Benefits and risks of coffee drinking on consumer health are the
focus of two new studies that ultimately reveal the positive, or
negligible impact, of this popular beverage.
Variation in taste genes could open up new opportunities for the
food industry, as well as parents, to devise better strategies to
enhance fruit and vegetable acceptance in children who are
sensitive to bitter taste, claim researchers.
Ongoing pressure from consumers for quality meat ingredients drives
food technologists in the US to investigate biochemical mechanisms
for tender meat.
Scientists have identified a molecular mechanism in the liver that explains how consuming foods rich in saturated fats and trans-fatty acids can send blood levels of cholesterol and triglycerides soaring.
Shedding light on how the carcinogen furan forms in foods,
scientists have opened up possible solutions to tackle this
potential problem for the food industry.
Sales for food enzymes crept up by a slight two per cent in 2004
for number one enzymes player Novozymes, but a boost in low carb
beverages continues to lift profit.
Evidence continues to mount suggesting the benefits of moderate
drinking to overall health with a new study on over 4,000 older
women finding a daily drink could sharpen the mind.
Peanuts are in the news again as being healthy - despite their
high-fat levels - as researchers suggest that they may be as rich
in antioxidants as many fruits.
Meeting the challenge of organoleptic changes when fat is removed
from low fat formulations, Chr Hansen launches a new culture to
improve texture in sour cream and buttermilk, writes Lindsey
Partos.
New fundamental research could open up opportunities for flavorists
trying to harness plant pathways to produce essential oils used as
flavor additives.
The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is trying to focus
attention away from the winter storms and towards the summer by
highlighting two new peach varieties it has developed.
Scientists from the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) announced a
year ago they had completed the first draft on the honeybee genome;
they are now using these findings to uncover new ways to keep
honeybees healthy.
Enjoyment of food may well be linked to distraction, conclude
researchers investigating the act of tasting food through recent
theories of pleasure and pain.
Colour does not appear to dictate lycopene content as green, purple
and red tomato ketchups boast similar levels of health promoting
antioxidant lycopene, claim researchers, who also identified dark
red ketchup as boasting the strongest...
Stopping the distribution of contaminated foods from the farm to
the fork is a ceaseless challenge for the food industry that relies
heavily on technology to identify any anomalies.
Food scientists continue the challenge to come up with food
ingredients suitable for consumers unable to eat wheat, rye or
barley-based foods because of a reaction to the gluten protein
found in these grains.
Danisco has launched a series of products aimed at helping the
baking industry cope with the move towards whole grain products
that is expected in the US in 2005.
Genomic tools help scientists gain an insight into the roots of
foodborne disease and to identify clues about why some strains of
the bacterium campylobacter - which each year cause more than 400
million cases of gastrointestinal...
Breakthrough science for the popular fruit ingredient, the
strawberry, as UK scientists construct the world's first molecular
map for the wild strawberry, opening up opportunities to create
market leading varieties with improved...
The majority of African-Americans should be increasing their intake
of calcium in order to reduce the risk of contracting a number of
serious diseases according to a study published this week.
A key compound in red wine could have a direct beneficial effect on
heart cells, report researchers from the US, building on a raft of
science that suggests this popular beverage could play a role in
preventing heart disease.
Just one serving of peanuts or peanut butter a day can help
children and adults meet requirements for nutrients often lacking
in American diets, according to a a new study from the Pennsylvania
State University.
Understanding the genetic make-up of rice will help scientists to
map the genomes of corn and sorghum crops, say US researchers, at
at time when scientists are keen to promote the gluten-free
benefits of sorghum in food formulations.
The knowledge gap between why people with low 'bad' cholesterol
levels are still susceptible to heart attacks could be near to
closing with breakthrough research from a nutritional food
scientist suggesting that the little...
New techniques to minimise the risk of harmful food pathogen E.
coli in fermented dry sausages could be on the way as scientists
find acidic conditions encountered during the digestive process may
not be enough to inactivate some...
Northwestern University is seeking to discover whether lycopene -
an antioxidant commonly found in tomatoes and tomato-based products
and commonly perceived to reduce the risk of developing prostate
cancer - can reverse pre-cancerous...
The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) has launched a database
that lists the level of fluoride in 400 separate food and beverage
items, useful for researchers investigating optimium consumption
levels of the mineral.
Research into walnuts, a key ingredient used in a range of cake
products will help lift stagnant sales for food makers in the
sector giving them an opportunity to cash in on the growing
functional food market, reports Lindsey Partos.
A large sample study in the US finds that obesity could more than
double an older woman's risk of acute myelogenous leukaemia (AML),
an often fatal cancer of the bone marrow and blood.
Tracking food cravings in the brain could lead to 'good food'
solutions to tackle the growing incidence of obesity as researchers
use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to identify
regions of the brain involved...
As governments challenge the high consumption of salt in their
nations' diets, US researchers have shed light on a controversial
30 year old theory that suggests the high rate of hypertension in
certain ethnic groups is caused,...
Investigations into the benefits of a low calorie diet have led
scientists to pinpoint the gene responsible for an increase in life
span in flies on a calorie-restricted diet, paving the way to
further elucidate the health and longevity...
Individuals, health officials and the food industry must act now to
halt the alarming proportion of low-income Asian and Pacific
Islander children in California becoming overweight, if the figures
of study published last week are...
Health promoting compounds found in honey could make this
ingredient a more attractive option for food makers currently using
bulk sweeteners such as high-fructose corn syrup, say scientists in
the US, and looking to jump on board...
Powerhouse antioxidants contained in three or more pieces of fruit
and vegetables a day could severely reduce the risk of developing
cancer of the lymphatic system with broccoli and cabbage showing
particularly strong benefits.
The New Jersey based food technology company Prime Favorites, has
started marketing a product to remove the bitter taste of potassium
chloride in foods.
A low-carbohydrate diet improved cholesterol levels of severely
obese people and may also curb markers of inflammation better than
a reduced-fat diet, suggests a six-month study.
Scientists at the Emory University Health Sciences Centre are
hoping to widen the understanding of an enzyme that breaks down
caffeine into theophylline, using bacteria that need the breakdown
product of the enzyme for survival.
Resources are being poured into research on a health promoting
ingredient used widely in the food industry as scientists set to
sequence a portion of the gene-rich regions of 12 tomato
chromosomes.
An editorial in the British Medical Journal this month that
concludes criticisms of aspartame are 'unfounded' adds fuel to the
ongoing debate surrounding this popular sweetener used widely in
food and beverage applications.
Risk management strategies in place to minimise the harmful food
pathogen salmonella in chickens could focus on the eggshell, as
scientists in the US find that poorer quality eggshells allow the
bacteria to break through into the...
Food fortified with folic acid slashed rates of neural tube defects
in babies finds new study from Canada that puts weight behind calls
for global fortification of foods, as well as supplement use.