August 09, 2002 Recent News
Bright and early: NPD Foodworld's Breakfast Study
Tagatose in ready-to-eat cereals
Birth of first child drives organic and convenience food demand
Food industry seeks to regain offensive on obesity issue
German minister calls for action against child obesity
New GM crop research in France
Pharmaceutical crops raise questions about liability
Bright and early: NPD Foodworld's Breakfast Study
The National Restaurant Association's Meal Consumption Behavior 2000 study revealed that breakfast is the meal least likely to be commercially prepared. Only 5% of US consumers report eating breakfast away from home, according to NPD Foodworld, presenting vast potential for growth in foodservice. Of that five percent, 2% of breakfasts are eaten at restaurants, 2% are takeout and 1% is eaten at a work or school cafeteria. One quick-service company reports that over 60% of its breakfast business is done via the drive-thru, as time and convenience are again sales drivers. Easy-to-eat breakfast sandwiches are the most popular menu item, and are appearing in more and more foodservice operations in a variety of formats - bagels, croissants, english muffins and biscuits. Sweets remain a popular breakfast food, while consumers want to be offered healthier alternatives. At sit-down restaurants, traditional breakfasts are the norm, and in schools some alternative menu items might include breakfast burritos, peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches or apple wedges with peanut butter.
(Extracted from Restaurants and Institutions, June 15, 2002)
Tagatose in ready-to-eat cereals
Tagatose, a sweetener with a chemical structure that is a mirror image of fructose, has been approved for use in the US and is pending approval in Japan and the EU. Tagatose has several key properties that make it useful in the manufacture of breakfast cereals: a sweetness very similar to sugar and a limited cooling effect, a low caloric value of 1.5 kcal/g, a prebiotic effect and a low glycemic index. In cereal applications, tagatose is best used with extruded products, as exposure to a high temperature for an extended period of time can cause it to brown and become bitter. Other physical properties to consider are that it is a monosaccharide with a relatively high melting point, is highly stable, crystallizes quickly and is stable at pH 3-7. Studies on tagatose's prebiotic effects and glycemic index are described at some length. Physiologically, tagatose behaves like a fiber, with only 20% being digested. This product could be used in place of some sugar in RTE cereals, resulting in a lower glycemic index, fewer calories and a sweet-tasting cereal.
(Extracted from Cereal Foods World, June 1, 2002)
Birth of first child drives organic and convenience food demand
This article describes dietary lifestyle changes that occur within European families upon the birth of their first child, based on a new Datamonitor study. Young families - those with just a single child less than two years old - are considered an important transitional group of European consumers and numbered about 15.6 million in 2001. This number is forecast to decrease by 0.4% a year by 2006, as the 20-25 year old population drops off. With the birth of the first child, young families shift their spending toward both more organic foods and more convenience foods. Major drivers of this trend are working mothers with less time to spend preparing meals, increased parenting by fathers, having the first child later in life, and increased awareness of risks to children's' health, including diet. Consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables increases about 18%, organic food use grows by about 11%, and restaurant dining drops about 26% after the first child is born, although purchasing of take-away meals increases "significantly" in middle-income families.
(Extracted from New Nutrition Business, July 1, 2002)
Food industry seeks to regain offensive on obesity issue
Responding to two articles on childhood obesity in the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, food industry trade associations have formed the American Council for Fitness and Nutrition. The Council's mission is to provide comprehensive, credible information on nutrition and fitness, as well as support education and fitness programs in communities through communication, government relations and advocacy, and possibly fund research. A spokesperson for the Grocery Manufacturers Association described nutrition education in schools as "practically nonexistent" and physical education as "abysmal." Critics of the food industry question the value of working with the food industry to address obesity, drawing parallels between it and the tobacco industry. Consumer advocates are requesting that food companies not market "junk food" to children, remove vending machines from schools, stop sponsoring scholastic activities with product promotion and not make political contributions that might influence national nutrition policy.
(Extracted from Food Chemical News June 17, 2002)
German minister calls for action against child obesity
Minister Renate Knast (Green Party) from the Germany Agriculture and Consumer Protection Ministry, announced that in the coming months she will invite industry representatives for consultations with the Ministry to reach voluntary agreements with the industry to improve German children's nutrition. Should the consultations prove unsuccessful, Knast does not exclude regulatory measures. For instance, she hinted at the possibility to further tighten up rules on health claims for food products as well as introducing new rules on the nutritional requirements of food products aimed at children. The Minister blamed the food industry for advertising many products with the claim that they will benefit children's development, while in reality many of these products, such as confectionery, potato chips or so called 'convenience products' have no health benefits or are even harmful for children.
(Extracted from www.wfanet.org)
GM Labeling - Justified?
The American Society for Microbiology has made an official statement regarding the labeling of GM food. "Food labeling is justified if it identifies real risk and provides information for the safety of consumers. To label a product only because it is genetically modified would be punitive." According to the FDA "all GM foods reviewed by the FDA have shown nutritional values within normal range." GM crops can be found in 60% to 70% of all foods found in US grocery stores. There are concerns that GM crops could increase antibiotic resistance and cause allergic reactions. According to FDA reviews the antibiotic marker genes found in GM crops are not the same type of antibiotics used in fighting disease and modern biotechnology makes it possible to identify and remove known allergenic agents from GM crops. There are also fears that GM crops that have been modified to be resistant to certain pests will in the long term actually create more resistant insects. The US EPA has created a system to prevent this from happening. All farmers using pest resistant crops must plant 20%of their land in with non-GM pest resistant corn.
(Extracted from BusinessWorld, 29 July 2002)
IFT debate GM in food
Varying views were expressed on GM foods at the recent Institute of Food Technologist's Annual Meeting and Food Expo. Mary Mulry of Wild Oats Markets noted benefits and risks and the impact of the debate on consumer perception. She said the media has polarized the issue. It doesn't need to be biotech vs. organic because then consumers begin to see one as good and one as bad. She said there are different ways of generating an end product. Education of consumers was seen as quite beneficial. She called for more scientific input into risks to health and environment and for more regulatory coordination. Tom Zinnan of the University of Wisconsin, Madison took a strong pro-GM stance and said there was significant reason to suggest that the recent quality improvement in foods can be attributed to biotechnology. The president of the California Certified Organic Farmers noted that government's definition of "organic" excluded the use of GM products. He says that his group does not reject biotech but believes it is an inappropriate technology for farming. Consumers are rejecting GM foods because of food safety concerns. He challenged academia to help organic farmers find better ways to produce their products.
(Extracted from AgraFood Biotech July 2, 2002)
Blair to lead UK's GM debate
The UK's Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is planning a public relations campaign to increase public awareness of the benefits of GM foods. It will run in parallel with the last of a three-year series of GM crop trials. Results of the trials are to be published next summer, but ministers are concerned that allowing GM crops to be grown commercially will provoke political uproar, no matter what the scientific findings are. Prime Minister Tony Blair will lead the campaign. The three themes are the health and environmental impact of GM croups, the economic benefits, and the benefits for the Third World.
(Extracted from AgraFood Biotech July 16, 2002)
New GM crop research in France
The French Ministry of Agriculture has recently authorized eight new genetically modified crop trial sites. A private study on the GM corn traceability was also authorized. Last year several trials were destroyed by repeated attacks by anti-GM groups. These eight new field trials are authorized for Biogemma, Bayer, Cropscience France, Pioneer genetique and AGPM Technique. The traceability study led by Daniel Bloc, director of Maiz'Europ will investigate the traceability of GM Corn in control led natural conditions. French farmers have refused to grow GM corn, even though there are several EU approved varieties, because of the lack of consumer acceptance.
(Extracted from Agra Europe, 19 July 2002)
Pharmaceutical crops raise questions about liability
Two Iowa brothers who farm, Bill and Joe Horan are growing genetically engineered corn that contains an enzyme that aids in digestion for Cystic fibrosis patients. The corn was developed by Meristem Therapeutics a French biotechnology company. After harvest the corn is purified and the enzyme is extracted. This process is 14 times cheaper than producing the enzyme in the lab. Other drug companies are engineering potatoes to help obese people lose weight and tobacco free of nicotine. Some of the leaders in farm states believe these biological advances may help the farm economy stabilize. Some consumer groups and researchers worry that the industry, government and "pharmers" will not be able to ensure that these drug-containing crops do not find their way into the food supply. The "pharma-crops" are closely watched and monitored, making sure they do not commingle with food crops. They must be planted at least a mile (1.6km) from any seed production sites. Pharmers are also required to pant their crop at least 21 days before or 21 days after all neighbors within a half-mile to a mile radius have planted their crops. The White House Office of Science and Technology announced on Friday August 2, 2002 that the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency should do preliminary safety assessments early in the field trials of experimental crops.
(Extracted from the Associated Press Newswires , 03 August 2002)
