Innovation key ingredient in cost-cutting recipe, says expert

Food companies are looking for new ways to appeal to frugal consumers while cutting their own costs – and ingredient companies are coming up some innovative answers.

General Mills on a quest for all-natural label-friendly yeast and mold inhibitors

General Mills is seeking label friendly ingredients that prevent the growth of yeasts and molds in dry packaged fruit-based foods.

Special edition: Fiber

Can fiber continue its upward trajectory to rock star status?

Consumer demand for fiber-rich products is predicted to continue to sky rocket, with some industry observers claiming fiber will have ‘rock star’ status for the food and nutrition industries.

News in brief

Whole grains, fiber and less sugar: Kellogg unveils new breakfast products

Kellogg has unveiled a series of new breakfast products with an emphasis on whole grains, fiber and reduced sugar.

Barley bread has great potential but there are formulation challenges, say researchers

Barley has great potential to leach the charge in a new era or functional bread products, but more needs to be done in understanding the key formulation challenges, warn researchers.

Particle size important for GMO detection in bread, finds study

GMO content is harder to quantify in breads made from maize flour than maize semolina because the grain has a smaller particle size and has been processed more, a new...

Cholesterol lowering bread: Researcher reveals method using whole grain oats

A new way to produce heart healthy bread from whole grain oats could help industry create a new area of functional bread products backed by EU health claims, according to...

Industry is only at the ‘tip of the iceberg’ with fiber enrichment, report

Bakery and snack manufacturers are only at the ‘tip of the fiber-enriched product iceberg’ and novel ingredients present opportunities to drive the sector further, according to a new report.

Flaxseed shows blood pressure-lowering potential: Study

Daily consumption of flaxseed-fortified bakery products may reduce blood pressure levels in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD), suggests new data presented at the November American Heart Association 2012 Scientific Sessions.

Sweeteners linked to higher weight gain: Rat study

Consumption of non-nutritive sweeteners such as saccharin and aspartame could lead to increases in weight, according to new data in rats.

Scientists develop obesity-combating bread wheat

Researchers have developed modified bread and durum wheat that they claim could combat obesity and diabetes using a non-genetically modified technology known as ‘TILING’.

Organic claims leave a sour taste when it comes to functional health, says study

Organic logos and claims generally have positive effects on consumers, but even the most positive supporter has negative inferences towards organic products when they are judged on functional health benefits,...

Could a corn by-product provide industry with new ‘stealth health’ ingredient?

Dried distillers grain, produced during ethanol processing has until now only found use in animal feed. But that could soon change after US researchers developed a way to turn this...

Kraft designs production method for shelf-stable whole grain flour

Kraft Foods has filed a patent for a new method for a shelf-stable, nutritional whole grain flour for use in cookies, crackers and snacks.

‘Innovation is the life lead of snacks’, says Kellogg as it looks to 2013

Innovation is the ‘life lead’ of Kellogg’s snacks arm and efforts will be pumped into new product development and flavor additions to set the segment soaring in 2013, the president of...

Green tea and coffee extract in donuts slashes acrylamide: Study

Donuts fortified with green tea and green coffee extract have heightened antioxidant properties and lower acrylamide levels, a new study finds.

It’s a public health tragedy that PepsiCo’s baked chips are not taking off, expert

PepsiCo’s baked potato chips are an outstanding example of fat reduction in a popular snack and from a public health perspective it is a tragedy they are not a mainstream...

Delicious and nutritious: Resistant starch may boost fiber content & taste of cookies

Replacing wheat flour with resistant starches may improve the nutritional profile of cookies that are also tastier than ‘conventional’ cookies, says new research.

Scientists report 'guidelines' for tagatose use in food and beverages

Using tagatose to sweeten food and drink products has taken a step forward as Korean scientists report the ‘first quantitative data on the relationship between the sweetness of tagatose and...

Fortified wheat-rye bread could aid diabetes and obesity prevention, study

Wheat-rye bread fortified with cereal dietary fiber, beta-glucan hydrogel and sourdough starter culture could be used in diabetes and obesity programs, a study suggests.

Buckwheat benefits linked to d-fagomine content

A diet rich in buckwheat products would provide a daily dose of the sugar d-fagomine linked to benefits in the range of the active dose seen in supplemental studies, says...

Rice bran shows potential to enhance gluten-free formulations

Adding rice bran to a rice flour-based gluten-free bread recipe could boost fiber content and improve the sensory acceptance and shelf life, according to researchers.