News & Analysis on the Bakery and Snacks Industries
Food scientists are learning to control not just what consumers taste, but exactly when they taste it – opening up a new frontier in flavour design that could reshape snack innovation
Letter from the editor
From combating food misinformation to redefining healthy eating and scaling AI-enabled innovation, IFT FIRST 2026 underscored how evidence-based science is reshaping the future of food
ADM and The Every Company are scaling up US production of a fermented egg white protein pitched at formulators tired of whey’s price swings
Aleph Farms has secured a historic regulatory approval for its cultivated beef in Singapore.
As oral GLP-1s sweep across Europe and the US, research suggests they may do far more than curb appetite
The functional food market is booming, but turning a promising concept into a commercially successful product is rarely straightforward
IFT FIRST
Nearly half of food science professionals are extremely concerned as viral content and distrust of institutions reshape the information landscape
A new Canadian study finds that sugar levels in children’s breakfast cereals remain high, despite a proliferation of health claims
Older consumers are becoming one of the food industry’s fastest-growing demographics, prompting snack manufacturers to rethink everything from ingredients and nutrition to texture, packaging and portion sizes
The internet’s favourite stress hormone is fuelling a fibre boom, and shoppers are being told to slow down and think again
Consumers already associate peptides with dramatic weight loss thanks to drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy, and that’s sparking curiosity about whether a food-grade cousin could follow
General Mills is the first company to face a subpoena as Florida opens a consumer-protection probe into a century-old dough conditioner most of the world abandoned long ago
The resurgence of beef tallow is forcing manufacturers to ask whether the MAHA movement has created a lasting reformulation trend or just food’s latest political fad
A Peruvian gene-hunt has rewritten the cacao family tree, handing breeders fresh raw material just as disease and extreme weather squeeze the world’s cocoa supply
A rice-grain-sized device being evaluated by Novo Nordisk is designed to solve the one problem that’s kept the GLP-1 boom from hitting food and drink sales even harder – patients giving up
America’s obesity rate is falling as GLP-1 use reaches record highs, with similar trends emerging elsewhere and raising fresh questions about the future of food demand
The regulatory landscape surrounding ultra-processed foods is changing rapidly. Here’s what has already happened, what’s coming next and why manufacturers should be paying attention
Confectionery giant invests €1.5m in young scientists through Mars Impact Fund
The Ingredion-Tate & Lyle deal signals a shift in the ingredients industry, where technical expertise is becoming as valuable as the ingredients themselves
Creating a heat-stable natural red remains one of food science’s toughest colour challenges
The UPF debate has given ‘processing’ a bad rap, yet new technologies are helping manufacturers reduce oil, cut waste and improve product quality – without adding a single ingredient
Global Food Tech Awards
In protein, the real challenge isn’t invention – it’s getting to market and staying there
As consumers demand hotter, more complex flavours alongside cleaner labels and lower sodium, fermentation is emerging as an increasingly valuable tool for snack formulators
AI is transforming how F&B giants cut costs, boost efficiency and innovate faster — turning data into a powerful competitive edge
The Wegovy semaglutide pill will be available for private prescription in the coming weeks
Emerging research suggests GLP-1 drugs could move beyond diabetes and metabolic health to treat multiple diseases, meaning millions more consumers will rethink how – and what – they eat
Global Food Tech Awards
Calling all EMEA food and beverage startups - applications are now open and entry is free
Despite reduced appetites, those using GLP-1s still care about taste
As social media turns fibre into the latest nutrition obsession, experts warn that bowel cancer remains one of the UK’s biggest health challenges and younger adults are increasingly in the firing line
How GLP-1s influence taste is a complex picture. Here’s what food and beverage manufacturers need to know
The emergence of ‘Ozempic personality’ is intensifying questions about how GLP-1s are changing cravings, impulse eating and reward-seeking behaviour
Cannabis snacking has gone from counterculture cliché to booming business, fuelled by clinical appetite studies, THC treats and changing consumer habits
Food and beverage brands face consumers staying on appetite-suppressing drugs for longer
At the recent American Bakers Association Convention (ABA), industry leaders made one thing clear – in a volatile market, credibility, collaboration and consumer connection will decide who thrives
The 103-year-old magazine’s latest picks highlight companies on the move, but some of the forces genuinely reshaping food in 2026 sit beyond that shortlist
New potato varieties are being designed to meet the snacks industry’s exacting demands on yield, storage and fry performance
They promise transparency and storytelling, but new research suggests QR codes are currently doing far more selling than informing
From emerging ingredients to protein power, discover the nutrition trends shaping the future of food and beverage
Rothamsted field trials show gene-edited wheat can sharply reduce acrylamide risk in baked and fried foods without denting yield
New health studies are reigniting a global battle over artificial sweeteners, leaving brands, regulators and consumers divided
Opinion
What if fermentation waste became the most valuable fibre source yet
New tools promise sharper answers on ultra-processed foods as regulation struggles to keep up
The Golden State’s folic acid mandate for corn masa shows how one state is once again reshaping national manufacturing
With reformulation exposing bitterness and flattening flavour in industrial bread, enzymes are now being tested as a targeted way to rebalance taste at source – but how far they can go remains unclear
Industry experts cite massive CapEx, supply bottlenecks and regulatory complexity as key barriers
Dietitians’ latest data points to a more grounded approach to functionality, where gut health, cost and credibility matter as much as claims
New research suggests sourdough fermentation does far more than build flavour. It’s actively reshaping wheat fibre in ways that could influence texture, digestibility and product development
As cocoa volatility, fat replacement and GLP-1 trends reshape demand, startups are becoming critical partners in ingredient innovation
It’s a common misconception that GLP-1 drugs erase food cravings. Actually, they alter them
Research into sunflower oil byproducts suggests an overlooked ingredient could help bakers lift protein and fiber levels while supporting sustainability goals and easing pressure on wheat-based formulations