-based company behind ultra-resilient probiotic BC30 (Bacillus coagulans GBI-30, 6086) - has announced the issuance of a US patent covering the use of all Bacillus coagulans strains (including BC30) in coffee, tea and cereal.
They’re addicted to their smartphones, big fans of social networking sites, and more likely than their parents to buy store brands. But what else do we know about Millennials - the 100 million Americans born between 1980 and 2000?
Kashi has lost some distribution in the past 12-18 months, but brand owner Kellogg says it will prove to consumers that Kashi is still a pioneer in the field of ‘progressive nutrition’.
An Abbott Laboratories shareholder proposal to label genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) in its Similac infant formula range received about 5% of the vote, and has been rejected by the company.
Interview with Dan Belliveau, creator of coffee flour and co-founder of CF Global
A longtime executive at the likes of Starbucks, Frito-Lay and General Motors used his experience in improving supply chain efficiency to create a groundbreaking food ingredient traditionally left to rot as a byproduct of the roughly 17 billion pounds...
Want to learn more about the gluten-free market? Click HERE to tune into FoodNavigator’s online forum to learn about celiac disease and gluten sensitivity, the size of the gluten-free prize, who buys gluten-free products, and why.
Dietary recommendations for protein intake should be increased for healthy older adults to 1.0 to 1.2 g protein/kg body weight/day, says an international team of experts.
“We could have expanded our market massively and aggressively if we said we’ll deliver anything to anyone, anywhere at any time. But we’d also have lost a lot of money,” says the president and CEO of one of the most successful online grocery platforms...
Just over three months after launching in the US market, grocery coupon app Checkout 51 has attracted an eye-boggling 1.4 million users, and expects to attract tens of millions more. Why? Because it’s really easy to use, says co-founder Noah Godfrey.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will publish on Monday, April 28 a final rule prohibiting certain nutrient content claims for foods that contain the omega-3 fatty acids DHA, EPA, and ALA, drawing criticism from the Global Organization for EPA...
Exclusive documentary preview: MicroWarriors Special edition
NutraIngredients went to LA recently to question two leading probiotic academics about probiotics and the microbiome and which we present exclusively here. The interviews form part of a new documentary to be narrated by Leonard Nimoy, better known as...
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.
When formulating sports nutrition products for women, is the concept to merely give them a little bit less of what you’d give a presumably much heavier man under similar circumstances? Or are a female athlete’s needs subtly different? No one really knows,...
Hillshire Brands has struck a $165m deal to buy frozen breakfast and snack foods maker Van's Natural Foods from private equity firm Catterton Partners.
Consuming whole-grain-rich foods for six weeks may slash levels of inflammatory biomarkers in overweight children, according to findings published in Molecular Nutrition & Food Research.
Consumers have spent years paying over the odds for organic foods based on the erroneous belief - promulgated by stakeholders with a vested interest - that they are healthier and safer than their conventional counterparts, claims a controversial new report.
In conversation with Goya VP Bob Unanue on the $250 mn US expansion
Historically a mainstay brand in ethnic grocery stores and the international aisle of supermarkets, Goya has grown into much more than an ingredient company—with a portfolio of more than 2,000 SKUs ranging from beans and olive oil to coconut milk and...
There are just two weeks to go until FoodNavigator’s live (and hopefully very lively) online debate on one of the hottest trends in food development: gluten-free.
If you want to see what success looks like in US grocery retailing, look no further than Trader Joe’s. Its unique combination of affordable prices, innovative private label items and gourmet, organic, and natural foods have helped drive sales per square...
“Multiple leading companies” are looking for ingredients or foods that have a positive effect on the mind, and nutrients and materials used in Chinese medicine are at the top of their shopping list, according to a new posting on open innovation site NineSights.
Peruviuan cuisine is a hot culinary trend and a “powerful funnel for bringing resurgent South American cuisine into the US food retail and foodservice market”, according to a new report from Packaged Facts.
San Diego-based flavor innovator Senomyx has entered into a collaborative agreement with PepsiCo to identify flavors with "modifying properties intended to restore the desired salty taste in products with reduced salt".
On the face of it, the FDA’s proposal to revoke the GRAS status of partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) - the source of most of the ‘artificial’ trans fats in the US food supply - seems like a no-brainer. After all, even if the jury is apparently still...
One daily serving of beans, peas, chickpeas or lentils may slash bad cholesterol levels, says a new meta-analysis that supports the cardiovascular benefits of pulses.
A recent study linking protein intake to an increased risk of cancer death could have detrimental public health implications for adults seeking to maintain muscle health and avoid sarcopenia, says a group of leading protein experts.
Big interview: Ethan Brown and Brent Taylor, co-founders, Beyond Meat
“We’re a meat company that make products from plants”, say the entrepreneurs behind Beyond Meat, which makes "near-perfect replicas of meat" from plants. And they’re thinking big. After all, why settle for a slice of the $600m US meat-alternatives...
The American Herbal Products Association has set a new policy for how member companies ought to calculate the amount of protein in their products to deal with a situation in which the amount of protein has potentially been overreported in some products...
More than half of Americans say they want more protein in their diets, while the percentage that claim to look for protein on the Nutrition Facts panel has increased from 20% in 2009 to 25% in 2013, according to market researcher NPD Group.
When Winder Farms CEO Mike Dutton first started tapping private equity firms for cash to support his online grocery shopping business, memories of Webvan (which went bankrupt in 2001) were still fresh, and more than a few doors were slammed in his face...
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...
Pistachios – most associated with snacking in the consumer’s mind – could be finding their way into many a food product as an ingredient over the next few years, says the executive director of the American Pistachio Growers, as production is set to double...
The name - Dr Praeger’s Sensible Foods - may not sound very sexy, but the sales figures certainly are, says Larry Praeger, CEO of a frozen food firm enjoying double-digit sales increases year-on-year in a category where many players are struggling to...
If chef-inspired brand LUVO grabbed a lot of the limelight at the recent Expo West show, another exhibitor on a mission to revitalize the frozen case is premium world cuisine brand Saffron Road, which has been generating enviable growth in both the conventional...
Sometimes it’s hard to think inventively about the ingredient that comprises half the ubiquitous peanut butter and jelly sandwich or is passed to us in small pouches on most airplane rides. But from flours and spreads to use as a legume, the potential...
At the 2014 Research Chefs Association Conference & Culinology Expo, FoodNavigator-USA caught up with chef Michael Holleman, director of culinary development at artisan grain and legume supplier InHarvest, for a podcast Q&A on trends in pulses,...
Sales of Blue Diamond Grower’s retail products - from Almond Breeze to Almond Nut Thins - have surged dramatically over the past five years and now account for nearly $500m in annual revenues, says its CEO.
The current high-protein craze in the US food and beverage market is driving continued demand for soy-ingredients, with particular growth opportunities in sports nutrition, food for kids, and weight management, says one leading supplier.
UPDATED* - A high-profile study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine last week has re-opened the debate about whether saturated fat has been unfairly cast in the role of nutritional bogeyman. But how should policymakers respond?
