NCA adopts voluntary front of pack calorie labels

The National Confectionery Association (NCA) of the United States has adopted a voluntary position to put calories on the front of packs.

Germany busts choc giants for price fixing; ordered to pay €60m

Eleven chocolate companies including Nestlé and Kraft have been fined over €60m ($82m) for colluding to raise chocolate prices in Germany, while price fixing investigations continue in the US and...

Catering to the Middle East: Halal certification and alcohol-free labeling with Mondelez

Mondelez is expanding in the Middle East having recently signed a joint venture in Saudi Arabia last week. ConfectioneryNews.com asks the industry giant if halal certification and alcohol-free labeling have...

Food quality key to customer loyalty - survey

Food quality, a wide product range and product reliability are the three most important things to win customer loyalty, according to a survey.

News in brief

Neogen’s salmonella detection method gains food-type expansion

Neogen Corporation has received a matrix extension to cover foods in the bakery, confectionery and dairy industry for one of its salmonella detection methods.

Callebaut cocoa health claim gets EC 'elasticity' makeover

Barry Callebaut’s Article 13.5 blood flow health claim on cocoa flavanols has been simplified by the European Commission.

Lidl confectionery-free checkout trial affects own-label only

Lidl UK is trialing replacing confectionery at checkouts with fresh fruit and juices, but branded goods won’t be affected since it was only stocking own-label candy at its check-outs anyway....

Blue colors in lollipops present health risk to kids, say researchers

Researchers are urging candy makers to remove two blue food colors from hard candies and lollipops because they may pose a health risk to children.

UK government emphasises flexibility in health claim wording

The UK Department of Health (DoH) has issued health claims guidance that makes it clear official European Union  wordings are flexible but warns companies not to go too far.

Nestlé wins trademark case over Kit Kat shape after Cadbury row

Nestlé may have stopped rivals producing products in the shape of its four-finger Kit Kat after an earlier decision blocking its trademark was overturned on appeal following a dispute with...

Hershey, Mars and Nestlé to face $727m chocolate ‘price fix’ case

Hershey, Mars and Nestlé may be liable for $727m in damages for alleged conspiracy to raise chocolate prices in the US between 2002 and 2007.

EU health claims: FoodDrinkEurope welcomes “certainty and clarity”

The EU’s biggest food industry group – FoodDrinkEurope – has backed Friday’s enabling of the article 13 list of 222 approved and 1500+ rejected health claims in the European Union’s 27 member states.

Ghirardelli faces ‘fake’ white chocolate claims

Lindt & Sprüngli's US subsidiary Ghirardelli Chocolate is facing a class action lawsuit over allegations that five of its products purported to contain white chocolate mislead consumers by containing none....

It’s official! There are 222 general function approved health claims in the EU; 1500+ rejected

From today food and supplement products marketed in the EU’s 27 member states must comply with the article 13, permitted list of health claims or face prosecution for misleading marketing.

Taxing junk food could improve diets, review finds

Taxes on soft drinks and foods high in saturated fat and subsidies for fruits and vegetables could improve diets and overall health, according to a new review from New Zealand...

December 14 EU health claims deadline

Stakeholder vox pop: December 14 EU health claim deadline

With the December 14 enforcement of the EU's article 13 general function health claim list that includes 200+ approved claims and about 1500 rejections just two days away (after a...

New EFSA health claims chief: “I prefer pedagogic behavior”; offers 2013 hope

As the formlisation of the main organ (article 13.1 list) of the nutrition and health claims regulation (NHCR) kicks in this week, Professor Ambroise Martin, the new chair of the...

Guest article

Eight winners: Are EU diabetes-metabolic syndrome health claims set to explode?

Eight ingredients have won EU health claims that can be used to back messaging around metabolic syndrome – although the take-up to date has been lacklustre, says Euromonitor analyst, Diana Cowland....

Guest article

December 14 EU health claims crack down: Are B2B comms affected?

December 14 brings the long awaited and widely disputed EU crack down on health claims. That means 222 general function claims are good to go, another 1500 or so prohibited....

Ajinomoto wins EU chilli extract approval

Japanese supplier Ajinomoto’s chilli extract has won European Union Novel Foods status at various levels in 22 foodstuffs including flavoured waters, meal replacements, baked goods and sugar-free gum.

Flexible packaging firm fined after laminating accident

A UK packaging company has been fined after one of its employees sustained a serious hand injury on an unguarded laminating machine.

Guest article

Provexis winner: EU health claims enforcement may dish rotten tomatoes

Steve Morrision was the COO at Provexis when the UK start-up won the EU‘s first ever article 13.5 health claim for its blood circulation-boosting tomato extract called Fruitflow in 2009....

Chewing gum tax proposed in Mexico

Mexico is considering forcing gum manufacturers to pay a 50% tax on top of the selling price of products to pay for clean-up costs on streets.

Advent calendar chocolates present cancer risk, says consumer group

Potentially cancerous mineral oils have been found in advent calendar chocolates including ones from Nestlé, Mondelez and Lindt, leading a consumer group to call for manufacturers and packaging firms to...

Advent calendar chocolates safe, says BDSI

The German Confectionery Association (BDSI) has said that chocolates in advent calendars pose no health risk after a consumer group linked products to ‘cancerous’ mineral oils.