Natural colors expert Chr. Hansen has been exploring whether it is commercially viable to produce carmine - a natural red food color currently made from crushed cochineal insects - via a controlled fermentation process.
The pace of progress on the joint development program of Cargill and Evolva to produce fermentation-based steviol glycosides is ‘exceeding expectations’ with the resulting ingredients potentially hitting the market earlier than expected.
The International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) has slightly reduced its cocoa deficit forecast for the current crop year and says there are ample stocks for chocolate manufacturers, but a deficit next year could raise prices.
Food companies that only use certified sustainable palm oil have been accused of “certifying destruction”, according to a Greenpeace report released to coincide with the first European Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) summit in Berlin this week.
Mondelez International plans to close older ‘subscale’ facilities and will open five previously unannounced sites by 2020 as part of a five-step supply chain efficiency program.
Consumer demand for hotter, spicier, foods has continued to increase on both sides of the Atlantic, says natural extracts specialist Kalsec, which has tied up with Mintel to develop ‘heat indexes’ measuring usage of peppers in retail and foodservice.
The FDA is planning a consumer study to find out whether fortifying snack foods with vitamins or other healthy ingredients and shouting about it on pack could lead shoppers to believe that a diet of nutrient-enriched junk food is nutritionally viable.
While any flavor house with sufficient resources can monitor what’s happening in stores, restaurants and bars to get a sense of emerging trends, this only tells you what’s happening now, not what the future might taste like, says Firmenich senior marketing...
Fair Trade USA has finalized its labeling policy after over six months of consultation. NGO Fair World Project supports some of the changes but feels the policy does not go far enough to combat exploitative sugar sourcing.
While there’s been a lot of buzz around the FDA’s recent approval of spirulina extract as a natural blue food color for candy and gum, WILD Flavors says its fruit-juice-derived blue color - which has been on the US market since 2009 - has broader applications...
Researchers have created antimicrobial packaging films containing high flavanol cocoa extracts that they say inhibits the growth of pathogens like listeria, E-coli and salmonella in food products.
You can’t paint a horse like a cow and expect people not to notice – but grind their meat into patties and it may be a different story. So what makes an ingredient vulnerable to food fraud?
Whetstone Chocolate Factory is to begin manufacturing Yowie-branded toy-filled chocolate eggs in the US as its licensor initiates legal action against an alleged imitator.
We’ve delved into the ConfectioneryNews archives to chart newly built factories and major investments on existing plants by the industry’s major players over the past five years to discover where capacity is moving.
A lawsuit brought by American Licorice accusing Total Sweeteners of breaching its contract by supplying molasses tainted with lead will proceed, a Californian district judge has ruled.
Big interview: Jay Klein, founder & CEO, Action Candy Company (PÜR Gum)
You don’t launch a new brand in the gum category by calling the buyer at Walmart and asking nicely for some shelf-space at the checkout between Juicy Fruit and Trident, observes the founder of aspartame-free PÜR Gum.
The FDA’s decision to give the thumbs up to spirulina as a source of blue color in candy and gum finally gives US firms a natural alternative to artificial FD&C Blue #1 ('brilliant blue') and opens up new opportunities in natural greens,...
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...
Is your brand getting some decent bang for the bucks you spend on paid-for (‘promoted’) tweets? The answer, according to a new trial with 35 big names in consumer packaged goods (CPG) including Mondelez, is YES.
Many US supermarkets are stuck in a timewarp, and their market share will continue to decline unless they makes radical strategic changes, according to a provocative new report from Hartman Strategy.
Gum sales are still down for the category's second largest player, but the segment might be showing its first signs of recovery, according to Mondelez’s CEO.
A Minnesota-based firm making waves with anthocyanin-packed purple-corn ingredients says it has had significant interest from the snack food market, but is also talking to microbrewers, confectioners, and firms manufacturing everything from sourdough...
What precedent might it set if firms are forced to label foods made using new technologies, even if the end product does not differ in any meaningful way from foods developed by ‘traditional’ methods?
A US startup part-funded by celebrities has ‘unjunked’ America’s favorite candy bars and says it is serious about taking on the industry's major players.
Hershey, Mars and Nestlé USA have been allowed to scrutinize transaction data from two of their customers that could determine which type of customers have a valid claim for damages in an ongoing US lawsuit alleging that the companies conspired to fix...
From California to Washington, and from Connecticut to Vermont, initiatives to label the presence of ingredients derived from genetically modified foods are dominating headlines. Despite this, the CEO of BI Nutraceuticals doesn’t think we’ll see government...
Stevia sweeteners can now be developed through fermentation – rather than extraction from stevia plants – but it is the plant-based message that is most important to consumers, according to (plant-derived) stevia supplier PureCircle.
Open innovation used to be just for the likes of P&G and Unilever, but today, it's being embraced by a lot of mid-sized companies in the $100m-$1bn revenue range as well, according to Andy Zynga, CEO of open innovation expert and corporate matchmaking...
As the pressure to source sustainable palm oil has intensified, several big names in the US from Kroger and Walmart to McDonald’s and Dunkin Donuts have said that by 2015, they will only use RSPO (Round Table for Sustainable Palm Oil) certified products.
A lawsuit filed in Hawaii alleges that Cargill is misleading shoppers by marketing its Truvia retail products as ‘natural’ as the Reb-A steviol glycosides they contain are "highly chemical processed" and the bulking agent used (erythritol) is...
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...
Day three of the show began with a lively education session on genetically engineered crops - and whether to label foods containing ingredients derived from them - (standing room only), followed by a final whistle-stop tour of the expo floor to see what’s...
On day two of the IFT show in Chicago, the FoodNavigator-USA team headed once more unto the breach (well, the show-floor) at McCormick Place to check out the latest developments in food and beverage development, labeling and regulation.
After ‘exceeding expectations’ last year, Walmart is giving American entrepreneurs and business owners another chance to get their innovative products to the market.
The good news: Around 15% of global palm oil produced in the past year was certified by the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). The bad news: Only half of it earned a premium, which doesn’t sound like a great recipe for inspiring more producers...
FoodNavigator-USA's intrepid editorial team headed to the windy city to chew the fat (or maybe replace it with algae) with the great and the good of the global food industry, and keep up to speed with the latest developments in everything from open...
Wrigley has filed a patent to use a compound in gum that creates a cooling sensation without unwanted flavors and odors associated with options currently on the market.
Food innovation, from concept to consumer brand, will soon be the focus of a new television show, with ‘Supermarket Superstar’ giving entrepreneurs the opportunity to compete for a spot on supermarket shelves.
There is a strong inverse association in the percentage of energy that we consume from fats and sugars, which may be why many struggle to reduce both fat and sugar intake, according to a new review.
An anonymous Fortune 500 packaged foods company is looking for help in creating a chocolate enrobed cookie that can withstand high temperatures in warm climates.
