"We should seize every opportunity to give encouragement. Encouragement is oxygen to the soul."

Food bites... A food-fight most foul!

"Yet the big loser here [referring to Premier's massive bread cartel fine] is the reputation of South Africa business generally. Here are some ground rules for “better business” practice.
    * First, when you decide to screw your customers, concentrate on not screwing poor people.
    * Second, if you are in the food industry, try to avoid screwing your customers when it comes to staple products.
    * And third, when you are caught, don’t whine about it.
Should be pretty obvious, but clearly it is not."

Tim Cohen, writing in The Daily Maverick (an edgy look at SA and global news daily) 

Editor's Stuff - New labelling regulations are law!

It has taken an excruciatingly long time; it has been a massive consultative and legal effort by many people; it has been contentious and even nasty, and finally this week, one of the biggest news events of the decade for the South African food industry finally happened! The new food labelling regulations were gazetted on Monday, with most provisions coming into effect on March 1, 2011.

"We wish to congratulate the Dept of Health for publishing these long-awaited regulations and we look forward to continue participating in the development of Phase 2 of the regulations, on behalf of our members," said Dr Lucia Anelich of the Food Safety Initiative of the CGCSA.

“The South African Association for Food Science and Technology (SAAFoST) welcomes the publishing on 1 March 2010 of the long awaited Labelling and Advertising of Foodstuffs Regulations. Food professionals countrywide look forward to working with the new regulations and towards putting them to the test in the interests of maximising consumer value and benefit," writes Rosie Maguire, SAAFoST president.

Some voices are not so kind. Well known dietitican and consultant, Jane Badham, closely involved in their drafting as a member of FLAG (Food Legislation Advisory Group), and never one unafraid to say it as it is, had this to say: "All the guessing is over! At last we have the regulations gazetted and can see in black and white what’s in, what’s out and what’s changed and how significantly. Yet there is still no sight of the critical guidelines that have to go along with them – this is a disgrace, as already a week ago, it was common knowledge that the big day was imminent. There are some critical missing pieces in the guidelines gap – details pertaining to QUID, allergens and sampling. It’s been like reading a great sounding cake recipe but not knowing what all the ingredients are!

"Overall, it would seem that sanity, sense and science has prevailed but the greatest tragedy is that had the government consulted earlier, we could have had these regulations complete, in-place and in-force years ago and with less animosity. I only hope that the lesson has been learnt, especially as most of the health claims are excluded, pending further discussion and debate. So we are still years away from actually tasting the cake with the filling and icing…"

And now I'll have my say, not about the regulations, but how the Dept of Health has non-communicated this momentous development. On hearing the news, I immediately sent a mail to Dries Pretoris, director of Food Control in the DoH (DFC), and Antoinette Booyzen, the key drafter of the regulations, requesting comment for today's newsletter. A short while later I was phoned by Efficient DFC Secretary and told that Dries was not available until today (Friday), and anyway, any comment would have to be secured from one Fidel in the communications arm of the DoH. I would have to ask him for permission for them to speak to me! Yes, it's true. That's how it's done, I was advised by EDFCS, even for the SABC!

So, incredulous, I duly called one Fidel: the landline number given was wrong, and I then left an urgent message on his cell voice mail. I haven't held my breath, because, as expected, there has been no response from one Fidel. EDFCS then called and asked if I had managed to speak one Fidel. I let her know not, and that I had subsequently sent another mail to Dries and Antoinette, communicating my pique and offering them the open opportunity to comment, and that my deadline was yesterday afternoon. If I didn't hear from them, I would report that the DoH/DFC was unavailable for comment. "That would be a lie," EDFCS berated me. "No, it wouldn't," was my reply.

So I offer you no comment from the DoH, not from those most intimately involved in the drafting and passing of these regulations, and nothing from the DoH's communications department. A press release? A communique? Some fanfare to alert the industry and the public? Nix, nada, nothing.

And now, you've heard the big news and you want to download the regulations and their accompanying and vital guidelines? Well, don't you hold your breath now - they're not available. They're not yet posted on the DFC's website, and the Government Gazette (why isn't it online?) has only published the regulations, not the guidelines.

It's a pathetic and contemptuous disgrace. Is anyone remotely surprised?

Read more about the new regulations here and this is where you should, some day, be able to download them.

So, on that huffy note, enjoy this week's read!

Food Industry News

EU: EFSA gives health claims another blow

Health claims are vitally important to food marketers. Evidence: they have filed 44,000 petitions with EFSA to date. EFSA consolidated these into 4,185 claims. It is dealing with them in batches, and it its latest batch did not approve many of the 416 petitions:

Grounds for rejection included:

* Lack of information to identify the substance on which the claim is based, e.g. “probiotics”

* Lack of evidence that the claimed effect is indeed beneficial to the maintenance or improvement of the functions of the body (eg food with “antioxidant properties”)

* Lack of human studies with reliable measures of the claimed health benefit

Read more from EFSA; read more from arch American food industry critic, Marion Nestle

Meal replacements win first EFSA weight management claim approval

Significant effects that matched biologically plausible mechanisms were cited by EFSA as the major reasons why meal replacements won a rare article 13.1 positive opinion last week.  Read more

EU: Low-GI health claims are ‘down, but not out’

While low-glycaemic index (low-GI) health claims have suffered a major setback following last week’s negative opinion from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), it is “by no means the end of the road” for glycaemic control, according to experts in the field. Read more

US FDA warns Nestle and others for misleading food claims

Nestle, Gerber and POM Wonderful are among the 17 food companies that have received FDA warning letters regarding misleading health claims on the labels of some of their products. POM maintains that the health information stated on its products is "true and supported by unprecedented scientific research."

The warnings come as the FDA is set to push for new package labeling to make it easier for people to understand the nutritional content of food. Read more

COMMENT: FDA's flurry of warning letters ends an era of audacious health-food claims

After this week's crackdown on food claims, companies may want to put their packaging departments on notice for a little extra overtime in the upcoming months. In an unprecedented move, the FDA sent 16 warning letters to food manufacturers accusing them of making false or misleading health or nutritional claims on their packaging or web sites. Read more

US: Coke's bottler deal: the days of booming soda sales are gone for good

After years of clinging to its beloved soda brands, Coca-Cola has finally acknowledged it’s time to move on. In agreeing to buy its largest North American bottling company today, Coke is responding to what many analysts say is a permanent consumer shift away from old school drinks like Coke and Sprite to newer, smaller brands like Vitamin Water and Full Throttle energy drinks. Read more

SA: SAB gears up for 2010

SAB has outlined details of its preparations to ensure the country is fully stocked and supplied with beer during the forthcoming FIFA World Cup. Read more.

EU: Symrise celebrates recession resilience

Germany’s Symrise has reported a year of above-market growth, buoyed by especially good sales in South America and acquisitions in the US.

The flavour and fragrance firm reported actual sales growth of 3.2 per cent to €1.36bn (2.7 per cent in local currencies), and a slight increase in EBITDA to €265.4m. While Europe, Africa and the Middle East had a slow start to the year, as customers in both flavours and fragrances de-stocked to protect the effects of the recession on their own margins, in H2 sales picked up in both divisions. Read more

US: Dannon to cough up for misleading advertising

Dannon has agreed to pay up to $45 million in damages under the terms of a class-action settlement reached in federal court alleging misleading advertising about its Activia and DanActive yogurt. Read more

UK: McDonald's Chicken McNuggets branded 'healthy' by Weight Watchers

McDonald's is not the obvious choice for the health conscious dieter but the fast food chain has signed a deal with Weight Watchers to rebrand some of its meals as "healthy options". Read more

SA: KFC serves platter to fill Joburg's potholes

Johannesburg's Roads Agency has received a R200 000 cash injection from fast-food company KFC for the maintenance of its decaying roads. Agency spokesman Thulani Makhubela said the city's potholes problem would be resolved in time for the 2010 Fifa World Cup, which begins on June 11.

"We will have eradicated the backlog," he said. "We do not see this as a donation to the agency; we see it as a means by which KFC is giving back to the community. Read more

In an unusual and savvy cause-marketing push, KFC is tackling the pothole problem in Louisville, Kentucky, in exchange for stamping the fresh pavement with "Re-freshed by KFC," a chalky stencil likely to fade away in the next downpour. Read more

UK: River Café founder Rose Gray dies: 'a pioneer of simple, delicious cooking'

Rose Gray, the co-founder of the River Café restaurant who has died after a prolonged battle with cancer, is widely considered to have been one of the pioneers of simple, delicious cooking in Britain. Read more

COMMENT: The food revolution we still await

I would like to think that Rose Gray, who died at the weekend, was one of the most influential chefs in Britain. She founded the River Café with my friend Ruthie Rogers, and some of my favourite recipes come from the series of hugely successful cook books named after their restaurant in west London.

Gray and Rogers transformed Italian cooking, breaking with the bowdlerised versions of great Italian dishes which used to be served alongside straw-wrapped Chianti bottles. The two women pioneered the use of authentic ingredients, and I don't doubt for one moment that Rose Gray deserved the affectionate tributes paid to her in the last couple of days.

But the fact remains that most people in this country are overweight or obese, much of what they eat is pre-cooked rubbish, and Tesco has had more influence on their eating habits than the River Café. Read more

 Health & Nutrition Stuff

A cheek swab to choose your diet plan?

Wondering if you'd do better to cut carbs or fats to lose weight? A DNA test using a cheek swab may reveal which approach would work best for you, new research suggests.

Researchers from Stanford University used data on a study from 2007 in which 138 overweight or obese women were assigned to one of four popular diets for a year. The diets included: the Atkins diet (very low carbohydrate), the Zone diet (low carbohydrate), the Ornish diet (very low fat) or a health professional's diet (a low-fat diet that generally follows the U.S Agriculture Department's Food Pyramid). The women also had the inside of their cheeks swabbed to collect a DNA sample.

Researchers used the genetic information to assign women to a "genotype-appropriate" diet, an eating plan that would seem to be the most effective for them given their particular genetic makeup. Read more

Who is to blame for obesity, and what should be done about it?

While experts argue over whether to blame individuals, society, fast food or families for the rapid rise in obesity rates, the perhaps more pressing question is what to do about it. The answers are pouring in -- from radio talk shows, blogs, editorial pages -- amping up the feelings of the already fed up. Read more

The basic facts of calories

A calorie is . . .A unit of energy. First described in the 1800s, a calorie is technically the amount of heat needed to raise the... Read more

Hot Stuff

Screw the consumer: lofty ideals are a bad basis for law

Later this year, in October 2010, South Africa's Consumer Protection Act (number 68 of 2008) will come into effect. Its impact will be broad. Many of its provisions are welcome. Its aims, certainly, are noble. Who doesn't want to prevent misleading marketing? Who opposes the right of consumers to make informed choices in the marketplace? What's wrong with cheaper and easier access to means of redress, when formal legal action is so expensive and time-consuming?

Some of the provisions of the law, however, will have unintended consequences. Some will significantly raise the cost of goods and services, or increase the risk of selling them. This will not just harm producers, but it will harm consumers. Read more

Is this Food, Inc or Monsters, Inc?

An Oscar-nominated documentary about America’s food industry is simply ‘outrage porn’ for organic eaters... Food, Inc is an Oscar-nominated documentary by Robert Kenner, based on two best-selling books: The Omnivore’s Dilemma, by Michael Pollan, and Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser. In essence, the film describes how the modern food system has provided us with cheap food, but also suggests that this has come at an enormous cost.... Rather than providing a vision of a better food industry, Food, Inc seems to have nothing better to offer than a retreat to the past. Ironically, the notion of a greener, organic, local food system is just as much a piece of storytelling as anything that the food corporations can offer us. Read more

Food Safety Stuff

How to develop your food safety management system: a consultant - to use or not to use?

This is the third in a series of practical tips when implementing a food safety management system, published by SA's The Food Safety Network.

When confronted with the daunting task of implementing a food safety management system, many companies have simply found it easier to employ a consultant to assist with the process. The success rate of using a consultant is varied depending on who you speak to.... There are a number of factors to consider for when selecting a consultant. Read more

Dung beetles and human error explain European listeria deaths

An error that led to use of wrong cultures for the production of cheese has been linked to seven deaths from listeria in Austria and Germany. So far Austrian and German food safety bodies have traced seven deaths to acid curd cheese produced by Prolactal. AGES, the Austrian food safety agency, has found that the victims had bought Prolactal cheese and then found listeria in samples taken at the company.

Prolactal has since investigated the causes of the contamination and has concluded that human error and failure to adhere to the company control system could be to blame. Read more

Sustainability Stuff

Marks & Spencer launches programme to be world's most sustainable retailer by 2015

Marks & Spencer (M&S) has announced a programme to be the world’s most sustainable retailer by 2015, launching 80 major new commitments under its eco and ethical plan, Plan A. The new commitments will mean we ensure all M&S products become ‘Plan A products’ with at least one sustainable quality, enable our 2,000 suppliers to adopt Plan A best practice and encourage M&S customers and employees to live ‘greener’ lifestyles.

Sir Stuart Rose, chairman of M&S said: “Our extended Plan A will reach further and move us faster - covering every part of our business and reaching out to forests, farms, factories, lorries, warehouses and into our customers’ and employees’ homes. We believe sustainability is a key ingredient of business success and that Plan A will continue to make us more efficient, develop new markets and build customer loyalty. It’s therefore not just the right thing to do morally but also makes strong commercial sense.” Read more

2015 has all of a sudden become the year for green transformations

Among several moves by large corporates, Wal-Mart has recently said it plans to cut 20 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions from its supply chain by 2015. It will do this by going through stores category-by-category, rooting out the products responsible for the highest carbon output, and then working with suppliers to reduce the amounts. This could mean Wal-Mart’s vendors need to revisit how they source ingredients, the way they ship their products; changing whatever process is using the most energy. Read more

Attack of the really quite likeable tomatoes

In the 14 years since the first genetically modified crops were planted commercially, their descendants, relatives and remixes have gone forth and multiplied like profitable, high-tech pondweed. A new report (see below) shows that 25 countries now grow GM crops, with the total area under cultivation now larger than Peru.

Techniques for altering genomes are moving ahead almost as fast as the genomes themselves are stacking up, and new crops with more than one added trait are coming to market.

Such stories of success will strike fear into some hearts, and not only in GM-averse Europe; a GM backlash is under way in India, focused on insect-resistant aubergines. Some of these fears are understandable, but lacking supporting evidence they have never been compelling. Read more

The spread of GM crops: developing world embraces a controversial technology

A decade ago, after European activists whipped up lots of negative coverage about the perils of toying with nature, the future of GM crops seemed uncertain. The technology was adopted by farmers in the rich world outside Europe, but poor countries seemed likely to be left behind. However, according to a report released recently by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), a non-profit outfit that monitors the use of GM crops, the sector is blossoming, especially in the developing world, where poor and unproductive farmers have the most to gain from such advances. Read more

EU: Amflora approval is a hot potato in GM debate

The European Commission’s approval of BASF’s GM Amflora potato for cultivation in the EU could mark the end of European deadlock over genetic modification, and has been celebrated and decried with equal measure by commentators on both sides of the debate. The GM Amflora potato has been developed by German chemical giant BASF to produce more starch. It is expected to be mostly grown in Germany for industrial purposes like the paper industry, but not food. Read more

Disposable toilet that could help grow crops

A Swedish entrepreneur is trying to market and sell a biodegradable plastic bag, called aptly Peepoo, that acts as a single-use toilet for urban slums in the developing world.

Once used, the bag can be knotted and buried, and a layer of urea crystals breaks down the waste into fertiliser, killing off disease-producing pathogens found in faeces. Read more

Bobble hopes to save the planet and quench thirst

The Bobble is a new, reusable, portable water bottle that filters tap water as you drink. A single Bobble filter equates to at least 300 water bottles, decreasing the environmental impact created by disposable, plastic bottled water. The filter should be replaced every two months or after filtering approximately 150 liters of water. Read more

Food Science Stuff

Hangover-free booze? Increasing dissolved oxygen concentrations in alcohol may reduce negative side effects

Oxygen for ethanol oxidation is supplied through breathing, the stomach, and the skin. There is a great deal of genetic and environmental variability in the pharmacokinetics of alcohol absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination. A new study has found that increasing dissolved oxygen concentrations in alcohol may help to reduce alcohol-related side effects and accidents. Read more

Hi-tech coffee: What's the buzz?

From computerised percolators to ergonomic espresso-machines, making coffee has become a hi-tech affair.

Among the countless millions of who enjoy a hot cup of coffee in the morning there is a breed apart. These are the caffeine freaks who want to harness technology to make their brew even better. Read more

Miscellany

The whole hog: nothing is wasted at 'Porkcamp'

Porkcamp is the brainchild of Florian Siepert, a computer whizz who creates real-life happenings for internet communities. He has combined his knowledge of the online world with his passion for food to bring "friends" from all over Germany to the small town of Neuruppin-Lichtenberg, to experience at first hand the process of taking a pig to plate. "I want transparency... I want people to connect the fact that for us to eat meat, something has to die – to experience that at first hand and, of course, then to eat some great food," he says. Read more

Banana is most wasted food

Fruit, salad and vegetables are the most wasted items in the weekly shopping basket with the banana in top place, closely followed by fresh milk, according to the latest research.

People living in cities generally waste the most food but the worst culprits are city-dwelling single men, aged between 25 and 35, who waste food worth an average of £17.43 a month, the data found. Read more

That's all for this week, folks