NutraIngredient’s Snack Size Science brings you the top nutrition research news every two weeks. This week we spill the beans on the potential of chocolate to lower blood pressure.
Maintaining cocoa’s heart healthy compounds in a finished product depends on the presence of other ingredients, particularly leavening agents, says new research from the Hershey Company.
Cadbury is conducting a voluntary recall in Australia for one of its products in the Old Gold Dark Chocolate range due to the possible presence of milk protein, which is not labelled on the packaging.
Confectionery product ranges featuring new flavours, flexibility and variety will help manufacturers grow consumer purchases over the next five years despite economic uncertainty, according to the National Confectioners Association's (NCA) Confectionery...
Pecan Deluxe Candy has invested in new equipment for its plant in the UK that will enable it to make chocolate shapes like pigs and monkeys, and expand its fair-trade chocolate range.
Two court cases have demonstrated confectioners’ dogged protection of their trademarks – one involving Mars’ Maltesters, and the other chocolate rabbits from Lindt.
A supplier of fillings for confectionery goods says that it is can now allow manufacturers to maximise fruit content in their chocolate products without compromising functionality or regulatory approval.
The potential health benefits of certain compounds found in chocolate are helping to drive greater levels of innovation and product launches in the candy segment compared to sugar confectionery, according to recent research.
Barry Callebaut has launched its ProBenefit probiotic chocolate for food manufacturers in the US, saying that Dannon’s Activia advertising has boosted consumer awareness of probiotics’ potential benefits.
Cargill has officially opened a new plant for chocolate fillings and coatings in The Netherlands, as part of a wider plan to grow its cocoa and chocolate operations.
Meeting criteria to quickly, and delicately, overwrap luxury chocolates in various format sizes, UK firm Marden Edwards employed their latest individual large format pack overwrapper for Polish confectionery manufacturer Mieszko.
A partnership with a leading upcycling company will enable the reuse of both surplus and used packaging from food, drink, gum and confectionery products, claims confectionery giant, Mars
Ingredients firm Puratos bolsters its offerings to US chocolatiers, unveiling a new chocolate innovation centre and announcing the formal launch of chocolate line formulated to target the chocolate flavour profiles of the US consumer.
Kalev Chocolate Factory led the Baltic chocolate and sugar confectionery market in the beginning of 2009, according to survey carried out by the market research company ACNielsen, writes the Baltic paper LETA.
An alleged price-fixing case in the US against chocolate giants that include Hershey, Mars, Cadbury and Nestle will be put on hold after a federal judge allows the manufacturers to appeal his decision not to dismiss over 80 anti-trust suits.
Chocolate makers seeking to leverage sales through health-positioned products could find a fresh direction with new research from the UK suggesting cocoa drinks rich in flavanols could help consumers do maths.
Clear signs that falling consumer demand for chocolate is starting to impact the supply chain with Mars' chocolate business in France announcing contracted production in Alsace.
A project that optimises the use of a single packaging material - corrugated board - and facilitates recycling has been chosen as the winner of SCA Packaging’s ‘Design Challenge’
Small ingredients companies supplying chocolate and other products are expected to benefit from the cost-cutting tactics of their larger counterparts which now find themselves under threat, according to a co-founder of HB Ingredients.
As the prospect of a fat tax on unhealthy food is raised once more, the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) has spoken out on behalf of the industry against calls for a tax on chocolate.
The chocolate maker Lindt is teaming up with a power plant in the hope of using cocoa shells, which are a by-product from its processing facilities, to produce ‘green’ fuel.
Edible coatings and films firm Mantrose UK rolls out an anti-scuffing innovation that it claims protects against surface damage while maintaining the original appearance of the chocolate.
Chocolate milk has taken first place in a post-exercise energy recovery trial in competition alongside both a fluid- and carbohydrate-replacing beverage, according to new clinical research.
Evidence that people do turn to chocolate during an economic downturn as number one UK chocolate maker Cadbury reports worldwide global chocolate sales were up 6 per cent in 2008, and the group's British chocolate market share rose by 0.5 percentage...
Innovation in product design, be this packaging or formulation, will play a key role in boosting margins to help confectionery manufacturers beat the economic downturn. At this year's confectionery and biscuit trade fair ISM, held in Cologne earlier...
An ambitious article 14 health claim dossier submitted by Italian-based Soremartec Italia S.r.l. Gruppo Ferrero that sought to link chocolate consumption and growth in children has drawn a negative opinion from the European Food Safety Authority.
The UK consumer palate continues to move towards fine chocolate, evident in the mushrooming popularity of the UK's academy of chocolate awards that clocked-up an increasing number of entries from bean-to-bar players.
In tune to the escalating debate on the use of Bisphenol A (BPA) in food packaging, an innovative German supplier of chocolate moulds has rolled out a new version made from BPA-free material.
The UK's Daily Mail newspaper reports that fifteen illegal immigrants were arrested last week after they were found hiding in a lorry filled with around 20 tonnes of cocoa powder.
German ingredients firm Alfred Wolff rolls out a one-step polishing agent for chocolate-coated cereal flakes to meet the industry's need for improved surface shine and protective coatings.
Meeting growing demand for premium chocolate packed in carton, Netherland's Lareka launches a new double stage tablet packer with a price tag in reach of small and medium-sized businesses.
While industry observers and stakeholders continue to speculate on whether chocolate is, or is not, 'recession-proof', Belgium's Barry Callebaut expects the number of consumer products containing its health and wellness Acticoa chocolate...
There is further evidence that the market for chocolate is not as recession proof as traditionally thought as Barry Callebaut sales in Europe saw a marked drop over Q1.
A group of craft chocolate makers is making the most of growing consumer interest in artisan chocolate. Alex Whitmore, member of the Craft Chocolate Makers of America and co-founder of Taza chocolate, explains why he thinks this trend looks set to continue...
Bean to bar behemoth Barry Callebaut moves closer to local food manufacturers in Mexico, unveiling its third largest chocolate production facility worldwide to spear the emerging, and attractive, Mexican chocolate confectionery market.
Growth in the French chocolate confectionery market fell sharply in 2008 but it is forecast to recover this year, helped by sales of premium products, according to Snapshots, a market reports company.
London cocoa prices hit a 23-year high at the end of December, but emerging questions about consumer demand could see prices fall in 2009, according to the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO).
Five US-based chocolate producers have collaborated to found Craft Chocolate Makers of America (CCMA), a body to represent issues facing the craft end of the chocolate industry.
