Who can win an EU immunity claim? Yeast beta-glucan can?

German yeast specialist Leiber possesses the only immune health claim in the EU assessment system at the moment. But why should its beta-glucan yeast succeed when it has already failed...

There’s something fishy about this milk… not anymore US scientists claim

US researchers claim they have proved it possible to incorporate omega-3 fatty acid-rich fish oil into milk and dairy-based beverages in sufficient amounts to promote health without destroying taste or smell....

Beneo thinktank produces ‘Tooth-friendly’ and fibre-boosting sweets

Belgian supplier Beneo’s dessert thinktank is showing off some product concepts using sugar-free, ‘tooth-friendly’ isomalt and an already launched oligofructose-stevia blends for functional fibre candy.

Hot New Beverage Concepts for 2013: Episode Two

Adomas Pranevicius, CEO of MyDrink Beverages, gives BeverageDaily.com readers the further lowdown on new non-alcoholic drinks concepts that could set the market alight in 2013.

News in brief

Operational Efficiency 2012: Free Access To Today's First Ever Dedicated Online Event!

Register now for free access to today's first ever online event devoted to Operational Efficiency in food and beverage processing, organized by FoodProductionDaily.com and William Reed Business Media.

Hot New Beverage Concepts for 2013: Episode One

The CEO of beverage development and innovation company MyDrink Beverages tells BeverageDaily.com why his firm's new non-alcoholic beverage concepts for 2013 could take the market by storm...

Vitamins: A Centenary of essential nutrients

Birthday gifts: Vitamins celebrate centenary with EU health claim wins

2012 is turning out to be a very good year for the vitamins sector. Aside from the feel good factor of the essential nutrients turning 100, vitamins have also won...

Comment

Pharma seeks bigger dose of booming nutra sector

In just a few years the global health and wellness (H&W) products sector will be worth $1 trillion dollars – that’s a lot of billion dollar blockbuster drugs.

Vodka category risks ‘innovation fatigue’: Euromonitor analyst

After a rash of ‘new launches, gimmicky stunts and outrageous incarnations’, culminating in bubble gum-based vodka, Euromonitor International is warning of potential category ‘boom and bust’.

News in brief

McDonald's restaurant linked to salmonella outbreak

McDonald's is at the centre of an investigation of an outbreak of salmonella at one of its restaurants in Illinois.

Fruit Shoot litigation ‘claims’ could cost Britvic further ₤8m in 2013

Britvic finance director John Gibney told City analysts this morning that losses of ₤16.9m due to this year’s Fruit Shoot recall could extend to ₤25m in 2013 due to associated...

Interactive Map

Global chocolate markets: Biggest sinkers and risers

ConfectioneryNews.com presents an interactive map of the fastest growing and fastest falling chocolate markets in the world over the past five years complete with analysis from Euromonitor International.

Global healthy foods to hit $1 trillion in 2017: Report

The global functional, allergen-free, organic and other healthy foods market will push through the $1 trillion (€770m) mark for the first time in 2017, as consumer interest in preventing illness...

Soft drinks giants' sensitivities drove decision to ban our ad – SodaStream suggests

SodaStream suggests that UK advertising compliance body Clearcast was more worried about the sensitivities of the world’s soft drinks giants than the environment in pulling its multi-million dollar advert from...

NPD: The customer is always right – and first – says Danish dairy giant

Arla Foods used to be a Danish dairy with a Scandinavian bent. Now it is global-facing, upping its R&D spend and obsessed with finding out what consumers want, rather than...

UK confectionery wholesaler Hancocks sold to private equity firm

The UK’s leading confectionery wholesaler Hancocks Group has been sold to H2 Equity Partners for around £50m ($78m).

FSA warns Sunland US salmonella outbreak could reach UK

The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has warned consumers not to eat certain peanut butter-based products imported from the US due to the ongoing salmonella outbreak traced to manufacturer Sunland.

LIVE FROM THE SHOW FLOOR: BRAU BEVIALE 2012

Rexam packaging innovations ‘add value’ to consumer experience

Innovative packaging features – such as thermo- and light-sensitive inks – are essential to 'add value' to the consumer experience of a beverage brand, packaging giant Rexam told BeverageDaily.com and...

Tate & Lyle: New stevia sweetener can cut cola sugar levels by 50%

Tate & Lyle tells BeverageDaily.com that its new stevia ingredient, Tasteva, can be used to halve sucrose levels in cola drinks without a bitter aftertaste, and does not use masking...

Special edition: Free-from foods

Consumers equate ‘free-from’ with health: EUFIC

‘Free-from’ has become synonymous with healthy food for a large number of consumers – but how that affects shopping habits remains uncertain, according to EUFIC’s Dr Sophie Hieke.

DuPont on EU probiotic health claim ban: “Mention specific strains”

Giant of probiotic supply, DuPont, is not afraid to admit its European business has been altered by the rejection of probiotic health claims under the EU nutrition and health claims...

Why do consumers prefer matching food brands? Because they match, says study

A belief that matching branded products are designed to work 'uniquely well together' means most consumers prefer to purchase matching branded foods, especially when those foods are to be consumed...

PARNUTS update: Specialist foods reforms due for EU lawbooks

Revision of the laws governing specialist food products like sports foods, infant foods and gluten-free foods is set for a final vote in the European Parliament in December or January,...

DISPATCHES FROM BRAU BEVIALE 2012, NURMEBERG

Shelf life is not an issue for wine can consumers – Ball Packaging

A maximum shelf life of one year will not be an issue for wine can consumers, Ball Packaging’s sales director for Benelux and Scandinavia Gerlof Toenhake told reporter Mark Astley....

Do consumers understand and trust functional foods? Not really, say experts

While EFSA’s health claims dossier may pave the way towards tighter regulations on what can and cannot be said about a food's potential benefit, the way that consumers understand and...

Premier Foods: Catalysts, closures and consolidation…

Premier Foods will shut two bakery sites and remove 130 distribution routes at a cost of £28m ($44.5m); a move sparked by its lost Co-op bread contract.

EC-member states moving toward caffeine health claim consensus

A European Commission working group has found growing support to authorise five mental and physical caffeine-based health claims – as long as they contain strict conditions of use statements.

Give supermarket watchdog teeth urges campaign group

Renewed calls for the government to give the supermarket watchdog sharp teeth came today (November 19) from anti-poverty agency ActionAid, as the Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill enters its second reading...

Exclusive interview

Price-conscious Portuguese moving to private label chocolate, says Imperial CEO

Consumers in Portugal are turning their backs on branded chocolates in favor of supermarket brands as the domestic economy bites, according to the CEO of Portuguese confectioner Imperial-Produtos Alimentares.

Implied health claim bans, stevia challenges, and award winners: A round up of day 2 at HiE

How will banning the term 'probiotic' change how companies conduct business, can stevia ever be a 'drop in' solution, and who were the big winners at the NuW awards this year?The FoodNavigator...

Major food makers pledge to standardise EU nutrition labelling

Twelve major food manufacturers and retailers have backed a plan to standardise food labelling across the European Union, in line with the new EU Food Information for Consumers regulation.

December 14, 2012: EU health claims doomsday? Er, not really…

For years, probiotics and other sections of the food industry have supposedly been dreading the implementation of despised EU health claims laws.

Chocolate shrinking lifts overall UK consumer prices

Confectionery downsizing was a big contributor to higher UK consumer prices in October, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), as big players like Mars, Mondelez and...

News in brief

Tesco appoints Coca-Cola boss as social media manager

Tesco has appointed Coca-Cola’s interactive manager Jude Brooks to head its social-media operations.

Real Good Food Company on track for ‘critical’ Christmas period despite profit drops

Operating profits dropped in two of the Real Good Food Company’s (RGFC) bakery businesses – Haydens and R&W Scott – but analysts say the group is on track entering the...

Food and drink firms ‘braced for tough Christmas’: FDF

Britain’s food and drink manufacturers are bracing themselves for difficult Christmas trading, according to the Food and Drink Federation (FDF).

Consumer confidence critical in food safety battle, says FDA representative

Consumer confidence in food safety is an important goal, said an FDA representative, who outlined five themes during a speech at a conference in China.

Colour-changing label set for mid-2013 launch, says Insignia Technologies

The firm behind a colour-changing label has told FoodProductionDaily.com that its first product will launch commercially next year aimed at boosting food safety.

DISPATCHES FROM PACK EXPO 2012

Looking at packaging life cycle is key to eliminating food waste, says DuPont

The life cycle approach to eliminate food waste is to become a growing issue and might result in more packaging to gain a better overall footprint, according to DuPont.

Asian retail growth mitigates poor performance in the West

The rise of the Japanese owner of 7Eleven is synonymous with the charge of grocery retail in Asia, and backs up the latest study by Euromonitor into the subject.

EFSA health claim opinion

Rejected: EFSA tells Glanbia its whey “weight loss peptides” claim is “not characterised”

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has rejected Irish dairy and ingredients giant Glanbia’s claim that its Prolibra whey-peptide ingredient can reduce body fat, failing the claim on characterisation grounds...

Carlsberg rivals face Russian organizational 'challenges', CEO suggests

Carlsberg CEO Jørgen Buhl Rasmussen has suggested that rival SAB Miller and new strategic partner Anadolu Efes may be facing challenges in Russia as they combine their businesses, as his...

Exotic flavor trend prompts Imperial passionfruit bar launch

Portuguese confectioner Imperial-Produtos Alimentares has added a new passionfruit chocolate bar to its Regina brand as it looks to seize on a market trend for exotic flavors.

UK bread wars: Allied Bakeries snatches Co-op contract from Premier

Allied Bakeries has secured an important win as it strikes a supply contract with UK retailer the Co-op that Premier Foods has been forced to cut, ABF’s finance director says....

Sugar profits sweeten the deal for ABF as grocery and ingredients slump

A bumper performance in the sugar market has helped Associated British Foods balance sharply declining profits in its ingredients and grocery businesses.

Pac Vending launches system for freshly baked baguettes

Pac Vending has launched a vending machine capable of delivering freshly baked baguettes to the customer in one minute.

Unilever and Walmart aim to transform sustainable palm oil supply

Unilever and Walmart are hoping to drive increased production of certified sustainable palm oil, as they unveiled new purchasing commitments at the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) annual meeting...

‘Probiotics’ term to go after December 14, 2012?

The probiotics sector is at different stages of readiness, and embracing different approaches, to EU health claim laws that appear to rule the very word ‘probiotic’ a non-authorised, implied health...

WikiCell targets Louvre as site for first outlet

A snack bar next to the Musée de Louvre in Paris will be the site of the first outlet selling products in edible packaging from WikiCell Designs, the company behind...

Trendwatch: What's new in energy drinks?

The energy drink market is the fastest growing segment of the European soft drinks industry, so how are newcomers looking to get in on the action?

UK rules against slimming gum TV ads, despite EFSA approvals

The UK advertising watchdog has ruled against a TV campaign for a slimming gum even though some of the claims appeared to have won European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) approval.

Trade association highlights packaging innovation

Breakthroughs in radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, colour changing film and packaging designed to extend shelf life are some of the latest innovations highlighted by the Active & Intelligent Packaging...

Kerry reports strong growth despite tough trading conditions

Strong growth in Kerry Group’s ingredients and flavours division has helps to balance out slow-down in consumer goods, as revenues increased by nearly 11% to €4.4 billion.