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"You can do anything -- but not everything."
David Allen, productivity consultant Food for thought . . . Keep it relevant!
'If you give people people what they want, and make it relevant to their daily routine, they will continue to buy your products, even in a recession."Rohan Oza, chief marketing officer, Glacéau Vitaminwater, NY.
Editor's Stuff - Keeping it light  Don't know about you, but I'm nauseated by all the ugly politicking going on, and it's a relief to immerse myself in food industry news. Not that it is always jolly, but a heap more bearable than corruption, crime and cadres.
The big story of the week affecting the local ingredients industry is the launch of BIDFood Solutions, a new entity within BIDFood Ingredients, that will exclusively promote and distribute several lines and solutions offered by Cargill. That Cargill is a giant in the food/agri worlds is a gross misunderstatement - its turnover is around double that of SARS - and no doubt we'll start to feel its clout in the market, abetted by the considerable resources of Bidvest.
 In light vein, my story of the week as to be Skinny Blonde, a beer in the only-in-Australia mould. A first in the world, it is the ultimate blokey beer-lover’s fantasy: a bottle of brew with a woman on the label whose bikini disappears as fast as the drinker can consume its contents, thanks to modern ink technology. Kewl!
There are a heap of other fascinating developments and articles this week, too. Enjoy the read.
All correspondence is welcome. Email Brenda
Food Industry News
 SA: Ingredients shake-up! Watch out, here comes Cargill!
In a development that's likely to shake up the local ingredients market, BIDFood Ingredients and Cargill Food Ingredients are joining forces to grow and develop the latter’s ingredients' footprint in line with its standing throughout the world. Read more
SA: SABMiller set to quench Africa’s thirst  SABMiller, which is the world’s second-largest brewer, is focusing on Africa in a bid to tap into a market worth $3bn. The brewer will also be opening four new breweries this year as it seeks to benefit from countries economies growing at about 4% and 5%. Read more
SA: Successful conviction on edible oil adulteration A successful conviction in the South African food industry for selling diluted olive oil under the guise of virgin olive oil was recently handed down in the Special Commercial Crimes Court in Durban.
Salvatore Pollizi, owner of the company Ital Distributors, pleaded guilty in terms of Section 105A of the Crime Prosecuting Act to selling fake virgin olive oil under the names of Antico Frantoio and Ulivo. Read more
WORLD: Number of chronically hungry tops one billion The number of chronically hungry people has surpassed the 1bn mark for the first time as the economic crisis compounds the impact of high food prices, the UN’s top agriculture official has warned. In an interview with the Financial Times, Jacques Diouf, director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organisation, warned that the increasing numbers of undernourished people could trigger political instability in developing countries.
“The issue of world food security is an issue of peace and national security,” he said, urging world leaders who are discussing ways to resolve the economic crisis not to forget that last year more than 30 countries suffered food riots. Read more
WORLD: Processing giants spearhead global food safety scheme A food safety scheme, backed by four of the world's biggest food manufacturers — Nestlé, Unilever, Kraft and Danone — could soon be competing with major international retailer-led third-party certification programmes for the whole supply chain.
Being manufacturer led, it would — if approved by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) — affect the thousands of suppliers to companies which support the scheme. It could eventually result suppliers along the supply chain - including suppliers of ingredients, packaging, services and logistics firms - signing up to the scheme.
The need for the standard gained weight last month when Kellogg's president, David Mackay, called for a universal food safety benchmark for evaluating food manufacturing facilities.
The GFSI is designed to harmonise the existing major retailer-led certification schemes: British Retail Consortium (BRC), International Food Safety (IFS), Safe Quality Food (SQF) and Dutch Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP). Read more
EU: Tetra Pak sales grow to 8.8 billion Euros in 2008  Dennis Jönsson, Tetra Pak president and CEO (left), has announced net sales of Euro 8.8 billion in 2008 - up 5% from 2007 in comparable terms. Packaging reached €7.8 billion in sales in 2008 - an increase of 4.5% over 2007 and sales of processing solutions reached €949 million in 2008, up 9.3% over the previous year.
In 2008 Tetra Pak supplied a record 141 billion individual packages used by food and beverage companies around the world to deliver over 70.6 billion litres of milk, juice, fruits and other products to consumers, a 3% rise over the number of beverages consumed in Tetra Pak cartons in 2007. Read more
 US: Historic shareholder agreement reached with Mcdonald's on pesticide use reduction
Responding to shareholder concerns, McDonald's has agreed to formally survey and promote best practices in pesticide use reduction within its American potato supply chain. As the largest buyer of potatoes in the US, McDonald's commitment will support progress on this important issue, which affects the environment, public health, and farm employees. Read more
CHINA: Snow jumps Bud Light to be World's No 1 beer Chinese beer Snow has leapt ahead of Bud Light to become the world's biggest-selling beer as China stretches its lead as the largest beer market in the world, according to researcher Plato Logic.
Snow, which is brewed by SABMiller and its Chinese partner China Resources Enterprises, saw its 2008 sales volumes jump 19.1% to 61 million hectolitres putting it well ahead of Bud Light and sister brew Budweiser. Read more
 CHINA: Rejects appeal of tainted milk boss
A Chinese court has rejected the appeal of a dairy boss sentenced to life in prison for her role in last year's milk scandal that sickened hundreds of thousands of babies. Read more
WORLD: Tea prices to soar after droughts Tea prices are set to jump to a record high after damage to production in the main exporting countries from simultaneous droughts, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation and industry executives have forecast.
Black tea pricesKaison Chang, a tea specialist at the FAO in Rome, said dry weather had led to low yields in India, Kenya and Sri Lanka. “Prices should go up,” he said. The output fall in the three countries, which account for half the world’s exports, will exacerbate last year’s market deficit. Read more
 US: Nice work 1! Kraft CEO's compensation rose to $17-million in 2008
Kraft Foods' CEO, Irene Rosenfeld's compensation package rose about 50% to $17 million last year, due in large part to increased stock, stock options and annual incentive awards.
Rosenfeld's salary was about $1.5 million in 2008, up from $1.4 million the prior year, the largest North American food company said in its annual proxy statement. Rosenfeld said recently that Kraft would freeze top executive salaries in 2009. Rosenfeld and other top officers did not receive a bonus in 2008. Read more
 US: Nice work 2! PepsiCo CEO gets $14.9-million
PepsiCo chief executive, Indra Nooyi, received compensation valued at $14.9 million in 2008, a slight increase from the previous year, the snack and beverage maker reported in a regulatory filing recently. Read more
EXCLUSIVE! New Nutrition Business on www.foodstuffsa.co.za
 UK-based, New Nutrition Business (NNB) is the longest-established consultancy and journal on the global food and nutrition business. NNB provides an unrivalled collection of news analysis and case studies from around the world on companies, brands, products, ingredients, markets, regulations. In a valued collaboration, we have the rights to publish select articles from NNB's monthly magazine, normally only available by subscription.
 Avoiding common mistakes in nutrition markets
What do consumers want? That’s the question ingredient companies and brand marketers ask themselves every day, but it’s a massive question and invites a question in response – which consumers? This is the question you should answer if you want to avoid the three most commonly-made mistakes in nutrition markets. Read more  The murky antioxidant picture
“High in antioxidants” has become one of the most common marketing messages of the last two years, used by an ever-increasing number of drinks, foods and supplements. But the antioxidant picture may not be as crystal-clear as some marketers believe. Read more
More Food and Beverage Trends
US: Soft-drink volume decline steepest in decades US carbonated soft-drink volume fell 3% in 2008, the biggest drop since at least the early 1980s, according to industry publication Beverage Digest, as Americans cut back on small treats during the recession.
Volume fell to about 9.6 billion cases, the lowest level since 1997. Last year's decline follows a 2.3% dip in 2007. Volume fell less than 1% in 2006 and 2005 after rising for several years. Energy drinks and some diet beverages sold well in 2008, while most brands, including regular Coke and Pepsi, saw volume fall. Read more
 UK: Sales of organic food slump by up to 30%
Demand for organic food has fallen faster than expected, according to new statistics about shoppers' habits. Consumers who were once prepared to pay a premium for organic produce are turning to cheaper alternatives, cutting sales by a fifth in the past year. Read more
 Sustainable sourcing – a future imperative
Sustainability has been creeping inexorably up the food industry agenda, but during the past year has really hit the big time, as governments, NGOs, manufacturers, retailers and suppliers have come to embrace it as a strategic imperative. Read more
Food Science & Ingredient Stuff
'Miracle fruit' turns sour things sweet There's growing scientific, and food fundi, interest in Synsepalum dulcificum, a small West African fruit that is being dubbed a "miracle". The colour of a cranberry, the shape of an almond and with a taste like a flavourless gummy candy, the "miracle fruit" makes acidic foods, such as lemons and grapefruits, sweet and candy-like.
After chewing the fruit and rubbing the pulp against the tongue, Synsepalum dulcificum releases a sweetening potency that alters the taste buds. For about 15 to 30 minutes, everything sour is sweet. Lemons lose their zing. Oranges become sickeningly sweet. Hot sauce that usually burns the tongue tastes like honey barbecue sauce.
Through word of mouth, these miracle fruits have inspired "taste tripping" parties, where foodies and curious eaters pay $10 to $35 to try the berries. They're also being investigated with much interest by scientists. Read more
Unilever studies seaweed derivative for satiety Unilever has achieved “very exciting results” using alginate - a gelling agent derived from seaweed - in meal replacement drinks to boost satiety, but is struggling with it in commercial formulations, scientists have admitted.
Dr Hanny Boers, who is based at Unilever’s research and development head office in Vlaardingen, Netherlands, speaking recently at a Leatherhead Food International conference on dietary fibres, said the best results were achieved with high-gelling alginate, which significantly boosted satiety and delayed gastric emptying, as it literally swelled in the acidic environment of the stomach and filled people up. Very viscous (high molecular weight) guar also performed well. Read more
New Product Development
 Fonterra's new ClearProtein satiety water a first
Fonterra Co-operative Group has launched a new satiety water in New Zealand, called Whole. The product, which is made with milk protein, is a first for the market. Read more
US: Coca-Cola goes low cal with Glacéau Vitaminwater Hot on the heels of its launch outside of the US, including South Africa, Glacéau Vitaminwater, a unit of the Coca-Cola Company, is bringing out a low-calorie line called Vitaminwater10. The number refers to the calories in each eight-ounce serving. The regular varieties of Vitaminwater have 50 calories in an eight-ounce serving.
Vitaminwater is the leading brand in the so-called enhanced-water segment of the beverage market, according to the trade publication Beverage Digest. And even with the recession, sales of Vitaminwater rose an estimated 37% last year from 2007, says John Sicher, editor and publisher of the journal. Read more
And for one of the sexiest websites ever, check out: http://vitaminwater.com/
 A look at Pepsi Natural
Pepsi Natural was the outright winner of the ‘Best new adult drink category’ in the 2008 Beverage Innovation Awards, presented last March in Moscow. PepsiCo’s Ana Maria Irazabal talks about creating the sophisticated buzz behind Pepsi Natural. Read more
 SA: New to the NoMU stable
Ever innovative always stylish, Cape Town's NoMU has introduced new flavours to its popular range of rubs, and has gone green with refill packs. Read more
 Mind over Chocolate
Move over, organic, Fairtrade and free range -- the latest in enlightened edibles is here: food with "embedded" positive intentions. While the idea isn't new -- cultures like the Navajo have been doing it for centuries -- manufacturers in the US and Canada are catching on, infusing products with good vibes through meditation, prayer and even music, as Time Magazine reports. Read more
 Mars encourages women to have a fling
In its first new brand in almost 20 years, the US candy giant has rolled out Fling, a low-calorie chocolate bar aimed at women. The ad campaign behind it has plenty of double entendres. Read more
Food Safety
EFSA evaluates risk of MRSA in food and animals The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published an opinion on the public health significance of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in animals and foods.
EFSA’s Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ) found that while food may be contaminated by MRSA, there is currently no evidence that eating or handling contaminated food may lead to an increased risk of humans becoming healthy carriers or infected with this bacterium. The Panel also concluded that where MRSA prevalence in food-producing animals is high, people in contact with live animals, especially farmers, veterinarians and their families, are at greater risk than the general population. Read more
 Some food additives mimic human hormones
New research which reveals that two commonly-used food additives are estrogenic has led scientists to suspect that other ingredients added to the food supply may be capable of altering hormones. Read more
 Food makers and distributors don't know who's receiving, supplying their products
Do you know where your food comes from — or where it's going? If you’re a food distributor or manufacturer, the answer is probably not. Read more
Health & Nutrition
Anti-cancer benefits of fruit and veg are underlined A diet high in fruit and vegetables, especially organically grown ones, may protect against cancer and heart disease and could be equivalent in this respect to taking a low dose of aspirin every day, scientists say.
Fruit and vegetables are known to have high levels of salicylates, which are also the active anti-inflammatory ingredient of aspirin. Vegetarians, meanwhile, are known to have low rates of cancer, as well as having higher levels of salicylates in their bodies. Read more
 Source of major health benefits in olive oil revealed
Scientists have pinned down the constituent of olive oil that gives greatest protection from heart attack and stroke. In a study of the major antioxidants in olive oil, researchers showed that one, DHPEA-EDA, protects red blood cells from damage more than any other part of olive oil. Read more
Anorexia risk 'could be predicted' Thousands of girls are predisposed to develop anorexia because of the way their brains developed in the womb, says a major new study.
The report's authors say children could be screened at the age of eight to identify the signs that make them more vulnerable to risk factors such as the size zero fad and the cult of the super-thin celebrity. Eating disorder experts say the findings, revealed at a conference at the Institute of Education in London this week, could revolutionise the treatment of anorexia. Read more
Eating disorders should be recognised as serious mental illnessesDr Tom Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health in the US, says, "Based on genetic and neuroimaging studies, eating disorders appear to have a biological basis, analogous to what is observed in other serious mental disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and addictive diseases." Read more
Packaging News
Tesco trials 'leave-the-packaging-behind' scheme
 UK retailing giant, Tesco, has started a customer packaging audit in two stores, offering customers the opportunity to remove and leave excess plastic and paper packaging behind after buying their shopping.
For six weeks at the Tesco Extra stores in Guildford in Surrey and Ilminster in Somerset, the in-store pilot is part of a wider research project, which could influence packaging strategy going forward.
Tesco is to encourage customers to discard unwanted and excessive packaging near the tills, in an experiment along the lines of a similar "take-back" scheme in Germany. Common customer gripes include the amount of plastic, cardboard and foil used with Easter eggs, the superfluous boxes accompanying toothpaste, and the trays and plastic film that "protect" fruit. Read more
Skinny Blonde: rock 'n' roll beer with a naked twist It is the ultimate beer-lover’s fantasy: a bottle of brew with a woman on the label whose bikini disappears as fast as the drinker can consume its contents. Three friends in Sydney have taken on the Australian beer market with a world-first marketing concept for their new beer.
The label is Skinny Blonde, a low-carb beer that is thriving on the current popularity of Australia’s new crop of ‘healthy’ beers. But there is another reason it is popular: the Skinny Blonde bottle features a 1950s-style pin-up called Daisy whose red bikini disappears as the beer level drops and the bottle warms up, thanks to the modern ink technology used on the labels. Read more
Antimicrobial coating could give shelf-life 'dramatic' boost Tests on an antimicrobial coating, currently applied to paper-based wrapping for fresh deli products, are extending shelf-life achievable with primary packaging by up to 50%. Germany's Galeria Kaufhof department store is using loose wrapping incorporating the active antimicrobial for cheese and sliced meats and will soon be used on wrapping for fresh fish.
Converter Mondi Consumer Coatings says the same inhibiting effect on bacteria and mould growth would be possible with its Sanocoat product applied to paper, film and board for factory-applied packaging. Read more
Miscellany
 RUSSIA: More than a thousand Moscow residents died of counterfeit alcohol in 2008
6,041 people were intoxicated by counterfeit alcoholic beverages in Moscow in 2008, says the capital’s Board of Health. 1,069 of intoxicated died. Read more
 Fish oils reduce greenhouse gas emissions from flatulent cows
Omega 3 fatty acids in fish oils can improve meat quality and reduce methane emissions in cows. Methane given off by farm animals is a major contribution to greenhouse gas levels. Researchers report that by including 2% fish oil in the diet of cattle, they achieved a reduction in the amount of methane released by the animals. Read more
Trying out Darwin's diet Charles Darwin's interest in the origin of species was rivalled by his curiosity about their flavour. While still at university, he and some friends formed the Glutton Club, which met once a week to eat animals "unknown to human palate". They tried bittern, hawk and barn owl before giving up, as the owl tasted indescribably awful. On the Beagle voyage, he also ate ostrich, armadillo and agouti – a rodent which looks like a large rat.
Darwin's scientific contribution – unseating God as the acknowledged creator of life on earth – is of course well known, but what of his culinary legacy? He was right about natural selection. Did he also have something to teach us about the delights of eating unusual meats? In a spirit of scientific enquiry, one intrepid journalist decided to celebrate his bicentenary by performing a small experiment – the revival of the Glutton Club. Read more
Why science doesn't make sense  Wouldn't it be great if science was a cool, logical process? If you could work out how the universe ticks without making the chilling discovery that most of it is missing? Or if, when you were investigating the placebo effect, you didn't find that some licensed drugs only work when you know you're taking them?
Unfortunately, as these examples show, things don't often work as neatly as scientists might like. Doing science is messy and difficult – and that's before you factor in its human side. Jealous rivals, journal editors who think your subject is a joke, or colleagues with a lot to lose if your latest discovery pans out: other people can all make the scientific life a difficult one.
A great article by Michael Brooks, a consultant for 'New Scientist and author of '13 Things That Don't Make Sense: The Most Intriguing Scientific Mysteries of Our Time'. Read more
That's it for this week, folks!
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