Breaking News on Food & Beverage Development - North America EU edition
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Time to get serious on health claims criteria
15-Oct-2007 - The European Food Safety Authority's task to assess thousands of health claims is a headache in anyone's book - and one made worse through vague instructions to industry.
Will value-added lose out to the basics?
09-Oct-2007 - Food companies have been focussing on value-added products in a bid to reduce their reliance on commodities, which can fluctuate wildly and deliver slim margins. But now that prices of basic foods are at an all-time high, can value-added foods still compete for their share of the consumer buck?
Ripping the red tape
01-Oct-2007 - They say that patience is a virtue. But when it comes to the regulatory process on both sides of the Atlantic, patience too often results in dust gathering in the "to do" box on some regulator's desk.
Consumers and the confidence crisis
24-Sep-2007 - Consumer demand - the holy grail of any industry - is a fragile and easily manipulated treasure. But influencing consumers for anything other than their own benefit will, more often than not, carry unintended consequences.
Arnie and the clones
17-Sep-2007 - Cloned foods have not yet made it to our grocery aisles, but in the advent of such a rollout consumers must have a defined right to decide if they want to swallow the technology or not.
Hooked on Es
10-Sep-2007 - This comment was amended to correct a statement about bans of additives in other countries. Some of the chemicals were previously banned by Norway, Austria and Australia but those bans have since been removed. Allura red AC, tartrazine and sunset yellow are allowed in the US, while quinoline yellow, carmoisine and ponceau 4R are not. None of the colour additives are currently banned by Australia, which lifted a ban on quinoline yellow in 2003. The country does not permit tartrazine to be used in medicines.
Food prices and the death of the productionist model
04-Sep-2007 - Last week saw a string of communications about food price rises: first warnings were aired about wheat, then meat, then dairy. It's a vertiginous view from the heights of the commodity markets, and it's clearer than ever before that we need to re-jig our basic food supply systems if we are to feed the world in the future.
Is it harsh? Is it fair? No it's a consumer watchdog
27-Aug-2007 - In 1993, it seemed superheroes had reached their lowest peak when Superman was slain by an unstoppable monster known as "Doomsday".
A helping hand to the confused consumer
13-Aug-2007 - Consumers are bombarded with an overload of nutritional advice and product marketing - be it from magazines, television shows, and product advertising - and without a degree in nutritional science, it's a wonder they can make sense of it at all.
Reflections from IFT
06-Aug-2007 - As the dust settles on this year's IFT Food Expo 2007 in Chicago, health and wellness and food safety came through as the star performers, and drivers for the future of the industry.
Could the E-number be up?
23-Jul-2007 - The European Food Safety Authority's review of additive safety could have a bigger effect on the ingredients industry than the ejection of certain colours and flavours with a suspect safety record. It could give the natural ingredients trend an extra push, and possibly prove the death-knell for the ne'er loved E number system.
The aspartame science kerfuffle
09-Jul-2007 - The publication of a new animal study on aspartame last month has - as expected -sparked yet another bout of head butting from the two opposing sides of the debate. But it also highlights a bigger issue: one of transparency.
M&A: Urge to merge
02-Jul-2007 - Mergers and acquisition activity is always ongoing in every segment of industry, but this summer looks to be a particularly hot one for food and beverage manufacturers.
Clinical trials - gold standard or white elephant?
25-Jun-2007 - Randomised clinical trials are the ultimate. Forget what the observational studies tell us, if the RCT gives us an answer it must be the final word, right? Wrong.
A sobering thought for the alcohol industry
18-Jun-2007 - Much against my own better judgement, there are some issues it seems, where corporate social responsibility must really live up to its name and truly look after its consumers.
Could organic eat itself?
04-Jun-2007 - Just when organic food has begun to make a noticeable dent in the overall food market, air freighting - a measure that solves the segment's biggest current problem - is facing potential prohibition.
Masterfoods and the vegetarianisation of food
21-May-2007 - Masterfoods' U-turn over its plan to reformulate its famous confectionery brands using animal-derived whey sets a precedent that will prevent any other food manufacturer from flying in the face of the global trend towards the vegetarianisation of our food.
Ingredients for cheap?
07-May-2007 - As recent incidents of food contamination demonstrate, the cheapest source for ingredients may not turn out to be so cheap after all.
Training the salt of the earth
30-Apr-2007 - On International Labour Day, workers across the world will be raising a glass in honour of the salt of the earth.
Ditch the marketing madness
23-Apr-2007 - Marketing strategies - two words that incorporate everything from pseudo scientific research to shock value advertising campaigns. But shouldn't honesty be the best policy?
Food contamination: time for action
16-Apr-2007 - At a time when so many resources are being pumped into improving consumer health through food, it is pitifully ironic that more and more people are getting sick or dying from what they eat because of safety slips.
You cannot judge a juice by its cover
10-Apr-2007 - Have you heard this one before? There are two blackcurrants, one has a high vitamin content and the other - well it doesn't.
Wanted: testing for supplements
02-Apr-2007 - The dietary supplement industry needs an independent testing program that is recognizable to consumers in order to enhance the credibility of its products as well as encourage solid science and sourcing.
Swallow your tongue
26-Mar-2007 - Fluffy language is increasingly clogging up the information air passages, and the food and drink industry must accept blame like everyone else.
Rise and shine: the GM wake-up call
19-Mar-2007 - News that a variety of GM corn produced signs of liver and kidney toxicity in rats should be a wake-up call for better testing and more transparency from biotechs, if GMOs are to be accepted by increasingly sceptical consumers.
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