As we enter the twilight days of 2014 the editors of NutraIngredients-USA become a reflective bunch. A lot of things happened this year, and here is our top 10 of most important events of 2014…
With class action lawsuits still filed almost weekly over 'all-natural' claims, the Supreme Court casting a slide rule over Coca-Cola’s juice labels, and all eyes on Vermont as the legal row over GMO labeling heats up, 2014 was another bumper...
Hong Kong is the world’s fastest growing market for infant formula, followed by mainland China, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam and Indonesia, latest Euromonitor research shows.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has restarted its support for 1.7m Syrian refugees following a US$52m donation from Saudi Arabia, along with funds from other governments and donors.
All parties in the poultry supply chain, including feed producers, need to assess how they can help limit avian flu outbreaks, with no certainties about whether the spread of the disease will be checked in the coming weeks, says an industry specialist.
Sugar, gluten-free foods, front-of-pack nutrition labelling, and the 'utter nonsense' behind popular diet claims were among the most popular subjects of the year on FoodNavigator.
The head of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation has urged the world’s poorest countries to work harder with one another to be able to develop in time to meet their food security challenges.
BIG Cola insists global brands don’t need a presence in the US or Europe as it says it competes with the likes of Coke and Pepsi by 'democratizing consumption' with fairly priced quality products.
A collaboration between a major Pakistan food company and local non-governmental organisation (NGO) aimed at improving the country’s slaughterhouse standards is set to expand sales abroad.
New analysis from Frost & Sullivan has found that the global medical foods market will grow by one-third by 2018, with Asia-Pacific driving this surge.
More than 50,000 people have signed an Italian petition to limit the use of palm oil in processed foods, organised by food news and campaigning organisation Il Fatto Alimentare.
Tetra Pak Thailand was awarded Green Company of the Year and Nestlé was recognised as a CSR Advocate at the Asia Corporate Excellence & Sustainability Awards (ACES) 2014 organised by MORS Group, this week.
Special Edition: Cutting calories in confectionery
The global functional food market is forecast to reach $54bn (€43bn), an increase of 25% compared to the last available data from 2013, says Leatherhead Food Research.
BASF has sold its Norwegian, “natural fish oils, medium-concentrated omega-3s, and customised bottled fish oil” plant to Pennsylvania firm Marine Ingredients for an undisclosed sum as the German ingredients and chemicals giant switches its focus to high-end...
Faced with mounting difficulties in their drug businesses, many pharmaceutical manufacturers are looking at getting into functional foods and beverages, notes food marketing expert, Julian Mellentin in this guest article.
“This is a good move for Raisio. They are the correct parent of this niche brand.”
“J&J should have sold it 10 years ago,” is one analyst’s appraisal of Finnish agro-food giant Raisio’s buy-back of the licensing rights to its cholesterol lowering, plant stanol-based Benecol brand today, referring to US market difficulties for the...
Sidel announced it has signed a partnership with Sayeed International, an industrial packaging company in Pakistan, at Gulfood Mannufacturing 2014, in Dubai.
Academic: "Anybody who thinks the world’s malnutrition problems are going to be solved without industry is dreaming."
By Shane Starling from the 3rd World Congress of Public Health Nutrition in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria
Emerging research linking vitamin E deficiency with increased risk of Alzheimer’s, miscarriages and fatty liver disease can contribute to an ongoing debate around recommended intakes, a nutrition congress was told yesterday.
Cocoa powder demand for use in compound confectionery coatings is rising rapidly in Asia and Eastern Europe as rising cocoa butter prices up the cost of chocolate manufacturing.
Insects are unlikely to become a viable solution to feeding the increasing global population if western attitudes towards them remain negative, according to a leading analyst.
Kuwait has the world’s highest percentage of obese people – 42.8% of its population is obese – and the next four fattest countries are also from the Middle East region, according to an updated Food Security Index (FSI).
Calcium supplementation (Marigot’s Aquamin) could prevent exercise-associated bone density reduction in post-menopausal women, according to an American study.
An entomological discovery should lead to the easing of some international trade restrictions, according to the Food and Agriculture Office of the United Nations.
“Artificial sweeteners may boost diabetes risk” ran the headline in the New York Times last month – but experts have said to take recent research with a pinch of salt.
Next Tuesday NutraIngredients is proud to host our first healthy ageing forum, an hour long online discussion about a booming sector with leading experts.
The ‘surprising’ discovery of a previously unidentified class of lipid molecules that enhance insulin sensitivity and blood sugar control could offer a route to the prevention of type 2 diabetes, say researchers.
By Shane Starling at FI-Asia in Jakarta, Indonesia
From tea yoghurt to coffee fruit energy, portable water enhancement to Milo’s brand expansions, Mintel shared category-busting innovation at Food Ingredients-Asia in Jakarta, Indonesia, this week.
Nine out of 10 of the world's 570m farms are managed by families, making the family farm the predominant of agriculture, and consequently a potentially crucial agent of change in achieving sustainable food security and in eradicating hunger in the...
The continuing recovery of Danone’s infant formula business, impacted by the 2013 Fonterra whey protein concentrate (WPC) botulism scare, has “buoyed” the French dairy's Q3 results.
Governments might not want to admit it, but according to a leading academic in microbiology and probiotics, there is demand for probiotic products with detoxification properties that can help protect against uptake of toxic metals such as mercury and...
The absence of any EU-approved health claims for probiotics hasn’t deterred Lallemand Health Solutions from launching a suite of probiotics addressing women’s health issues.
As healthcare industry faces increasing expenditure, the emphasis shifts from treatment to prevention thorough use of nutraceuticals and better nutrition, say Frost & Sullivan analysts.
Sri Lanka has lifted a temporary ban on the sale of three batches of Fonterra milk powder after "no food safety or quality issue" was identified during tests.
Danish probiotics player Chr Hansen has launched a patent-pending soft gel that can deliver live probiotics with a two-year shelf life and matched it with a probiotic-omega-3 supplement targeting pregnant women.
Vitamin D supplementation improves winter-related atopic dermatitis (AD) in children at risk of vitamin D deficiency and could provide a safe alternative to UV light treatment, according to a new study led by Boston researchers.
Evidence that Montmorency tart cherry could be useful in managing gouty arthritis and other inflammatory conditions is mounting, as a new study shows that tart cherry concentrate lowers uric acid and C-reactive protein – a marker for inflammation.
Kemin is launching a proprietary phenolic complex sourced from patent-pending, non-GMO lines of its own purpose-grown spearmint for use in dietary supplements.
“Our reactors can generate more protein that an acre of soy. Moreover, our process does not use herbicides, or fertilizer, and also diverts food waste from landfills,” said Robert Olivier, CEO of Texas based bioconversion firm, Prota Culture, which is...
Breakfasts rich in protein from dairy, but not soy, could stimulate mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin), which is known to cause muscle cells to increase protein synthesis, says a new study.
