CPG companies are lowering sodium content, including through stealth-health, while larger market trends around clean-label might be distracting companies for developing healthier and more nutritious products, Tia Rains, VP of science, innovation, and...
Research shows school meals are the healthiest source of nutrition for most students in the US, but the US Department of Agriculture thinks they can be healthier, which is why it is proposing stricter standards that would reduce added sugars, fat and...
The FDA has issued long-awaited final guidance for the food industry outlining voluntary, short-term (2.5 year) sodium reduction targets for 163 categories of packaged, prepared, and restaurant foods.
As part of a broad effort to reverse an alarming and profound increase in childhood obesity in the US during the pandemic, FDA is seeking to improve children’s diets, and is also taking steps to limit exposure to toxic elements in baby food and reduce...
The School Nutrition Association (SNA) wants Congress to once again delay stricter sodium targets and roll back whole grain requirements for school meals out of fear that students will reject the changes and drop out of feeding programs, many of which...
The FDA is aiming to release long-awaited voluntary sodium reduction goals and draft guidance on the labeling of plant-based milk alternatives in the next 12 months.
It’s well-known that the smaller the salt crystals, the saltier they taste, which means less is more, an enticing proposition for snack makers looking to reduce sodium. However, simply finely grinding table salt and sprinkling it on potato chips won’t...
In 2010, the Institute of Medicine urged the FDA to tackle sodium in processed foods. In 2016, the FDA proposed voluntary guidelines, setting two-year and 10-year goals for 158 food categories… but they were never finalized. So is 2021 – with a new administration...
We’ve scoured the four corners of the earth to bring you an exciting and exotic selection of treats – from South Korean, Kellogg’s has released a green onion-flavoured Chex cereal, Jammie Dodgers are again available in vegan variants in the UK and, across...
Mediterranean Umami – a clean-label sodium reduction ingredient combining sea salt, tomato concentrates, mushroom and seaweed extracts – is gaining traction in the plant-based meat space as firms come under increasing pressure to reduce sodium, says Israeli...
Public health advocates are lauding a federal court decision that strikes down a final rule published by USDA in late 2018 that they say rolled back nutrition standards for school meals, but which the School Nutrition Association says provided much-needed...
Food industry stakeholders have pushed back hard on the FDA’s proposal to permit the term ‘potassium chloride salt’ on food labels as an alternative to ‘potassium chloride,’ arguing that anything with the word ‘chloride’ in it is not consumer-friendly...
The FDA’s proposal to permit the term ‘potassium chloride salt’ on food labels as a more consumer-friendly alternative to ‘potassium chloride’ has not gone down well with Campbell Soup, which favors the term ‘potassium salt.’
The FDA says it will accept the term ‘potassium chloride salt’ instead of ‘potassium chloride’ on food labels in a bid to demystify the popular salt replacer for consumers, although industry stakeholders lobbying for a name change had hoped it would ditch...
Leading executives at Heart & Stroke, Hypertension Canada, Diabetes Canada, and Dietitians of Canada have joined a growing number of food manufacturers and retailers urging Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to allow ‘potassium...
New research showing that 98% of homes have packaged food that exceeds the recommended amount of sodium, despite drastic reductions in the last 15 years, should be a wake-up call for manufacturers to cut back on the mineral even more and for consumers...
FDA should ‘expedite evaluation’ of NuTek potassium salt petition, says GMA
Two years isn’t enough time for food manufacturers to make the kind of reductions in sodium that the FDA is asking for, says the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), which also urges the agency to tweak the wording of its guidance in order to avoid...
Finding solutions to reduce sodium, sugar and calories in finished products is essential as regulators and consumers demand healthier products – but the increasing desire for “clean labels” adds a complicating twist to the process of sourcing suitable...
New research from market intelligence company CivicScience suggests changing consumer attitudes about healthy eating could mean manufacturers can shed their years-old “stealth health” approach to product reformulation without fear that sodium-, sugar-...
In an effort to prevent upwards of 500,000 premature deaths from heart attacks and strokes in the next 10 years, FDA has set ambitious sodium reduction targets for food manufacturers and restaurants across nearly 150 food categories to be met in the next...
FDA: We are eveloping draft voluntary targets for sodium reduction
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is suing the FDA in a bid to compel it to respond to a 2005 petition requesting that it revoke the GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status of salt and treat it as a food additive under the law.
Advances in technology can help firms more quickly and easily reduce sodium in breads and grain-based packaged foods – a previously repetitive and expensive trial and error process, according to Janice Johnson, food applications leader in salt at Cargill.
60-second interview: Mel Mann, Director of Flavor Innovation, Wixon
Food manufacturers are under increasing pressure to reduce sodium, but surveys suggest many shoppers are, well, not that bothered. So where does this leave firms plugging sodium reduction solutions?
Four years ago sodium was public enemy #1. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) was calling for the FDA to modify the GRAS status of salt and slash the daily value for sodium to 1,500mg, and the food industry was on high alert. Today, sugar is the new bogeyman,...
The vast majority of sodium reduction activity in the US food industry is now being conducted by ‘stealth’ in order to avoid alienating shoppers, according to Tate & Lyle.
Two leading food industry associations have urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) not to set category-by-category limits for sodium amid rumors that the agency is planning to outline a new sodium reduction strategy this year.
Looking ahead to the coming year, the biggest trends in R&D for the food and beverage industry will be clean label, natural ingredients and industry regulations, though there are several, more fragmented “micro” trends from sodium reduction and fiber...
Amid growing awareness in the US about reducing sodium in baked products, UK-based baking powder specialist Kudos Blends hopes to maintain strong growth across the pond with its zero-sodium potassium bicarbonate and low-sodium baking powders.
Read the full May 14 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report ‘Sodium intake in populations’ -all 200 pages of it - and the conclusion is clear: Excessive sodium consumption is bad for your heart, and all Americans need to cut back - a lot.
A new analysis of sodium levels in 480 packaged and restaurant foods over the period 2005-2011 provides further evidence that voluntary approaches to sodium reduction have not delivered the across-the-board reductions required to meet government targets.
The stealthy approach to sodium reduction in foods—cutting levels bit by bit so that consumers don’t notice—has evolved to the point that some observers question whether it is necessary at all. Understandably, those in the business of selling sodium reduction...
Special edition: Sodium reduction - The road ahead
Cost and the lack of a ‘silver bullet’ are still cited as an issue for reduced-sodium food, with savory products in general struggling with the challenge, but plenty of application-specific solutions abound, say industry players.
Special edition: Sodium reduction - The road ahead
Food manufacturers have spent a small fortune reformulating everything from bread to soup to reduce sodium in recent years, but new data suggests that US intakes have nevertheless continued to rise steadily.
Special edition: Sodium reduction - The road ahead
If consumers are not demanding lower-sodium products (at least not en masse), and the government does not mandate them, what incentive is there for manufacturers to make the kind of across-the-board reductions needed to deliver a meaningful reduction...
A new range of yeast extracts can deliver up to a 50% sodium reduction without compromising the taste or functional integrity of the finished product, according to Sensient Bio-Ingredients.
Big interview: Russ Moroz, VP Research Development & Quality, Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods has made significant cuts in sodium across its portfolio - and is currently working on “proprietary approaches to take this work to the next level” - but there is “not yet a silver bullet in the toolbox”, admit R&D chiefs at the firm.
Cargill has introduced a new system for up to 50% sodium reduction in a wide range of products, tailored to provide 1:1 salt replacement in three specific application areas.
If the government plans to set sodium reduction targets for food categories it should take into account progress already made by ‘proactive’ firms or risk unfairly penalizing companies that have taken the initiative, Subway has warned.
It's expensive, risky, and difficult, but manufacturers have made huge progress on sodium reduction in recent years. But how much further can they go, and where is the ROI if consumers are at best indifferent to their efforts, or at worst downright...
Suggestions by the Salt Association and other industry associations that sodium reductions could hurt rather than improve health are “not supported by science”, the American Heart Association (AHA) has insisted.
If consumers are not demanding lower-sodium products, and the government does not mandate reductions, the food industry has “no incentive to be at the forefront of change”, according to one legal expert.
Canada continues to stall on sodium reduction guidelines for industry, after a document detailing voluntary targets was conspicuously absent from a two-day healthcare summit with provincial and territorial ministers in Halifax late last month.
60-second interview: Mariano Gascon, VP research & development, Wixon
Food manufacturers are under increasing pressure to reduce sodium, but surveys suggest many shoppers are, well, not that bothered. So where does this leave firms plugging sodium reduction solutions? Elaine Watson asks Mariano Gascon, R&D chief at...
Campbell Soup has reiterated its commitment to sodium reduction following its high-profile move to add some salt back into its Select Harvest soup range.
While Campbell Soup’s reduced sodium u-turn pales into insignificance when compared with the New Coke debacle, it should serve as a cautionary tale for all food manufacturers embarking on reformulation work, according to marketing experts.
It’s food Jim, but not as we know it … From the latest on NASA’s food research and the next generation of high oleic cooking oils to the rise and rise of Greek yogurt, this year’s IFT show was brimming with new ideas and technologies. Here’s part two...
Food manufacturers continue to seek ways to cut sodium without sacrificing flavor - and ingredients companies continue to find innovative solutions. Caroline Scott-Thomas tracked down some interesting offerings at IFT.
A high-profile scientific paper questioning whether cutting salt reduces cardiovascular disease risk does not mean that industry-led sodium reduction initiatives are a waste of time, the American Heart Association (AHA) has insisted.
Morton Salt has said it will serve as North American distributor for K+S Group’s potassium chloride ingredient Kalisel, expanding its range of sodium reduction ingredients.
