July 29, 2002 Recent News
Food on-the-go - The snacking trend
US fast food firms to launch anti-obesity advertising campaign
International corn news: Farmers replace corn with soy
Japan approves biotec corn, soy varieties for food
Not all swear by modified crops
Oregon voters to decide on GM labeling
Transgenic Plant Production: ProdiGene announces a research agreement to produce gelatin in maize
Food on-the-go - The snacking trend
Snacking is an increasing trend for American consumers, as NPD Foodworld data shows in 2001 the average adult skipped lunch 59 times, breakfast 46 times and supper 16 times. This report by Technomic Information Services suggests that these "skipped" meals are often replaced by frequent snacks or smaller amounts of food that are considered snacks. The report also suggests the snacking picture is incomplete, as many snacking opportunities are not accounted for in study design. Such studies tend to focus on salty snacks, and many Americans would not report all snacking occasions, because it is so ingrained they barely notice they are doing it. Snacking data might also include track consumption of fruit, ice cream and other frozen treats, cookies/crackers, candy, healthier bars, sandwiches and other foods prepared outside the structured meal. This report compares snack purchasing in supermarkets and convenience stores, the effect of packaging formats on sales, and then considers how the trends impact the foodservice industry. Four specific observations are: snacks tend to be shelf stable and eaten at room temperature; snack portability is closely related to shelf stability and consumption temperature; time of day is less important in dictating the type of foods consumed; and snacking is frequently an impulse purchase. While most foodservice businesses do not offer "snacks" for purchase, some examples are given of the potential for foodservice to capture a portion of the snacking market. Questions are posed for foodservice marketers to consider in relation to the snack food segment, highlighting both handicaps and opportunities.
(Extracted from Future Food Trends June 1,2002)
US fast food firms to launch anti-obesity advertising campaign
According to this story, large food companies are backing an initiative to persuade consumers that eating too much of their products is harmful to health. This follows the filing of a $50 million class-action lawsuit that charges fast food companies with causing obesity and pressure being brought for a "fat tax" on junk food. The campaign, "codenamed Activate," is investing $2.4 million in online marketing in the next two weeks and will following with television and press advertising. Among companies in the campaign are Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Unilever Bestfoods, Sara Lee, Pepsi, Kellogg, Kraft and Nestle. The International Food Information Council also backs it.
(Extracted from Brand Republic June 17, 2002)
International corn news: Farmers replace corn with soy
Brazilian farmers are reported to be replacing corn with soy, according to market analysts. They say corn plantation area could drop by 50%, or 500,000 hectares, to nine million hectares. Another story reports that Brazilian corn is becoming more popular in South Korea. Brazil could increase its market share in South Korea by almost 50% in 2002, traders say. Right now, South Korea is limiting itself as much as possible to corn from China and Brazil for human consumption in order to avoid GM corn. (Reuters News 11 Jul 02) Japan has said it will accept US biotech corn, Herculex I, for food and feed uses. (Kiplinger Agriculture Letter 12 Jul 02) In South Africa, the JSE Securities Exchange plans to change rules to allow non-African corn to be delivered under its currently traded corn futures contracts. This is likely to temporarily depress prices and help contain food inflation. (All Africa 26 Jun 02) Kenya has stopped all corn exports as a precaution against future shortages. The country has problems because it often has a corn shortage one year and huge surpluses the next. An official says there is no cause for alarm at present, but there is no big excess supply.
(Reuters News 9 Jul 02) (Extracted from Gazeta Mercantil July 10, 2002)
Japan approves biotec corn, soy varieties for food
The Health Ministry in Japan approved three varieties of GM corn and soybeans as safe for human consumption. The crops approved are Herculex corn from Dow Chemical Co and two varieties of GM soybeans from Aventis. This raises the number of GM corps approved for human consumption in Japan to 43 varieties of six crops corn, soybean, sugar beet, potato, rapeseed and cotton. Japan is the largest importer of agricultural products in the world. They began importing biotech crops six years ago as U.S. farmers began adopting the technology.
(Extracted from Reuters News, 17 July)
GMO controversy continues; Panel debates whether labels on genetically modified foods will alarm consumers or inform them
Some estimates claim that up to 70 percent of the processed food on grocery store shelves contain some genetically modified organisms or GMOs. Currently, there is no labeling to let you know foods contain GMO's and which do not. A panel discussion sponsored by the Pew Initiative on Food Biotechnology was held in Chicago in early July. Proponents of labeling, marketing professionals and food industry executives were all invited to participate in the discussion. "The labeling debate raises a number of contentious issues about how consumers perceive information," said Michael Rodemeyer, executive director of the Pew Initiative. "Although most polls show consumers in favor of these labels, there are questions as to how useful labels might be and whether they may cause unnecessary fears over products that most scientists have found to be as safe as their conventional counterparts. On the other hand, consumers may believe that the lack of a label indicates food companies are trying to hide something."
(Extracted from the Chicago Tribune, 17 July 2002)
Not all swear by modified crops
More farmers are planting biotech crops to help squeeze costs out of their operations. "We're seeing a higher level of confidence within the farming community with biotech products," said Mary Lou Garr of Agricultural Groups Concerned About Resources and the Environment (AGCare), a Guelph-based coalition of Ontario based farm organizations. "Farmers are pretty smart people and put a lot of thought into what goes into the ground. And it's pretty obvious that they're deciding that they favour the environmental and economic benefits to these genetically engineered crops." Jeff Wilson, a farmer north of Hillsburgh, Ontario who plants both GM and conventional seeds believes that the usage of biotech seed will rise. "As margins in farming get tougher, as farms get larger and as the number of farmers are falling dramatically, anything that eases the workload on farmers shoulders and backs is viewed as positive." While Francis Tapon, an economics professor at the University of Guleph, understands the farmers attraction to GM crops he has some concerns. "The advantage of using seeds that have evolved over tens of thousands of years is that there is a lot of diversity. So if one crop fails, or one type of seed fails, we've got others to fall back upon. But if we engineer a few seeds of this and a few seeds of that, and they fail, then we're in the soup." As for food consumers in Ontario, they do not seem to be as concerned as they have been in the past regarding genetic crops. They seem more confident in some of the benefits of biotechnology, according to Ms. Garr.
(Extracted from the Guelph Mercury, 18 July 2002)
Oregon voters to decide on GM labeling
A measure to give consumers in Oregon the right to know if the food they purchase contains GMOs will appear on a statewide ballot this fall. Oregon is the only state voting on such a measure. There will be a high profile campaign that could cost the food industry millions of dollars to defeat. Proponents of biotech say that genetic engineering can boost the nutritional content of food or allow farmers to grow crops with fewer chemicals. Sponsors of the measure feel too little is known about the long term health effects of genetic engineering.
(Extracted from the Associated Press Newswires , 24 July 2002)
Transgenic Plant Production: ProdiGene announces a research agreement to produce gelatin in maize
FibroGen and ProdiGen have a research agreement to produce recombinant gelatin in corn. They will utilize Prodigene's proprietary transgenic plant system and FibroGen's methods for producing a large amount of high quality recombinant gelatin. The ethical concerns surrounding human and animal-derived proteins make the possibility of plant derived recombinant proteins attractive. Gelatin has many applications in the drug and medical markets for hard and soft gel capsules, vaccines and many other products.
(Extracted from Gene Therapy Weekly , 25 July 2002)
