FOODStuff SA Ezine weeks 8 & 15 August | Food for thought . . . | 'The fastest way to succeed is to double your failure rate.'
Thomas J Watson Sr, founder of IBM
| 'Organic farming represents a sustainable method of agriculture that avoids the use of artificial fertilisers and pesticides and makes use of crop rotation and good animal husbandry to control pests and diseases.
From a nutritional perspective, there is currently not enough evidence to recommend organic foods over conventionally-produced foods.'
Claire Williamson, British Nutrition Foundation |
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Ed's note: a computer glitch has meant combining these weeks' newsFood Industry News SA: Coke Zero hits SA
Coca-Cola South Africa has launched Coca-Cola Zero in what is the Coca-Cola Company's biggest global product launch in 20 years. Read more
 A: Market swimming in rooibos tea
There is a sea of rooibos tea at the moment, with some farmers in Western Cape leaving crops in the field because it is not worth their while to harvest, Rooibos Limited MD, Martin Bergh, has confirmed. Read more
SA: Dark days ahead for manufacturingAn economist says manufacturing and retail sales data as well as the purchasing managers index all suggest that conditions for manufacturing will remain weak. Read more
 CANADA: Consumers force Monsanto to drop GE hormone for milk
Global pressure has forced Monsanto to announce that it will stop producing the bovine growth hormone rBST, a genetically engineered (GE) product to increase milk production in dairy cows. Read more
 US: PepsiCo unleashes stevia wars with Coca-Cola
PepsiCo is whipping up a storm in the beverage industry as it raises the stakes against its old rival
Coca-Cola with the launch of a new natural sweetener from the stevia plant ... Lou Imbrogno, PepsiCo's senior vice president of Pepsi worldwide technical operations, said: 'This is a potential game-changer among zero-calorie sweeteners.' Read more
US: PureCircle contracts with Pepsico and Whole Earth to supply rebaudioside-APureCircle has has signed substantial, long-term contracts with PepsiCo and Whole Earth Sweetener Company for the supply of high purity Reb-A for use in beverages and tabletop sweeteners worldwide under the PureVia brand. In addition, PepsiCo and Whole Earth, will grant PureCircle an exclusive license to market Reb-A under the PureVia brand in certain categories. Read more
 Looking at the active components of stevia extract
Stevia is much in the news: this article gives some background to the wunder sweetener... The component of stevia extract that gives it its sweetness is a mixture of various steviol glycosides. The most common is stevioside followed by rebaudioside-A. The stevioside has a slight and pleasant herbal taste and the rebaudioside-A has no herbal taste. Although rebaudioside-C and dulcoside-A are small in quantity in stevia extract, they are the major components giving bitter aftertaste. Read more
 UK: Organic food becomes latest casualty of the credit crunch
Dairy farmers are turning their backs on Britain's organic milk market as economic pessimism dents consumers' previously buoyant demand for organic produce. The organic goods market at large is being 'credit crunched', particularly among new products like organic ready meals and home-delivery vegetable boxes. Read more
 UK: Ready meal markets enjoy sales hike
The value of the UK retail market for chilled and frozen ready meals rose by 11.4% t between 2003 and 2007, from £1.87
billion to £2.08bn. Read more
 US: United Egg Producers unveil new consumer website
United Egg Producers, a leading trade association representing majority of U.S. egg farmers, has unveiled UEPCertified.com, a site that gives consumers the chance to become educated shoppers and learn more about modern egg farming. Read more
 US: Nebraska Beef recalls 1.2 million pounds of beef
Foodconsumer.org: Nebraska Beef LTD based out of Omaha Neb. is recalling 1.2 million pounds of primal cuts, subprimal cuts and boxed beef due to possible contamination with E. coli O157:H7. Read more
 US: Taking shots at ShotPaks
The pocket-size alcoholic pouches appeal to teens, some worry. The makers say they're filling a niche. Read more
 Indian Ocean tuna catch drops
Tuna catches across the Indian Ocean have fallen sharply - but experts are split about what is threatening the region's $6-billion industry. Read more
Food Safety US: Salmonella outbreak could have been worse
As bad as it has been on the fresh produce industry, this summer’s salmonella outbreak could have been much worse. Read more
 USDA: Food origin labels will cost $2.5 billion
Two months from now, shoppers shouldn't have to wonder about country of origin of beef, chicken, fresh produce, and frozen fruits and vegetables, among other products, in grocery aisles. After tortured legislative negotiations, federal food-labeling rules finally go into effect Sept. 30. Read more
 CALIFORNIA: Fast food makers pay thousands in acrylamide settlement
The state of California has settled lawsuits against Heinz, Frito-Lay, Kettle Foods and Lance Inc after the companies agreed to slash levels of the cancer-causing chemical acrylamide in their potato chips and French fries. Read more
New Product StuffUS: Candy continues to reinvent itselfCandy companies continue to introduce new novel sweets, as well as twists on classic products, such as chocolate Peeps and chewy Lemonheads. "As the American palate becomes more diverse, candy manufacturers continue to reinvent the classics and introduce innovative candy creations to satisfy the most sophisticated taste buds and please the ordinary appetite," says NCA's Susan Fussell. Read more
 Mars shows off new M&M's recipe
Mars is testing an upscale new take on an old sweet with the release of M&M's Premiums, which retail for $3.99 per 6-ounce box and feature a soft texture rather than a hard-candy shell. Read more
 UK: Cadbury to bring back Wispa permanently
Cadbury will relaunch the Wispa bar as a permanent item in its lineup beginning in October. The company sold 20 million units when it brought back Wispa for a limited-edition run last year. Read more
 US: Evian to make big splash with US Open Tennis
Evian will push a facial spray and a new designer bottle as part of its sponsorship at the US Open Tennis Tournament this year, with the latter designed by Christian Lacroix in very Lacroix style. Read more
 US: Some consumers choose sugar over corn syrup
Consumers at both grocery stores and restaurants remain concerned about the use of high fructose corn syrup as a sweetener, and some are choosing plain sugar as an alternative. Some smaller beverage companies have reformulated their beverage ingredients to use cane sugar rather than the sweetener, but it is unlikely that other beverage makers will decide to make the expensive shift, a beverage consultant says. Read more
Food Science StuffSolving sodium: manufacturers face challenges and innovationThe sodium reduction trend won’t be news to most; industry-wide sodium awareness has been proven via a variety of lower-sodium products introduced to market in years past. Some of the efforts of the early responders, however, have been met with mixed results. This is largely because reducing sodium isn’t as easy as holding back a little salt. Read more
 Hot peppers really do bring the heat
Chilli peppers can do more than just make you feel hot, reports a study in the August 1 Journal of Biological Chemistry; the active chemical in peppers can directly induce thermogenesis, the process by which cells convert energy into heat. Read more
 Keeping the crunch in the crust
Scientists in the Netherlands report an advance toward unraveling one of the culinary world's long-standing puzzles: How to maintain the crispy quality of bread crust. Read more
Health & Nutrition 'Fitness pill' being developed
Scientists are moving closer to developing a pill which could deliver some of the benefits of exercise - even for those who
do not move a muscle. Read more
Exercise in a pill? Not so fast, say skepticsWhile new research suggests that drugs could enhance or even mimic the effects of exercise, many researchers say
that the notion that you could skip the treadmill and pop a pill is premature. Read more
The food-cancer connection - can diet make a difference?Hardly a month goes by without a headline trumpeting the news that yet another food has been shown to fight cancer. Broccoli, garlic, onions, green tea, tomatoes, whole grains, even coffee have all joined the anticancer brigade over the years. Read more
Food Marketing Stuff Bringing dead labels back to life takes more than money and a touch of nostalgia
Some ghost brands are suddenly brought back to life by their maker. In May, Kellogg Co announced that it was reintroducing the Hydrox cookie - a cream-filled biscuit similar to the Oreo - to the US market. Presumably lacking the sales to keep it going beyond its demise five years ago, a Kellogg spokesperson attributed the cookie's comeback to urgent calls from consumers. Read more
 Whole Foods, Trader Joe's among top 15 green brands
Whole Foods and Trader Joe's were among the top 15 green brands in the 2008 Favorite Green Brands Index conducted by Outlaw Consulting, a research firm focusing on style and social trends. The survey aimed to discover which brands are most favoured for being environmentally conscious among young trendsetters across the US. Read more
 Consumers start to tire of expensive energy drinks
Suddenly $2 for an energy drink seems like a lot of money. After almost a decade of explosive growth, the only surging category in carbonated beverages is starting to look sluggish ... Read more
 New campaign reveals just a little bit of Coca-Cola’s secret formula
The Coca-Cola secret formula is becoming a little less secret ... In a campaign introduced last month in Britain, Coke divulged a few facts about the formula. It has “no added preservatives or artificial flavors.” Its mastermind, Dr. Pemberton, selected “the best spices from around the world.” And Coke says that the recipe has not changed in 122 years. Read more .
Hot Stuff New research: Organic produce is no better for you than food grown with pesticides
Organic produce contains no more nutrients than food grown using pesticides and chemicals, researchers say. Read more
Drinking tap water is better for your budgetGlug, glug, glug. That's the sound a ginormous number of us make as we drink bottled water in our cars, at the gym and at our desks. The sound you don't hear is the thwack of 60 million bottles a day being tossed into US landfills, where they can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade. Read more
 Bringing an end to the food waste shame
Have you ever scavenged through a supermarket bin looking for your next meal? It’s a strange question to put to business
readers – and most would shrink at the thought. But that’s how ‘freegans’ decide what’s for dinner... Read more
 US weekly food intake has increased since 1970
The average American's food consumption per week jumped from 16.4 pounds in 1970 to 18.2 pounds in 2006. Americans also consume an additional extra quarter pound of meat every week over 1970 rates, and dairy consumption has dropped. Read more
Packaging Stuff Packaging industry discusses merits of bar codes vs RFID
The latest edition of Packaging News has an interesting discussion on the merits of RFID against the use of bar codes.
Read more
Bisphenol-A safety ignites controversy
Special Report: From Packagingworld.com. Used for years for reusable polycarbonate baby bottles and water bottles, as well as in can liners, Bisphenol-A is under increasing fire on several fronts. Read more
 UK: Asda to introduce cardboard milk bottle after trial
Asda is planning to introduce cardboard milk 'bottles' in the east of England after a successful trial. This intriguing packaging is known as the 'GreenBottle', because it is easier to recycle and is biodegradable, and requires less energy
to manufacture than a plastic bottle. Read more
Whacky Stuff
 World's most expensive cups of coffee in Moscow
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin must be rolling over in his grave. Just 17 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the one-time
capital of communism is now home to the world's most expensive cup of coffee. The average cup of joe in Moscow is $10.19, including service, according to a new survey by the London office of US consulting firm, Mercer.
Read more
Bacon makes everything better - even chocolate?Here are three little words that might give the staunchest snacker pause: Chocolate-covered bacon. It sounds so wrong. But it tastes just right, says Joseph Marini III, a fourth-generation candy maker who is selling the bacon bonbons at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk seaside amusement park. "It's not just for breakfast any more," he says with a grin. And this isn't just a wacky West Coast thing. Read more
 Not to be scoffed at: Competitve eating is the world's fastest-growing hobby
What's the most dangerous thing you can do sitting down? It takes stamina and determination, and it tests your body to the limit. It brings fame and fortune to its top competitors, but claims as many lives as motorsport. Whitewater kayaking? Operating a crane? Or could it be competitive eating? Read more
THAT'S IT FOR THIS WEEK, FOLKS!
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