Breaking News on Dairy Processing & Markets

Bill bids to strengthen ‘dangerous’ US food safety regime

New legislation designed to strengthen the “dangerous” US food safety system as well as simplify its complex food supply chain has been tabled by key political figures from the House of Representatives.

Symposium details Calcium-Vitamin D fracture potential

As research continues into the role of calcium and vitamin D in maintaining bone health, a new study suggests a possible link between their combined supplementation and reduced hip fracture rates in the elderly.

EC publishes health claim comments

DG Sanco, the European Commission’s health and consumer protection arm, has published comments made to it by concerned parties about varying health claim opinions as they have come in from the European Food safety Authority (EFSA).

EU milk farmers maintain quota cut-calls

Turmoil has continued to rock the EU dairy sector this week as the European Commission pledged balancing its support for milk producers with ensuring wider commitments to market deregulation.

Analyst spies global food process-functionality boost

Growing interest from food processors in providing healthier convenience products is driving a surge in global demand for functional ingredients, particularly in emerging markets like India, suggests recent market analysis.

Niche markets and recession-busting strategies

Consumers express their own values when they shop, and the LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) market is no different. Jeff Hilton, the managing director of Utah-based Integrated Marketing Group, tells Shane Starling how companies can make the most of this market's potential.

IDFA questions raw milk viability for US processors

Amidst debate over allowing the sale of raw milk in a growing number of US states, some processors remain unconvinced that there are any potential benefits for either consumers or manufacturers in turning away from pasteurised dairy.

News in brief

Dairy danger awaits cheese-rolling competitors

While debate continues to rage over the potential health benefits dairy products may have in a balanced diet, a single wheel of cheese continues to be linked to danger and, at the very least, bruising in one English county.

Fonterra launches Obama dairy deal criticism

New US initiatives to support milk export producers in the country against rival subsidised production has come under fierce attack from rivals in New Zealand, which accuse the country of acting in ‘un-American’ manner.

Danone’s bid for €3bn cash rocks stocks

Danone has surprised traders with the announcement of a €3bn rights issue in a bid to reduce debts and have cash to hand for acquisitions.

Prebiotics may boost teenage magnesium absorption

Daily supplements of prebiotic fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) may enhance a teenage girl’s absorption of magnesium, according to a new study from Cargill and TNO Quality of LIfe.

Harvard study confirms health risk from BPA leaching

Critics of the chemical bisphenol A or BPA have received powerful new ammunition in the form of a study from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) which confirmed that the substance can leach from polycarbonate drinking bottles into humans.

Weekly comment

Cheerios: Drugs for breakfast?

When is a breakfast cereal not a breakfast cereal? Well, when it’s a drug.

News in brief

National Starch talks texture in five tongues

National Starch has developed a multi-lingual dictionary of texture called the ‘Texicon’, which its sales teams use to ensure manufacturers and food scientists understand the same thing from descriptive terms.

Swedish partnership debuts probiotic beverage

Probi, a Swedish probiotic specialist and major functional dairy, Skånemejerier, are teaming up to debut a probiotic beverage to complement a probiotic juice, ProViva, they have had on-market since 1994.

Health Canada’s probiotics monograph ‘insufficient’: Expert

A recently published monograph by Health Canada is ‘insufficient’ and could lead to a ‘fooling of the consumer’ according to a leading probiotics researcher.

Vitamin D good for brains and lungs, say new studies

Increased intakes of the sunshine vitamin may slow age-related losses in mental function, and ease breathing in asthma sufferers, according to two new studies.

Flavoured milks included in sugary beverage-tax battle

Flavoured milk drinks have become engrossed in a US debate over combating obesity through taxation, with chocolate and strawberry sweetened dairy drinks facing inclusion in a proposed bill.

Nestle and Danone make R&D moves

Announcements of new R&D plans this week from Nestle and Danone indicate that major manufacturers plan to keep up the pace on nutrition research and innovation in the economic downturn.

Manure and messaging strategies emerge amidst milk protests

The agricultural minister of Belgium has expressed similar price concerns shown by some French farmers this week in calling for further reassessment by the European Commission of the use of support measures available to milk producers.

Economic blues fuel health and wellness platform

A Euromonitor International report has highlighted the rising importance of prevention of disease and unwellness as opposed to treatment in the minds of large swathes of consumers.

Volac expands plant capacity, launches first lactose

Volac has expanded its dairy ingredients plant in Wales to offer lactose for the first time, and increase its overall production output by 50 per cent.

Probiotics under the microscope

In this NutraIngredients-USA.com round-table discussion, leading figures in the global probiotics industry examine the state of play in the category, and what we should expect in the coming years.

Lactalis signs ARA deal with Martek

France’s Lactalis Nutrition Sante is the latest company to use Martek’s ARA in infant formula and milk for young children, after signing a multi-year single-source agreement with the micro-algae specialist.

Weekly comment

Different shades of green: Looking beyond carbon footprints

You can try your best to avoid it, but when it comes to measuring carbon footprint, almost everything we do these days, either as a business or individuals, is likely to have a negative impact on the environment.

Bacteria eating viruses help fight food pathogens: EFSA study

“Bacteria eating” viruses, known as bacteriophages, could be an effective way of eliminating specific food pathogens, according to a recent report from the European Food Safety Authority’s BIOHAZ Panel.

Probiotics may reduce eczema risk by 60 per cent

Daily supplements of a multi-bacterial strain food may reduce the risk of eczema by 58 per cent during the first three months of life, according to a new study from The Netherlands.

Chemical industry defends BPA after Chicago’s ban

The US chemical industry has rallied to the defence of the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) after Chicago became the first city to ban the chemical in baby bottles and sipper cups.

Dairy could mask bitter taste of antioxidants

Milk could be the ideal functional food matrix for delivery of polyphenolic-rich antioxidant extracts, suggests new research from South America.

USDA looks to organic supply welfare in new dairy study

A study is underway is in the US to offer what researchers claim will be the most comprehensive insight yet into the impacts of organic farming on the health of livestock in attempts to ensure better practices for suppliers.

Functional foods still booming, despite recession dent

Functional foods have seen a slowdown in growth in the last year as the recession bites into grocery spending, but analysts’ outlooks are not all grim. They are cheaper than supplements in the short term, and cheaper than medical bills in the long, notes Packaged Facts.

Scented pack group plays up aroma satiety findings

Scented packaging may have a role in helping consumers to ensure weight management, suggest one material supplier pointing to a recent study suggesting that aroma may be a major contributor to promoting satiety.

Dairy Farmers of America still focused on value added production

US-based cooperative group Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) says it remains committed to production of value added products despite the sale of its stake in processing group National Dairy to Grupo Lala.

Asda not pushing wider wax-free cheese rollout

One leading British retailer is defying tradition by selling Edam cheese without its trademark red wax coating or skin as part of efforts to cut down on waste and costs, though says it is not looking to extend the focus to its other cheeses.

Dairy market will find route to sustainability, Carbery chief

As the depressed dairy demand, falling commodity prices and less support from Europe take their toll, it will be down to the dairy market to find its way to sustainability, says Carbery’s big cheese.

News in brief

Marion Nestle slams supplement scene

A sharp article by renowned nutrition professor Marion Nestle states in no uncertain terms that the world of dietary supplements takes no heed of science or safety.

Weekly comment

The quiet potential of supplements and fortified foods

What do companies like Vitamin Shoppe, Johnson & Johnson, DSM, Whole Foods, NBTY and even Pfizer have in common?

US obesity due to more calories, not less exercise: Study

Increased calorie intake – rather than lack of exercise – is nearly exclusively responsible for the obesity epidemic in the US, according to a new study presented at the European Congress on Obesity on Friday.

Salmonella tops EFSA’s latest disease study

Salmonella remained the European Union’s most common cause of food-borne illness in 2007, according to the latest report from the European Food Safety Authority and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

Dispatches from Vitafoods

EFSA scientist offers rejected health claim hope

The presentation of science backing some health claims, as well as problematic wording, have been the culprits behind some European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) article 13.5 and article 14 health claim rejections and not the science per se, according to an EFSA scientist.

Unilever finds strength in emerging markets and innovation

Unilever’s activities in the developing and emerging markets and the US have proved key to growth in Q1, but private label presents a challenge to brands.

Arla completes FrieslandCampina buy

Arla Foods says it will immediately begin integrating the fresh dairy operations of FrieslandCampina into its own operations after obtaining regulatory approval from Dutch and European authorities.

EFSA advises raising carbohydrate reference intake

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has given its view of proposed reference intake levels for energy, total fat, saturates, carbohydrates, sugars and salt – suggesting that the carbohydrate level be revised upwards.

Upgrades for “the world’s most sensitive metal detector”

Improvements to the PowerPhasePRO software platform for metal detection in food applications have led to “the world’s most sensitive metal detector,” claims manufacturer Mettler-Toledo Safeline.

Danisco yoghurt focus eyes efficiency without costing quality

Cost efficiency remains key to the development of yoghurt products, but must not be the sole consideration for dairy manufacturers, according to one supplier of cultures and processing aids.

Supplier claims pomegranate functional fortification breakthrough

A supplier of bionutritional products claims to have extended its pomegranate extract range with a variation that optimizes flavor profile for use specifically as a functional ingredient.

News in brief

Americans support subsidy cuts for large farms, says survey

Most Americans support cutting farm subsidies to large farming businesses, according to a new survey from www.worldpublicopinion.org .

Manufacturer says refinery tech aids whey process ‘purity’

A range of whey processing technology is designed to allow dairy groups to produce value-added ingredients with long-term reductions to costs and environmental impacts, according to its manufacturer.

Weekly comment

Food safety reform: Not a century too soon

On a summer’s day in 1906 Theodore Roosevelt pushed through new food safety regulation. The Food and Drugs Act passed that day over 100 years ago was the last time the US food safety system was modernized.

Dairy probiotic dominance not threatened by diversification

The probiotic dairy market is not yet under threat from developments of the use of similar strains in vegetable and soy-based functional products, though the industry is bracing for challenges ahead in educating consumers on their use.