The flow of caffeinated foods hitting the US market “slowed to a trickle” after Wrigley pulled its Alert Energy gum in the wake of the FDA probe into caffeine, says Datamonitor. But it’s too early to write off this trend just yet, as consumers still crave...
Cargill has unveiled IngreVita, a proprietary blend of high oleic canola oil, antioxidants and long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) from fish oil that it claims will take omega-3 food and beverage fortification from the niche to the mainstream.
Alpha-linolenic acid-rich canola oil, in combination with a low glycemic index diet, may help improve blood sugar control and other measures of heart health, says a new study from Canada.
Jimmy Dean sausage maker Hillshire Brands has recommended terminating its agreement to acquire Pinnacle Foods in the wake of the $63/share takeover offer from Tyson Foods.
United Natural Foods Inc. the dominant force in organic and natural food distribution in North America, says its acquisiton of Tony’s Fine Foods will help it stave off competition in the space from more mainstream distributors.
US dairy consumption patterns “have shifted away from plain fluid milk to highly processed forms of dairy that are little more than vessels for salt, sugar, and fat”, while cash from the dairy checkoff scheme is being used to promote ‘junk foods’ such...
The frozen food aisle has historically suffered from a bit of an image problem, given consumers’ long association with frozen TV dinners and freezer-burned commodity vegetable bags. But the growing interest in premium offerings among increasingly time-strapped...
From drinkable grains to Non-GMO verified, Sterling-Rice Group has identified 10 natural and organic food trends that are starting to influence the mainstream grocery market. Are you up to speed?
General Mills has developed a high-protein variant of its flagship cereal brand Cheerios using soy – a product it says will sit comfortably in the mainstream breakfast aisle.
The US soymilk category remains in a funk according to a new report, which shows retail sales - which topped $1bn five years ago - slumped 8.5% to $638m in 2013, while sales of soy-based meat alternatives fell 1% to $776m, despite all the excitement...
A bill that would have required firms to label genetically engineered foods in California has failed to secure sufficient votes in the state senate to pass into law.
Health and other consumer benefits may help make transgenic or genetically engineered (GE) food more acceptable to consumers, but the food industry needs to be more transparent to win back trust, says the immediate past president of IFT.
General Mills and Kellogg have dismissed Oxfam’s claim that they are the ‘worst offenders’ on global greenhouse gas emissions and not doing enough to tackle climate change.
A recent analysis of more than 1,500 cereals, including 181 marketed for children, by the Environmental Working Group found that a person eating an average serving of cereal a day for a year ends up consuming 10 pounds of sugar.
The cost of New York State adopting labeling of GMO ingredient in food products could increase the cost of food for a family of four by $800 per year, says a new economic study from Cornell University. The results have been described as “out of line and...
Big Interview: Sarah Pike, CEO & founder of Buen Sabor
The daughter of parents who owned one of the first certified organic farms in Maine, Sarah Pike grew up in a big family for whom the freezer was the preservation tool of choice for home-cooked food.
There’s a reason why beef burgers are so popular, says Cluck ‘n Moo founder Steve Gold. They taste great and they are really succulent. But what if you could have the same great taste with less than half the saturated fat and 32% fewer calories?
What does it take to get to the top of a leading food and beverage company? Can you still make it from the shop-floor to the boardroom? Is an MBA essential? And do operations managers or R&D directors ever get to lead Fortune 500 companies, or do...
Guest article: Mischa Popoff, author, Is it Organic?
I worked for five years as a USDA-contract organic inspector after growing up on an organic grain farm in Saskatchewan. I had the pleasure of inspecting over 500 organic farms and processors, but I began questioning this career path when I realized the...
US retail sales of organic products grew 11.5% to $35.1bn in 2013, the strongest growth the industry has seen in five years, according to new data from the Organic Trade Association (OTA), which is predicting even higher growth of 12% this year.
As anti-GMO activists celebrated their first major victory in Vermont this week with the passage of GMO labeling bill H112, the GMA said it would mount a legal challenge within weeks. But while big food companies may well win the courtroom battle ahead,...
Consuming probiotics may decrease the duration of common upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) by up to a day, compared to placebo, according to findings published in the British Journal of Nutrition.
The FDA’s “flawed” 2009 draft guidance on ‘evaporated cane juice’ has put food manufacturers and retailers between a rock and a hard place when deciding what to put on their labels, says a group of leading manufacturers.
Kellogg subsidiary Kashi has joined a growing list of big food companies that have agreed to stop using the term ‘all-natural’ to describe certain products in response to a tidal wave of civil litigation over the controversial term.
84% of US consumers buy organic food sometimes, and 45% of them buy it at least once a month, according to a new national survey of 1,016 adults. However, there is a disparity between what they think the organic seal means and what they think it should...
While calorie labeling on restaurant menus is still in its infancy - as is academic research attempting to measure its impact - a new study suggests it is not driving a significant change in consumer behavior.
They’re addicted to their smartphones, big fans of social networking sites, and more likely than their parents to buy store brands. But what else do we know about Millennials - the 100 million Americans born between 1980 and 2000?
Kashi has lost some distribution in the past 12-18 months, but brand owner Kellogg says it will prove to consumers that Kashi is still a pioneer in the field of ‘progressive nutrition’.
An Abbott Laboratories shareholder proposal to label genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) in its Similac infant formula range received about 5% of the vote, and has been rejected by the company.
Want to learn more about the gluten-free market? Click HERE to tune into FoodNavigator’s online forum to learn about celiac disease and gluten sensitivity, the size of the gluten-free prize, who buys gluten-free products, and why.
Dietary recommendations for protein intake should be increased for healthy older adults to 1.0 to 1.2 g protein/kg body weight/day, says an international team of experts.
“We could have expanded our market massively and aggressively if we said we’ll deliver anything to anyone, anywhere at any time. But we’d also have lost a lot of money,” says the president and CEO of one of the most successful online grocery platforms...
Just over three months after launching in the US market, grocery coupon app Checkout 51 has attracted an eye-boggling 1.4 million users, and expects to attract tens of millions more. Why? Because it’s really easy to use, says co-founder Noah Godfrey.
Consumers are confused about what evaporated cane juice (ECJ) is, but the FDA’s preferred term - ‘dried cane syrup’ - is not much better, according to one of the first groups to respond to the agency’s new request for comments on ECJ.
In the latest edition of FoodNavigator-USA’s What do you do? series, we talked with head of the technical services, nutrition and regulatory departments at hummus manufacturing giant Sabra about the growing collaboration between human nutrition and food...
Hillshire Brands has struck a $165m deal to buy frozen breakfast and snack foods maker Van's Natural Foods from private equity firm Catterton Partners.
Consumers have spent years paying over the odds for organic foods based on the erroneous belief - promulgated by stakeholders with a vested interest - that they are healthier and safer than their conventional counterparts, claims a controversial new report.
Chobani has unveiled a raft of new products that will start hitting shelves this summer, including Chobani Oats - yogurt mixed with fruit and oats; Chobani Indulgent - its first desserts; and Chobani Kids - snack packs for kids.
Historically a mainstay brand in ethnic grocery stores and the international aisle of supermarkets, Goya has grown into much more than an ingredient company—with a portfolio of more than 2,000 SKUs ranging from beans and olive oil to coconut milk and...
Last year Professor Mark Post sparked international interest with the unveiling, and tasting, of the world's first lab-grown meat. Since then he's been working to iron out technical issues so that commercially available lab-grown meat can become...
Can food be too convenient? Just ask General Mills, which saw sales of its Betty Crocker instant bakery mixes skyrocket in the 1950s as soon as it asked users to add an egg, which made housewives feel more invested in the process. But what can we learn...
There are just two weeks to go until FoodNavigator’s live (and hopefully very lively) online debate on one of the hottest trends in food development: gluten-free.
If you want to see what success looks like in US grocery retailing, look no further than Trader Joe’s. Its unique combination of affordable prices, innovative private label items and gourmet, organic, and natural foods have helped drive sales per square...
Peruviuan cuisine is a hot culinary trend and a “powerful funnel for bringing resurgent South American cuisine into the US food retail and foodservice market”, according to a new report from Packaged Facts.