HEALTH ALERT: EATING MANGOS HELPS IMPROVE OVERALL DIET, NUTRITION

EATING MANGOS HELPS IMPROVE OVERALL DIET, NUTRITION

Published June 27, 2013 in Food Product Design

Posted in News, Science & Research, Diet, Nutrition, Vitamins / Minerals, Vitamin C, Potassium, Fiber,Fruits / Vegetables, Fruit, Healthy, Healthy Foods, Heart Health, Cardiovascular, Diabetes, Cancer,Immunity, Immune Health, Vitamin A, Antioxidant, Functional Foods, Weight Management, Obesity,Glucose, Phytochemicals, Cholesterol, Nutraceuticals

ORLANDO, Fla.—Eating mangos not only associated with an overall better diet, higher intake of whole fruit and certain nutrients, like dietary fiber and potassium, along with lower body weight and C-reactive protein, a measure of inflammation that may be associated with cardiovascular risk, according to a new study published in the Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences.

Researchers compared the diets of more than 29,000 children and adults participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between 2001 and 2008 and used the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) to determine diet quality relative to federal dietary guidance. They found those who ate mangos scored higher on the HEI than those that did not. Compared to non-mango consumers, mango eaters, on average, had higher intakes of whole fruit, vitamins C, potassium, and dietary fiber (in adults only) while having lower intakes of added-sugars, saturated fat (in adults only) and sodium (in adults only).

Additionally, lower levels of C-reactive protein were found in adult mango-consumers. C-reactive protein is a marker of inflammation and it has been suggested that high levels of it in the blood may be linked to increased risk for heart disease.

According to the National Mango Board (NMB), which helped fund the study, results will help add to the existing body of evidence suggesting mangos are a nutritional powerhouse.

Research presented at the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) annual meeting in 2013 suggests consuming polyphenol-rich mangoes can help reduce blood sugar levels and inflammation in obese individuals. Another study published in 2010 examined the effects of polyphenols found in fresh mangos on cancerous and non-cancerous breast cells. This study suggests that mango polyphenols may limit inflammatory response in both cancerous and non-cancerous breast cells.

Sources:

• PR Newswire: Research Suggests Mango Consumption Linked to Improved Diets

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4th Global Review of Aid for Trade

4th Global Review of Aid for Trade

• 8 – 10 July 2013
  World Trade Organization (WTO) Headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland
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  The WTO’s Global Review of Aid for Trade has been the preeminent multilateral forum exploring trade and development issues since 2007. Under this year’s theme of ‘Connecting to Value Chains’, the focus is on examining strategies to connect developing countries to international value chains and discussing the associated development benefits in the context of the post-2015 development agenda.

• 
  ITC is supporting the goals of the Global Review through presentations and speaking sessions about the integration of developing countries into the global economy. For further information on ITC’s involvement with the Global Review, please contact communications [at] intracen.org or press [at

  ] intracen.org. For additional information, please visit the World Trade Organization webpage.

  
  

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• 
  

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CANADIAN AGENCIES FUND GENOMICS PROJECT TO ELIMINATE LISTERIA

Published July 1, 2013 in Food Product Design 

Posted in News, Science & Research, International, Food Safety, Meat Products, Processed Meats,Frozen / Refrigerated Foods, Refrigerated Foods, Listeria, Bacteria, Bacteria, Microbial, Laboratory Testing, Food Analysis

OTTAWA—The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), Genome Canada and Alberta Innovates Bio Solutions have partnered to support a $1.4 million project that will lead to faster and more cost-effective ways to screen food for the Listeria bacteria and bolster food safety.

The project, led by Dr. Linda Chui of the University of Alberta, will sequence and map the genomes of many Listeria strains to identify those strains that are likely to be most harmful to human health, as well as those most likely to survive in food processing facilities. A database of Listeria genome sequences will be developed and genetic markers identified. The markers will be used to rapidly spot harmfulListeria strains in foods and food processing facilities.

The 18-month research project is supported through an investment of $250,000 each from Genome Canada (via Genome Alberta) and the CFIA, and $100,000 from Alberta Innovates Bio Solutions. This investment is also being leveraged through co-funding from federal, provincial, academic and industry partners, including Maple Leaf Foods, increasing the total investment to $1.4 million.

"The Harper Government is committed to improving Canada's already robust food safety system as outlined in the Safe Food for Canadians Action Plan," said Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. "Through continued investments in science and innovation, we are creating opportunities to better identify and reduce risks for consumers, meaning safer food for Canadian families."

"The strength of our project is in the world-class expertise of the research team and the support of many distinguished organizations from across Canada," Chui said. "The different researchers on the team bring leading-edge expertise in many areas including food sample preparation, assays development, state-of-the art capacity in bioinformatics and genomics, pathogen detection and outbreak response."

Sources:

• CFIA: Government of Canada and partners fund new genomics research project to eliminate Listeria from food supply

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DESPITE CHALLENGES, GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY IS STABLE

DESPITE CHALLENGES, GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY STABLE

Published July 2, 2013 in Food Product Design

Posted in News, Market Research, Market Trends, Demographic, International, Agriculture, Crop, Meat Products, Dairy, Grains / Pasta / Tuber, Bakery / Cereal, Fruits / Vegetables, Nutrition, Diet, Economics,Costs, Regulatory, Proteins

SANTIAGO, Chile—Global food security has remained largely stable over the past year despite challenges, including food price volatility, new areas of political unrest, the ongoing European economic crisis, and a severe summer drought in the Midwestern U.S. and Eastern Europe, according to theGlobal Food Security Index 2013 Report from Economist Intelligence Unit.

While the global average food security score remained virtually unchanged in the latest index (53.5) compared with a year ago (53.6), some notable trends emerged. Developing countries made the greatest food security gains in the past year. Ethiopia, Botswana and the Dominican Republic led the way, rising eight places on average in the global food security rankings, based largely on greater food availability and income growth.

High-income countries still dominate the top 25% of the index, but falling national incomes hurt food security in many cases, especially in countries on the periphery of Europe. The United States retained the top ranking in the 2013 GFSI, with some shifts in the Top 10 group resulting in Norway taking the second spot, and France the third.

“Prices for some key food crops, especially grains, spiked last year, raising food costs globally," said Leo Abruzzese, global forecasting director for the Economist Intelligence Unit. “Fortunately, those prices have retreated in the last six months, although they remain higher than they were just a few years ago. The EIU expects the prices of wheat and other grains to fall further during 2013, which is good news for global food security."

The GFSI, developed by the EIU and sponsored by DuPont is intended to deepen the dialogue on food security by examining the core issues of food affordability, availability and quality across a set of 107 developed and developing countries worldwide. The dynamic benchmarking model evaluates 27 qualitative and quantitative indicators which collectively create the conditions for food security in a country.

The 2013 Global Food Security Index builds on the insights from last year’s assessment and includes two new indicators—corruption and urban absorption capacity, and two new countries—Ireland and Singapore.

Key findings from this year’s index include:
Overall average food security remained consistent with last year. No region’s score improved dramatically, but Sub-Saharan Africa showed the biggest gain, climbing by around one point in the index. Last year’s drought in some key growing regions will have reduced food security for a period of time, as grain prices rose, although that trend eased later in the year.

Political conflict reduced food security in troubled countries. Mali, Yemen and Syria recorded some of the biggest declines in the index this year, dropping 14, seven and seven places, respectively. Violent conflict not only reduced political stability but also hurt GDP growth, road infrastructure, access to potable water and the ability of formal grocery sectors to provide food. On the other hand, countries that experienced significant improvements in political stability and democratic rights in the past year, such as Myanmar and Sri Lanka, improved their food security ranking, with Myanmar rising five places and Sri Lanka climbing by four.

Falling national incomes weakened food security in some developed countries. Greece fell the furthest among developed nations, dropping six places as a result of national GDP plummeting by more than 20% since the global recession. Income per person dropped in most advanced economies in the past year, as a result of weak economies. Although this affected food security in these countries, they remain, for the most part, in the top 20% of the index and thus are not in serious danger of food insecurity.
Urbanization helped to improve food security in emerging markets. Sierra Leone ranked at the top of this year’s new urbanization indicator, which measures the capacity of governments to support the food-needs of growing cities. Real GDP in the country grew nearly four times faster than urbanization in the last three years, suggesting the government may have the resources to support newly urban populations, through developments such as urban farming.

Dietary protein consumption increased in 62% of countries in the index. Average daily protein consumption per capita is 1.7 grams greater in this year’s index than it was the year prior. The quantity of protein in the average daily diet improved the most in Myanmar, where the average person is consuming 31% more grams of protein per day than previously.

In June 2011, agriculture ministers from the G-20 countries on June 23 agreed to an action plan aimed at stabilizing food prices and increasing food production that calls for establishing an international information sharing scheme to ensure transparency in agricultural markets.

Sources:

• Economist Intelligence Unit: GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY SHOWS RESILIENCE IN THE FACE OF TESTS

DROUGHT-PROTECTING CHEMICAL DISCOVERED TO PREVENT CROP LOSS

Published in Food Product Design July 2, 1013

Posted in News, Science & Research, Crop, Agriculture, Demographic, Nutrition, Economics, Water,Market Trends, Costs, Fruits / Vegetables, Grains / Pasta / Tuber, Bakery / Cereal

RIVERSIDE, Calif.—A new drought-protecting chemical has been discovered at the University of California, Riverside (UCR)  that has potential for becoming a powerful tool for crop protection, according to new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Plants require water to thrive and with record breaking temperatures that have been hitting the country in the last two years global food prices reached a record high in December 2010.

Land plants have intricate water sensing and drought response systems that are tuned to maximize their fitness in the environment they live in. Plants grown in low-water environments grow slowly in order to save water that is available to them.

"But since farmers have always desired fast-growing varieties, their most valued strains did not always originate from drought-tolerant progenitors," Sean Cutler, an associate professor of plant cell biology and research team leader said. "As a result, we have crops today that perform very well in years of plentiful water but poorly in years with little water. This dilemma has spawned an active hunt for both new drought-tolerant crops and chemicals that farmers might use for improving crop yield under adverse conditions."

During their research, Cutler and his team used Arabidopsis—a model plant—and focused their efforts on tinkering with one of the plant endogenous systems involved in drought responses. Stomatas, tiny pores in leaves, which dynamically open and close to control the amount of water lost to the environment by evaporation close firmly to limit water loss during drought.  A small hormone called abscisic acid (ABA) orchestrates the opening and closing of the pores. Cells throughout the plant produce increasing amounts of ABA as water levels decrease. ABA then moves throughout the plant to signal the stressful conditions and close the stomata. Inside plant cells, ABA does its job by turning on a special class of proteins called receptors.

"If you can control the receptors the way ABA does, then you have a way to control water loss and drought-tolerance," Cutler said. "It has been known for many years that simply spraying ABA on plants improves their water use and stress tolerance, but ABA itself is much too expensive for practical use in the field by farmers."

The chemical quinabactin was discovered and named by Cutler and his team. It is an inexpensive synthetic chemical that mimics a naturally occurring stress hormone in plants and  helps the plant cope with drought conditions. Quinabactin mimics ABA but is simpler to make.

By studying how the new molecule activates the ABA receptors that are involved in drought tolerance, the team also learned more about the underlying control logic of the stress response system and provided new information that can be used for others interested in developing similar molecules,

"This is a competitive arena that includes agrichemical giants who are busily working to bring similar drought-protecting molecules to market, so this is a landmark discovery because quinabactin is the first-in-class synthetic molecule of its kind," Cutler said.

UCR Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) is working with an agricultural leader, Syngenta Biotechnology, Inc., to develop the technology and bring it to the market.

Sources:

• University of California, Riverside: Improving Crop Yields in a World of Extreme Weather Events

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THE “X” FACTOR—CLEAN FOOD LABEL CONSIDERATIONS

THE “X” FACTOR—CLEAN LABEL CONSIDERATIONS

Published in Food Product Design July 1, 2013 by Jeanne Turner

Posted in News, Baby Foods, Beverages, Candy, Claims, Confectionery, Consumer Preference, Country of Origin, Datamonitor, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Food Additive, GMOs, Gums, Healthy Foods, Market Research, Market Trends, Natural, Retail, Xanthan, Gums / Starches

Phoenix, AZ—The clean and natural labeling movement continues to gain traction, not just in the U.S. but globally, with fully 17% of new food and beverage launches around the world now positioned as natural, additive-/preservative-free or both. Innova research indicates clean label product launches in the U.S. from 2007 to 2012 constituted 18% of the market.

Manufacturers should carefully consider market drivers, consumer perception, ingredient choices, and even the legal ramifications of the use of the word ‘natural’ on a label. In a webinar, Natural & Clean Label Trends 2013, presenters discussed research data, trends and warned of potential legal tangles involved in this market opportunity.

Tom Vierhhile, innovation insight director, Datamonitor, London, discussed clean and natural versus organic and consumer opinions about ingredients titles. He said no matter how small a change is instituted, companies manufacturing almost any product type can take advantage of this trend, “even something like clear packaging to show the ingredients a product contains, telegraphs to consumers their products are more wholesome."

Vierhile and other presenters warned attendees that consumers can be skeptical of natural claims and authenticity is one key to success. In addition, Vierhile predicted it is “inevitable" that the U.S. will eventually institute GMO-labeling regulations.

Aaron Edwards, global director of wholesome ingredients, Ingredion, Westchester, IL, shared proprietary research showing 62% of U.S. consumers are reading food label ingredients statements. For global manufacturers Edwards cautioned they be aware of regional differences between markets in different countries as consumers in France will react to different package claims than those in Germany, for example.

A unifying trend overall globally is that market drivers are young mothers, acting as nutritional “gatekeepers" for the family, most specifically concerning foods and beverages purchased for their children. In the baby food category for example, as a country’s economic status improves and purchase power increases, clean label expectations rise.

Companies examining product labels for reformulation were told consumers look for simple ingredients they recognize from their own kitchen and do not like those with “chemical sounding names," or names difficult to pronounce, giving as an example, ingredients that start with the letter ‘x,’ with Edwards saying consumers can find long ingredient titles “scary."

Consumer expectations for clean label do vary depending upon product category with dairy products for example, viewed as inherently healthy and benefiting from a “wellness halo," while carbonated soft drinks are viewed as less healthy. Consumers have lower expectations for natural labeling on products viewed as indulgent, such as soft drinks or confections, because they aren’t considered part of the mainstream diet, however natural and clean labeling is creeping into these product categories.
On the legal side, Rebecca Cross, attorney, BraunHagey & Borden LLP, San Francisco, CA, warned legal firms are filling the vacuum left by the lack of FDA definition for natural. In addition the landscape is muddied as cases are being decided on a state-by-state basis, leading to a “patchwork" of definitions, rather than a national standard.

The major risk lies in frivolous class action lawsuits, with the newest trend—asbestos lawyers putting forth claims that companies are falsely advertising products as “natural." Even when a company might win a lawsuit, associated costs range beyond legal fees into business distractions, brand issues, and exposure to other potential lawsuit claims due to the discovery phase, when legal teams gain access to a broad swathe of business documents. Certain states lead others as hotbeds for litigation with California ahead of the pack, followed by New Jersey and New York.

On a final note presenters said while consumers were initially willing to pay a premium for products with clean and natural labels, although ingredient costs and reformulation might be expensive, today’s consumers expects products to not only have clean labels but is often unwilling to pay a higher price.
The best tactic might involve “shooting for the middle of the bell curve," in terms of balancing natural ingredients while striving to maintain price points.

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CHINA UNDERLINES STABLE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION AMID CHALLENGES

The Chinese government has urged greater effort to ensure the smooth agricultural production needed to sustain growth in the world's second-largest economy, amid multiple events that have pummeled the farming industry.

Published in SIAL GROUP

The Chinese government in May urged greater effort to ensure the smooth agricultural production needed to sustain growth in the world's second-largest economy, amid multiple events that have pummelled the farming industry.

In an executive meeting of the State Council headed by Premier Li Keqiang, the cabinet underlined the importance of agriculture, describing it as the "foundation of the national economy and key insurance of stabilizing growth, controlling inflation and preventing risks."

The rural economy has been running smoothly since early this year, but agricultural production still faces difficulties, according to a statement released after the meeting.

Floods in China's northeast, which is the country's farming heartland, and droughts in the northwest and southwest will hurt output, while falling pig prices, tight supply of beef and mutton, and the outbreak of H7N9 influenza will also weaken the industry.

The 7.0-magnitude quake that hit Lushan County in southwest China's Sichuan Province also dealt a blow to regional agricultural production.

To cope with these challenges, efforts must be made to ensure stable supply and prices, according to the statement.

The meeting stressed the importance of smooth spring farming, encouraging the use of machinery in ploughing to boost output and lay foundations for developing modern agriculture.

The cabinet also pledged to raise the minimum purchase price of corn, and increase pork reserves to prevent steep falls in prices.

Facilities to raise flocks and herds should be standardized and improved. More subsidy funds should be allocated to major producers to boost beef and mutton supplies, it urged.

The government also vowed harsher punishment for fake meat production.

Pork adulterated with clenbuterol or from diseased pigs has been found by police in recent years, with the latest astonishing case involving making fake mutton and beef from rat, fox and mink by adding chemicals like toxic gelatin.

Check out my latest e-book entitled: "Social Media Marketing in Agri-Foods: Endless Profit and Painless Gain".  

The book is available on Amazon and Kindle for $4.99 USD. Visit amazon/Kindle to order now:
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