Prices for the omnipresent beverage and confectionery ingredient
coffee leapt this week after flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina
put inventories of beans in New Orleans at risk.
Seasonal chocolate sales in the US are forecast to reach $3.3bn
(€2.6bn) in 2005, marking a substantial decline over the past five
years, according to a new report published by Research and Markets.
Key to successful premium chocolate product development is an
understanding of the varying consumer habits, expectations and
behaviour in different countries, according to leading Swiss
premium chocolate manufacturer Lindt &...
Praise where praise is due. And it is certainly due for one
small-time drinks firm in southern Britain, which is spear-heading
answers to global water shortages that threaten to wreak havoc on
food producers everywhere.
As prices for hazelnuts, two-thirds of which are sourced from
Turkey, slowly start to recover following global shortages,
pistachio production also shows signs of improvement following last
year's frosts.
Hazelnut prices remain at all time highs but the imminent crop from
key producer Turkey could offer some stability to snack makers and
confectioners impacted by the record highs.
International experts in nutrition and genomics will meet in
California to discuss the progress of research into links between
the genetic make-up of milk and human health.
Henry Ford's famous aphorism that if he had asked people what they
wanted, they would have said faster horses, provides food makers
with a lesson they must learn.
Ten mega trends stretching from age to individualism will determine
the success and shape of any new products to hit the market in the
near future, claims market analysts Datamonitor.
In among the hollers about obesity and the concerns over nutrition,
food companies now need to work hard to ensure they clinch public
trust, as a matter of insurance. This means more than compliance on
traceability and labeling. This...
A survey of European consumers about peanuts sourced from across
the globe reveals a distinct preference for the quality and flavour
of US-produced nuts.
Sensitivity to changing regional tastes, exotic flavour mixes,
labelling and packaging will determine how successful processors
are in attacking Western Europe's stagnant ice cream market.
Despite some of the best-known confectionary brands leaving the
area, Chicago still deserves its 'candy capital' epithet, according
to Food Chicago's Candy Institute.
Water, we save. Energy, we conserve. But food, it seems, we can
waste, junk and bin and no-one cares. Except one crusader, whose
20-year project has proven what should have been obvious in the
first place: our attitude to food is...
A high-fat diet may lead to over-consumption of tasty snacks, say
researchers involved in a rat study. They believe that regular
eating habits could affect sensitivity to a hormone that tells us
when to stop eating.
Drinking large amounts of beverages containing fructose adds body
fat, and might explain why sweetening with fructose could be even
worse than using other sweeteners, according to a new report.
Chocolate fountains are emerging as a must-have accessory at
weddings and, as the craze spreads to other events, confectioners
could be set to benefit, writes Lorraine Heller.
Tate & Lyle has launched a new ingredient solution for low-
fat, no-sugar- added ice cream for the US market and vowed to
continue its ambitious expansion plans.
Whether it is a pork pie from Melton Mowbray or olive oil from
Nimes, every Tom, Denis and Haemon seems to believe their local
food deserves the EU's protection from big, bad corporations.
Novis seeks a bright, driven food scientist for a reporter's post
in southern France. The main mission is to deepen coverage of
scientific breakthroughs in food techniques and nutritional
understanding on flagship websites, FoodNavigator.com...
Growth areas for the polyol sweetener xylitol highlighted, as
leading ingredients firm Danisco claims new health guidelines
recommend xylitol to prevent dental caries, reports Lindsey
Partos.
Cocoa compounds can be extracted and marketed as functional food
ingredients, or even synthesised for use in pharmaceuticals, said
confectionery giant Mars this week, reports Dominique
Patton.
Job losses at the sweetener operations of ambitious ingredients
firm Cargill are imminent as the largest private firm in the US
appears to feel the squeeze of "market conditions".
Global supplies for the hydrocolloid gum arabic could creep up as
Lagos announces plans to sow 500 million seeds to produce the
popular confectionery ingredient, writes Lindsey Partos.
ADM's promotion of two innovative ingredients at the IFT conference
this week illustrates how health awareness and regulatory concerns
have shot up the industry's priority list, writes Anthony
Fletcher.
A new tool for food developers, Europe's food risk agency
recommends the launch of a harmonised food database across the EU
to shed light on favourable and adverse effects food ingredients
may have on our health.
Acquisitive US ingredients firm Cargill leapfrogs into a leading
pectin position as the Citrico acquisition clears allowing pectin
products to fall into Cargill's portfolio, reports Lindsey
Partos.
Senator Tom Harkin claimed yesterday that if stringent
self-regulation in the marketing of children's food products is not
put into place soon, a backlash against the food industry is
inevitable writes Anthony Fletcher.
With potential impact on food makers, scientists in the US have
uncovered new details of how smelly things create signals in the
nose that eventually go to the brain.
A society that views food as taste-bud entertainment rather than a
basic of well-being was always bound to run into health problems.
But with obesity now afflicting 300m people, and diabetes set to
reach similar numbers within two...
Weight and health concerns continue to propel the market for
low-calorie sweeteners, with a host of recent global product
launches showing the popularity of sugar replacer aspartame in new
sugar and sweetener formulations, reports...
There are worries that a district court ruling in Maine banning all
synthetic ingredients in products labeled organic could
significantly slow the sector's growth, writes Anthony
Fletcher.
Danish ingredients group Chr Hansen, shortly to be sold to private
equity firm PAI, posts a small rise in revenue and a decent boost
in pre-tax profit for the nine months to May, reports Lindsey
Partos.
It is time to draw on science to establish once and for all whether
food intolerance is just a source of succour for hypochondriacs, or
whether it is genuinely a modern scourge.
While some food companies remain petrified that they will not be
ready for new trans fat and food allergen labeling requirements,
others have recognised the January 1 deadline as an opportunity,
writes Anthony Fletcher.
Sales of diet candy more than quadrupled between 2000 and 2004,
fueled by better-tasting products, improved formulations and
heightened concern over weight gain in adults and children,
writes Anthony Fletcher.
Cost pressures on food producers and processors operating in Russia
look likely to increase as prices for sunflower seed oil rise ever
more rapidly, reports Angela Drujinina.
Our journalist Angela Drujinina brings you the latest
research on Russia¡¯s chocolate market, including producers¡¯
concerns, the market situation and market leaders.
The image of secret radio chips planted inside the home from larder
to bathroom, transmitting data freely to Corporation Inc, is enough
to curl the toes of more than anti-capitalism activists.
International labelling standards on the percentage of ingredients
in a food and beverage products are on the table again at an
upcoming Codex meeting, reports Lindsey Partos.
Children in the UK spend more than a third of their pocket money on
sweets, snacks, drinks and takeaways, find new statistics from the
country's national number crunching body, reports Lindsey
Partos.
The carotenoid market will break the billion dollar barrier by
2009, carried by a rise in demand for natural colourings and their
purported health properties.
