What are the hottest trends in food and beverage? And are the big bucks really in blue-sky innovation, or have the most successful firms played with an existing concept and just done a better job at executing, marketing and selling it?
Sugar-sweetened and sugar-free beverages produce similar satiety in children, says a new study that challenges the oft-quoted hypothesis that artificially sweetened drinks make people crave sweeter foods or serve as an appetite stimulant.
Americans’ eating habits deteriorated in 2013, as fewer adults report eating healthy all day “yesterday” in every month so far this year compared with the same months in 2012, according to the latest Gallup/Healthways poll. Moreover, healthy eating in...
Just a third (36.4%) of US adults read calorie information when it is available at fast-food and chain restaurants, but 95.4% of those that do read it use this information at least sometimes when making their food choices, according to a new study.
New York City’s Health Department has unveiled a new anti-obesity campaign highlighting the potential health risks of excessive sugary drink consumption.
While consumer concerns over artificial sweeteners have been blamed - in part - for the funk the diet soda market currently finds itself in (click here), the fact remains that they are safe and effective tools for weight management, according to one obesity...
Oatmeal increases a sense of fullness and reduces hunger due to the viscosity and hydration properties of its beta-glucan content, according to research from PepsiCo.
Stevia supplier GLG Lifetech posted a net loss of $14.3m in the third quarter, but said it is making solid progress in its collaboration with COFCO, China's largest food company, to develop foods and beverages with stevia that will reach "every...
60-second interview: Matt Fifer, co-founder, 8th & Walton Group
Want to get on the shelf at Walmart? Prepare to put in some serious work, says Matt Fifer, who spent nearly 13 years in senior roles in store & club operations, people development, marketing, and international marketing at Wal-Mart before co-founding...
San-Diego-based flavor innovator Senomyx says the first products arising from a collaboration with PepsiCo using a novel sweet taste modifier called S617 should hit shelves next year - contingent upon a GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) determination.
Food ingredient giant Ingredion reported a steep drop in year-over-year earnings in the third quarter of 2013, mostly from problems in South American markets. In addition, the company foresees a complicated impact from a newly-passed tax in Mexico on...
Special edition: Tackling diabetes: Formulating for healthy blood sugar
The need for dietary interventions to help diabetes sufferers is clear. But communicating how individual ingredients and foods might meet that need is fraught with regulatory peril, observers say.
Special edition: Tackling diabetes. Formulating for healthy blood sugar
Given that one in three American adults is expected to develop type 2 diabetes by 2050, and poor diet and lack of exercise may be largely to blame, what can food and beverage manufacturers do to tackle this epidemic?
Special Edition: Tackling diabetes: Formulating for healthy blood sugar
The overall topic of blood sugar management is becoming increasingly important beyond the population with type 2 diabetes, as mainstream media has made consumers more aware of the health needs of blood sugar management—known more colloquially as “energy...
Special Edition: Tackling diabetes: Formulating for healthy blood sugar
When we examine the long list of noninfectious diseases that trouble modern society—which run the gamut in severity from flat feet to acid reflux, anxiety, certain cancers, high blood pressure, obesity and type 2 diabetes—it helps to look back, way back,...
Reductions in the consumption of sugar sweetened beverages are associated with improvements in biomarkers for chronic disease risk, says a new study from North Dakota State University.
If current trends continue, carbonated soft drinks volumes could decline 15-20% by 2020 driven by sharp declines in diet variants, predicts Wells Fargo. But why have Americans fallen out of love with diet soda, and what are they drinking instead?
Stevia scientists are still rolling the taste rock up the hill, engaged in the seemingly Sisyphean task of solving the ingredient’s lingering issues. The sweetener’s huge potential drives formulators on, and after hundreds of thousands of research man...
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.
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.
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.
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.
A bill proposing sweeping changes to food labeling laws covering everything from ‘natural’ claims to whole grain statements has been welcomed by consumer groups, but stands little chance of success, legal experts have told FoodNavigator-USA.
Weight management is not as simple as the ‘calories in, calories out’ model of energy balance, claim researchers at the International Conference of Nutrition (ICN) in Granada, Spain.
Although federal efforts have led to “modest improvements” in food quality and marketing practices in recent years, “commercial interests have consistently overridden the health concerns of children”, according to one former government health expert.
Leading stevia supplier PureCircle says “investments and assets are in place from agriculture to manufacturing” to be ready to commercialize two next generation stevia products - Reb D and Reb X - in 2014.
A sugar tax is the best way to combat excess sugar consumption which doctors agree is partly to blame for growing global obesity and diabetes rates, according to a report from Credit Suisse.
Dr Pepper TEN risks sharing the fate of ‘countless other’ product extensions’ that fail to cut it as independent brands, given declining distribution in the US C-store channel, one analyst warns.
A US government demonstration program to provide school-age children from low-income households with meals and snacks during the summer months showed a 33% decrease in the rate of very low food security among children in the demonstration’s second year,...
Oil-filled hydrogel particles could help food producers slash the level of fat used low-calorie in products without affecting taste or texture, say researchers.
PepsiCo has been experimenting with ingredients from unpeeled heat-treated green bananas and plantains to serve as everything from a gluten substitute to a sugar replacer in products from oatmeal to smoothies, crackers, bars and cookies, a recent patent...
Data from over 200,000 adults and children ‘provides evidence’ that consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages promotes weight gain, says a new meta-analysis from heavyweight Harvard researchers.
Do college students eat like the rest of us? Broadly yes (washed down by a lot more energy drinks), but there are some notable differences, according to online ordering expert GrubHub, which says students are significantly less likely to place ‘healthier’...
Increases in childhood obesity levels, in part due to high intakes of fructose, may also have a dramatic effect on brain funcitoning and academic performance, warn researchers.
With more than half of consumers in developed countries over the age of 14 now classified as overweight or obese, and obesity rates in China and India expected to double by 2020, global interest in weight management products “will likely remain high for...
Big interview, Yves Potvin, founder and CEO, Garden Protein (Gardein)
Despite all the recent hype about plant-based protein, the frozen meat alternatives category was stuck in a bit of a rut until pretty recently, says the man behind the fastest growing brand in the market.
Stevia supplier GLG Lifetech is working with China’s largest food company - state-owned COFCO (China National Cereals, Oils, and Foodstuffs Corporation) - on three major healthy food and beverage formulation projects.
Some of the biggest contributors of calories, sat fats and added sugar in the American diet are also the largest contributors of vital nutrients, says a new study highlighting some potentially unintended consequences of diets that just focus on calorie...
While just 7% of Americans identify themselves as vegetarian, more than a third of shoppers (36%) buy meat alternatives, suggesting the category is appealing to a far broader demographic, according to a consumer survey conducted by Mintel.
There may be some sense in the old advice to eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper, according to new research that links high calorie intake at breakfast with greater weight loss and reduced disease risk.
NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg says the decision of the state appeals court to reject his proposed ban on selling super-size sodas is “a temporary setback” and says he plans to “appeal this decision as we continue the fight against the obesity epidemic”.
Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS) CEO Larry Young says the firm is very concerned by US sales declines in diet sodas and the company’s below average performance in that category.
Coca-Cola says it is confident it will prevail in a deceptive marketing lawsuit filed more than four years ago alleging it misled consumers by promoting Vitaminwater as a healthy ‘nutrient-enhanced water beverage’.
Those who feel uneasy about the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics’ (AND’s) ties with corporate sponsors such as Pepsi and McDonald’s argue that getting into bed with such purveyors of ‘junk food’ - however transparently or responsibly you go about...
Two weeks after announcing a parting of ways with Californian joint venture (JV) partner and algae expert Solazyme, French ingredients giant Roquette says it will be showcasing two microalgae-based food ingredients at the IFT show in Chicago.
Capping the portion size of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) served in food-service outlets at 16oz - as per NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s plan - would likely reduce Americans’ sugar and calorie consumption, and would not disproportionately impact low-income...
