The FoodNavigator Podcast

New technologies are opening up big potential for the extraction of value-added ingredients from food production and processing wastes, according to one expert. 

Last week, Monika Kosinska, the secretary general of the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), engaged industry in a debate about the worthiness and effectiveness of taxes on unhealthier foods to spur reformulation and healthier eating.

How to tackle obesity and hunger remains a two-pronged challenge for the agri-food industry, but increasing crop yield is not the answer - instead the focus should be on boosting the nutritional value of crops, claims a sustainable food systems activist.

Leading confectionery and ice-cream brand owners are switching to colouring foodstuffs over natural colours, as consumer demand for clean label products continues unabated, and retailers acknowledge the potential they hold in terms of brand value, claims Chr. Hansen.

Taura Natural Ingredients, which was launching is URC Inclusions range at FIE in Paris last week, is aiming to enter both the US and Asian confectionery, snack, breakfast cereal and bakery markets with fruit and vegetable pieces produced by rapid concentration.

European producers of speciality yeast products are defending the use of yeast extracts in food following claims from consumer advocates such as FoodWatch in Germany that the food industry’s use of such ingredients and labelling around them is deceptive.

National Starch continues to innovate along clean label lines, with the launch of new pulping agents at FIE for cost savings in pasta sauces or fillings.

New flavouring legislation was the spur for DSM’s new yeast extract range, which it claims delivers salt reduction as well as clean label advantages for meat and other savoury products.

Cargill is looking beyond beverage to dairy as it flags up pending product launches for Truvia in both table-top and as an ingredient on the EU market next year.

A new two tier system for the regulation of nano-materials in foods could help to alleviate the strain that suggested new regulations may put on industry, whilst ensuring the safety and control of ingredients and materials that need it, according to one expert.

When it comes to developing and launching stevia products, European manufacturers can learn a lot from the successes achieved by their US and global counterparts, according to one industry expert.

Prerequisite safety programmes for packaging operations have developed hugely over the past five years but still rely on the commitment of plant managers to make them work, Graham Packaging’s Suzanne Matuszewski told FoodProductionDaily.com.

Ultra-violet and electron beam-cured inks are not only safe but present clear performance advantages when used in printing on food packaging. So what are the reasons behind their image problem in some quarters?

Industry needs to be more careful in monitoring that they are using the right botanical ingredients, and not substitutes or adulterants, in foods and nutritional supplements, says Professor Monique Simmonds.

As demand for natural foods grows, industry has begun to look to exotic plants as a source of alternative, natural, ingredients. But how can we identify and source the right botanical compounds.

Testing for marine biotoxins in shellfish has come into the 21st century after the European Commission decided to ditch the unreliable mouse bioassay in favour of a chemical method, said Thermo Fisher Scientific.

Researchers developing new meat products grown from stem cells say that the first products, which should be ready within the next year, could begin a movement to more sustainable meat production.

Increasingly sophisticated consumers and more demanding food manufacturers means the landscape for product inspection is changing quickly.

A year after natural ingredients supplier Wild announced plans to go public, CEO Michael Ponder explained what an IPO can do for the company and what will determine its timing.

A newly formed trade body is looking to take seaweed beyond Japanese cooking and raise awareness of the marine algae as a food ingredient.

The modern consumer environment makes it too easy to consume too much, but by replacing calorie dense sugars with low calorie sweeteners, industry has a powerful tool in the fight against obesity, says Dr Tommy Visscher.

Building bridges between industry and universities to encourage ingredients research will prove beneficial for Europe in the long run, says V.Krishnakumar of ingredients consultancy Giract.

The takeover of CI-Vision was the final piece in the jigsaw that has given Mettler Toledo the ability to offer a fully rounded inspection and quality assurance portfolio, said the company from the Interpack show in Dusseldorf.

'Free from' foods are still a niche sector, but strong growth means multinationals will inevitably get in on the game, says Mintel's Lynn Dornblaser.

France’s Nutrionix as closed a €4m deal with investors Seventure Partners, SHAM and Business Angels, which will help it tap growth potential in salt reduction.