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OTHER BUSINESS360 SOLUTIONS... Insights & Outsights, a light-hearted annual retrospective (2013 and 2014). Email us for more | | Subject: | FOOD BUSINESS NEWS/Market Segments/Functional Foods or FOOD BUSINESS NEWS/Market Segments/Natural and Organic | | Period: | December 1, 2015 to January 1, 2016 | | Geographies: | Worldwide | | Categories: | All Categories | | Contents | |
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| Companies, Organizations | | | |
Organic sustainable farming is a major way to reverse climate change, participants in the COP21 global climate summit agreed recently. Twenty-five countries and more than 50 international organizations, private foundations, international funds, and consumer and farmer groups committed to France’s “4 per 1000” initiative to promote healthy soils and “regenerative agriculture” to ensure food and climate security in coastal areas, island nations and poorer developing countries that are likely to be hit the hardest by global warming. “This is a game changer because soil carbon is now central to how the world manages climate change,” said the head of the world’s leading organic farmers and producers association.
"Message from historic Paris climate summit: Organic food and farming can save the planet", NewHope360.com, December 14, 2015
Kroger Co., the No. 2 retail grocer in the U.S. after Walmart, reported higher-than-expected gains in third-quarter profit, thanks to tighter controls on costs coupled with strong sales. Wall Street expected 39 cents a share in profit and $25.2 billion in sales The company posted 43 cents in EPS, or a total profit of $428 million, up from $362 million, or 36 cents a share, in 2014. Revenue rose to $25.1 billion from $25 billion last year. The company’s forays into the natural and organic foods sector once dominated by specialty grocers have proven successful. CEO Rodney McMullen said the 3rd quarter results “demonstrate once again that our relentless focus on customers is the key to sustainable shareholder returns.”
"Kroger Reports Record Third Quarter Results", News release, Kroger, December 03, 2015
| Natural Products Insider, December 21, 2015 Nutraceuticals World, December 10, 2015 Food Insight, December 07, 2015 Food Ingredients 1st, December 02, 2015 | |
| Deals, M&A;, JVs, Licensing | | | |
An all-stock “merger of equals” – massive chemical firms Dow and DuPont – would lead to the creation of three independent, global publicly-held companies. The new entities would include a pure-play agriculture company, a pure-play material science company; and a specialty products company. The combined company would be called DowDuPont and have a total market cap of about $130 billion. According to Dow and DuPont, the new agriculture company will unite the current seed and crop protection businesses. The new specialty products company will include DuPont’s nutrition and health, industrial biosciences, safety & protection and electronics & communications businesses, as well as the Dow electronic materials business.
"DuPont and Dow to Merge", Nutraceuticals World, December 14, 2015
Australian infant formula company Bellamy’s has contracted with dairy supplier Fonterra Oceania to provide nutritional ingredients for its products. Fonterra says the five-year, multimillion-dollar agreement is part of the “transformation of its Australian business,” especially in the area of nutritionals. The company says its Australian business is particularly strong in ingredients like cheese, whey and nutritionals. The deal with publicly-traded Bellamy’s Australia “reaffirms our strength in nutritionals.”
"Bellamy’s forms infant formula alliance with Fonterra", SereLT.com, November 29, 2015
| Capsugel, December 14, 2015 | |
| Legal, Legislation, Regulation, Policy | | | |
The U.K.’s Advertising Standards Authority has forced Nestlé to drop ads for its Nesquik flavored drink powders that tout it as a “great start to the day” and nutritious for children. At the request of the Children’s Food Campaign, the ASA specifically banned Nesquik bunny ads that promote a product to children that is loaded with sugar (11 g, or 23 g when served with a cup of milk). Nestlé acknowledges the bunny ads appeal to children, but the message is to eat a balanced diet. The ASA has supported Nesquik’s nutritional claims in the past, but anti-sugar trends have begun to hold sway. The Nesquik ads were found on Asda’s house milk bottles.
"Nestlé can no longer claim Nesquik is a ‘great start to the day’ following ASA ruling", The Drum, December 23, 2015
California consumers who complained of falsely labeled organic foods, but were denied access to judicial relief by a lower court for jurisdictional reasons, have won a victory in the state Supreme Court. The dispute originated with consumer Michelle Quesada’s complaint that giant herb producer Herb Thyme Farms Inc. mingled organic and non-organic herbs but labeled its product "100% organic." A lower court ruled that federal law superseded state law and barred such suits. In overturning that decision, however, one of the justices said “state lawsuits alleging intentional organic mislabeling promote, rather than hinder, Congress's purposes and objectives.”
"California Supreme Court OKs organic labeling lawsuits", Associated Press, December 03, 2015
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| Market News | | | |
Banking on continuing strong demand for organic wheat-based products, food ingredient company Ardent Mills has launched an initiative to help wheat farmers double their organic acreage within three years while providing them a “robust supply chain.” Demand for organic wheat flour is growing not only among consumers, but also among restaurants and food companies. Ardent calls this a “significant opportunity for growers” to take advantage of an emerging market and add value to their wheat production by becoming organically certified. Ardent has been selling organic wheat flour since 1996.
"Ardent Mills to Help Farmers Double U.S. Organic Wheat Acres by 2019", News release, Ardent Mills, December 15, 2015
Australian food manufacturer Blackmores is expanding its product line into natural superfoods, including nutritional powders containing cacao, chia, matcha green tea, coconut water, super greens and wild blueberry. All of the products in the company’s Superfoods + Nature Boost line are fortified with concentrated vitamin C, antioxidants, magnesium and other nutrients. The new line of natural superfoods taps into a desire among Australians for health and wellbeing supported by optimum nutrition, the company says.
"Blackmores launches fortified superfoods range", FOODnavigator-asia.com, December 02, 2015
An Australian vitamin supplement company has launched a line of products that contain vitamin K2 for bone and heart health. The products, developed with K2Vital producer Kappa Bioscience, were launched by Swisse Wellness Pty Ltd. in the U.K. in October and will be introduced in Europe with the help of venture partner PGT Consumer Healthcare. K2MK-7 is highly stable and pure. Vitamin K2 is found naturally in foods containing animal fats, such as cheeses, eggs and butter. Multivitamin formulations containing fat-soluble compounds usually contain minerals, which cause stability problems. The Swisse Wellness version, however, is double-coated and microencapsulated to preserve stability.
"Swisse Wellness Launches Vitamin K2 Mk-7 in Multivitamin", Nutrition Insight, November 27, 2015
| Tech Insider, December 22, 2015 PR Newswire, December 18, 2015 The New York Times, December 10, 2015 National Public Radio, December 10, 2015 Asia Food Journal, December 08, 2015 Mintel, December 03, 2015 Australian Food News, December 02, 2015 Australian Food News, November 30, 2015 | |
| Research, Studies, Advice | | | |
Lithuanian researchers tested two versions of a functional whey-based beverage they developed that contained vitamin D and prebiotic fiber. One of the versions contained calcium phosphate, the other calcium lactate. The drink containing calcium phosphate was eventually discarded because it just didn’t taste well. Participants in the study drank the calcium lactate whey beverage for 21 days, after which it was found that their blood showed a significant drop in LDL (“bad”) cholesterol (P < 0.01) and triglyceride (P < 0.01) (fat) concentrations, “changes which would be likely to have a beneficial impact on their lives,” the researchers concluded.
"Development of a functional whey beverage, containing calcium, vitamin D, and prebiotic dietary fiber, and its influence on human health. ", CyTA - Journal of Food, December 25, 2015
A Brandeis University biophysicist has developed a way to roast green coffee beans – already used as a nutritional supplement and food ingredient – that boosts their health benefits. Parbaking roasts the beans at a lower temperature and in less time, preserving the healthful coffee antioxidant chlorogenic acid (CGA), normally reduced from 50 to 100 percent during roasting. Some scientists believe CGA controls sugar metabolism and blood pressure and possibly treats heart disease and cancer. Inventor Dan Perlman says the parbaked beans are milled in an ultra-cold liquid nitrogen environment to yield a wheat-colored flour that tastes nutty, pleasant, and mild, and can be blended with regular flours for baking, or used in breakfast... More "Coffee flour offers a potentially healthier way of enjoying java", News release, Brandeis University, December 11, 2015
| Tech Times, December 24, 2015 Mintel, December 24, 2015 The Independent, December 15, 2015 The Telegraph, December 08, 2015 The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, December 04, 2015 Journal Of The International Society Of Sports Nutrtion, November 25, 2015 | |
| Trends | | | | In an interesting paradox that may reflect the impact of the recent recession on small organic farmers, the USDA reports that the number of organic farmers in Oregon dropped 18 percent between 2008 and 2014, but overall organic acreage nearly doubled. Agency experts said there was a “sharp decline” in farms with $25,000 in sales a year or less, but an increase in farms with $250,000. The smaller organic farms may have chosen to drop their organic certification – rather than shut down – when a USDA certification subsidy program lapsed. The 2014 Farm Bill restored the subsidy program. Nevertheless, "The smaller folks are having a harder time and the larger operations are getting bigger," a USDA official said, adding that the problem... More "Oregon's organic acreage up despite drop in organic farmers", San Francisco Gate, December 17, 2015
The use of sprouted grains in U.S. health foods will be eight times greater in the next five years, boosted by major product introductions from big companies like Panera, Kellogg’s and Champion Foods. Many health-conscious consumers are now convinced that foods made with sprouted grains are more nutritious because of minimal processing and more healthful ingredients. The industry has caught on, accepting and marketing sprouted grains as a naturally functional – rather than a “fortified” or processed functional – food. Sprouted grains also dovetail with other trends, especially consumer demand for higher protein and fiber levels. These facts bolster the argument that sprouted grain foods are more than a fad or trend: they are a... More "Guest Blog: Sprouted Grains: Functional Food of the Future", Natural Products Insider, December 14, 2015
| The Wall Street Journal, November 30, 2015 | |