 "Like a welcome summer rain, humour may suddenly cleanse and cool the earth, the air and you." Langston Hughes, US poet
Food bites . . . Demonizing soft drinks
 "Over the past few decades Americans’ consumption of many foods has increased along with that of soft drinks; but [the activists] probably prefer to ignore that — it doesn’t square with their demonization of soft drinks. If all soft drinks were suddenly gone from our lives, it’s unlikely that we’d see a great diminution in the prevalence of obesity.Obesity is a lifestyle issue — one that is too complex to be dealt with by simply eliminating one type of beverage."
Ruth Kava, PhD, RD, ACSH nutrition director,
American Council on Science and Health
Editor's Stuff - Time to put the sexy into food science
 Food technology is a profession under attack. Former IFT president, Dr John Floros, and current head of the Food Science Department at Penn State University in the US has opened the debate in the past week or so on the personnel challenges being faced by the food industry when it comes to qualified food technologists and scientists.
Cheffing and cooking have evolved into sexy career choices, thanks to the rise to fame of the celebrity chef and the ubiquitous foodie culture that permeates the popular media, but this interest in food has not filtered down to where it really matters - into the realms of research, to industry and the factory lab and floor. Quite the reverse, in fact. Floros comments that investment in food technology has continued on a steady downward trajectory for 15 or 20 years, and this is now exacerbated by the proliferation of movements such as Slow Food and the organic lobby, which has added to the perception that food technology is about “messing with” consumers’ food, he said – and the situation threatens to undermine food safety efforts and slow innovation. “Our government is not supporting the safety of the food supply with good science. You couple that with some of the movements out there – we are under attack as a profession,” he comments. Read more  South Africa is blessed with several excellent tertiary institutions when it comes to food science and technology, but I'm sure all their academic heads would agree that it's getting harder to attract students, while industry no doubt similarly concurs with research elsewhere in the world that employers are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit appropriately qualified food scientists and technologists/nutritionists, and the number of applicants for these roles is in the decline. Anecdotally, it's a lament I hear frequently when I'm out and about in the food industry interviewing people and companies.
In food and drink manufacturing, and even marketing, knowledge of science underpins practically every role - particularly the more exciting and glamorous ones. And as consumers become increasingly demanding, the skills of the food techie/scientist/nutritionist are going to become even more important. Brilliant career opportunities at best, and almost certain employment, at worst, are what awaits these graduates, now and long into the future. As Floros urges, government, the food industry and academia must continue their efforts to provide top quality training for food scientists, and offer strong incentives for people to pursue a career in the sector. Enjoy this week's read! Email Brenda:
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SA Food Industry News  Pioneer freezes its case on price-fixing
Pioneer Foods' sudden decision to close its case before the competition tribunal was based on the group's view that Sasko had contravened the Competition Act in the Western Cape, Andre Hanekom, the MD of Pioneer Foods, which owns Sasko Bakery, said earlier this week. The next stage of the case will be in September, when the tribunal hears arguments from the competition commission and Pioneer. Read more
Nando’s has not put up the ‘for sale’ sign South African fast-food icon Nando’s has ended months of speculation that it might be sold to international food group Yum Brands, the US owner of KFC and Pizza Hut. Fernando Duarte, Nando’s co-founder and chief operating officer, says that Nando’s was not for sale.
“We have a long way to go. We’re embarking on a long-term strategy and there’s a lot of work to do there.” Duarte added, though, that if anyone approached the company with an attractive deal, it “certainly would not walk away. But we’re not sellers at this point in time.” Read more
McDonald's needs a local partner with deep pockets  When US fast-food icon McDonald's opened for business in SA 14 years ago, there was excitement among consumers - but local operators responded by sharpening their own operations.
There is no question that SA's quick-service market is sophisticated and extremely competitive by global standards. "McDonald's arrival in SA had a big impact on the local market," says Franchize Directions director Bendeta Gordon. But McDonald's SA has not become the force people expected. Read more
 COMMENT: Consumer choice is real heart of food price fight
Allegations that Pioneer Foods fixed the price of bread and concerns that supermarkets are inflating food prices underline the importance that consumers, especially those that are struggling, have choices. Read more
 R1.8-bn sugar fuel plant for KZN
Private investors have injected R1.8-billion into building a new sugar-processing facility in the rural area of Makhathini, in the far north of KwaZulu-Natal province, Engineering News reports. The project, which is a joint initiative by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), local municipalities and sugar growers, aims to produce ethanol and other sugar by-products from raw sugarcane. Read more
 Top international honours for local olive oil
Willow Creek Olive Estate has taken top honours in one of the world’s most distinguished olive oil competitions, the L’Orciolo d’Oro in Gradara, Italy. Their flagship Directors’ Reserve Extra Virgin Olive Oil has earned the highest accolade in the competition by winning the category: Intensely Fruity. Read more
 Understanding fats is vital to fighting burden of disease in Africa, say experts
South Africans – like their global counterparts – are still confused about dietary fat and this is reflected in their poor food choices which is contributing to a growing trend of chronic and degenerative diseases like heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Read more
Food Industry News
EU: Danisco results show trickle down of consumer savings strategies Danisco's latest, and positive, results bear testament to the responses of consumers to the economic crisis around the world – with very different shifts taking place in the US and Europe.
The ingredients company said that consumer reactions to having less ready cash in the recession have differed dramatically on either side of the Atlantic – and that has had a trickle-down effect to its ingredients business.
In Western Europe, demand for ingredients has dropped as consumers have stopped eating so much processed food and taken a “back to basics” approach to home cooking. In North America, on the other hand, consumers have tended to stay overall in processed foods, but the shift has been from “eat out” to “take home” foods. Read more
 EU: Rather bitter times for chocolate
The economic crisis is taking its toll on chocolate consumption, Swiss chocolate and cocoa products giant, Barry Callebaut, has said on announcing moderate growth in nine month sales. Read more
 ISRAEL: Frutarom acquires Chr Hansen’s savoury assets
Frutarom Industries has signed an agreement to acquire the Savoury activity and assets of Chr Hansen in Germany for approximately $7.3 million in cash. The division develops, produces and markets savoury solutions, including flavours, seasoning compounds and functional ingredients, with special emphasis on processed meat and convenience food. Read more
 US: E coli in Nestlé cookie dough stumps FDA
Federal officials plan to stay in a Virginia food plant associated with a national food-borne outbreak "as long as it takes" to solve this mystery: How did E coli O157:H7, most commonly associated with raw hamburger, get in refrigerated cookie dough? "That's the $64 000 question," says David Acheson, the FDA's assistant commissioner for food safety. Read more
 UK: Scotland to open anaerobic digestion facilities in 2010
Three anaerobic digestion facilities are opening in Scotland next year providing food manufacturers with an alternative to landfill for their waste.
The first of the facilities – all run by Scottish Water Waste Services – is scheduled to open in the spring in Deerdykes, Cumbernauld, and will be able to handle 30 000t/year of ‘category three’ food waste (which includes packaged waste but excludes fallen stock and high risk material from carcasses) in a continuous process. It will generate biogas and a liquid digestate. The digestate will be used as a liquid fertiliser in the summer months and can be dewatered to produce a solid cake fertiliser in the winter, says a company spokesman. Read more
 UK: FSA to investigate anecdotal aspartame reactions
The Food Standards Agency is to begin a new study looking at aspartame. The research will focus on people who have reported bad reactions to the artificial sweetener such as headaches and upset stomachs.
Andrew Wadge, Chief Scientist at the FSA, said: ‘This research is not to test the safety of aspartame – that is already established. The study will address consumer concerns, including anecdotal reports that have linked a range of conditions to aspartame. The Agency’s view remains that aspartame can be consumed safely and we are not recommending any changes to its current use. However, we know that some people consider they react badly to consuming this sweetener so we think it is important to increase our knowledge about what is happening.’ Read more
Food Trends and NPD
 US: Mintel reports drop in new product launches
According to Mintel’s Global New Products Database, the number of new product launches in the United States food and drink categories dropped 51% in the first quarter of 2009 compared with the first quarter of 2008. Read more
UK: Sainsbury's scraps boxes for Basics cereal range Sainsbury's has responded to consumer pressure over packaging by removing the cardboard box from its Basics cereals range. Basics Rice Pops is the supermarket's first product to be packaged in a printed bag, and the retailer is looking to roll the packaging out to the rest of the range, following a two-month investigation into which packaging particularly frustrated consumers.
A Sainsbury's spokeswoman said packaging was the biggest environmental concern for its customers and cereals were high on the list of bugbears. "People can't understand why it's bagged and boxed," she said.
Read more
 UK: Embracing the digestive health movement
The successful marketing of probiotic yogurt products such as Activia and Yakult means that UK consumers are more aware of the importance of digestive health issues than ever before. Terms such as lactobacillus casei immunitas and lactobacillus casei shirota, which at one time would have mystified consumers, are now becoming more widely understood. Read more
Almonds star in new products According to the Mintel Global New Products Database, almonds became the leading nut introduced in new products worldwide in 2008, with 160 more new product introductions than peanuts and 423 more new products than hazelnuts. In a global food market that declined 6% in new product introductions overall, new almond introductions declined by only 1%. Almonds maintained a 29% share of new nut product introductions.
“Versatility as an ingredient, widely appreciated taste and overall consumer appeal helped almonds retain their share of usage in new products despite the economic volatility in the world’s major markets,” said Shirley Horn, chief marketing officer for the Almond Board of California. Read more
UK: Bangers and mash most popular comfort food as Britons eat more during credit crunch Bangers and mash is the most popular comfort food during the credit crunch, according to a survey which claims most Britons are putting on weight because of the recession. The traditional British dish got 16% of the vote, beating fish and chips into second with 15% and beans on toast into third with 10%.
The survey was commissioned by TV channel Good Food, which quizzed more than 3,000 British adults about their current eating habits compared with last year. Read more
Food Science & Ingredient Stuff Taste psychologist maps 'dialects' of flavour preference Consumer tastes vary wildly around the world, and even within countries there can be marked differences in favoured flavors and textures.
A new study conducted for Costa Coffee by food psychologist Greg Tucker and the UK's University of Nottingham’s Flavor Research Group investigated the development of taste preferences in the UK as a result of culture, geographical and environmental influences. “Just as with spoken dialects, where accent is placed on different syllables and vowel formations, people from different regions have developed enhanced sensitivities to certain taste sensations and seek foods that trigger these,” said Professor Andy Taylor of the University of Nottingham. Read more
 Expert says nanotech safety risks could make it “the new asbestos”
Dr George Burdock of the Burdock Group claims that manufacturers lack understanding about how particles can change when they are shrunk to nano-size, and the current economic situation has exacerbated potential dangers, as some cost-cutting companies could look to cheaper, less reliable safety assessment. Read more
Air and water crucial in fight against obesity Air and water are substantially neglected - and cost effective - weapons in the battle against the bulge, according to scientists gathered at a major London conference on satiety recently. Studies unveiled at the conference – organised by The British Nutrition Foundation – repeatedly demonstrate that food energy density, structure, volume and macronutrient composition (eg fat, carbs, proteins) were vital in determining how filling it was. Read more
 Newly uncovered enzymes turn corn plant waste into biofuel
Cellulose-loving fungi can cut biofuel costs by enabling existing corn ethanol plants to process cheaper, woody feedstocks such as corn stover. Read more
 Creating a ‘gold standard’ for natural beef flavours
International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF) has released a new range of “natural and authentic” beef flavours which it says responds to consumer demand for natural ingredients. Read more
 A breath mint made from ... coffee?
We all know why Starbucks puts boxes of breath mints close to the cash register. Your morning latte can create a startling aroma in your mouth, strong enough to startle your co-workers too. But intriguing new research from Tel Aviv University by breath specialist Prof Mel Rosenberg of TAU's Sackler Faculty of Medicine finds that a coffee extract can inhibit the bacteria that lead to bad breath. Read more
FOCUS: Antioxidants - good or bad?
 More harm than good?
Sales of vitamin supplements containing antioxidants are booming. But research suggests they don't always work - and may even increase the risk of disease.
'Rich in antioxidants" is an advertiser's dream slogan. It ensures food and drinks are snapped up in the hope of preventing ageing, cancer or heart disease. Last year, 22 million of us took a supplement and 13% of supplements sold in the UK boasted on the label that they contained antioxidants. Antioxidants, such as vitamins A, C and E, are marketed as good for our health but what is the evidence? Read more
What are antioxidants, and are they good for us?  Thanks in part to intensive marketing by the food and supplement industries, there’s a widely held belief that if something contains ‘antioxidants’ it’s automatically good for us. But the scientific evidence behind this claim is pretty thin on the ground – thin enough to lead the Advertising Standards Authority to recently ask tea-makers Tetley to withdraw their advert for green tea this month. Read more
 The antioxidant myth: a medical fairy tale
[This excellent article published by New Scientist in August 2006 shows that the arguments around antioxidants are hardly new. Ed]
Cranberry capsules. Green tea extract. Effervescent vitamin C. Pomegranate concentrate. Beta carotene. Selenium. Grape seed extract. High-dose vitamin E. Pine bark extract. Bee spit.
You name it, if it's an antioxidant, we'll swallow it by the bucket-load. According to some estimates, around half the adults in the US take antioxidant pills daily in the belief they promote good health and stave off disease. We have become antioxidant devotees. But are they doing us any good? Evidence gathered over the past few years shows that at best, antioxidant supplements do little or nothing to benefit our health. At worst, they may even have the opposite effect, promoting the very problems they are supposed to stamp out. Read more
Health & Nutrition
SPORTS SUPPLEMENTS: What you don't know might kill you! Would-be experts and untested products feed a $20 billion obsession with better performance across all levels of sports. The sports-supplement world has many power brokers whose origins are improbable . . .
In three decades the industry has grown from a niche business serving iron-heaving behemoths to a broad-based juggernaut with nearly $20 billion in US sales in 2007, according to the Nutrition Business Journal. They help decide what compounds go into the fat-burners, muscle builders and preworkout drinks consumed annually by an estimated 33.5 million Americans. Despite the move into the mainstream the industry remains fertile ground for kitchen chemists with little or no formal education in science or nutrition. Read more
FOCUS: Religious slaughter - cruel or not?
UK: End 'cruel' religious slaughter, say scientists Religious slaughter techniques practised by Jews and Muslims are cruel and should be ended, says a scientific assessment from the British government's animal welfare advisers.
The Farm Animal Welfare Council says that slitting the throats of the animals most commonly used for meat, chickens, without stunning, results in "significant pain and distress". The committee, which includes scientific, agricultural and veterinary experts, is calling for the government to launch a debate with Muslim and Jewish communities to end the practice. Read more
COMMENT: The beliefs behind the halal and kosher ritualsTo critics, halaal and kosher slaughtering is a barbaric and overly violent way to end an animal's life. Yet both methods came from a desire to ease an animal's suffering, and to reflect spiritually on the taking of a life. Read more
Miscellany
Is farming the root of all evil?  Academics have claimed that moving away from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle was "the worst mistake in history". But are they right? Recenlty, Sir Paul McCartney urged us, amid a blaze of publicity, to curb our carnivorous lifestyles and go meat-free on Mondays, in order to reduce the damage that modern agriculture does to the planet.
But for all the recent talk about the pros and cons of farming, and how the methods we use are affecting the environment, a more basic point has been missed - that growing crops might be damaging not just to the environment but to the development of our own species. Could it be that rather than being a boon to mankind, the invention of agriculture was, in the words of one academic, "the worst mistake in human history"? Read more
  What the World Eats
What's on family dinner tables in fifteen different homes around the globe? The contrasts are amazing. Do look at this extraordinary photoessay on www.time.com, with photographs by Peter Menzel from the book "Hungry Planet". See more That's it for this week, folks!
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