Carbohydrates and fibres (sugar, starches)

Poor rice quality contributes to $3.39bn losses

31-May-2013 By Rod Addy

Rice quality issues contribute to $3.39bn a year at least in global costs to the food industry from rice waste, significantly boosting the importance of quality testing.

Dietary advice on added sugars needs ‘emergency surgery’: BMJ commentary

24-May-2013 By Caroline SCOTT-THOMAS

The food industry has manipulated dietary advice on added sugars for profit – and the advice itself is in urgent need of an overhaul, asserts a new commentary published in the Journal of the British Medical Association (BMJ).

Natural & Clean Label Trends 2013: How clean is your label? And can GMOs ever belong in 'natural' products?

24-May-2013 By Elaine WATSON

Recent data from Symphony Consulting (click here), shows that while US retail sales of products making ‘natural’ claims still grew in 2012, the pace of that growth slowed noticeably compared with the 2009-11 period.

UK children’s foods often higher in fat and sugar, study finds

21-May-2013 By Caroline SCOTT-THOMAS

A significant number of foods marketed to children in the UK are higher in fat and sugar than foods marketed to adults, suggests new research published in Public Health Nutrition.

Grain production to reach record levels in 2013, says FAO

15-May-2013 By Caroline SCOTT-THOMAS

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has said that grain harvests are set to reach record levels in 2013, and wheat production is forecast to recover from last year’s reduced level.

Major European retailers urge support of Brazilian non-GM soy

15-May-2013 By Caroline SCOTT-THOMAS

Major retailers from five European countries have urged greater support of non-GM soy production in Brazil, as increased demand for genetically modified (GM) soy from China risks diminishing non-GM supply.

Don’t dismiss industry encouragement of physical activity, says obesity expert

14-May-2013 By Caroline SCOTT-THOMAS

Food industry encouragement of physical activity in obesity prevention should be welcomed, according to an obesity expert who spoke at the European Congress on Obesity in the UK on Monday.

Industry calls on EU governments to reject food taxes

07-May-2013 By Caroline SCOTT-THOMAS

EU governments should refrain from ‘discriminatory’ food taxes and take a more holistic approach to obesity prevention, according to a joint position paper from FoodDrinkEurope and trade union organisation EFFAT.

EHL targets ancient grain appeal with freekeh young wheat

06-May-2013 By Caroline SCOTT-THOMAS

EHL Ingredients has introduced the smoky wheat variety freekeh to the UK food industry for use in composed foods like salads, soups and casseroles.

Oatmeal beats ready-to-eat cereal on satiety, PepsiCo research shows

30-Apr-2013 By Hank Schultz

Remember the gluey texture of the oatmeal your mom served you as a kid? Turns out, this is a good thing, according to new research comparing the satiating effects of oatmeal versus ready-to-eat cereals.

Denmark to scrap decades-old soft drink tax

25-Apr-2013 By Caroline SCOTT-THOMAS

Denmark has announced that it will abolish its soft drink tax as part of a raft of measures intended to create jobs and boost the economy.

Do all children like sugary and fatty foods? Perhaps not, finds study

24-Apr-2013 By Caroline SCOTT-THOMAS

Children from different cultures prefer different levels of fat and sweetness in foods and drinks, suggests new research that calls into question the idea that all children are predisposed to fatty and sugary tastes.

DISPATCHES FROM THE 2013 INNOBEV GLOBAL BEVERAGES CONGRESS, WARSAW, POLAND

‘Many people are trying to put chains on our freedom’: UNESDA president

23-Apr-2013 By Ben BOUCKLEY

New UNESDA president Dominique Reiniche, also president of Coca-Cola Europe, warns that opponents ‘trying to put chains on our freedom to innovate’ risk stifling the development of the European soft drinks industry.

Now non-food plants can help feed the world

16-Apr-2013 By Rod Addy

Researchers have produced starch from plants not usually used for food purposes, potentially opening up whole new sources for foods and packaging materials.

Flemish dieticians apologise for Coca-Cola-sponsored sugar campaign

15-Apr-2013 By Caroline SCOTT-THOMAS

The Flemish Professional Association of Food Experts and Dieticians (VBVD) has apologised after launching an advertising campaign touting sugar as ‘part of a healthy diet’ – in a spot sponsored by Coca-Cola.

Infant sugar consumption at levels that could harm oral health, says dental charity

12-Apr-2013 By Caroline Scott-Thomas

New data on infants’ consumption of sugar suggests that more than a quarter of young children are at risk of poor oral health, according to the UK’s Dental Hygiene Foundation.

KMC eyes Middle Eastern promise for imitation cheese ingredients

11-Apr-2013 By Caroline SCOTT-THOMAS

Starch specialist KMC says it has developed two new starches for imitation cheese to cut costs and bring hard cheese alternatives to parts of the world where dairy ingredients may be difficult to handle or source, including the Middle East and North Africa.

9TH INNOBEV GLOBAL BEVERAGES CONGRESS ADDRESSES KEY ISSUES

‘Health, Environment, Choice’ hold sway in soft drinks: Zenith International

03-Apr-2013 By Ben BOUCKLEY

Health, the environment and consumer choice are the three main issues facing today’s soft drinks industry, according to InnoBev Global Beverages Congress 2013 organizer Zenith International.

Fungus to wipe £7M from Tate & Lyle’s profit

02-Apr-2013 By Gary Scattergood

Tate & Lyle has posted “reassuringly dull” third-quarter figures, despite having to implement measures to tackle aflatoxin, a fungus in maize caused by the unusually hot and dry conditions in the US last summer.

Sugary soda linked to 180,000 deaths globally each year

26-Mar-2013 By Nathan Gray

Sugar-sweetened sodas, sports drinks and fruit drinks may be associated with about 180,000 deaths around the world each year, according to research.

Fat, sugar and texture: ‘It’s always a question of compromise’

18-Mar-2013 By Caroline Scott-Thomas

Reducing fat and sugar brings major textural challenges – and for food and drink makers it is always a matter of compromise, according to head of food innovation at Leatherhead Food Research Dr Wayne Morley.

Crunchy, creamy, or crisp: Talking texture in new product development

15-Mar-2013 By Caroline Scott-Thomas

Texture is one of the defining attributes of foods and beverages and influences our eating and drinking experience – but how is it important in product development?

NO EVIDENCE OF 'SIGNIFICANT' CHILD GI INTOLERANCE IN OTHER JURISDICTIONS: CARGILL

Cargill suffers bitter erythritol blow: EFSA rejects beverage use extension

13-Mar-2013 By Ben BOUCKLEY

Cargill has failed in its second attempt to secure EU approval for use of bulk sweetener erythritol in soft drinks, after EFSA published a negative opinion relating to its introduction on child safety grounds.

Sugary drinks linked to greater high-calorie food intake, study finds

12-Mar-2013 By Nathan Gray

Soaring intakes of sugar-sweetened drinks are associated with increased calorie consumption of other foods such as sweets and pizza in children, warn researchers.

Dietary sugar has a direct effect on diabetes risk, says study

01-Mar-2013 By Nathan Gray

Sugar consumption levels may have a ‘direct and independent’ link to the risk of developing diabetes, according to new research.

Abolishing sugar quotas would quash competition, says ASSUC

01-Mar-2013 By Caroline Scott-Thomas

European sugar traders have come out in support of continued sugar quotas to encourage a more competitive sugar market, according to trade association ASSUC (European Association of Sugar Traders).

Cargill buys fibre technology after Tate & Lyle wheat processing exit

28-Feb-2013 By Shane Starling

The €55m Tate & Lyle Ventures (TLV) fund has sold off the Fugeia wheat extract business it bought into in 2008 to Cargill’s starches and sweeteners division for an undisclosed sum.

Ultra-fine wheat bran plugs health and can improve texture and structure, says Limagrain

21-Feb-2013 By Kacey Culliney

Limagrain Céréales Ingrédients (LCI) has extended its fibre range with a new ultra-fine wheat bran ingredient that it says can improve structure, texture and nutrition in a broad range of food and beverages.

Calorie labels are ‘wildly misleading’ claim experts

19-Feb-2013 By Nathan Gray

Calorie labels are misleading consumers by underestimating the energy content of processed foods and exaggerating that of raw ingredients, experts have warned.

Hi-Maize resistant starch may replace flour in foods with minimal sensory impact

14-Feb-2013 By Stephen DANIELLS

Resistant starch can effectively replace flour in foods like muffins, focaccia bread, and chicken curry to boost the fiber content without affecting the sensory characteristics, says a new study from Texas Woman’s University.

ASA upholds complaint against Weetabix online app targeting kids

13-Feb-2013

The UK’s Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has upheld a complaint against Weetabix’s online app WeetaKid and ruled that the app can no longer exist in its current form.

uk drinks firm upset by 'inaccurate' daily mail article

AG Barr slams ‘absolutely untrue’ IRN-BRU sugar deception claims

13-Feb-2013 By Ben BOUCKLEY

AG Barr tells BeverageDaily.com it is 'very concerned' by an inaccurate article in UK national newspaper the Daily Mail, claiming it prefers profit to consumer health by hiding sugar values on cans of IRN-BRU Regular.

Consumers seek out high-calorie foods in tough times, study finds

11-Feb-2013 By Nathan Gray

Do tough times mean expanding waistlines? New research suggests that hardship in life can lead to 40% increase in high-calorie food intake.

Heineken’s Finnish arm claims EU first with stevia-sweetened booze

06-Feb-2013 By Ben BOUCKLEY

Heineken’s Finnish business Hartwall claims to have launched the EU’s first alcoholic beverage sweetened with stevia onto the nation’s market this month in the form of a ‘light long’ RTD.

China to extend anti-dumping duties on potato starch

06-Feb-2013

This week, China will extend for another five years its anti-dumping duties on potato starch that is imported from the European Union.

Genetic engineering: It’s a technology, not an ideology

04-Feb-2013 By Caroline Scott-Thomas

Whether you are ‘pro’ or ‘anti’ genetic engineering has become a divisive political issue, but remember that we are talking about technology; it shouldn’t be an ideology.

BASF stops seeking EU approval of GM potatoes

31-Jan-2013 By Caroline Scott-Thomas

BASF has said it will stop seeking approval of its genetically modified (GM) potato varieties in the European Union after a decade of research and investment, citing uncertainties in the regulatory environment.

Fairtrade demand spurs rapid increase in supply

30-Jan-2013 By Caroline Scott-Thomas

Fairtrade International has said the number of farmers and workers benefitting from the system increased by 13% in 2011 as the food and drink industry continues to pledge its support, according to a new report.

UK report urges tax on sugary drinks to improve children’s health

29-Jan-2013 By Caroline Scott-Thomas

The UK government should consider taxing unhealthy foods and sugary drinks in an effort to improve children’s health and combat diet-related illness, according to a new report from food and farming campaign group Sustain.

Tate & Lyle launches open innovation platform: 'We want to send out a signal to the market'

29-Jan-2013 By Elaine WATSON

From food ingredients that reduce the blood glucose response to food intake, to natural high-potency sweeteners, digestive health and weight management ingredients, and plant-based ingredients that can mask bitter flavors…

Sugar users ‘disappointed’ by agriculture committee vote to keep sugar quotas

24-Jan-2013 By Caroline Scott-Thomas

Sugar users were dealt a blow on sugar quota reform yesterday, after the European agriculture committee voted to extend the current system to 2020, rejecting a proposal to end quotas by 2015.

PepsiCo outstripping Coke in UK sugar-free cola sales share?

24-Jan-2013 By Ben BOUCKLEY

PepsiCo is significantly ahead of Coke in terms of the share of its UK cola sales in low or no calorie versions, the latest figures sent to BeverageDaily.com suggest.

Cargill and Arasco agree Middle East joint venture

23-Jan-2013 By Caroline Scott-Thomas

Cargill has said it intends to create a new sweeteners and starches joint venture in Saudi Arabia with agri-business firm Arasco, saying it will give the company a foothold in the fast-growing Middle East and North African market.

Majority of NEJM readers back regulation of sugary drinks

21-Jan-2013 By Caroline Scott-Thomas

Government regulation should be part of a strategy to reduce consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, according to the majority of respondents to a survey in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Tate & Lyle Sugars takes battle against EU to court

17-Jan-2013 By Nathan Gray

Sugar refiner Tate & Lyle Sugars will take its fight against the European Commission for alleged mismanagement of the European sugar market to court today. 

Junk food linked to 40% rise in childhood asthma and eczema, say scientists

15-Jan-2013 By Nathan Gray

Eating more than three portions of junk food each week could lead to an increased risk of childhood asthma and eczema, say researchers.

Honey slapped for slow-release energy claims; but what about Nutella?

11-Jan-2013 By Shane STARLING

Rowse Honey cannot claim it gives “slow release energy” following a UK advertising watchdog ruling that has disappointed the Oxfordshire firm and left it wondering how spread rival Nutella can make similar claims.

Hold the soda? Study links carbonated drinks to depression while coffee is tied to lower risk

09-Jan-2013 By Nathan Gray

Fizzy drinks and fruit squashes are linked to an increased risk of depression, according to new research that also suggests coffee could reduce risk.

Special Edition: Fibre

From bakery to beverage: Are ‘high fibre’ claims diversifying?

13-Dec-2012 By Nathan Gray

‘High fibre’ claims are traditionally the realm of bakery products, but has recent growing demand for fibre by consumers resulted in a shift away from bread-based products?

Coca-Cola reformulates Glacéau vitaminwater with stevia in GB

11-Dec-2012 By Ben Bouckley

Coca-Cola has reformulated Glacéau vitaminwater for the British market by revamping packaging and reformulating its eight-strong range with a stevia-based sweetener that cuts sugar levels by 30% and cuts the calorie count by 30 per bottle.