HEALTH ALERT: Wendy’s Drops Soda from Kids’ Meals; Is BK Next?

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Wendy’s Drops Soda from Kids’ Meals; Is BK Next?

Judie Bizzozero

January 20, 2015 - Blog

n the continuing battle of soda wars, Wendy’s is the latest fast-food company to surrender to pressure from parents and health advocacy groups urging it burger chain to remove sugar-sweetened beverages from its children’s menus in an effort to combat childhood obesity.

The move was hailed by MomsRising.org, the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, and the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), all of which have been urging the chain to improve the nutritional quality of its kids' meals by removing soda from the kids menu.

According to the advocacy groups, soda is not an appropriate beverage choice for children, given that sugary drinks contribute to diabetes, heart disease, obesity, tooth decay, and other health problems in children and adults. They cited research in The Lancet that found drinking just one additional sugary drink every day increases a child's odds of becoming obese by 60 percent.

Fast-food restaurants have been under fire for years to remove sugary drinks from their kids’ menus and to reduce marketing tactics to children.

In 2011, McDonald's revamped its Happy Meals with its “Commitments to Offer Improved Nutrition Choices" initiative, a long-term plan to help customers—especially families and children—make nutrition-minded choices when dining out. In 2013, the fast-food giant announced it will market only water, milk and juice as the beverage in Happy Meals on menu boards and in-store and external advertising; utilize Happy Meal and other packaging innovations and designs to generate excitement for fruit, vegetable, low/reduced-fat dairy, or water options for kids; dedicate Happy Meal box or bag panels to communicate a fun nutrition or children’s well-being  message; and ensure 100 percent of all advertising directed to children to include a fun nutrition or children’s well-being message.

Last week’s move by Wendy’s to reduce sugar-sweetened beverages to kids now leaves Burger King as the only Big 3 burger chain still with soda in meals specifically intended for children. Will BK follow suit and remove sugary drinks from its kids’ menus? Other large chains including Subway, Chipotle, Arby’s and Panera already don’t include soda as the default option in their kids’ meals.

CSPI Senior Nutrition Policy Counsel Jessica Almy said: “Restaurants should not be setting parents up for a fight by bundling soda with meal options designed for kids. Wendy's is taking a responsible step forward that will improve children's health and make it easier for parents to make healthy choices for their children. We hope Burger King, Applebee's, IHOP, and other chains follow suit."

But if you think the soda war is only being found at the restaurant level, think again.

In June 2104, a proposed bill in California that would have required sugar-sweetened beverages to carry warning labels similar to those on alcohol and tobacco fizzled out when it failed to clear the Assembly Committee on Health.
Remember the infamous restriction on super-sized sodas in New York City that was implemented in 2012 as part of former Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s anti-obesity campaign? Nearly two years later in June 2014, New York’s highest court permanently killed the “Portion Cap Rule." (Click here to view the Slide Show “History of Mayor Bloomberg's Soda Ban."

The majority’s ruling will most certainly not end the contemporary debate on how the United States should tackle an obesity epidemic compromising the health of millions of Americans and whether Congress, states and local governments should impose restrictions on fatty and sugary foods and beverages. In fact, California recently proposed a state law that would have required a warning label on sugar-sweetened beverages. But the bill recentlydied after it failed to clear the California Committee on Health.

The conversation over the role of government in promoting nutrition could soon shift to Capitol Hill where Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) intends to introduce a bill to tax sugar-laden beverages.

HEALTH & WELLNESS GLOBAL SALES UPDATE

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Trending Foods examines the latest news, market trends, surveys and stats that are helping shape the food industry. 

Global Health & Wellness Sales Hit $774 Billion

Judie Bizzozero

October 07, 2014 - Blog

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Rising awareness among consumers toward health benefits of foods and beverages for potential disease prevention and overall wellness are key factors driving growth in the global health-and-wellness market. According to data from Euromonitor International, the sector will witness sales of approximately $774 billion in 2014.

“Healthy food and beverages are once again outperforming their non-health and wellness counterparts," said Ewa Hudson, global head of health and wellness research at Euromonitor International. “Healthy soft drinks will account for half of global soft drink retail sales in 2014 and over the next five years, healthy packaged food will account for one-third of total packaged food retail sales."

In terms of sales, milk formula is the world’s fastest-growing health-and-wellness category, reaching $4.3 billion in 2014. Gluten-free bakery products are the third-fastest growing health-and-wellness category with sales up by 16 percent in 2014. Naturally healthy ready-to-drink tea is projected to grow by $14.5 billion, which is nearly $2 billion more than energy drinks between 2014-2019.

Emerging markets also are driving growth in health and wellness are, adding 87 percent of absolute growth between 2009-2014. Despite this, developed markets still account for 60 percent of total global health-and-wellness retail sales.

“These markets should not be overlooked and instead should be considered an innovation hotspot promoting a more personalized approach to nutrition, with a focus on areas such as brain and vision health or food intolerance," Hudson said.

So as the global market for heath-and-wellness products matures, product designers searching for successful introductions have to carefully position their products to make sure they meet consumer expectations for efficacy and match the flavor of their conventional counterparts. Food Product Design’s free “Functional Foods and Beverages"Digital Issue delves into the market growth for the functional foods and beverage category, formulating functional beverages, protein's role in functionality, as well as demographic cohorts that should be considered when developing functional foods and beverages.

HEALTH & WELLNESS: Study Says BMI to Blame For Hypertension, Not Sodium

FORMULATING FOODS

Formulating Foods explores the latest health and nutrition news and research—as well as the latest ingredient and food application innovations—to determine what consumers want (and need) from the food and beverage products they consume, and how industry can make it happen. 

Study Says BMI to Blame For Hypertension, Not Sodium

Rachel Adams

September 10, 2014 - Blog

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High blood pressure—also known as hypertension—is the most prevalent chronic disease worldwide, and a leading risk factor for heart disease and stroke. While high-sodium diets have long been linked to increased blood pressure, a new study suggests body mass index (BMI) may be the main contributing factor of blood pressure levels.

The study looked at data from 8,670 participants from the NutriNet-Santé Study, an ongoing French web-based cohort study. Dietary intakes were assessed using three 24-hour records, while a questionnaire determined lifestyle factors. In addition to the web study, blood pressure measurements were collected and participants underwent a clinical examination.

The dietary questionnaires looked at alcohol consumption, mineral intake—including sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus—and total energy intake. Demographic, health and lifestyle data were collected at baseline and yearly thereafter using web-based questionnaires.

Age-adjusted associations and then multivariate associations between systolic BP (SBP) and lifestyle behaviors were estimated using multiple linear regressions.

Of the 8,670 volunteers, 84 (4 percent) men and 229 (3.5 percent) women reported being hypertensive (without hypertensive drug use). Regarding blood presssure measurements, 586 (28.2 percent) men and 775 (11.8 percent) women were hypertensive. Globally, salt consumption was higher in hypertensive participants compared with those who were nonhypertensive. Hypertensive participants displayed higher BMI than those who were not and they were more active.

Ultimately, there were a variety of factors that impacted blood pressure levels, including fruit and vegetable intake—which positively impacted blood pressure—and BMI. However, the study authors concluded, “BMI was the main contributory modifiable factor of BP level after multiple adjustments."

The relationship between BMI and SBP level was strong in both sexes where SBP was higher in participants with elevated BMIs. Salt intake was positively associated with SBP in men but not in women (results were similar using sodium intake from foods). Further, adjustments of total energy intake (without alcohol) did not modify the results. The negative relationship between consumption of fruits and vegetables was significant in both sexes. SBP increased significantly with the dietary sodium–potassium ratio in both sexes. Alcohol consumption was positively associated with SBP in both sexes.

Of course, these findings don’t take sodium off the radar. FDA recently confirmed its plans to release voluntary guidelines to reduce sodium levels in processed foods and restaurant foods nationwide.

Salt is the greatest contributor of sodium in the diet, and is responsible for 90 percent of the sodium consumed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reducing salt content in food and beverage products can go a long way in sodium-reduction efforts. However, salt contributes both flavor and functionality in a range of applications, and is not easily replaced. Fortunately, Food Product Design dove into the topic in its recent Digital Pulse, The Salt of the Matter: Trends in Sodium Reduction.

APPETIZER

Finding the world’s best diet: What global gastronomy can teach us about how to eat

Kate Quilton, The Daily Telegraph, National Post Wire Services |June 23, 2014 3:38 PM ET
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Mike Clarke/AFP/Getty ImagesKimchi, a traditional Korean dish, is one of the world's healthier local delicacies.

I’m in hospital to see my dad. He’s sitting up and chatting away like he’s propping up the bar at his local — but he’s here because his heart has failed. Dad drinks, smokes and eats a poor diet. The kind of diet I wouldn’t serve to a dog. But he is not alone. He is surrounded by some very sick people who are also in hospital because they have bad diets. My dad is skinny on his; most are large on theirs.

On the next ward, a patient is morbidly obese. He’s served hospital food three times a day and tops it up with snacks from the tuck trolley. Brimming with brightly packaged sugar and fat bullets with a shelf-life beyond the apocalypse, the trolley offers an array of saturated fats, hidden sugars, salt and thousands of ingredients that are more at home in a laboratory than a kitchen. He buys himself a selection for the day that most of us couldn’t eat in a week.

This is an extreme example, but it’s a snapshot of modern Britain. On the one hand, the food revolution of the past 50 years has brought us choice and convenience; on the other, we’re facing a global epidemic with obesity.

Now, I love food. It’s fuel, it’s medicine, and it’s delicious. So when I was asked to go on a journey to find the world’s best diet, I was excited. I eat pretty healthily, but I could definitely do better — and when my dad’s not looking, I’m nicking his Jaffa Cakes. So which countries hold the secret to a longer and healthier life? Might it just be possible that I could find a diet that will ultimately prolong my life? And will I still be able to eat the odd Jaffa Cake?

What I found along the way was not only surprising, it also had the potential to change my life. And if a few of these lessons could be applied on a national — or even global — scale, then they could help towards making the world a healthier place …

MARSHALL ISLANDS IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC

Peering out of the airplane window, it looks as though we’re touching down in paradise: azure waters lapping a sun-soaked shore dotted with palm trees. But once the wheels sink into the greasy tarmac, it becomes quickly apparent that we have landed in one of the most obese places on the planet.

In 2013, the International Diabetes Federation found that more than 80% of the adult population is overweight. And you can see it. Baggage handlers, airport security and the chaps at passport control are all demonstrably carrying extra pounds. And with all this weight come some very grave consequences. The Marshallese have the third highest prevalence of diabetes in the world — 50% of people aged over 35 have the disease, and amputees can be seen island-wide as a result.

So where did it all go wrong? Fifty years ago, the Marshallese suddenly changed their diet. After the Second World War, the islands became a trust territory of the United States. The U.S. began trading with the islands, and as a result the Marshallese diet shifted from fresh fish and coconuts to an imported, processed “Western” diet of flour, white rice, sugar and fatty meats. And this is the diet they still eat today.

One evening I ate with a local family at home — mum, dad and five beautiful children. On the menu were two types of white rice — one with sugar and one without — and turkey tails. Turkey tails are essentially a turkey’s derriere. And, I quickly discovered as turkey fat dripped down my chin, they don’t pack much muscle in their trunk, since their tails can contain a staggering 73% fat. So much fat that they have been banned in countries such as Samoa.

And with a watermelon costing $38 in the local supermarket, there wasn’t a fruit or vegetable in sight. The island is a coral atoll, so growing fruit and vegetables is nigh-on impossible. And on the average wage of $2 an hour, imported fruit and vegetables are a luxury most people can’t afford.

Rice, flour, sugar and fatty meats are a lethal combination if you don’t add any fibre in the mix. Without it, diabetes is almost an inevitability.

SOUTH KOREA
It was way past my bedtime. Armed with a strategic power nap and a box of doughnuts, I shuffled up a back alley. Punctuated with neon, it was like something out of Blade Runner. I arrived at an apartment and a pretty, petite South Korean girl opened the door. Not the racy madam I was expecting. Hyo-Jin tucked the doughnuts under her arm and ushered me into her bedroom. She gave me a slick of red lipstick, smoked my eyes and tamed my mane. We were ready.

I was about to participate in something pretty radical. Eating alone in South Korea is a major social taboo. Mokbang is the antidote. It means “broadcast eating,” something that is taking the country by storm and is earning Hyo-Jin a small fortune. Her live stream is free to watch, but if people are happy with the service they can give a donation. We tucked into an array of South Korean delights: kimchi pancake, fried pork in soy, and something a little more familiar, fried chicken. In just an hour of eating on a webcam, we’d made a few hundred dollars.

With such a passion for food, it is perhaps surprising that South Koreans are some of the slimmest people on the planet. In 2012, a report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development found that they have the lowest level of obesity in the developed world. So why are they so healthy? Firstly, and very simply, they eat an inordinate amount of vegetables. They eat more than twice the amount of vegetables we do and grow enough to have 222 kg of vegetables per person available every year over our 94 kg. Instead of five a day, it’s more like 10 a day. Fresh and often raw vegetables are a staple everywhere, even at service stations. This is a far cry from our roadside Ginsters and packets of crisps.

Second, fermented foods are a major part of their diet. Kimchi — a spicy, fermented cabbage — is eaten at breakfast, lunch and dinner, with the average South Korean consuming a hefty 150g-200g per day in the winter, and 50 g-100g in the summertime. Packed with good bacteria called lactobacilli, it helps boost metabolism and aids digestion.

Fit to burst, I rolled out of Hui Jin’s flat. Feeling slightly objectified, I did genuinely believe, perhaps naively, that I had provided company at dinner for a few hundred solo eaters. I asked her what I should do about my bloated tummy. She had a one-word answer: “Kimchi.”

ITALY
Tucked away in the Italian countryside, just a couple of hours from Rome, stands a magical hilltop. Known by scientists as the “village of eternal youth,” the average life expectancy in Campodimele is 95 years. Compare that with the Italian average of 77.5 for men and 83.5 for women. In addition, their cholesterol levels are some of the healthiest in the world. In the Eighties, the World Health Organisation discovered that the cholesterol in 80?year-olds was similar to that of newborn babies.

Why are they living so long? There’s no doubt that they have longevity in their genes. Yet it’s what they do with those genes. I spent a day with Geraldo and Liana. They are 85 and 83 respectively, yet look and move like they’re at least 10 years younger.

I ask them to show me what they eat. Geraldo invites me on his Vespa, and I am half-expecting him to take me to the supermarket; instead, we roll down the hill to feed his chickens and check on his wheat fields. As for the supermarket, he laughs and tells me that the closest one is 50 kilometres away and he’s never been.

On returning home, his wife Liana is preparing lunch. A delicious rustic feast of pasta, passata, chickpeas, lashings of olive oil, and a substantial goblet of deep, fruity red wine poured from an old Evian bottle. The difference is that every single element is home-grown and homemade. Being almost completely self-sufficient, each week this couple spend a few euros on just two extras — milk and coffee.

Geraldo and Liana are not an exception to the rule. Professor Cugini has studied the town since the ’80s and refers to their diet as “hyper-Mediterranean.” It’s all the best bits of the Mediterranean diet, turned up full blast. The villagers enjoy top-quality, home-produced fresh ingredients that are packed full of vitamins and minerals. Their diet is low in meat and almost devoid of red meat and butter.

The people here consume an average of one litre of olive oil a week, the perfect recipe for heart health — washed down with two glasses of red wine a day to offer a daily injection of antioxidant polyphenols.

Despite running water and electricity, the people in Campodimele are living a life much as they would have done 1,000 years ago. This isn’t feasible for most of us, but if we all ate a little more like them, we might just feel the benefits.

One can only hope that somewhere in a parallel universe, the tuck trolley being wheeled around my dad’s hospital ward is loaded with a Campodimele harvest and, rather than crisps and chocolate, it is fresh vegetables and olive oil that are being administered.

HEALTH & WELLNESS: Low-carb, high-fat diet is best for weight loss, heart health, U.S. study says

HEALTH

Low-carb, high-fat diet is best for weight loss, heart health, U.S. study says

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Anahad O’Connor, The New York Times | September 2, 2014 12:26 PM ET
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Scott Olson/Getty Images filesLimiting intake of processed foods, not saturated fats, should be the priority of both those who want to lose weight, and policy makers, health experts say, with sugar and carb intake linked more strongly to obesity and heart disease than any particular fats, including saturated ones.

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People who avoid carbohydrates and eat more fat, even saturated fat, lose more body fat and have fewer cardiovascular risks than people who follow the low-fat diet that health authorities have favored for decades, a major new study shows.

The findings are unlikely to be the final salvo in what has been a long and often contentious debate about what foods are best to eat for weight loss and overall health. The notion that dietary fat is harmful, particularly saturated fat, arose decades ago from comparisons of disease rates among large national populations.

But more recent clinical studies in which individuals and their diets were assessed over time have produced a more complex picture. Some have provided strong evidence that people can sharply reduce their heart disease risk by eating fewer carbohydrates and more dietary fat, with the exception of trans fats. The new findings suggest that this strategy more effectively reduces body fat and also lowers overall weight.

The new study was financed by the National Institutes of Health and published in theAnnals of Internal Medicine. It included a racially diverse group of 150 men and women — a rarity in clinical nutrition studies — who were assigned to follow diets for one year that limited either the amount of carbs or fat that they could eat, but not overall calories.

‘Cutting your carbs helps you lose weight without focusing on calories’

“To my knowledge, this is one of the first long-term trials that’s given these diets without calorie restrictions,” said Dariush Mozaffarian, dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, who was not involved in the new study. “It shows that in a free-living setting, cutting your carbs helps you lose weight without focusing on calories. And that’s really important because someone can change what they eat more easily than trying to cut down on their calories.”

Diets low in carbohydrates and higher in fat and protein have been commonly used for weight loss since Dr. Robert Atkins popularized the approach in the 1970s. Among the long-standing criticisms is that these diets cause people to lose weight in the form of water instead of body fat, and that cholesterol and other heart disease risk factors climb because dieters invariably raise their intake of saturated fat by eating more meat and dairy.

Many nutritionists and health authorities have “actively advised against” low-carbohydrate diets, said the lead author of the new study, Dr. Lydia A. Bazzano of the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. “It’s been thought that your saturated fat is, of course, going to increase, and then your cholesterol is going to go up,” she said. “And then bad things will happen in general.”

People in the low-carbohydrate group lost about eight pounds more on average than those in the low-fat group

The new study showed that was not the case.

By the end of the year-long trial, people in the low-carbohydrate group had lost about eight pounds more on average than those in the low-fat group. They had significantly greater reductions in body fat than the low-fat group, and improvements in lean muscle mass — even though neither group changed their levels of physical activity.

While the low-fat group did lose weight, they appeared to lose more muscle than fat.

“They actually lost lean muscle mass, which is a bad thing,” Mozaffarian said. “Your balance of lean mass versus fat mass is much more important than weight. And that’s a very important finding that shows why the low-carb, high-fat group did so metabolically well.”

The high-fat group followed something of a modified Atkins diet. They were told to eat mostly protein and fat, and to choose foods with primarily unsaturated fats, like fish, olive oil and nuts. But they were allowed to eat foods higher in saturated fat as well, including cheese and red meat.

Low-carb participants were encouraged to cook with olive and canola oils, but butter was allowed, too

A typical day’s diet was not onerous: It might consist of eggs for breakfast, tuna salad for lunch, and some kind of protein for dinner — like red meat, chicken, fish, pork or tofu — along with vegetables. Low-carb participants were encouraged to cook with olive and canola oils, but butter was allowed, too.

Overall, they took in a little more than 13% of their daily calories from saturated fat, more than double the 5% to 6% limit recommended by the American Heart Association. The majority of their fat intake, however, was unsaturated fats.

The low-fat group included more grains, cereals and starches in their diet. They reduced their total fat intake to less than 30% of their daily calories, which is in line with the federal government’s dietary guidelines. The other group increased their total fat intake to more than 40% of daily calories.

Both groups were encouraged to eat vegetables, and the low-carbohydrate group was told that eating some beans and fresh fruit was fine as well.

In the end, people in the low-carbohydrate group saw markers of inflammation and triglycerides — a type of fat that circulates in the blood — plunge. Their HDL, the so-called good cholesterol, rose more sharply than it did for people in the low-fat group.

Blood pressure, total cholesterol and LDL, the so-called bad cholesterol, stayed about the same for people in each group.

Nonetheless, those on the low-carbohydrate diet ultimately did so well that they managed to lower their Framingham risk scores, which calculate the likelihood of a heart attack within the next 10 years. The low-fat group on average had no improvement in their scores.

The decrease in risk on the low-carboydrate diet “should translate into a substantial benefit,” said Dr. Allan Sniderman, a professor of cardiology at McGill University in Montreal.

One important predictor of heart disease that the study did not assess, Sniderman said, was the relative size and number of LDL particles in the bloodstream. Two people can have the same overall LDL concentration, but very different levels of risk depending on whether they have a lot of small, dense LDL particles or a small number of large and fluffy particles.

Eating refined carbohydrates tends to raise the overall number of LDL particles and shift them toward the small, dense variety, which contributes to atherosclerosis. Saturated fat tends to make LDL particles larger, more buoyant and less likely to clog arteries, at least when carbohydrate intake is not high, said Dr. Ronald M. Krauss, former chairman of the American Heart Association’s dietary guidelines committee.

Small, dense LDL is the kind typically found in heart patients and in people who have high triglycerides, central obesity and other aspects of the metabolic syndrome, said Krauss, who is also the director of atherosclerosis research at Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute.

“I’ve been a strong advocate of moving saturated fat down the list of priorities in dietary recommendations for one reason: because of the increasing importance of metabolic syndrome and the role that carbohydrates play,” Krauss said.

Health authorities should pivot away from fat restrictions and encourage people to eat fewer processed foods

Mozaffarian said the research suggested that health authorities should pivot away from fat restrictions and encourage people to eat fewer processed foods, particularly those with refined carbohydrates.

The average person may not pay much attention to the federal dietary guidelines, but their influence can be seen, for example, in school lunch programs, which is why many schools forbid whole milk but serve their students fat-free chocolate milk loaded with sugar, Mozaffarian said.

FORMULATING FOODS: Considerations for Ingredient Positioning

FORMULATING FOODS

Formulating Foods explores the latest health and nutrition news and research—as well as the latest ingredient and food application innovations—to determine what consumers want (and need) from the food and beverage products they consume, and how industry can make it happen. 

Considerations for Ingredient Positioning

Rachel Adams

August 25, 2014 - Blog

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Creating food and beverage products with healthful ingredients won’t do much good if consumers are unaware of the benefits such products (ingredients) provide. Enter marketing. However, public relations is a fundamental cornerstone of the marketing mix and can greatly aid in successful product development and positioning.

According to an article in the August issue of The Boardroom Journal, “Public Relations: A Cornerstone in Ingredient Positioning," by Ian Newton, managing director, CERES Consulting, PR should be an integral part of the product launch plan, and should be included from the very beginning of any business development plan through to the launching of the new ingredient or product.

Even during the development of the science and regulatory strategy, PR should have its place at the table. PR persons can provide input and direction in planning and can find ways to maximize the full scientific benefits accruing to the product or those benefits expected to be gained during product development and regulatory timelines.

Newton points to some key questions that can help to develop successful PR strategies, including: where do audiences obtain information?; which messages are effective?; and what prompts behavior change?
Research shows nutrition information sources generally include friends and family, health care professionals, health concerns and government agencies. And the information consumers are looking for is about diet and nutrition, pharmaceuticals, online health newsletters and women’s health.

And so, what are the most effective messages? Effective messages are relevant, credible and actionable; and the most credible sources tend to be physicians, dietitians, pharmacists, nurses and health newsletters.

Based on this information, companies can start to make PR a strategic choice in media planning, which may not be simple as there are different strategies to consider that can provide different resonance with an audience. For example, advertising will allow companies a great deal of control, but may not be considered credible. Whereas PR won’t allow the same amount of control in messaging, but can be very credible.

Ultimately, PR provides depth, credibility and a balanced approach, usually with science-backed information that can set the stage for marketers to launch products or foods containing active ingredients that have health benefits that answer consumers’ needs.

For a closer look at PR and its role in ingredient positions—as well as the state of investment in the nutrition industry—download the latest issue of the Boardroom Journal, “Venture Capital: The Highway to Strategic Investment."

SPORTS NUTRITION MARKET UPDATE: Delivering Quality, Innovation in Sports Nutrition Judie Bizzozero

Delivering Quality, Innovation in Sports Nutrition

Judie Bizzozero

August 12, 2014 - Blog

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Driven by more than 77 million users of sports drinks and powered by 28 million consumers of nutrition bars, the sports nutritional market has experienced encouraging growth in recent years. According to data from Packaged Facts, sports beverage sales reached $7.4 billion in 2013, while sales of nutrition bars reached $2.6 billion, according to new research from Packaged Facts.

Sports nutrition is an attractive market with a broad range of potential consumers, so developing a winning product means identifying the right ingredients, selecting the target market, and keeping an eye on product quality.
The topic of sports nutrition will be hot one at the SupplySide West 2014 taking place Oct. 6-10 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. I invite you to attend the “Sports Nutrition Workshop: Delivering Quality, Innovation to New Markets," on Friday, Oct. 10 from 8:30-11:30 a.m. Underwritten by Green Wages Ingredients (GWI) and the Anderson Global Group (AAG), the workshop features four sessions designed around the delivering quality and innovations to new markets.

Attendees will learn about the trending ingredients addressing muscle building, energy and recovery; and hear about the three ingredients that shouldn’t be in sports products. They will learn more about the underserved areas of the sports nutrition market and the types of products that might best serve those markets. They also will discover steps to take, such as getting certifications, conducting identity tests and following GMPs, to ensure their sports products aren’t contaminated.

The sessions include “Overall Ingredient Space and Quality Considerations," “Managing Weight and the Role of Carbohydrates in the Diet of Female Athletes," “Arachidonic Acid: Omega-6 for Sport," and “New Demographics and Undeserved Markets."

Anthony L. Almada, founder and CEO, Vitargo Global Sciences LLC; Susan M. Kleiner, Ph.D., RD, FACN, CNS, FISSN, co-CEO and co-founder, Vynna LLC; William Llewellyn, CEO, Molecular Nutrition; and Todd Scarborough, fitness trainer, Whole Sports Nutrition will present the workshop.

Gluten-Free Labeling Rule Takes Effect

Gluten-Free Labeling Rule Takes Effect

Judie Bizzozero

August 06, 2014 - Blog

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Beginning Aug. 5, all packaged foods labeled “gluten-free" must meet all requirements of the gluten-free labeling final rule published last year by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The new rule applies to packaged foods that sold in retail and foodservice establishments, such as carry-out restaurants.

The rule was issued pursuant to the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 (FALCPA), and food manufacturers had one year to make the necessary changes in the formulation or labeling of their foods that voluntarily bear a gluten-free claim in the United States.

The final rule provides a uniform standard definition to help the nearly 3 million U.S. consumers with celiac disease manage a gluten-free diet. Gluten-free claims must adhere to all aspects of FDA’s definition, including the requirement that the food contains less than 20 parts per million of gluten. Foods may be labeled “gluten-free" if they are inherently gluten free or do not contain an ingredient that is a gluten-containing grain; derived from a gluten-containing grain that has not been processed to remove gluten; or derived from a gluten-containing grain that has been processed to remove gluten if the use of that ingredient results in the presence of 20 ppm or moregluten in the food. The rule also requires foods with the claims “no gluten," “free of gluten," and “without gluten" to meet the definition for “gluten-free."

FDA said it will use its existing compliance and enforcement tools, such as inspection, laboratory analysis, warning letters, seizure and injunction, to ensure that the use of the claim on food packages complies with the definition.
Commenting on the rule, Felicia Billingslea, director of FDA's division of food labeling and standards, said: “This standard ‘gluten-free’ definition eliminates uncertainty about how food producers label their products. People with celiac disease can rest assured that foods labeled ‘gluten-free’ meet a clear standard established and enforced by FDA."

So why is the labeling of gluten-free food and beverages such a big issue? Gluten-free foods have become increasingly popular in recent years for those with celiac disease and gluten intolerances, but there's also rising interest from consumers who choose gluten-free foods for weight management. In fact, the market for gluten-free foods and beverages is forecast to reach an estimated $15.6 billion by 2016, according to a recent report from the NPD Group.