Seven Key Restaurant Trends To Watch In 2012

Food industry consultant Technomic says restaurants will be affected by seven key trends during 2012. At the top of the list is a consumer preference for familiar comfort foods and formats that offer novel flavors. Also, diners are demanding rustic fare using simple preparations and fresh ingredients. This trend will push restaurant operators to curtail purchases of value-added items in favor of cheaper cuts, beans, grains and produce that can be transformed into home-style food. Other trends include: growing use of seasonal and local-sourced foods, greater use of social networking to share restaurant experiences and opinions, increased demand for product and menu nutrition information, etc.

"Technomic names seven leading U.S. restaurant trends for 2012", Press Release, Technomic, November 08, 2011

Peruvian Legislators Ban GMO Imports

Peru's Congress has imposed a 10-year moratorium on imports of genetically modified organisms (GMO) to safeguard the country's biodiversity. The measure, approved by an overwhelming margin, bans the importation of  GMOs such as seeds, livestock, and fish for cultivation or to be raised locally. The Congress did allow some exceptions: for example, GMO can be used for research in closed environments though they must be carefully monitored. The bill requires the signature of President Ollanta Humala before becoming law. Humala is a strong opponent of GMO programs. Peru earns about $3 billion a year from the export of organic food, including coffee and cocoa.

"Peru's Congress approves 10-year GMO ban", AFP, November 04, 2011

British Organic Producer Delivers The Goods Much More Cheaply Than Big Food Retailers

Riverford Organic, a British organic grower that delivers vegetables and other farm produce through a network of franchisees, reports that its products are an average 19.3 percent cheaper than big U.K. food retailers likeTesco, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s. Riverford is 32 percent cheaper than Sainsbury’s, and their best value boxes beat the supermarket equivalent by more than 40 percent for the second month in a row. Riverford founder Guy Watson says the company’s goal is to grow and sell affordable and accessible organic produce without compromising on flavor or freshness. Key principles driving its success are its fair treatment of growers, a minimal approach to packaging and model regional farms that reduce food transport miles.

"Organic Veg Delivery Franchise Beats the Big Supermarkets", Franchise News International, November 08, 2011

Krill Oil Sales Soaring, Despite Environmental Concerns

Annual krill oil sales are growing at a rate of 20 percent, despite concerns about the sustainability of krill harvesting. Whole Foods and other natural foods stores have banned the sale of krill products because of environmental concerns. However, consumers are increasingly aware of the health benefits of krill oil, which has more omega-3s than other fish and contains a potent carotenoid known as astaxanthin. The increasing consumer awareness of the benefits of krill oil should drive sales – and probably prices – higher in the future, according to industry observers. However, environmental conservation groups are relentless in their opposition to krill harvesting.

"Krill awareness hits critical mass", Functional Ingredients, November 04, 2011

Dean Foods Forms Joint Venture With Jam Producer Hero Group

Dairy product producer Dean Foods announced a 50/50 joint venture with Swiss-based Hero Group, producer of fruit and infant nutrition brands Hero and Beech-Nut. Dubbed Hero/WhiteWave, the new venture will take Dean's WhiteWave business into the jam and chilled fruits business for the first time. Hero has had success with chilled-fruit products in Europe, and believes that North American consumers will be receptive to the products. According to reports, the two companies will develop new healthful products, while sharing technology, manufacturing and distribution capabilities. Dean also announced healthy financial results for the third quarter, with earnings per diluted share on an adjusted basis doubling to $0.28 from a year ago.

"Dean Foods Partners With Hero On New Chilled Fruits", Mediapost Publications, November 04, 2011

U.K. Ad Watchdog Raps Unilever For Misleading Advertorial

The U.K.’s Advertising Standards Authority has reprimanded Unilever for putting an advertorial on a newspaper Web site that was not clearly marked as an advertisement. The advertorial for Flora pro.active featured a reporter for the Daily Telegraph talking generally about the benefits of exercise and a nutritious diet, but also mentioned that the Flora beverage helped her reduce cholesterol. The ad also contained a link to further information about the product. The main headline of the advertorial mentioned “Flora pro.active” and another heading mentioned “in association with Flora pro.active,” but the ASA said Unilever and the newspaper did not clearly state that the piece was in fact a marketing communication.

"Unilever censured by ASA for misleading advertorial", Marketing Week, November 02, 2011

New Test Identifies Fish-Borne Poison Quickly, Reliably

Scientists in Japan have developed a test that quickly and reliably identifies a difficult-to-detect poison, ciguatoxin, that causes as many as 60,000 people a year to become sick from eating warm water fish such as red snapper and sea bass. The source of the toxin is tropical and subtropical marine algae eaten by smaller fish. The presence of the toxin is undetectable: contaminated fish taste, smell and look fine. The current test for the toxin, which uses mice, is time-consuming and often ineffective. The new test was able to identify 16 varieties of the toxin quickly using standard lab instruments.

"Detailed LC-MS/MS Analysis of Ciguatoxins Revealing Distinct Regional and Species Characteristics in Fish and Causative Alga from the Pacific", Analytical Chemistry, November 09, 2011

New Test Determines Whether Farmed Fish Are Being Contaminated With Pesticides

Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology (Germany) have developed a way to test whether chemical substances accumulate in farmed fish that have been fed contaminated feed. The food industry needs such a test because half of all the fish eaten today comes from fish farms, where fish are increasingly fed vegetable-based foods that may contain pesticide residues. Fish feed producers have turned to the use of crops such as soya, maize and rape to replace the dwindling supplies of fishmeal and fish oil so important to fish feed. Using large water tanks, researchers test the flesh of fresh water fish like carp and trout for pesticide residues using highly sensitive analytical methods that detect even the smallest quantities of a harmful substance. 

"A fish test to make food safer", Press release, Fraunhofer Institute, November 02, 2011