The world’s largest coffee chain, Starbucks Corporation, has announced a “record” increase in net income by 18 per cent for its second quarter in the 2011/12 financial year. Starbucks reported total net revenues rose 15 per cent to US$3.2 billion for the 13-week period ended 1 April 2012. Excluding the impact of new store openings, the coffee chain’s sales increased seven per cent, driven by a significant increase in traffic. This marks Starbucks’ seventh consecutive... ...Read more »

A new case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE),  commonly known as mad-cow disease, has been found in a dairy cow in California, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA). BSE, commonly known as mad-cow disease, is a fatal neurodegenerative disease in cattle that causes a spongy degeneration in the brain and spinal cord. In humans, it is known as new variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD). By October 2009, it had killed 166 people in the United Kingdom, and 44 elsewhere... ...Read more »

Major fast food chain, Burger King, has announced that it will eliminate the practices of confining breeding pigs in gestation crates and egg-laying hens in battery cages from its U.S. supply chain. According to its new policy, Burger King will transition to 100 per cent cage-free eggs for all U.S. locations within five years. It will also only purchase pork from suppliers that have documented plans to end their use of gestation crates for breeding pigs. Gestation crates are metal enclosures used... ...Read more »

Cognitive aging could be delayed by up to two and a half years in elderly people who consume greater amounts of the blueberries and strawberries, according to a study published in today’s journal of the American Neurological Association and Child Neurology Society. The research, from Harvard Medical School, used data from the Nurses’ Health Study — a cohort of 121,700 female, registered nurses between the ages of 30 and 55 who completed health and lifestyle questionnaires beginning in 1976. The... ...Read more »

One of the world’s largest food and nutrition companies, Nestlé, has announced its intention to acquire US-based global nutrition company Pfizer Nutrition for US$11.85 billion (AU$11.5 billion). In its announcement, Nestlé said the acquisition (which is subject to regulatory approval) is a strategic move to enhance its position in global infant nutrition. Pfizer Nutrition is a global pediatric nutrition company with a portfolio of brands encompassing everyday and specialty infant and toddler... ...Read more »

Latest market research by international research body Innova Database has found the table and cooking sauces markets are seeing moves to spicier and more complex flavourings. Innova’s research focused on new sauce product launches globally over the past five years. According to Innova, the table sauces market in particular has started to see more in the way of limited edition products with more unusual flavours, or to feature premium ingredients, such as balsamic vinegar, or to use a particular... ...Read more »

The US Food & Drugs Administration (FDA) has proposed new guidelines for the use of nanotechnology by food manufacturers in the United States. Nanotechnology is an evolving technology that allows scientists to create, explore, and manipulate materials so small that they can not be seen with a regular microscope. The technology has a broad range of potential applications, including the packaging of food. Under the FDA’s new draft guidelines, US food manufacturers are encouraged to consult... ...Read more »

A new study by researchers at Iowa State University, in the US, has found that chewing food thoroughly – 40 times before swallowing – reduces food intake in healthy young adults. The researchers studied 20 Iowa State students who were given a metronome and told to chew every time it ticked, with half chewing 15 times and the other half 40 times. Researchers monitored the subjects’ appetite and took blood samples to study plasma glucose levels and hormones. Those who chewed more... ...Read more »

People in the UK are significantly misjudging the amount of sugar in popular drinks, particularly those perceived as “healthy” options, according to new research by the University of Glasgow, in Scotland. The researchers asked 2,005 people from across the UK to estimate how many teaspoons of sugar were in some of the UK’s most popular drinks. Whilst people generally slightly overestimated the amount of sugar in carbonated drinks, they significantly underestimated the sugar levels in a milkshake,... ...Read more »

A new study from the University of Illinois, in the US, has found that obesity during pregnancy creates unhealthy conditions in the mother’s body that places the infant at risk for future health problems. The scientists behind the study claim the findings should come as a warning for obese women who are planning pregnancies. In the study, the placentas of obese rats fed a healthy diet throughout their pregnancies were compared with the placentas of obesity-resistant rats fed the same diet. The... ...Read more »