The Consumer Goods Forum has unveiled a new set of industry-wide resolutions designed to promote health and wellness. On the first day of its annual global summit in Barcelona today (15 June), the Forum committed to improving access to healthier products, providing “transparent, fact-based” information to allow consumers to make informed dietary decisions and promoting educational programmes that raise awareness of healthy lifestyles. The collaborative work to promote these resolutions... ...Read more »

McCain Foods Australia and New Zealand has announced a new “overarching global company philosophy”, pledging to “spread the goodness” with reformulation of products to eliminate additives or preservatives, emphasise its School Veggie Patches campaigns and highlight the benefits of fresh-frozen foods, and increase product transparency, which it says is “sure to further strengthen McCain Foods reputation in Australia and New Zealand.” “McCAIN has always been... ...Read more »

The Australian Government Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing, Catherine King, today chaired the sixth meeting of the Food and Health Dialogue. The Dialogue brings together government, industry and public health groups with the aim of addressing poor dietary habits and making healthier food choices easier and more accessible for all Australians. The Dialogue is undertaking, as its primary activity, action on food innovation. This includes a voluntary reformulation program to reduce risk-associated... ...Read more »

Heinz has announced the launch of two chili-flavoured ketchup varieties in the UK. The company said today (22 March) that the Heinz Tomato Ketchup with Fiery Chili and Heinz Tomato Ketchup with Chili will respond to consumer demand for “more adventurous flavours”. Heinz said its ketchup with fiery chilli will “satisfy the taste buds of more adventurous consumers”, while the chili flavour has been “created for those who prefer a milder chilli flavour to liven up meal... ...Read more »

PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay North America business unit has launched two Lightly Salted varieties of chips for the US market. Fritos Lightly Salted corn chips and Ruffles Lightly Salted potato chips join Lay’s Lightly Salted potato chips, containing around 50% less sodium per one ounce serving than their original counterparts, the firm said yesterday. “The number one request from consumers is for lower sodium versions of snacks,” said Ann Mukherjee, chief marketing officer, Frito-Lay... ...Read more »

The Federal Government’s commitment to spend $900,000 over three years to make foods healthier in Australia has been applauded by the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) today. In this week’s Budget, the Government committed new funding to the Food and Health Dialogue to develop a rationale for food reformulation – which includes reducing salt, fat and increasing fibre in foods for all Australians. Under the Dialogue, leading food manufacturers are working to improve the... ...Read more »

PepsiCo yesterday (22 March) set out its plans to reduce the amount of salt, saturated fat and added sugar in its products. The US food giant, which owns brands including Lay’s crisps and Quaker cereals, said it would cut the amount of salt in its “key global food brands in key markets” by 25% by 2015. The company plans to reduce the average saturated fat per food serving by 15% and cut the average added sugar in its key drinks brands by 25% by 2020. “We believe that a healthier... ...Read more »

Kraft Foods announced its intention to reduce the salt content of its North American products by an average of 10% over the next two years. “We are reducing sodium because it’s good for consumers, and, if done properly, it’s good for business,” said Rhonda Jordan, President, Health & Wellness, Kraft Foods. “A growing number of consumers are concerned about their sodium intake and we want to help them translate their intentions into actions.” Kraft has been... ...Read more »

US food manufacturer Heinz last week announced a reduction of sodium by 15 per cent in its core line of ketchup beginning mid year. “As the largest producer of ketchup in the U.S., Heinz is dedicated to meeting the growing consumer demand for better-for-you products, particularly with lower sodium,” said Idamarie Laquatra, Director of Global Nutrition, Heinz. “Heinz Ketchup is proud to provide consumers with lower sodium ketchup with the great taste that Americans expect.” In... ...Read more »

The salt content of food bought in UK supermarkets has reduced by the equivalent of nearly 8,000 tonnes in the past two years, according to new research. The research, conducted by Kantar Worldpanel on behalf of the Food and Drink Federation – the leading representative of manufacturers in the UK, analysed the information on the nutrition labels of 100,000 products bought by 25,000 households and found the net salt content of all purchases decreased by 7,667 tonnes – or 5.3% – between... ...Read more »