Trans fat challenge
A group of MEPs is calling on the European Commission (EC) and Council to introduce mandatory labelling of trans fats on foods as part of forthcoming...
Archives for April 26, 2007
V for vitality
FIHN finds out what's on offer at Vitafoods: the biggest health ingredients show in Europe
Botanical odyssey
Twenty years of drug discovery work at Bayer have paved the way for the best kept secret in botanicals, says John Dunn
Mushrooms go on cancer trial
A Norwegian company supplying lentinen, a polysaccharide (beta-glycan) biofermented from an exotic mushroom for cancer therapy in the Far East, is...
Eat yourself beautiful
Can you really change your appearance for the better by choosing certain foods? Catherine Quinn looks at developments in the fast-growing beauty foods sector
Beauty from within
Feeding your face is big business, with more than 500 new beauty foods and drinks launched globally between January 2004 and September 2006, and...
Eastern promise
Japan has a unique, culturally-based relationship with functional foods. But how many will translate into the European market? Michael Fitzpatrick investigates
Sensory reception deception from Senomyx
The first products containing ingredients that can effectively fool our taste buds into believing we are eating foods far saltier, sweeter and richer...
Wood sterol plant for EU
US firm Phyto-Source has unveiled plans to build a manufacturing plant in Europe in a bid to cash in on growing demand for cholesterol-busting wood...
Flavour of the month
Manufacturers must seek pockets of opportunity in a market that is growing only modestly overall, says RTS Resource
Biofuels threaten staple foods
The prices of staple foods could rocket by 15-20% over the next decade if food crops continue to be diverted into biofuel production, caramel colours...
Tate & Lyle's new venture
Tate & Lyle's new venture capital fund has just invested in its first business after investigating more than 50 potential opportunities in Europe...
Research update: new ideas under the microscope
MEAT NEW IDEAStrategies for designing novel functional meat products utilising bioactive peptides and/or probiotic bacteria.Meat-based bioactive...
Still sweet on xylitol
Prices of the sweetener xylitol have more than doubled in the last three months as demand continues to exceed supply.Daniel Reeds, director at...
Inulin launch is a healthy development
Orafti has launched Beneo LGI, a new reduced-sugar inulin designed for manufacturers keen to reduce the calorie content and glycaemic response of...
Cargill to launch glycaemic response study
Cargill will launch a major pan-European study into consumer understanding of glycaemic response this year.Many scientists believed that foods that...
Fortress Europe
Another new year; each of us another year older and (maybe) another year wiser! But will this increased collective wisdom change Brussels' approaches...
Time for fresh biotech debate
Biotech firms should refuse to be browbeaten by lobby groups and instead call for a fresh debate on the merits of agricultural biotechnology in...
A novel solution?
Almost 10 years after it came into force, the Novel Food Regulation is finally going to get an overhaul this year. And not before time, says Elaine Watson
Lipid boss is on a mission
Lipid Nutrition's new boss wants to double the size of the business in three years - and bring two new products to market over the same...
It's all in the genes. Or is it?
The first set of results from a major pan-European study exploring how the food industry can help tackle metabolic syndrome by developing healthier...
Who's the sugar daddy now?
The Indian company representing the most serious challenge to Tate & Lyle's monopoly of the highly lucrative sucralose market claims it will be...
Gum growth guaranteed
Moves to add functional ingredients, such as probiotics, to chewing gum will drive demand for dry powder-based tableted chewing gums in 2007,...
Goodbye goji
Could this be the end of the road for one of our favourite superfoods? Elaine Watson finds out
The bottom line
The ingredients supply industry faces numerous significant challenges in the new millennium, but which are key to future prosperity? Elaine Watson finds out
R&D bias?
Long before the innovation funnel, big food companies conducted their research and development (R&D) mostly in-house. Their labs were large...
Sweet ambition
There is now a dazzling array of alternatives to sugar available to food manufacturers, but the game isn't up for the white stuff just yet, says Bill Lavers
Functional overdrive
Being diagnosed with diabetes stoked Jens Bleiel 's interest in food science from an early age, says Elaine Watson
Weapons of mass reduction
Leading the weight management pack is Lipid Nutrition, which will showcasing two major ingredients designed to tackle the rising obesity epidemic:...
Fighting temptation
Ingredients promoting satiety are big business, but do they really work? John Dunn finds out
Why E-numbers aren't evil
A more mature debate about E-numbers would only come through a better understanding of where additives came from and why they were added to foods, a...
Givaudan breathes new life into old gum
Givaudan claims to have broken completely new ground in the gum market through the use of patented technology enabling it to 'layer' different...
Whey to go!
The nutritionals market is still in the 'embryonic stages', the boss of Glanbia Nutritionals tells Elaine Watson
Muscling in
The sports nutrition sector continues to expand and seek out new markets; a growth accompanied by important new research developments in Europe and the US, says Paul Gander
Let's talk technical
Elaine Watson meets Pauline Taggart, a European business development manager who believes complex science can help sell products - provided its benefits are properly explained to customers
Substitute for pork fat
Cargill has developed a pork fat substitute called Adrogel GR that can be mixed with water and vegetable oil to produce a restructured vegetable fat...
Unilever: DNA diets in 5 years
Unilever is just five years away from selling products based on its growing understanding of the interaction between diets and gene...
The fats of life
Healthy lipids suppliers will top the billing at this year's show.First up is Croda, which is launching Incromega Trio, a new product containing...
What women want
With the insecurities health and beauty issues bring, women as consumers remain a target for a quick fix. The functional market is planning for a life, reports Sue Scott
Acid attack
Only one sweetener also has the power to actively improve our dental health, says Christos Zacharis
A natural solution?
Experts say the market for synthetic food dyes will remain static for five years - but sales of naturally derived products are expected to record healthy growth, says Nicola Cottam
The future of flavour
Flavour houses are increasingly collaborating with universities and research institutes to tap into their primary research, says Justin Pugsley
Feeling fruity
While the European market for functional foods remains smaller than many people think, it continues to outperform the food and drinks market as a...
Recipe for Disaster
From a regulatory perspective, 2007 will be a busy year for the EU food sector. European legislators are absorbed with additives, enzymes and...
Bioriginal on the acquisition trail
Essential fatty acids expert Bioriginal is embarking on an aggressive acquisitions drive this year in a bid to boost its portfolio of nutritional...
Solanic unlocks the potential of the humble potato at new plant
Avebe subsidiary Solanic will score an industry first in October when it becomes the first business to start commercial production of high...
High intensity threat
The challenge for Tate & Lyle will be to widen the market for its Splenda sucralose rather than fighting with suppliers of aspartame for...
Full speed ahead
Venture capitalists are waving wads of cash at companies willing to tap into consumers' burgeoning interest in functional foods, reports Glynn Davis
Regulatory straitjacket
Consumers must be protected - but regulators have a habit of hindering firms trying to innovate, rather than helping them, according to Klaus Menrad
Seaweed: the most nutritious form of vegetation on the planet?
Weight for weight, what foodstuff contains more iron than sirloin steak, more fibre than prunes and more calcium than cheese? Dr Sarah Hotchkiss and Dr Angie Trius spill the beans
Lipid assets
Smashing through the glass ceiling to take the top job at Lipid Nutrition, Katinka Abbenbroek is determined to make her mark, says Elaine Watson
BPW dismisses 'meritless' suit
The soft drinks giants behind controversial calorie-burning drink Enviga said they would "energetically oppose" the lawsuit launched against them by...
Sipal gets fruity with new sweet syrups
Sipal Partners has launched a new range of organic syrups made from dried dates and figs. As natural sweeteners, Sipa-Dates and Sipa-Figs add a...