Traditional techniques and ingredients, as well as focusing on simplicity are two of the key culinary trend predictions for 2012, according to international food manufacturer McCormick’s ‘Flavour Forecast’ for 2012, just released. The McCormick Flavour Forecast is an annual report offering predictions for the future of flavour. It pinpoints common trends driving culinary innovation around the world. The Flavour Forecast was crafted by an international team of McCormick chefs, sensory scientists,... ...Read more »

The findings of a UK study, just published, suggest that healthy people with higher urine concentrations of Bisphenol A (BpA), a controversial chemical widely used in food packaging, are more likely later to develop heart disease. BpA is one of the world’s highest production volume chemicals. The global population is exposed to BpA primarily through packaged food and drink, but also through drinking water, dental sealants, exposure to the skin and the inhalation of household dust. The study was... ...Read more »

Coca Cola Amatil (CCA),  the publicly listed group that owns the Coke franchise in Australia and the Asia Pacific, has reported increased net profit after tax ( up 19.0 percent) ,  increased total sales (up 6.9 percent) and increased earnings per share (up 18.3 percent) for its financial year ended 31 December 2011 compared with the previous 12 months. Figures for the Australian market alone, however, were not as pleasing. CCA’s revenue from soft drink and non-alcoholic drinks in Australia rose... ...Read more »

Global giant Nestlé yesterday released its annual report for 2011 and revealed a positive set of results. Nestlé’s impressive report included an overall sales figure of CHF 83.6 billion, a trading profit of CHF 12.5 billion, and a net profit of 9.5 billion, up 8.1% from 2010. Nestlé’s underlying earnings per share (EPS) increased 7.8% in constant currencies. Nestlé CEO, Paul Bulcke, said he was pleased with the 2011 results: “we delivered good performance, top and bottom line, in both emerging... ...Read more »

One of the world’s largest fast food chains, McDonald’s Corporation, has announced that it will require its U.S. pork suppliers to outline their plans to phase out the use of sow gestation stalls. A gestation stall is a metal enclosure used in intensive pig farming, in which a female breeding pig (sow) may be confined during pregnancy, and in effect for most of her adult life. McDonald’s said that it will work with its U.S. suppliers to determine how to end the use of gestation... ...Read more »

The EU Parliament has voted against the labelling of food with “X% less” or “no added X” claims. The Food and Drink Federation, the UK’s leading voice for the food and drink industry, has expressed disappointment with the vote, which took place on 2 February 2012. The UK industry said it was concerned about the potential impact on industry’s discouragement of industry formulation of healthier foods. UK Food and Drink Federation’s response Barbara Gallani, Director of Food Safety... ...Read more »

A report by Rabobank’s global Food and Agribusiness and Advisory department on 3 February, 2012 has forecast strong but uneven growth in world dairy products. In the report, Rabobank stated that “the global dairy market will offer strong growth prospects in the coming five years, but the uneven spread of this market expansion and an era of elevated pricing will create as many challenges as opportunities for key players along the dairy supply chain”. Growth will be highly skewed to emerging... ...Read more »

A new scientific study conducted at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine suggests a potential link between the consumption of diet soft drinks and heart attacks or other vascular events. The study has found that people who drink diet soft drinks on a daily basis may be at an increased risk of suffering vascular events such as a stroke, heart attack, and vascular death. The research led by Dr Hannah Gardener ScD was examining the relationship between both diet and regular soft drink... ...Read more »

Two leading law experts have claimed that if proposed Palm Oil Labelling legislation were to be enacted in Australia, it would be afoul of World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules. The claim has been made in a research article authored by Melbourne-based lawyer Elizabeth Sheargold together with Associate Professor Andrew Mitchell  of the University of Melbourne. The article was published recently in the Melbourne Journal of International Law. The publication finding comes despite the Australian Government... ...Read more »

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine, in the United States, claim to have identified a human receptor that can detect fat – irrespective of taste. Their research suggests that some people may be more sensitive to the presence of fat in foods. The researchers found that people with a particular variant of the CD36 gene are far more sensitive to the presence of fat than others. Their study is available online in the Journal of Lipid Research. The researchers studied 21 people... ...Read more »