People with mild depression or anxiety may have modified perceptions of how fat, sweet and bitter flavours which could result in higher consumption levels of unhealthy foods, researchers suggest.
Kellogg and General Mills have largely slashed sugar and sodium and upped fiber in their US ready-to-eat (RTE) breakfast cereals, but in a number of products the sugar and sodium levels have risen or not changed, new findings show.
Plant bakers need to defend their corner more robustly in order to increase consumer awareness of bread's nutritional benefits while also battling harvest, regulatory and publicity woes.
The European Union must embrace a mandatory folic acid flour fortification program given the prevalence of neural tube defects (NTDs) in newborns across the region, say researchers.
Food fortification with neural tube defect (NTD)-reducing folic acid is mandatory in 75 nations, but concerns over cancer and other health issues mean Europe lags far behind – a situation that needs to change and quickly, says DSM thinktank, sightandlife.
Bread bakers should be prepared to face further reductions in salt levels when new limits are set by the Department of Health (DH) later this year – despite hitting their 2012 targets and reducing levels by 40% over the past decade.
Big interview: Kevin Cleary, CEO Clif Bar & Company
Nutrition bars enter - and exit - the snacks aisle at the speed of light these days. So how has Clif Bar managed to sustain the kind of growth rivals can only dream of, year after year? Elaine Watson caught up with CEO Kevin Cleary to find out.
New research supports significant reductions in sodium from where most Americans are today, but does not justify population-wide reductions below 2,300 mg per day, according to a new report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM).
Food industry encouragement of physical activity in obesity prevention should be welcomed, according to an obesity expert who spoke at the European Congress on Obesity in the UK on Monday.
While peanut flour has been around for years, recent interest in protein - particularly the plant-based variety - has sparked renewed interest, particularly in the nutritional bars market, according to one leading supplier.
A new analysis of sodium levels in 480 packaged and restaurant foods over the period 2005-2011 provides further evidence that voluntary approaches to sodium reduction have not delivered the across-the-board reductions required to meet government targets.
Growth rates of several individual label claims under the health & wellness umbrella have started to level off, according to new research from Symphony Consulting.
Consumers want the best of everything and the challenge for bakery manufacturers is to address complicated paradoxes, says the head of research and development (R&D) at Puratos.
In February 2012, Kraft unveiled a category first: MilkBite milk and granola bars for the refrigerated dairy aisle combining “real milk” (and as much calcium as an 8floz glass of milk), whole grains, nuts and fruit.
A gluten-free scanning app in Australia could prompt industry to improve nutritional content and label on-pack, says a research fellow from the George Institute for Global Health.
Is industry at the limit of what it can realistically achieve in lowering salt levels, or will a new wave of scientific developments and innovative technologies help to push the boundaries on how much salt we can take out of products?
European consumers have got a taste for exotic flavors and a desire for healthier snack alternatives which means spiced nuts and seeds have enormous potential, an analyst says.
The health-conscious yet frugal consumer is increasingly difficult to convince, even when presented with a plethora of health and nutrition claims on pack. So, just how can manufacturers prompt that purchase?
Use of health and nutrition claims on kids' cereal is widespread, but manufacturers are using them with caution and the majority favor nutrient content claims.
BakeryandSnacks.com gives a snapshot of the omega-3 bread market and unearths the best source of omega-3, the claims bakers can make on products and how much you need to have a positive effect on health.
The bakery industry may prefer nutrition content to genuine health claims - a state-of-affairs that reflects the relative few claim-backed nutrients available to breads, cereals, bars and other baked products – but options do exist.
A barley variety high in fructans and positively linked to improved gut health holds promise for wholegrain foods, according to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO).
Obesity-prone minority US children from low-income families could reduce their body mass index (BMI) by prolonged consumption of ready-to-eat (RTE) breakfast cereals, new research suggests.
Fiber content of extruded snacks can be upped while the glycemic response is lowered with the inclusion of beta-glucan fractions from barley and mushrooms, finds new research.
Adding flaxseed to the diet may decrease insulin resistance in pre-diabetics and help reduce the risk of developing type-2 diabetes, suggests new data from the US and Canada.
CHOICE Australia has slammed industry on high sodium levels in snacks and breakfast cereal targeting kids and has called for tougher action towards change.
There is more demand from snack makers to quantify ingredients with a bad name given new labeling requirements like front-of-pack nutrition panels, says a testing specialist.
A New Jersey-based firm is seeking to patent the process behind the ‘world’s first commercial low fat snack nuts’: nuts that have been pressed using a novel high-speed process that expels up to 50% of their fat, then reconstituted with water into ‘nut...
Snack makers must continue to innovate and develop new markets to succeed in a tough and increasingly competitive marketplace, says the president of the Snack Food Association (SFA).
Snack firms must battle with frugal consumers, expanded competition and the challenge to remain innovative, exciting and healthy, a leading sector analyst says.
Only one in ten US consumers gets the recommended amount of fiber, but fibrous whole grain ready-to-eat (RTE) cereals can boost daily intake by around 14%, a new study finds.
Biosciences firm Carritech Research has developed a processing and formulation technology to manufacture snacks and biscuits with heat-sensitive nutrients and vitamins.
The trade association representing margarine and vegetable fats makers in the EU has tightened its Code of Conduct for the third time since 1995, in an effort to reduce trans fat levels in foods and fats at retail.
Sunsweet Bakery has launched a new line of purple colored plum-infused baked goods that offer a tasty, new experience with a ‘myriad of health benefits’, it says.
Limagrain Céréales Ingrédients (LCI) has extended its fibre range with a new ultra-fine wheat bran ingredient that it says can improve structure, texture and nutrition in a broad range of food and beverages.
Knowledge on ingredients and formulation puts Taura Natural Ingredients in good stead as it ventures into developing and manufacturing fruit snacks for selected partners, its marketing manager says.
German baking ingredients firm Ireks has launched a new chia seed bread mix for the UK that it claims will appeal to British consumer demand for “superfoods”.
Resistant starch can effectively replace flour in foods like muffins, focaccia bread, and chicken curry to boost the fiber content without affecting the sensory characteristics, says a new study from Texas Woman’s University.
Contract manufacturer Laboratoire PYC has sliced carbohydrate content by 80% in its latest dietetic whole grain bread product to target the ‘strict diet stage’ in weight management, it said.
