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Editor’s Stuff: Mulling over R429!
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 Just as we got used to “R146”, “R429” has quickly become a common phrase in SA food industry circles. There’s naturally huge interest in the new draft food labelling and advertising regulations that were published at the end of May, especially as they deal with the potentially contentious areas of health claims and marketing to children.
Last newsletter, we published insights and commentary from Nigel Sunley, one of SA’s foremost labelling and regulatory experts, on the new proposals (link second below), and today you can read his take on the Guidelines that accompany R429.
R429: Draft “Phase 2” labelling regulations published
Workshops on R429 With time quickly expiring to the August 29 D-date for submission of comments on R429, there are several opportunities to attend workshops on the regulations.
SAAFoST has set up a high-powered seminar in Jo’burg on July 9, that will likely also run in Durban and Cape Town; and Dr Harris Steinman’s consultancy, FACTS, is hosting workshops in Pretoria and Stellenbosch in the next fortnight as well.
FOODStuff SA is a hub for food-bev industry recruitment! Advertise your openings now! Click here
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Local News and Developments |
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W Cape companies scoop innovation awards at SIAL CHINA 2014 Show Stellenbosch-based Blue Africa Trading has won a SIAL Innovation Award for its rooibos tea packaging while the Western Cape Fine Food Initiative received a Special Innovation Award on behalf of food producer Munch Bowls for its eco-friendly edible bowls at Asia’s leading food and beverage exhibition, held in Shanghai.
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The 17th World Congress of Food Science & Technology (IUFoST 2014) takes place in Montreal, Canada from August 17th – 21st, 2014. A popular aspect of the event is the Global Food Industry Awards, that recognise exceptional products, packaging and communication campaigns. These are the South African entries, as selected by a SAAFoST panel.
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Global kiwifruit exporter, Zespri International, has launched Zespri SunGold, a golden variety kiwifruit, in major South African supermarkets just in time to boost consumers’ immunity during the cold winter months. It is larger, sweeter and smoother-textured than its well-known green cousin.
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Fast-track Fruit and Veg City had launched an in-house fast-food brand, Crispy Chicken, which would trade through its FreshStop forecourt stores at Caltex service stations.
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Good Night relaxation beverage, specifically developed to help relieve feelings of stress and support overall quality of sleep, has been launched in South Africa.
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Making contacts on the trot So just how did Grand Parade Investments chairman Hassen Adams get Burger King to South Africa? As is often the case with him, the answer involves solid personal relationships and horse racing.
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Banting on a budget: Follow up A rural South African doctor completes her two-week budget banting challenge. See what she gained and what she lost on the diet – besides 1.7 kgs.
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Continuing on a path of innovation, SAB has brought to market its first nitrogenated draught in a can – Castle Milk Stout Ultra Smooth.
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International Developments
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Three exhibitors at IFT 2014 Congress and Food Expo in New Orleans this week — Arla Foods Ingredients, PerkinElmer and Solazyme — captured the prestigious 2014 IFT Food Expo Innovation Award. Here’s why…
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Thousands of food industrialists gathered in New Orleans this week for the 2014 IFT annual meeting and Food Expo – all there to learn more about the hottest new trends, the most innovative technology and important developments in food science and technology. Clean label, 3D printing, adding science back to the food conversation, challenges of natural antimicrobials and new dairy technologies were just a fragment of the hundreds of sessions.
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Plant scientist Sanjaya Rajaram, born in India and a citizen of Mexico, will be honoured as the 2014 World Food Prize Laureate for his scientific research that led to an increase in world wheat production—by more than 200 million tons—building upon the successes of the Green Revolution.
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Coca-Cola Life is ‘game changer’ for sugar reduction, says policy expert The launch of stevia-sugar sweetened Coca-Cola Life into the UK signals a new era in sugar reduction, as it suggests stevia will soon be big in soft drinks, and may open up the use of sweeteners in foods, according to Professor Jack Winkler, former Professor of nutrition policy at London Metropolitan University. |
The TV chef and serial entrepreneur is spinning a new plate in the air with his FoodTube and DrinkTube ventures. After porn, food is the second most searched thing online and he wants to give users a taste for the healthy options.
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Trends, Marketing and NPD |
The finalists and winners in the World Dairy Innovation Awards 2014, sponsored by Tetra Pak, were announced on 17 June 2014 at a special gala dinner during the 8th Global Dairy Congress in Istanbul, Turkey. One of the top winners features the first real commercialisation of WikiCells. The awards again reiterate just how innovative and exciting is the dairy sector.
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Nielsen has issued a list of 14 breakthrough innovation products, many of them food-bev items, based on products introduced in the US in 2012 that continued to do well in their second year in the market.
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Who would have guessed that among all the new products to hit the cheese aisle in America, the most successful would be sliced just a bit thinner than the rest?
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Kellogg’s hopes that it finally has figured out how to keep cereal sales from getting soggier: sell it in pouches. Goodbye cereal bowl. Hello snack pack – suitable for stuffing into a lunch box, briefcase or purse.
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While it seems counter-intuitive, relying too much on a health benefit to differentiate a new food or beverage is the most common reason for failure in functional foods and beverages, reveals a new report from New Nutrition Business.
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Nescafé, the world’s first instant coffee and the fifth most valuable food and drink brand, is launching a unified, global look and feel across all products in the 180 countries where the coffee is sold. Simultaneously, Nestlé is also launching its first-ever, fresh RTD iced coffee brand, Nescafé Shakissimo, in Europe this month.
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One of the fiercest marketing battles in the world takes place in kitchens and at dining room tables across the world. The sellers are parents, trying everything to persuade their children to eat their vegetables. Now, new research shows why parents – and food marketers – might be doing themselves no favours.
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A strong interest in protein content and high-protein products across the food and drinks market is continuing to develop, reports Innova Market Insights, despite the fact that most Western consumers already get enough protein in their diets.
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See all 2014 trends reports here! |
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Food Science and Technology |
Britain’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) has called on the public to stop washing raw chicken to reduce the risk of contracting campylobacter, a potentially dangerous form of food poisoning. Washing chicken can spread campylobacter bacteria onto hands, work surfaces, clothing and cooking equipment.
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Campylobacter jejuni is the most common agent of food poisoning in industrialised nations. Professor Gary Dykes’ team at Monash University, Melbourne, is trying to understand how it not only survives, but how it persists under conditions that should kill it.
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A resurgence of food irradiation Except for those food companies that routinely irradiate their products, we haven’t heard much about food irradiation over the last decade. However, recently there seems to be a resurgence of media articles and even government approvals related to irradiating food. What’s going on? |
New technologies improving spice safety New and improved manufacturing technologies, as well as a greater focus on the individual steps of the production process, are helping to enhance spice safety throughout the world.
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A much, and incorrectly, maligned beef product that was a common ingredient in hamburger patties and other prepared dishes is making a comeback in the US. Two years ago, beef processors cut back sharply on producing “lean, finely textured beef” after the nasty nickname for it, “pink slime,” hit mega media headlines.
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Health and Nutrition |
 Your probiotic is probably BS Probiotics are having a moment. They’re everywhere. Walk in your local mega-mart, and it’s hard to miss the products offering you an extra dose of beneficial microbes. Though the good gut bugs are likely beneficial for some, companies are using the label to rip off consumers. |
A new study on the digestion of milk could lead to the development of new formulas for premature babies, weight loss drinks and potentially new drug delivery systems.
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Weird, Whacky and Wonderful Stuff |
Watermelon helmets are popular items of crude headgear at summer sporting arenas – but who knew the fruit could be turned into works of art! American artist Clive Cooper decided to approach watermelon like you would a pumpkin, carving faces and animals that range from funny to grotesque.
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Paleo debate solved: Neanderthals ate vegetables Analysis of the oldest reported trace of human faeces has added weight to the view that Neanderthals ate vegetables. Found at a dig in Spain, the ancient excrement showed chemical traces of both meat and plant digestion. |
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Food bites…2014: They said it!
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The next food revolution will be what consumers don’t eat
“IT WILL be about the wholesome food we are not eating — we are throwing it out… Much of food waste is exactly this — food not harvested — or in the case of Europe it is referred to as ‘ugly’ food. In this case, perfect is the enemy of the good. We have misshapen produce that farmers know if it goes to a supermarket it will just sit there because we want perfect products. It is really critical we reframe our thinking about this excess food that we are not consuming for reasons that make no sense.”
Doug Rauch, the former CEO of Trader Joe’s and current CEO of Conscious Capitalism, read more
Stevia an instrument of change “THE opposition to sweeteners that is talked about isn’t actually an opposition to sweeteners – it’s an opposition to aspartame. That has become a 40-year war of attrition and no amount of evidence will persuade opponents to back down and change their opinion…. “Why I’m so excited about stevia’s potential is that reformulation is key to tackling public health issues, and that Coca-Cola Life is a good example of reformulation in a product category that contributes more sugar to the diet than any other. “Education, taxation and regulation are the main instruments of public health policy, but in the context of food, they have proved either politically ineffective or economically unfeasible…the most probable instrument is reformulation.”
Professor Jack Winkler, former Professor of nutrition policy at London Metropolitan University
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