Editor's Stuff - A tired, old, fat lie!

Welcome back to your desk and to the first issue of FOODStuff SA's 2009 newsletters.

So, there I was lying in BB mode (bush-backwards, as is one's demeanour and appearance after a good party) on my couch on New Year's day, flicking through the January DSTV magazine, determining what there was not to watch on 80 channels, when my attention was grabbed by an in-your-face ad, asking, rather aptly for the day, if I looked tired, old and fat.

My attention turned to intrigue, then incredulity, then hilarity as I took in its outrageous offer: 'Just imagine all those toxins, like caffeine, nicotine, alcohol and pollution, inside your body!' the advert reads. The solution to my toxic blood it promises, can be solved by sticking detox pads to my feet overnight. On waking, these miracle pads will be black, clear evidence of the poisons that have been purged from my system. A photograph of a svelte woman with a tape measure around her waist would also indicate these pads will help me shed some excess holiday kilos.

What a load of baloney!

But my hilarity soon turned to outrage. How could anyone make such ridiculous claims and get away with it? How could a reputable media company accept such a rubbish ad? But clearly for the vendors of this snake oil, the hefty investment of a full-page ad in a high-circulation consumer magazine has been carefully made knowing what returns would be generated by endlessly gullible and desperate people looking for silver-bullet remedies to their weight and health concerns. 

I hope SA's well-known snake oil vigilante, Dr Harris Steinman, will take this shocker up with the Advertising Standards Authority, alas, the only recourse there is to rein in the excesses of the unregulated alternative medicine industry.

Detox remedies post the festive season are as traditional, and money-spinning, as Christmas itself, and timeously a new report out of the UK has hit the headlines, confirming that those who follow up on a new year resolution to 'detox' by buying products that claim to clear their bodies of toxins are probably wasting their time and cash.

Despite a lack of scientific evidence, consumers are being misled into believing 'detox' products actually work, says the report from Voice of Young Science, a group representing PhD and post-doctorate students working in science. The research students contacted various manufacturers and retailers to ask them about their claims, and concluded that 'detox' has no meaning outside of clinical treatment for drug addiction or for poisoning. No two companies use the same definition of 'detox', and their claims are 'meaningless', the study found. You can read more here.

Indomitable local consumer journalist with the Independent Group, Wendy Knowler, has also had some strong things to say on this scam this week. See her article here.

Last word to Sir Colin Berry, professor emeritus of pathology at Queen Mary, University of London: 'It's easy to detox; just let your body use the great systems it has evolved over thousands of years to get rid of whatever is harming you. But if it's booze, drink less as well.'

I welcome all your correspondence. Regards, Brenda

PS As many readers were away for chunks of December, we're leaving up the poll for The New Product of 2008 for another week. Hit the poll button on at top right - Please Vote!

Food Industry News

SA: Cheaper fuel, not cheaper food

Manufacturers and businesses may hold back for a while before they pass Tuesday night's fuel-price cuts on to consumers. [Why are we not surprised! Ed] Read more

SA: Tribunal still after Pioneer

Food company Pioneer Foods is the only remaining company of four originally implicated in a bread price-fixing cartel still to appear before the Competition Tribunal. This is after the tribunal confirmed an agreement between the Competition Commission and Foodcorp, in terms of which Foodcorp admitted its role in the price-fixing cartel, and was ordered to pay a R45,5million fine, representing 6,7% of Foodcorp’s turnover from all its baking operations for 2006. Read more

US: Top food stories of 2008: rising global food prices claims No. 1 spot

When asked to recall the top food-related stories of 2008, several hundred American food editors and bloggers focused on issues with global significance. Topping the list was the spike in food prices across the world, followed by the tainted milk scandal in China, a crisis that spanned five continents. Read more UK: Food needs 'fundamental rethink'

Food crops, agriculture and biodiversity cannot be separated from one another. A sustainable global food system in the 21st century needs to be built on a series of "new fundamentals", according to a leading food expert. Prof Tim Lang warns that the current system, designed in the 1940s, is showing "structural failures", such as "astronomic" environmental costs. Read more

UK: Food firms sponsor anti-fat drive

The British government, in an attempt to persuade public to lose weight, has launched a major marketing blitz, the biggest government campaign ever launched to persuade the population to switch to a healthier lifestyle. Advertisements on TV, billboards and in magazines are being backed up with displays in supermarkets and convenience stores under the banner Change4Life, aimed at getting people to eat less fat and exercise more. The £8.7m campaign, which will run until March, will be supported by £200m of advertising and marketing pledged by companies, including Tesco, Mars, Nestlé and Flora. Read more

COMMENT: The Big Question: Can a government really make us eat less and exercise to become slim? Read more

UK: Fairtrade under fire

Supermarkets seeking to promote their ethical buying policies proclaim that their produce is Fairtrade, and customers buy such goods in the belief that they are doing their bit for workers in the developing world. Things don't seem to be that rosy or fair with Fairtrade, with an investigation by The Times suggesting that workers on plantations that supply Fairtrade tea are not seeing their lives improve as they should. Read more

CHINA: Dairy boss pleads guilty in melamine case

Tian Wenhua, 66-year-old former general manager of the now bankrupt Sanlu Group, has pleaded guilty to charges of "producing and selling fake or substandard products", state-run Xinhua news agency reports. Tian has appeared with three other company executives at a court in Shijiazhuang, capital of northern Hebei province. It is unclear whether they could face the death penalty. "(Tian) may face a maximum penalty of death for producing and selling contaminated baby milk food, along with three of her senior managers at the Shijiazhuang Intermediate People's Court," the official China Daily said. Read more

US: FDA to reconsider plastic bottle risk

Weeks after its own advisory board accused the FDA of failing to adequately consider research about the dangers of bisphenol-A, found in many plastic baby bottles, plastic food containers and metal can linings, the agency has agreed to reconsider the issue. Read more

WORLD: Cocoa prices soar as demand grows

Cocoa production is expected to fall short of demand by 45,000 metric tons in the 2008-09 season, an analyst said. The price is up by 70% this year, and production from Ivory Coast, which generates about 40% of the globe's supply, has been impaired by factors such as bad weather, bean hoarding and credit deficits. Read more

UK: Organic farmers ask for rules to be relaxed during recession

Organic farmers are asking for standards to be temporarily relaxed after they suffered a severe drop in sales. Over the 12 weeks to the end of November sales of organic food fell by 10%, according to consumer researchers TNS. All food sales over the same period were up 6% and the bad results have led to concerns for the 5,000 organic farmers in Britain.
Certification bodies including the Soil Association want them to be allowed to use conventional animal feed, rather than organic food concentrate, during the harsh economic times. Read more

UK: Meat tagged to thwart shoplifters

Supermarkets have been forced to tag cuts of meat because shoplifters have turned to stealing food during the credit crunch. Retailers warn that the recession has changed the pattern of crime in high street stores, with thieves switching from luxury items to basic foodstuffs. Read more

WORLD: Aquaculture's growth likely to continue

Despite well-publicised concerns about some harmful effects of aquaculture, the technique may, when practiced well, be no more harmful to biodiversity than other food production systems. Aquaculture production of aquatic animals now accounts for about a third of the total supply and will probably remain the most rapidly increasing food production system worldwide through 2025, according to a study.  Read more

US: NutraSweet is sweet on stevia

The NutraSweet Co says its own stevia product, called NutraSweet Natural with Stevia, is in the works. The company's president doesn't consider natural sweeteners made with stevia products to be direct competition for its existing sweeteners. Read more

MORE ON TRENDS! What can we expect in 2009. . .

EXCLUSIVE!! New Nutrition Business: Top Ten Trends in Health and Functional Products

In tough times the single most important factor consumers will take into account in choosing a functional food or drink will be whether it delivers a benefit they can feel. When people can feel the benefit that is being offered to them, they can see that they are getting value-for-money. Read more

This exceptional and highly-regarded report normally costs €200, but New Nutrition Business has agreed to a special deal for South African/African subscribers to FOODStuff SA, at a fantastic 50% discount of only €100. Email us for more info.

Health, wellness - and cost - are key food trends for 2009

Health and wellness concerns were the overriding theme for 2008, and most consumers made a sincere effort to improve the eating habits of their families, albeit not always successfully.
As we head into 2009, the uncertainty of the global economic crisis is of great concern to all. At home in the US, now officially in recession mode, insecure consumers are worrying about their jobs, cutting back on their spending and assembling and eating more meals at home.
This article, full of cogent insights, is published by one of the US's leading food trade mags. Read more

Quality in the frozen food aisle  

Contemporary notions of quality regarding the frozen meal are being redefined by today’s consumers.
For decades, the frozen food industry has marketed frozen meals based on two factors: price and convenience. In the early days of frozen foods, before refrigerated cases with doors became the standard merchandising unit, notions of “convenience” dominated the Arctic aisles. During this time, frozen food brands were looking to help American households where housewives were breaking away from traditional roles and embarking on careers of their own outside the home. Ah, but convenience could only go so far when the food tasted like, well, the cardboard containers they were packaged in. It was obvious that taste had to be improved.
Roll on to today . . . what elements of high quality experience does today's consumer-driven culture require for frozen meals?
For more on frozen foods download a free white paper from The Hartman Group.

Health & Nutrition

No aspalathin in most rooibos iced teas     

SA-produced rooibos iced teas do not deliver the same health kick as a brewed cup of the indigenous herb. And a number of rooibos iced tea producers seem to be cashing in on the tea's antioxidant-rich reputation rather than delivering on its associated health promise, according to a recent scientific study. Read more

Grape-seed extract helps destroy leukemia cells, study finds

A US study found that an extract from grape seeds helped eliminate 76% of leukemia cells in 24 hours without damaging normal cells. The extract triggered the JNK protein, which is involved in controlling apoptosis, the self-destruction of cancer cells. The findings suggest that the agent could be used to avert or treat blood diseases and other forms of cancer, the lead researcher said. Read more

Exercise suppresses appetite by affecting appetite hormones

A vigorous 60-minute workout on a treadmill affects the release of two key appetite hormones, ghrelin and peptide YY, while 90 minutes of weight lifting affects the level of only ghrelin. New research shows that aerobic exercise is better at suppressing appetite than non-aerobic exercise and provides a possible explanation for how that happens. This line of research may eventually lead to more effective ways to use exercise to help control weight. Read more

Don’t starve a cold of exercise

You have what seems to be a really bad cold. You are coughing and sneezing, and it is hard to breathe. Should you work out? Read more

Have we gone nuts over nut allergies?

Harvard professor Dr Nicholas Christakis is questioning whether precautions related to nut allergies are disproportionate to the problem and are fueling a sense of panic. "You have to distinguish between an epidemic of diagnoses and an epidemic of allergies," he says. Read more

Research: 'Shy eating' could be sign of trouble

Many millions of people suffer from an eating disorder. One of the first sign something might be wrong is a condition called "shy eating." Read more

Food Safety

Salmonella outbreak sickens 388 across US

An outbreak of salmonella food poisoning has made 388 people sick across 42 states, sending 18% of them to the hospital, US health officials said on Wednesday. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is trying to trace the source of the outbreak, which began in September. The Department of Agriculture, state health officials and the Food and Drug Administration are also involved.
The CDC said poultry, cheese and eggs are the most common source of this particular strain, known as Salmonella typhimurium. Read more

Salmonella is one of the most common enteric (intestinal) infections in the US. Salmonellosis (the disease caused by Salmonella) is the second most common foodborne illness after Campylobacter infection. It is estimated that 1,4 million cases of salmonellosis occur each year in the US; 95% of those cases are foodborne-related. Read more

Top ten food safety stories of 2008 . . . and top ten food safety challenges of 2009

Food safety advocate and attorney, Bill Marler (left) of Seattle attorneys Marler Clark, the US’s foremost law firm with a practice dedicated to representing victims of food poisoning, polled his wide range of contacts in the food safety community, and has assembled a list of the top ten food safety stories of 2008.  Read more

Similarly, he asked the food safety community to weigh in on the most pressing food safety challenges for the coming year.  Read more

Study: Raw milk poses risks, no benefits

A new study has concluded that consuming unpasteurized milk poses a variety of risks, but offers no benefits. Science Daily reports that the latest issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases has published a review that looks at the dangers of drinking raw milk, a trendy food item that is rising in popularity and is linked to growing disease outbreaks in the US. Read more

New Product Stuff

Coca-Cola gets going on two stevia-sweetened beverages

Coca-Cola has announced Sprite Green will debut this month in New York and Chicago. This lemon-lime flavoured, low-calorie beverage will be the first major brand to hit the US market using Cargill's Truvia sweetener, containing rebaudioside A derived from the South American stevia plant.
Sprite Green contains 50 calories per 8.5-ounce serving and has 5% lemon juice. Sprite Green appeals to active young adults and will be launched in 8.5-ounce aluminum bottles. After the initial launch, a broader rollout is planned for early 2009, the company states. As reported in our newsletter of 19 December, Truvia will also be used in some of Coca-Cola's Odwalla ultra-premium juices. Read more; read Coca-Cola's PR

COMMENT: 'What's so profitable about stevia? Well, thanks to the efforts of Betty Martini (left) and others who have been warning about the dangers of aspartame, word has spread across the 'net to the point where informed consumers no longer want to consume aspartame at all. In other words, the aspartame opponents succeeded in destroying the consumer acceptability of aspartame! And that led the big players (Coke, Pepsi, etc) to look for something that would be more acceptable to consumers. That search led them to stevia. And once Big Business got behind the herb, it was only a matter of time before the FDA caved in to commercial interests and legalized the herb.'

More Coke news

Coca-Cola, which has a history of playing catch up in burgeoning beverage categories, is getting into the unsweetened, flavoured water category early with the launch of Dasani Essence. Debuting in February in the US, Dasani Essence will have no sugar, calories or preservatives. Its three flavours -- lime, strawberry kiwi and black cherry -- will each carry a hint of all-natural fruit flavour. Read more

Chicle to reach UK

Mexican chicle producers, the pioneers of modern chewing gum, are launching a line of certified organic gum. The product will be available in the UK chain Waitrose. Read more

Salted caramels in chocolate have Barack Obama as a fan.

How caramel developed a taste for salt

Sweet caramel seasoned with fancy salt is a combination that has long enchanted French and American chefs, but 2008 saw it became one of those rare flavours that has worked its way from an elite culinary obsession to the American mass market. Read more

Food Science Stuff

Honey adds health benefits, is natural preservative and sweetener in salad dressings

Antioxidant-rich honey is a healthy alternative to chemical additives and refined sweeteners in commercial salad dressings, says a new University of Illinois study. Read more

Dairy detection: monitoring melamine in milk

Two leading groups of mass spectrometrists have applied their expertise to improve melamine detection in milk. They were responding to the demand for a simple, fast and cheap melamine detection technique after the industrial chemical was found to be present in Chinese milk in September 2008. Read more

Electric field turns cheap wine into fine vintage

Inventors have come up with dozens of widgets that they claim can transform cheap wine into fine vintage wine. There is little scientific evidence that most of them work, but there is one technique that stands out from the rest. It is backed by a decade of research and the end product has passed the ultimate test — blind tasting by a panel of wine experts.
Researchers can now pass an undrinkable, raw red wine between a set of high-voltage electrodes, rendering it pleasantly quaffable. Read more

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Miscellany

In reality, Oliver’s diet wasn’t truly Dickensian

“Please, sir, I want some more.”
The master was a fat, healthy man; but he turned very pale. He gazed in stupefied astonishment on the small rebel for some seconds, and then clung for support to the copper. The assistants were paralysed with wonder; the boys with fear.
“What!” said the master at length, in a faint voice.
“Please, sir,” replied Oliver, “I want some more.”
The master aimed a blow at Oliver’s head with the ladle; pinioned him in his arm; and shrieked aloud for the beadle.
It may be one of the most recognisable scenes in all of English literature, known not only to those who have read Dickens’s “Oliver Twist,” but also to all who have seen the Broadway musical or any of dozens of plays, films and television productions derived from the novel. Six melancholic one-syllable words to summon all we know and feel about stark deprivation: “Please, sir, I want some more.”
But what if we coldly ask whether Oliver really needed any more — that is, was the Victorian workhouse diet sufficient for a 9-year-old boy? A group of British researchers — two dietitians, a pediatrician and a historian — asked just that question in a study published online Dec. 17 in The British Medical Journal. Read more

How SPAM became spam

How could there be a downside to having one of your marquee brands on the lips of every business computer user every business day?
If the word is Spam and you’re Hormel Foods, you take the good with the bad. Hormel, named Processor of the Year by Food Processing Magazine, created Spam [they prefer it in all capital letters] in 1937. The company probably was flattered when the BBC television comedy series “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” used it in a 1970 sketch. Read more

Some insight into keeping, or not, those new year resolutions . . .

Behavioural scientists are fascinated by why people go on diet and shortly lapse, or buy exercise machines only to let them gather dust. Read more

That's it for this week, folks!