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14-Feb-2012 - About 75% of the sodium in our diets comes from processed foods. It’s a regularly cited figure – but what exactly is a ‘processed’ food? Consumers might be surprised.

Brazilian oranges in America’s favorite juice. Why the surprise?

24-Jan-2012 - So, the US imports quite a lot of orange juice from Brazil. The fact that so many are surprised by that underlines (again) how poorly we understand our food supply.

FoodNavigator-USA predicts top five industry influences in 2012

03-Jan-2012 - As the New Year begins, FoodNavigator-USA predicts the top five factors likely to have the greatest impact on the US food and beverage industry in the year ahead.

Sugary cereals: Time for industry to do the right thing for kids

08-Dec-2011 - Kellogg’s Honey Smacks is not marketed to children, a company spokesperson told this publication yesterday. Really? Then what’s up with the big cartoon frog?

The illusion of choice? Healthy choices are easier in healthy environments

29-Nov-2011 - Losing or maintaining weight clearly involves taking responsibility for food and lifestyle choices – but creating a healthier environment could help more people do just that.

Another day, another food safety scandal – so where’s the cash?

07-Nov-2011 - Dilly-dallying over whether to dish up an extra $1.4bn over five years to implement the Food Safety Modernization Act is not only scandalous – it’s also false economy.

IOM front-of-pack labeling scheme: It’s bold, it’s simple and I love it. But is it fair?

21-Oct-2011 - The Institute of Medicine (IOM) certainly didn’t pull any punches in its front-of-pack labels report yesterday.

‘Not for women’: Tongue-in-cheek or just plain sexist?

13-Oct-2011 - Diet soda is ladylike but low-calorie soda is manly. It might seem like a subtle difference, but that’s the only thing that’s subtle about the blundering marketing campaign for Dr. Pepper Ten.

The uncomfortable truth about Campbell's salt u-turn

18-Jul-2011 - It’s enraged dieticians and delighted the Salt Institute. But Campbell Soup’s high-profile u-turn on sodium raises some difficult questions about reformulation for all stakeholders.

Back to school: Why history offers lessons for nutrition’s future

06-Jul-2011 - Understanding how our ancestors ate and appreciating what nutrients we need from an evolutionary perspective is finally getting the headlines it deserves – the nutrition industry should take note.

EU researchers revolted as EFSA clears health claims vault

04-Jul-2011 - The European Food Safety Authority last week delivered the fifth batch of article 13, general function health claim opinions bringing the total issued to 2723. There are just 35 to go – to be published next month in a final mini-batch that will conclude the task begun in August 2008.

Risk, rationality and that schizophrenic beast called the food industry

27-Jun-2011 - If the food industry wants journalists and consumers to get real about risk, then it has to get real too.

FDA's enforcement deserves loud applause

13-Jun-2011 - A flurry of seizures, criminal charges, and warning letters shows that FDA is increasing it enforcement of dietary supplement regulations. Good for FDA and good for industry!

Sodium vs. salt: Let’s agree to disagree

02-May-2011 - The United States lists sodium on nutrition labels while salt is more common in the European Union. Salt and sodium are not the same, and a standardized term would only cause confusion.

Novel foods progress may mean removing clones

04-Apr-2011 - All is not well down on the novel foods farm. If food innovation in Europe is to thrive anew, MEPs and the Council need to get past the recriminations over the failed talks and remove the troublesome question of cloned foods from the negotiating table.

A happy medium for sodium reduction

29-Mar-2011 - Let’s hear it for compromise. It’s not often that a middle-ground solution is championed, but the National Salt Reduction Initiative is gaining support precisely because it has not strong-armed anyone into action.

Too early to start praising PepsiCo for new plant bottle

28-Mar-2011 - The new PepsiCo plant bottle appears to tick all the “green” boxes for a disposable drinks bottle but the innovation should not be taken too seriously until it arrives on shelves.

Women. The most wasted resource in food production

08-Mar-2011 - Today is Pancake Day. It is also International Women’s Day. An important date, then, not just for food lovers in countries where Mardi Gras is a big deal, but a day to consider the role – and the potential – of women involved in food provision all over the world.

The balancing act of allergen labelling

01-Mar-2011 - The food industry has a responsibility to label allergenic ingredients as big and bold as they can – but also not to over-egg the slimmest of slim possibilities that a trace amount of an allergen may have slipped into a product.

Arab Revolt underlines the need for action to remedy high food prices

21-Feb-2011 - When Tunisian street vegetable vendor Mohamed Bouazizi chose to end his life in fiery suicide, no one could have foreseen the firestorm his death would unleash across the Arab world. But, two months later, as the Arab Revolt shows no sign of fading, the lessons to be drawn about food security are becoming abundantly clear.

‘Eat less’: A difficult message for industry

07-Feb-2011 - The new dietary guidelines give the food industry the clearest map yet of what is necessary for a healthy diet – but no one is fooled by assertions that industry is already in line.

Sugar: regulatory sweet nothings leave food and drink makers in limbo

02-Feb-2011 - Jazz singer Nina Simone’s plaintive, “I want a little sugar in my bowl”, will strike the right note with Europe’s beleaguered sugar industry.

Newsweek slams antioxidants: Yawn!

31-Jan-2011 - Monday mornings are never easy. As I read yet another article slamming antioxidants the desire to yawn was stronger than normal.

The naked truth about kids’ food advertising

24-Jan-2011 - It was an Emperor’s New Clothes moment for the US food industry last week, when it was revealed that a major initiative touting its responsible advertising to kids actually allows promotion of many unhealthy foods. Is anyone really surprised?

EC complacency on dioxins weakens Europe’s food safety standing

19-Jan-2011 - The complacency being exhibited by Brussels over the ongoing dioxin contamination incident is every bit as concerning as the carcinogenic chemical that has found its way into the food and feed chains since the end of last year.