The European Parliament has voted in favour of putting in place tighter legislation on the composition of fruit juices, ensuring companies stick to stricter labelling guidelines. Companies will no longer be able to add sugar and sweeteners to drinks labelled as “fruit juices” under the EU’s new labelling rules. It is already industry practice not to add sugar to juices, and that practice is now being written into law. The new legislation will apply to all juice products regardless of whether... ...Read more »

A diet high in polyphenols could help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and associated health risks, according to a new study by the University of Glasgow. Researchers from the university’s Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences (ICAMS) say their findings suggest that as far as polyphenol-containing fruit drinks go, there are possible benefits for cardiovascular health. Their research, published today in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, was funded by The Coca-Cola... ...Read more »

Consumer concerns surrounding health issues such as obesity are giving the confectionery markets a challenging time in the EU, where sales of sugar and gum confectionery have remained stagnant over the past four years (2008-2011), from €8.6 billion in 2008 to an estimated €8.9billion in 2011. According to global market research company Mintel’s latest research, sales declined the most in mature markets such as Germany, which despite remaining the largest market in Europe has seen sales drop... ...Read more »

Global food and beverage conglomerate, Kraft Foods, has announced it is cutting around 200 jobs at UK confectioner Cadbury. Kraft has said it intends to divide its business into two independent companies by the end of 2012, and has also announced this week that its current CEO and Chairman, Irene Rosenfeld will head the conglomerate’s planned high-growth global snacks business (which will include the Cadbury brand). It was Irene Rosenfeld who drove Kraft’s hostile takeover of Cadbury in 2011. The... ...Read more »

Tesco Lotus has opened Asia’s the first of its “zero-carbon” supermarket Asia, as part of its commitment to be a zero carbon business by 2050. Tesco Lotus is a major supermarket chain in Thailand, Cambodia and China. In Thailand, the stores are operated by the Ek-Chai Distribution System Co. According to Tesco Lotus, the new store in Bang Pra, Thailand, will put back into the Thai National Grid as much energy as it uses over the course of a year. Renewable fuel is converted into energy... ...Read more »

Processed foods are largely to blame for nearly two-thirds (65 per cent) of adult New Zealanders consuming more sodium than current nutrition guidelines recommend, according to researchers from The University of Otago, in New Zealand. The researchers analysed urine samples taken from 3,000 people who took part in the New Zealand government’s latest adult nutrition survey. The average sodium intake for New Zealand adults was estimated to be around 3,500 milligrams per day (equivalent to around... ...Read more »

A lack of motivation and attention of consumers prevents nutritional information on food labels from impacting positively on food choices, a European study has found. The study was part of the ‘Food Labelling to Advance Better Education for Life’ (FLABEL) project, which provides research on consumer behaviour and nutrition labels to help guide industry players and policy-makers in Europe. The FLABEL consortium is comprised of academic experts, retailers, and not-for-profit organizations in the... ...Read more »

New research from Harvard University, in the U.S., has shown that cooked meat provides more energy than raw meat. The researchers claim their findings suggest cooking played a pivotal role in human evolution by increasing the energy content of some foods. Conducted by Rachel Carmody, a student in Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the research also raises... ...Read more »

American beverage company, ArKay Beverages, has launched what it claims is the world’s first alcohol-free whiskey. Launching the new drink, a spokesperson for the Florida-based company said ‘ArKay’ was designed for “anyone with medical conditions or with religious beliefs to drink whiskey without guilt”. The company claims the drink tastes and looks exactly like traditional whisky. According to ArKay Beverages, the whisky drink is the result of five years of beverage industry research,... ...Read more »

US scientists have used surveys of public school students from Boston, Massachusetts, to suggest an association between high soft drink consumption and teenage aggression. The research, published today in Injury Prevention (an online scientific journal) suggests that teenagers who drink more than five cans of non-diet, fizzy soft drinks every week are significantly more likely to behave aggressively than teenagers who consume less soft drink, even taking into account factors such as age and gender,... ...Read more »