January 27, 2003 Recent News
The rise of the snacking phenomenon in an increasingly cash-rich time-poor society
Americans eat home cooked meals more, but spend less time on preparation
France does not expect ending of GM ban in 2003
Zoellick: Biotech food ban a WTO case
What will be trendy in 2003?
According to predictions from Mintel's Global New Products Database, the cuisine for 2003 will be Asian, and easy to prepare and healthy foods will be very popular. Frozen meals and refrigerated meal kits will become more popular. The flavor of the year will be citrus, with wasabi being the runner up; and vanilla will be the scent of choice in foods, beverages, skincare and fragrances. White tea will do better than green tea, which has been "the rage" for the past three years. White tea is full of anti-oxidants and is expected to turn up in products from hair care to food. Marketing to children will change as companies target them with products generally considered to appeal only to adults, such as a kid-targeted coffee drink. The food pets eat will go upscale, with gourmet cat and dog food being mass-produced; and there will be baking kits for consumers to make their own dog bones. It is predicted that a "universal" sauce will come on the market that can go on almost anything and will have popular appeal. Products that have "low in carbohydrates" labels are seen as a trend, with manufacturers reformulating products in order to make the claim. There is expected to be an explosion in crossover beverages that will make it difficult for consumers to decide just exactly what they are drinking. There could be a yogurt drink with carbonation or nutrient-fortified milk to replace a meal.
(Extracted from Food Institute Report, 12/2/2002)
Nacho ordinary tortilla chips
Given the recent heavy publicity on obesity in the United States and elsewhere, tortilla chips come off more lightly than some other snacks, like potato chips, since they often contain less fat per serving. In the US, sales of tortilla and corn chips are increasing, with sales for the 52-week period ending October 6 up 2.7% over the period last year, according to Information Resources. Corn snacks sales dropped 4% during that period and were rated sixth in salty snacks. The typical tortilla-chip target is in the 18-24 year old group, and a number of companies are looking to appeal in the category. Some companies are changing the oils they use for a more healthful profile. Not all tortilla eaters are looking for the new flavors and growth of unflavored chips is said to be up over 5% in the last 52 weeks.
(Extracted from Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery, 11/1/2002)
The rise of the snacking phenomenon in an increasingly cash-rich time-poor society
Leatherhead Food RA's recent market study, "Food on the Go," makes a distinction between "traditional" (confectionery, savory snacks, biscuits and cakes) and "alternative" (anything specifically developed for "on the move" eating) snacks. The global snack market is given as US$205 bn, with 95% market share credited to traditional snacks. The alternative snack market is credited with $7.3 bn in sales, mostly in North America, Western Europe and Australasia, and near-double-digit growth. The US had alternative snack sales of $5.66 bn in 2001, driven mainly by meat snacks and cereal bars. The UK is the next largest market, followed by France and Germany; snack preferences differ between the European countries. Traditional snack sales are valued at over $200 bn globally, with volume of about 35 million tonnes. This market is noted to be huge and mature, with overall growth rates of about 2% in 2002. Future key trends in snacks include continued increases in consumption, increased marketing to children and young people, increased appeal to parents in lunch box fillers, increased competition from hot snacks, and increasing importance of drinks as snacks.
(Extracted from the World of Food Ingredients, 10/1/2002)
Americans eat home cooked meals more, but spend less time on preparation
According to the 17th Annual Report on Eating Patterns in America from the NPD Group, 76% of all meals in the US are prepared at home but Americans are spending less time on preparation. In 2002, there were 651 main meals prepared and eaten at home, down from 702 in 1991. Meals bought away from home were up from 184 in 1991 to 209 in 2002. Only 35% of main meals were prepared completely from scratch, down from 41.3% ten years ago. Half the meals for the year ending February 2002 were prepared in 30 minutes or less and fewer dishes were prepared per meal, with nearly half of all main meals consisting of one dish. In 2002, 56% of at-home suppers had at least one side dish, a drop from 66% in 1991. Only 14% of supper meals now have a dessert, down 7% from 1990. In 1990, 38% of suppers cooked in home required the use of at least two different appliances; in 2002 only 23% required more than one.
(Extracted from Food Institute Report, 12/9/2002)
France does not expect ending of GM ban in 2003
French officials say they will not lift a ban on new GM crops until new labeling and traceability laws are in place, which will probably be no sooner than the end of 2003. EU ministers recently agreed that GM goods would have to be labeled with origin of crops [Alert 11720]. The European Parliament must approve the rules. According to the French Environment Ministry, France will transpose the EU law into national legislation in a few months, but they don't envision lifting the moratorium on new GM crops until that is done. France has always emphasized that it wanted tough consumer protection laws in place before changing its position. -- In Taiwan, traders believe the new mandatory ruling that all products containing GM ingredients must be labeled beginning in 2003 won't adversely affect imports. Mandatory labeling goes into effect on January 1 for corn and soybean products in the raw agricultural form, including flour, and will be mandatory in two stages for various processed corn and soybean products. Step one will be in January 1, 2004 and step two a year later. The country uses a 5% tolerance level, and those products with less that 5% GM ingredients can have the non-GM label. (Dow Jones International News 18 Dec 02) -- Korea plans to remove GM foods that fail to pass safety examination from shelves beginning next year. The new bill amends the food hygiene law to require that GM foods developed or imported for the first time undergo safety tests every 10 years. (Korea Herald 26 Dec 02)
(Extracted from Reuters News, 12/17/2002)
Japan got trace of biotech corn, U.S. exporters say -- Fears of trade crisis renewed; a few kernels can destroy a cargo
Late last week, a shipment of US food corn to Japan was found to have trace amounts of StarLink corn, raising concerns that key customers might again turn away from US crops. USDA officials expressed surprise about the news, saying they believed all remaining StarLink corn was destroyed last year. The vessel carrying the shipment was chartered by Japanese trading house Mitsui. According to one exporter, about 1,200 tonnes in an 8,000 tonne hold tested positive, but other buyers for the boat, which is partitioned, don't want to accept any of it because of contamination concerns. The US Embassy in Tokyo confirmed that the cargo contained StarLink traces and says it is "working with Japanese officials to resolve it." The cargo has been detained and nothing has gotten into the Japanese market. (Dow Jones Commodities Service 29 Dec 02) A later story reports that Cenex Harvest States sold the tainted corn to Louis Dreyfus, who in turn sold it to Japanese trader Mitsui. According to freight brokers, the Mitusi ship was loaded at Myrtle Grove, Louisiana, where CHS has an export elevator. According to one source with Harvest States, the cargo was tested before it left for Japan. He says he is not expecting any long-term export implications. (Reuters News 30 Dec 02)
(Extracted from Reuters News 30 Dec 02, Toronto Star, 12/30/2002)
Zoellick: Biotech food ban a WTO case
U.S. Trade representative Robert Zoellick is recommending that the U.S. government should file a case with the World Trade Organization against the European Union because of their four-year moratorium on Biotech products. The EU has not allowed new biotech products to enter the market in any of its' 15 member nations since October of 1998. This decision has made it impossible for several U.S. companies that have developed biotech seeds and crops to do business in the EU. If the U.S. brings the case and wins, the EU would have to lift the moratorium or trade sanctions would be put in place by the WTO to help compensate companies for lost business. The Bush Administration discussed the possibility of the WTO case in December and Zoellick believes that he has the support to bring the case to the WTO, but no final decision has been made yet. The Bush Administration plans to argue that Europe's biotech stance is harmful to emerging market countries. Countries such has Africa have refused shipments of biotech crops while their people die from starvation. A EU official based in Washington believes Greenpeace is to blame for the "scaremongering" in Africa and not the EU moratorium on biotech products. The official finds the timing of the WTO case by the US unfortunate as the member countries have been preparing to lift the ban in the spring of 2003. A WTO case brought at this time could delay the lift of the ban. The case could also backfire with European consumers making them even more resistant to GMOs.
(Extracted from the Washington Times, Jan 10, 2003)
