20 Feb US: Grocery stores are getting rid of ‘Sell By’ dates on food
In an effort to cut down on confusion about labels on food items, US grocery manufacturers and retailers are being urged to get rid of terms like 'sell by' and 'best before'.
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20 Feb Kraft bid comes amid headwinds for Unilever
Kraft Heinz’s unsolicited $143-billion offer forUnilever [now spurned and off the table] comes at a time of vulnerability for the Anglo-Dutch giant, the world’s second-largest consumer-goods firm by sales after Procter & Gamble, reports the Wall Street Journal.
20 Feb Spurned Kraft calls off its £115bn pursuit of Unilever
Kraft Heinz has withdrawn its proposed £115 billion ($143bn) offer for Unilever, claiming that the decision had been amicable after talks between the companies, reports The Times, UK.
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20 Feb McDonald’s just innovated the hell out of the simple straw
The internet's abuzz with McDonald's [in the US] latest announcement. It's not all-day breakfast (that's already a thing). And no, they're not making the McRib a menu staple. It's tech-y. It's design-y. It's a new ...
15 Feb The five transformative food-bev trends of 2017
US food-beverage design and development firm, Mattson, develops concepts and formulates products across many channels within the food world, including food-away-from-home, FMCG, ingredients, and others. It's president and chief innovation officer, Barb Stuckey, outlines the macro trends that will...
14 Feb American food science is broken
There could be a future where we eat incredible, sustainable, engineered foods—3D-printed or lab-grown meals, chemically optimised to unleash the perfect combination of flavour and nutrients to fit our bodies and our tastes. But only if we start paying attention to our food scientists...
14 Feb Contrary to the hype, curcumin alone is unlikely to boost health
Curcumin, a compound in turmeric, continues to be hailed as a natural treatment for a wide range of health conditions, including cancer and Alzheimer's disease. But a new review of the scientific literature on curcumin has found it's probably not all it's ground up to...
14 Feb The one ingredient you must think about this year
Turmeric is trendy, adds vibrant colour to the finished product – and it’s a nice health halo for the ever-growing number of people who want to get more into their diet, writes New Nutrition Business's Julian Mellentin.
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14 Feb France’s Mane acquires stake in local ingredients company
Cape Town's Deli Spices reports a new step in its long-standing JV partnership with global flavour house, Mane, with the French business acquiring a stake, undisclosed, in the local business.
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13 Feb Now Frutarom acquires SA’s Unique Flavors
Acquisitive Israeli flavour firm, Frutarom, has acquired South African supplier, Unique Flavors, for R90-million as it edges towards its recently-set target of hitting sales of $2-billion by 2020.
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09 Feb Diet culture: Eating toward immortality
Diet culture is just another way of dealing with the fear of death...
07 Feb New twist in Noakes’ case
The Medical Research Council is expected to probe a senior employee accused of teaming up with "big sugar" to discredit Banting-diet champion Tim Noakes (left), reports the Sunday Times.
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07 Feb March of the dreaded armyworm into SA threatens maize crop
Outbreaks were first reported in West and Central Africa at the beginning of last year. They have since jumped the Equator into Burundi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi and have spread to some of the northern areas of South Africa.
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07 Feb South Africa’s sugar tax: a bold move, and the right thing to do
The reality is that the move to introduce a sugar tax in South Africa is necessary because of the scourge of non-communicable diseases and obesity in the country, write three University of Pretoria researchers.
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07 Feb Extensive use of fluorinated chemicals in fast food wrappers
Can you judge a burger by its wrapper? Well it's no surprise that fast food isn't the best thing to eat for your health. Now, researchers at the University of Notre Dame have found another reason to try to keep your Mac attacks at bay.
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07 Feb A flavour face-lift for supermarket tomatoes
Researchers have sequenced the genes of hundreds of tomato varieties to construct a road map back to desirable flavour.
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07 Feb Lettuce in February: the hidden cost of buying fresh vegetables all year round
UK media has been aflutter with stories of shortages of lettuces, courgettes, broccoli and other unseasonal vegetables due to bad weather in parts of Spain - and there's been a predictable number of column inches about Britain’s reliance on imported fresh produce.
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07 Feb Nestlé: How to grow in a rapidly changing food world
What's the world's biggest food company to do in the face of changing consumer tastes and a shifting retail landscape? The Economist investigates...
07 Feb So what’s in a name – boerewors vs braaiwors?
Although Shakespeare said a rose by another name would be just as sweet, in the food industry we take names very seriously. Use the wrong name and you can mislead the consumer – at your peril, writes FoodFocus' Linda Jackson.
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06 Feb How big supermarket chains in southern Africa keep out small suppliers
The food game gives rise to many entrepreneurs full of bright new ideas and concepts - which is all well and fine until it comes to the all important step of getting them to the consumer, as this article highlights.
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