Fats & oils

How will the CSDDD be implemented in EU member states?

30-Apr-2024 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

The CSDDD, which aims to keep large companies’ supply chains to high standards on sustainability and human rights, has passed through the European Parliament. Next comes the tricky part: implementation.

Peanut shortage: What caused it and is it set to last?

25-Apr-2024 By Donna Eastlake

Peanuts are by far the most consumed nut (technically a legume) globally, but a recent shortage has caused concern for manufacturers. How serious is the issue and how long will it last?

Feeling Smug? Behind Kerry’s launch into hybrid dairy

25-Apr-2024 By Flora Southey

Kerry Dairy Consumer Foods is bringing ‘real innovation’ to dairy with a range of hybrid products – and tongue-in-cheek branding.

Could a 'junk food' diet cause long-term damage to the brain?

23-Apr-2024 By Donna Eastlake

Junk food has been linked to a number of health issues, including obesity, type two diabetes and cardiovascular disease, but could it also cause long-term damage to the brain?

UPF watch: What’s the latest on ultra-processed food?

16-Apr-2024 By Flora Southey

Ultra-processed food is making headlines. In our rolling coverage of UPF, we unpack the good, the bad, and the confusion around this classification of products. Here’s the latest…

Flour upcycled from olive waste a ‘revolution’ for industry

10-Apr-2024 By Flora Southey

Just 15% of the olive is used when making olive oil. But with the right technology, the remaining 85% can be valorised, according to Israeli start-up PhenOlives.

How KFC is reformulating the classics to cut fat, salt and sugar

05-Apr-2024 By Flora Southey

From burgers to fries, the QSR major is cutting calories from menus in the UK and Ireland. Which reformulation strategies are at play?

Cultivated quail: Yet another lab-grown meat greenlit outside of EU

04-Apr-2024 By Flora Southey

The latest victory for cultivated meat shines a light on the situation in the EU, where not one novel food application for cell-based meat has been submitted for regulatory approval.

Cocoa crisis hits chocolate: Which companies can weather the storm, financially?

04-Apr-2024 By Flora Southey

Unsurprisingly, some chocolate makers are struggling to afford cocoa, which has risen in price by 400% in a year.

Animal-free collagen: The food and drink potential

28-Mar-2024 By Flora Southey

As demand for collagen ‘surges’, will its animal-free alternative edge further into food and drink?

Danone, Nestlé, Kraft Heinz baby food ‘unfit for promotion’: ATNI

27-Mar-2024 By Flora Southey

In fact, none of the 1,297 complementary foods tested from six companies were up to scratch, according to the Access to Nutrition Initiative. The food makers disagree.

Are ultra-processed plant-based burgers healthy? WHO investigates

21-Mar-2024 By Flora Southey

The World Health Organization has funded research analysing the nutritional composition of ultra-processed plant-based burgers, and the findings are out.

From non-HFSS cereals to desserts: How unlikely foods hit the sweet spot with regulators

20-Mar-2024 By Flora Southey

How are brands cutting fat, salt, and sugar from popular product categories to hit the mark with both policymakers and consumers?

Will EU delay EUDR deadline?

19-Mar-2024 By Donna Eastlake

Rumours are rife that the EU is planning to delay the EUDR deadline past 30 December 2024. But is this true, and if not, are suppliers and manufacturers ready?

Non-HFSS doughnuts: Which nutrient is toughest to cut when reinventing the wheel?

13-Mar-2024 By Flora Southey

It’s very difficult to ‘crack’ better-for-you indulgence, according to maker of HFSS compliant doughnuts Urban Legend. Here’s how founder and ex-Graze CEO Anthony Fletcher claims to have done it.

Eco-friendly by stealth? Why a hybrid dairy newcomer is avoiding ‘hybrid’ labelling

08-Mar-2024 By Flora Southey

PlanetDairy says its marketing is transparent, but actively avoids terminology such as ‘hybrid’, ‘more sustainable’ or ‘green’.

Salty snack supply set to grow and diversify in 2024

07-Mar-2024 By Natasha Spencer-Joilliffe

Affordable, better-for-you and flavourful salty snacks lead producers’ formulation considerations in 2024, while creating resilient crops and exploring the metaverse landscape drive the wider value chain.

Ultra-processed food linked to 32 poor health outcomes in largest study to date

05-Mar-2024 By Flora Southey

We ask lead author Melissa M Lane where she stands on the ultra-processed food debate.

Reformulating Ben & Jerry’s dairy-free: Why Unilever swapped out nuts and seeds for oats

27-Feb-2024 By Flora Southey

Having experimented with almond and sunflower bases for Ben & Jerry’s vegan ice cream products, Unilever is changing tack.

The case against ultra-processed food: 'UPF is designed to increase consumption and profit'

23-Feb-2024 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Do ultra-processed foods lead to poor health outcomes by definition? A ‘hyper-literal’ focus on definitions is not the point, suggest Henry Dimbleby and Chris van Tulleken: ‘ultra-processed food’ as a category encapsulates the toll that an industry dominated...

Foodies are falling for luxury butters in a big way

23-Feb-2024 By Donna Eastlake

Whether you’re spreading it (generously) on a crumpet, making pastry for a pie or baking a cake, butter is a kitchen essential that’s loved by many. But this humble ingredient is having something of a luxury makeover and food lovers are flocking.

Can links be drawn between Nutri-Score and ultra-processed food?

19-Feb-2024 By Flora Southey

Are ultra-processed foods more likely to have low Nutri-Score ratings? And should the Nova classification system be incorporated into the Nutri-Score algorithm?

Are we misusing the term ‘ultra-processed’? Uncoupling UPF from nutrition

14-Feb-2024 By Flora Southey

The term ‘ultra-processed’ is increasingly used to describe the ‘unhealthiness’ of a product, particularly in the context of plant-based meat. But how processed a food is reveals nothing about its nutritional impact, contends new research.

Is macauba a rainforest-friendly alternative to palm oil?

13-Feb-2024 By Donna Eastlake

Palm oil is cheap to produce in large quantities but unsustainable production methods, notably deforestation, means the bad can far outweigh the good. As a result, brands are increasingly distancing themselves from the use of irresponsible palm oil in...

Hybrid dairy: How can innovators unlock a new category’s potential?

13-Feb-2024 By Flora Southey

Hybrid dairy, whereby conventional dairy is blended with plant-based ingredients, holds ‘considerable appeal’ as a category, according to Mintel, but innovation is rare. What can industry do to win new consumers?

‘Melty and gooey’ plant-based cheese developed after 4 years of R&D: ‘Most on the market don’t melt, just soften’

12-Feb-2024 By Flora Southey

After four years in development, Swedish dairy-free start-up Stockeld Dreamery claims to have mastered the meltability experience of cheese with plant-based ingredients.

Unblocking the ‘fermentation bottleneck’: Inside Planetary’s quest to optimise protein production

07-Feb-2024 By Flora Southey

A fermentation bottleneck still exists for the microbial fermentation sector, according to Swiss biotech Planetary, who is working to optimise protein and fat production with not just ‘overall infrastructure, but correct infrastructure’.

Novonesis: Chr Hansen and Novozymes merge to form €3.7bn ‘biosolutions’ major

02-Feb-2024 By Flora Southey

Just over a year after announcing plans to merge, Danish enzyme and cultures suppliers Novozymes and Chr Hansen have joined forces under a new company name: Novonesis.

Tackling trans fat: WHO awards top 5 countries for elimination

01-Feb-2024 By Donna Eastlake

World Health Organization partners with Resolve to Save Lives to recognise countries working to remove industrially produced trans fat from their national food supplies.

‘Plant-based downturn isn’t halting innovation’: Beneo talks 2024 alt protein strategy

30-Jan-2024 By Flora Southey

The ingredients supplier outlines its two-pronged alternative protein strategy, which it is betting on to reignite demand for plant-based meat.

The race to meet the EUDR deadline is intensifying, so what help is available?

22-Jan-2024 By Donna Eastlake

December 30, 2024 marks the day by which supply chain stakeholders, including producers, importers, manufacturers, brands, and retailers within the European Union must ensure they are selling, importing and exporting EUDR compliant cocoa, coffee, palm...

Cultivated eel that ‘melts in your mouth’? How Forsea mimics ‘tender, succulent’ texture of fish and seafood

22-Jan-2024 By Flora Southey

Eel meat is unlike any other: it is fatty, tender, and ‘almost melts in your mouth’, explains Roee Nir, co-founder and CEO of Forsea Foods. The start-up is working to mimic these attributes with stem cells in a lab.

Food & beverage trends: M&A activity points towards major shifts in consumer behaviour

19-Jan-2024 By Donna Eastlake

Increased production costs and changes in consumer preferences have both played a key role in how the industry evolved and developed in 2023, so what are these changes and how will they affect the industry going forward?

How Upfield made paper tubs for oil-based spreads: ‘It took 4 years and over 300 prototypes’

19-Jan-2024 By Flora Southey

Paper and oil may be an unlikely match, but margarine major Upfield has managed to marry the two in developing the ‘world’ first’ plastic-free, recyclable tub for plant butters and spreads.

Plant-based 3D printed eel: ‘Complex texture’ achieved with precision layers in industry first

11-Jan-2024 By Flora Southey

Steakholder Foods, which claims the launch is a ‘world first’, says its proprietary tech allows the start-up to closely mimic the taste, texture and appearance of traditional meat and seafood.

Processed plant-based meat: Clearer communication on the horizon, predict experts

09-Jan-2024 By Natasha Spencer-Joilliffe

European producers in 2024 will focus on informing consumers about processed and ultra-processed foods and drinks, potentially lowering content in formulations to encourage plant-based meat or dairy alternatives uptake.

How ingredients suppliers manage global struggles: From disrupted supply chains to cost-of-living pressures

08-Jan-2024 By Flora Southey

As we leave behind a troublesome 2023, we reflect on some of the unforeseen challenges faced by ingredients companies. From supply chain disruptions to cost-of-living pressures, how have suppliers changed tact to meet manufacturers’ demands?

The next generation of confectionery? Mediterranean cocoa-free chocolate addresses the darker side of production

03-Jan-2024 By Natasha Spencer-Joilliffe

Spurred on by a drive to pursue positive impact and leave the corporate world, four founders came together to launch their Mediterranean cacao-free chocolate brand.

FIE Innovation Award winners on solutions in plant-based fat: ‘We'll help advance the whole food sector'

21-Dec-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

At Food Ingredients Europe this year, the ‘Plant-based Innovation Award’ went to MirrorTissue, a plant-based ‘fatty lipid solution’. Here the producers discuss their triumph

Lower-impact protein and dietary swaps benefit climate change and health

18-Dec-2023 By Natasha Spencer-Joilliffe

Making simple substitutions by swapping animal-based products for plant-based alternatives and opting for lower-impact protein supports climate change efforts and personal health goals, a new study reveals.

Biggest threat to additives development? Quality data, says food industry

13-Dec-2023 By Natasha Spencer-Joilliffe

As the World Health Organization (WHO) publishes its latest information on additives, the food industry details how insufficient quality data is the biggest threat to their growth and management.

5 start-ups that caught our eye in 2023

08-Dec-2023 By Flora Southey

From upcycling ‘spent hens’ into flavour enhancers to recreating breast milk in a lab, we round-up five of the most innovate start-ups we interviewed in 2023.

Butter’s time to shine? The innovations churning up traditional spreads

06-Dec-2023 By Flora Southey

After decades of ‘very little’ innovation by heritage brands, is butter (and its plant-based counterparts) having a moment? FoodNavigator investigates.

Domino’s innovation lead talks trends, nutrition and sustainability in pizza: ‘You couldn’t do this job if you didn’t love food’

05-Dec-2023 By Flora Southey

Innovation director at Domino’s Pizza Group, Louise Pilkington, talks us through the process of rethinking pizzas, sides and desserts for today’s consumer.

Nourish Ingredients releases animal-free fat to accelerate future food systems

30-Nov-2023 By Natasha Spencer-Joilliffe

Food tech company Nourish Ingredients launches its animal-free fat, Tastilux, calling it a “world-first” and “breakthrough” new product development designed to enhance global food security.

Stacking plant-based meat up against the real thing: ‘Often it has a slightly better nutritional composition’

29-Nov-2023 By Flora Southey

A report finds that plant-based burgers, meatballs and bacon alternatives are healthier than their meaty counterparts, but animal meat scores better for chicken chunks, chicken fillet, and schnitzel.

How Mars is rethinking reformulation on its path to net zero

29-Nov-2023 By Flora Southey

As part of Mars Inc.’s strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the confectionery major is optimising product recipes to include more environmentally friendly ingredients.

Cell-based breast milk in development to replace ‘suboptimal’ bovine infant formula

27-Nov-2023 By Flora Southey

Can the complexities of breast milk be replicated by cows? France-based Nūmi doesn’t think so. The start-up is turning to cell culture to develop the ‘closest thing possible’ to breast milk.

Addressing unsustainable practices in the coconut supply chain: ‘Farmers are trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty’

22-Nov-2023 By Flora Southey

The Sustainable Coconut Partnership, founded by FMCG and ingredients heavyweights, was set up to establish best practice, impact programmes, and harmonise industry requirements for coconut supply chain players. Now a revised charter is bringing an assurance...

Plant-based kids formula: Danone mulls ‘multi-stage collaboration’ with vegan start-up

21-Nov-2023 By Flora Southey

The Aptamil owner has signed a letter of intent with Else Nutrition, a start-up making formula for babies and kids from almonds, buckwheat and tapioca.