Health and nutritional ingredients

The holistic nutrition opportunity in snacks: ‘Consumption is becoming more sophisticated’

31-Mar-2023 By Flora Southey

Consumers are talking less about ‘general health’, and more about cleansing, detoxing, carb-free, and cholesterol-free, according to Tastewise. How does this trend translate into opportunity for industry?

EAT-Lancet diet: Increased intake of animal source foods recommended by researchers to fill micronutrient gap

31-Mar-2023 By Flora Southey

Fresh research suggests the planetary health diet does not provide enough vitamins and minerals – including iron, zinc, calcium and vitamin B12 – to nourish the global population due to its low amount of animal source foods.

'Super seaweed' developed with impressive antioxidant profile

30-Mar-2023 By Nicola Gordon-Seymour

Scientists at Tel Aviv University have created a new ‘super seaweed’ with novel technology that significantly increases bioactive components and enhances possible applications in food, cosmetics, and medicine.

Fibre intake reduces cognitive decline risk in older people: study

28-Mar-2023 By Oliver Morrison

Fibre intake is associated with a lower risk of developing cognitive decline in older people with the Alzheimer’s risk gene APOE4, according to a new study.

Danish company rethinks nutrition of plant-based drinks

27-Mar-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Dryk, a Danish plant-based drinks company, is rethinking the nutrition of plant-based drinks. No longer content with just tasting like cow’s milk, its drinks are also close to the nutritional content of their dairy counterpart.

Cheese shop pulls products from shelves after Listeria outbreak

24-Mar-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

On 20 March, Wiltshire-based cheese shop the Old Cheese Room announced that they were recalling a selection of their products following a Listeria outbreak. Several other Listeria outbreaks have also taken place in the UK and Europe over the past year,...

Meet the ‘smart gaming nutrition’ start-up feeding newbies and eSports pros

22-Mar-2023 By Flora Southey

From milkshakes to energy bites, gummies and ‘functional sprays’, German start-up Just Legends has gamers’ specific nutritional needs covered, CEO and co-founder Ole Schaumberg tells FoodNavigator.

Meet the start-up on a mission to solve the challenge of delivering more effective probiotics and bioactives

22-Mar-2023 By Oliver Morrison

Danish start-up Mello is vying to advance current ‘state of art’ microencapsulation techniques after unveiling a new proprietary technology that it claims is able to better deliver functionally effective probiotics and bioactives. How?

Is interest in gut health propelling the pickled category? ‘Kimchi has moved into the mainstream’

20-Mar-2023 By Flora Southey

From kefir to kimchi, sauerkraut to kombucha, fermented foods are trending. Nick ‘The Pickles Man’ Vadasz puts this down, at least in part, to increased consumer awareness around gut health and the microbiome.

Unnecessarily cruel or a necessary solution? The octopus farming debate rages

17-Mar-2023 By Oliver Morrison

The world’s first commercial octopus farm is continuing to cause controversy.

The FoodNavigator Podcast: The ‘holistic nutrition’ opportunity in food and beverage

15-Mar-2023 By Flora Southey

Where once healthy diets focused on weight loss alone, today’s consumers want more from their food and drink. Enter holistic nutrition, which aims to enhance people’s wellbeing – whether that be improving sleep, stress, mood or digestion. How are brands...

Mediterranean diet linked with decreased risk of dementia

14-Mar-2023 By Oliver Morrison

Eating a traditional Mediterranean-type diet – rich in foods such as seafood, fruit, and nuts – may help reduce the risk of dementia by almost a quarter, a new study has revealed.

The ‘untapped’ innovation potential of female nutrition: ‘A new wave of food and beverage products is expected’

10-Mar-2023 By Flora Southey

Significant opportunity exists for food and beverage companies to target holistic nutrition for women, according to insight from R&D consultancy Sagentia Innovation.

‘We’re mis-demonising ultra-processed food’: The case for focusing on what to eat, not what to avoid

09-Mar-2023 By Flora Southey

From a public health perspective, ‘ultra-processed food’ is a major concern. But stigmatising the term, instead of focusing on the benefits of opting for healthier alternatives, is not the answer, FoodNavigator hears.

Paleo players celebrate ‘ground-breaking’ research

09-Mar-2023 By Oliver Morrison

The paleo diet tops the rankings of a systematic review of dietary patterns and NCD risk factors, followed by DASH and Mediterranean diets, with the Western diet bringing up the rear.

The new vegan? Food industry urged to better represent the menopause in NPD

08-Mar-2023 By Oliver Morrison

On International Women’s Day manufacturers and retailers are being urged to continue to commit to better represent the menopause in product development, FoodNavigator hears.

Food researchers employ botanical extract to unveil ‘super muffin’ with benefits

07-Mar-2023 By Oliver Morrison

Norwegian academics have demonstrated how using the tropical plant Hibiscus sabdariffa can contribute to increased nutritional value in everyday foods.

Seaweed products in every household? Behind Amazon’s move to shake up Europe’s seaweed market

03-Mar-2023 By Oliver Morrison

The e-commerce giant has put its weight behind plans to significantly boost Europe’s seaweed sector.

Activia joins forces with meal delivery brand to boost digestive health of Spaniards

02-Mar-2023 By Oliver Morrison

The Danone brand is collaborating with Wetaca to inspire consumers to get more natural probiotics into their diets.

NEWS IN BRIEF

France backs pea and fava proteins for plant-based innovation

27-Feb-2023 By Flora Southey

Pea and fava bean proteins are at the centre of a new project with two aims: to develop a French plant-based source sector; and offer healthy and sustainable alternative to dairy

A ‘significant step’ for food security in Africa: New sorghum hybrid with a 25% increase in yield released in Zimbabwe

23-Feb-2023 By Oliver Morrison

Zimbabwean farmers are poised for greater yield and income gains as a result of a recent agricultural innovation breakthrough – the release of a new hybrid of white sorghum (great millet) that also promises greater resilience to erratic rainfall.

The ‘master plan’ to double legume consumption in the Netherlands by 2030

20-Feb-2023 By Flora Southey

A significant increase in production and consumption of crops high in vegetable protein is achievable within six years, according to initiators of a ‘master plan’ put towards the House of Representatives.

Coffee a miracle beverage? Research boasts myriad health benefits… and it could even protect against COVID-19

17-Feb-2023 By Flora Southey

Recent studies reveal drinking coffee can help maintain low blood pressure and when combined with milk, may have anti-inflammatory effects. It’s even plausible a regular cup of filter coffee could offer protection from catching COVID-19, suggest researchers.

Danone discusses the role of plant-based innovation in medical nutrition: ‘Our priority is evidence-based nutrition that meets lifestyle choices’

16-Feb-2023 By Katy Askew

Danone’s specialised nutrition business Nutricia has developed its first plant-based ready-to-drink medical nutrition supplement. Fortimel PlantBased Energy is the product of an intensive three-year R&I effort. FoodNavigator hears from Manuela Borella,...

GUEST ARTICLE

Industry Insights from NIZO - Polyphenols: Handling uninvited co-passengers in your plant protein

15-Feb-2023 By René Floris, NIZO Food Research Division Manager

Why should food makers be paying attention to polyphenols and how can advances in their characterisation help both protein and food producers improve their products?

Ready meals have ‘lower nutritional quality, higher greenhouse gas emissions and are more expensive’: study

07-Feb-2023 By Oliver Morrison

Research into the nutritional and sustainability attributes of ready meals suggests scope for innovation in this category.

What does Europe’s deforestation law mean for palm oil? RSPO talks challenges and opportunities

31-Jan-2023 By Flora Southey

A political agreement has been reached on the European Union’s due diligence legislation, and sustainable palm oil organisation Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is supportive. Yet challenges and risks exist, explains Ruben Brunsveld, deputy director...

AB-Biotics targets food and beverage market with microbiome solutions: ‘Every moment of consumption will be an opportunity’

27-Jan-2023 By Katy Askew

Spanish biotech company AB-Biotics suggests that spiking interest in fermented foods and microbiome health represents a significant opportunity for the food and beverage industry. We caught up with Executive Director Sergi Audivert to learn more about...

‘This ticks every box worth ticking’: The agri-tech start-up aiming to grow water lentils at scale

25-Jan-2023 By Oliver Morrison

UK-based food production company Sustainable Planet has unveiled technology to use desertified land to grow the highly nutritious and potentially climate positive duckweed plant.

Developing plant-based dairy with melon seed milk: ‘Fermentation generates cheese-like aromas’

24-Jan-2023 By Flora Southey

In Spain, start-up Väcka is developing plant-based cheeses with an unlikely ingredient: fermented melon seed milk. Co-founder and CEO Ana Luz Sanz talks us through the nutritional and functional benefits of mixing water with ground melon seeds.

As meat-reduction trend ‘levels off’, industry backs plant-based innovation to propel category

18-Jan-2023 By Flora Southey

From perceptions of over-processing to the potential slowing of meat reduction across multiple geographies, the plant-based sector faces challenges. Innovation, ingredients majors tell FoodNavigator, is required to propel the category forward.

From saffron beer to kefir water, the new crop of NPD embracing unique functional ingredients

12-Jan-2023 By Oliver Morrison

Despite cost and inflation concerns, trend reports note rising demand among many consumers for foods with functionality, such as those that can help bolster the immune system. Many brands are responding.

Turning to diverse, climate resistant local crops and cellular-agriculture-based techniques to create next-generation meat alternatives

04-Jan-2023 By Oliver Morrison

Combining cellular agriculture technology with diverse, locally available crops allows food producers the chance to provide ‘authentic, next-generation meat alternatives on an industrial scale’, claims the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland.

Low/no alcohol consumption ‘to rise a third’ by 2026

04-Jan-2023 By Oliver Morrison

Low-to-no beer, cider, wine and spirit products grew over 7% in volume across 10 key global markets in 2022, according to fresh data from IWSR Drinks Market Analysis.

Ukraine’s ExtraCell Ingredients on making yeast, the brave new world of biotech fermentation, and Monday meetings in the bomb shelter

23-Dec-2022 By Oliver Morrison

A Ukraine-based yeast maker has defied the challenges of war and launched a biotech arm producing a range of yeast-based solutions for the food industry.

Dairy alternatives increasingly seen as complementary to dairy products: survey

21-Dec-2022 By Oliver Morrison

Two thirds (67%) of European consumers see plant-based dairy as complementary, not a substitute to dairy products, and ‘an opportunity to try something new’ (65%), new research from ofi shows.

DSM squaring the circle of plant-based and animal protein for a ‘holistic food system transformation’

16-Dec-2022 By Katy Askew

Nutrition, health and bioscience company DSM’s business includes solutions it believes will help make the food system more sustainable across both human and animal nutrition. When we caught up with Elisabeth Hirschbichler, VP of Strategy, Innovation and...

‘Everyone is holding their breath’: ABFI is preparing for the energy crisis to get worse after a ‘record’ 2022

13-Dec-2022 By Katy Askew

ABF Ingredients, the speciality ingredient arm of Associated British Foods, secured a ‘record’ performance in the face of difficult conditions seen throughout 2022. But it looks likely that the worst is not yet behind us, with expectations of a deepening...

MycoTechnology teams up with IFF in Europe, with Novel Foods nod expected ‘any day now’

12-Dec-2022 By Flora Southey

Mycelia-focused MycoTechnology has teamed up with ingredients supplier IFF to expand its reach to Europe, all the while Novel Foods approval for its FermentIQ protein is imminent, Lisa Wetstone, Director, Innovation & Growth Strategy, tells FoodNavigator....

From mood-boosting algae to plant-based ‘egg’ powder: Which innovations caught our eye at FiE 2022?

07-Dec-2022 By Flora Southey

Food ingredients are taking centre-stage in Paris this week, and FoodNavigator is on the ground speaking with newcomers to the B2B market.

Kerry launches nutrition label calculator: 'Front-of-pack labels are becoming more important for brands'

02-Dec-2022 By Katy Askew

Kerry has developed the KerryNutri Guide, a tool to calculate how products perform across a range of front-of-pack nutritional labelling systems and guide users towards a better score. “The KerryNutri Guide makes it easier for us to partner with our customers...

Plant-based ‘honey without bees’ prepares to create a buzz in Europe

02-Dec-2022 By Flora Southey

US-based MeliBio is partnering with organic food producer Narayan Foods to bring its plant-based bee-free honey product to Europe under the Better Foodie brand.

Upcycling brewers' yeast for an alt protein source boasting ‘unparalleled nutritional quality’

30-Nov-2022 By Oliver Morrison

French food-tech start-up Yeasty is offering food manufacturers an alternative source of protein from unused brewer's yeast.

Meet the start-up hooked on mycelium-based scallops: ‘We’ve left plants behind, and entered the fungi kingdom’

28-Nov-2022 By Flora Southey

Achieving the ‘juicy’ and ‘bouncy’ texture of fish and seafood is possible with mycelium, according to German start-up Esencia Foods

Scottish start-up turns to ‘food of the future’ seaweed to launch methylcellulose replacement

24-Nov-2022 By Oliver Morrison

OCEANIUM has developed a high-fibre seaweed-based one-for-one methylcellulose replacement for plant-based meat which can be used in other products applications including gluten-free breads and beverages. Farmed seaweed also boasts numerous environmental,...

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