Chocolate and confectionery ingredients

Special Edition: The possibilities of chocolate with reduced cocoa butter

Price pressures: Will chocolate makers bite the bullet on cocoa butter alternatives?

15-Apr-2014 By Oliver Nieburg

Chocolate purists may turn to alternative vegetable fats amid escalating cocoa butter prices, but taste and regulatory stumbling blocks remain, according to an analyst.

A sweet tooth is just as genetic as asthma, says researcher

14-Apr-2014 By Annie Harrison-Dunn

About 50% of our preference for sweet food and drinks can be attributed to genetics, about the same level of heritability as certain personality traits and asthma, according to a food sensory scientist.

Mondelēz downplays Russia sanctions as it announces $110m factory

11-Apr-2014 By Oliver Nieburg

Mondelēz International has made light of potential trade sanctions against Russia for its annexing of Crimea and announced a $110m factory in Siberia.

Mars develops heat resistant chocolate with polyol mix

10-Apr-2014 By Oliver Nieburg

Mars has filed a patent for heat resistant chocolate that can withstand hot climates, following an earlier application from Mondelēz and Nestlé.

Small changes are the way to go (and that’s not an industry cop out!): Obesity expert

10-Apr-2014 By Annie Harrison-Dunn

Obesity should be tackled in small steps, acknowledging where people are and not where public health officials wish they were, according to a US scientist.

‘Scientific substantiation’ needed before WHO reduces sugar guidance, says CAOBISCO

09-Apr-2014 By Oliver Nieburg

More research is required before the World Health Organization (WHO) cuts its guidance on daily sugar intake by half, according to the Association of Chocolate, Biscuits and Confectionery Industries of Europe (CAOBISCO).

CIUS calls for close monitoring in ‘uncertain’ EU sugar market

08-Apr-2014 By Oliver Nieburg

European Sugar Users (CIUS) has called on the European Commission to implement temporary market measures should sugar end stocks fall below a certain threshold amid uncertainly in the EU sugar supply.

Cadbury's purple reign over: UK court blocks color trademark appeal

04-Apr-2014 By Oliver Nieburg

Mondelēz International owned Cadbury has exhausted all avenues of appeal to register a UK trademark for its Dairy Milk purple following an 10-year dispute with Nestlé.

FAO: Ukraine-Russia tensions and poor weather lead to sharp rise in food prices

03-Apr-2014 By Nathan Gray

Unfavourable weather conditions in the Asia, Brazil and the US, coupled with increased political tension in the Black Sea region have led to a steep increase in world food prices, says the FAO.

Barry Callebaut restores growth as Petra integration advances

03-Apr-2014 By Oliver Nieburg

Barry Callebaut has returned to net profit growth in its half year results as it further integrates the cocoa ingredients business acquired from Petra Foods.

Special edition: Nuts, pulses and legumes

No picnic: Is pea protein moving from the fringe to mainstream?

02-Apr-2014 By Annie Harrison-Dunn

Pea protein may be moving in from the food and beverage fringes, however formulating with the fast-growing ingredient is 'no picnic' according to functional confectionery firm Carmit.

New entrant: Top UK mineral water firm enters confectionery market with low-cost energy gum

02-Apr-2014 By Oliver Nieburg

UK mineral water firm Navson has developed a low price-point energy gum fortified with taurine and B vitamins.

Waste date beans- from eco coffee alternative to beyond

31-Mar-2014 By Annie Harrison-Dunn

An Israeli company that has released a range of coffee alternatives made from roasted date kernel, says the waste material has potential as a sustainable food and drink ingredient stretching far beyond this initial creation.

Private label growth: UK consumer data suggests private label trend is here to stay

27-Mar-2014 By Nathan Gray

Private label products have continued to grow in market share despite the UK economic recovery, according to new data from Kantar Worldpanel that suggests the trend for own-brand goods may be here to stay.

Chocolate war: Soviet brand dispute behind Roshen factory raids

21-Mar-2014 By Oliver Nieburg

Russia has seized the Russian factories of Ukraine’s leading chocolate company Roshen.

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Mondelēz: ‘We may revisit sugar reduction target’, if WHO formalizes guidance

19-Mar-2014 By Oliver Nieburg

Mondelēz International said it may include a pledge to reduce sugar in its new health & wellness program, but only if the World Health Organization (WHO) makes its latest sugar advice formal.

Healthy midlife diet may prevent dementia later

18-Mar-2014 By Annie Harrison-Dunn

Making healthy dietary choices in midlife could lower the risk of dementia in later years by almost 90%, according to new research.

Action on Sugar sketches sugar reduction plans

14-Mar-2014 By Caroline SCOTT-THOMAS

Sugar consumption could feasibly be reduced by 10% a year over the coming three to four years – without using artificial sweeteners or any other replacement ingredients, claims Action on Sugar.

British Sugar welcomes WHO added sugar guidance – with a caveat

13-Mar-2014 By Caroline SCOTT-THOMAS

British Sugar has welcomed the WHO’s continued recommendation that added sugars should account for less than 10% of total calories – although it has said it is concerned about advice to reduce this to 5%.

Roses are red, violets are blue, and so is chocolate, says Barry Callebaut

13-Mar-2014 By Annie Harrison-Dunn

Barry Callebaut says chocolate makers can produce products in novel colors far easier with its new flower-shaped food colorant pellets compared to using high doses of powder and liquid dyes.

Turnaround for organic sector in UK

13-Mar-2014 By Sarah Hills

The organic market has seen annual growth for the first time since 2008 in the UK, according to campaign organisation, the Soil Association.

No sugar reduction in Mondelēz health and wellness pledge

13-Mar-2014 By Oliver Nieburg

Mondelēz is to cut saturated fat and sodium by 10% by 2020, but suggests reducing consumer sugar intake is manageable with portion controlled products and education.

Europain 2014

Weiss powder praline aims to cut waste

12-Mar-2014 By Annie Harrison-Dunn

Powder praline will help confectioners cut waste and save production time previously lost with paste separation, says French chocolate maker Weiss.

The FoodNavigator Forum

How does sugar affect health? Find out at FoodNavigator’s Sugar Debate: Separating Fact from Fiction

12-Mar-2014 By Caroline SCOTT-THOMAS

Sugar – at least in excess – has been blamed for everything from heart disease to obesity and cancers in recent months. But is it as bad as all that?

Nestlé wants to empower more women to work in engineering

11-Mar-2014 By Jenny Eagle

As the United Nations held its 6th Annual Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) in New York, last week, Nestlé shared its efforts to encourage women worldwide to work in the marketplace and community.

Dietary guidelines are wrong on saturated fats, claims cardiovascular researcher

10-Mar-2014 By Caroline SCOTT-THOMAS

Recommendations to replace saturated fat with carbohydrates or polyunsaturated fat are “severely challenged” and should be revised, claims an editorial published in Open Heart, a new journal from the BMJ Group.

WHO recommends halving sugar intake advice

06-Mar-2014 By Caroline SCOTT-THOMAS

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has advised halving sugar intake advice from 10% of total calories to 5% of total calories in a new dietary guideline proposal.

F&B industry will need 170,300 recruits by 2020 to meet consumer demand

Nestlé to debut live Twitter debate

05-Mar-2014 By Jenny Eagle

Nestlè UK and Taste Success, an industry-led campaign by the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) will host a live Twitter Q&A with engineering graduates from its apprenticeship scheme from midday-2pm tomorrow (Thursday, March 6).

CIUS: EU must act on sugar shortage risk

04-Mar-2014 By Annie-Rose Harrison-Dunn

The Committee of European Sugar Users (CIUS) has called on EU member states and the Commission to take adequate measures to avoid sugar shortages and guarantee a sufficient stock level at the end of this business year.

Dark choc improves heart health, but it’s got nothing to do with flavanols

28-Feb-2014 By Annie-Rose Harrison-Dunn

Dark chocolate may help restore flexibility to arteries and prevent white blood cells from sticking to the walls of blood vessels, but increasing flavanol content will not affect these effects and may even put consumers off, say researchers.

Oxfam sustainability scorecard reveals ‘leaders and laggards’

26-Feb-2014 By Caroline SCOTT-THOMAS

Leading food and drink makers including Nestlé, Unilever and Coca-Cola have made good progress in the year since Oxfam released its first Behind the Brands sustainability scorecard – and only one company made no progress, according to the NGO.

Which profession is the worst offender for snacking ‘al desko’?

26-Feb-2014 By Annie-Rose Harrison-Dunn

A third of all snacking takes place at our desks and marketing professionals top the unhealthy table, with lawyers at the bottom, according to UK research from yogurt brand Fruyo.

Is the food industry falling out of love with ‘natural’ claims? Not according to the data, says Mintel

21-Feb-2014 By Elaine WATSON

When PepsiCo replaced the word ‘Simply Natural’ with ‘Simply’ on some Frito-Lay lines recently, some commentators wondered if this signaled the beginning of the end of the industry’s love affair with all-natural claims. However, new data suggests otherwise.

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