EUROZONE GDP GROWTH ALERT

Eurozone GDP growth picks up pace to 0.3%

France, Italy make surprising showing as EU recovers

The Associated Press Posted: Feb 14, 2014 1:36 PM ET Last Updated: Feb 14, 2014 1:36 PM ET

A Dior perfume worker seals a flagon of scent at the Dior fashion house in Paris in June 2013. France made surprising economic growth of 0.3 per cent in the final quarter of the year. (Remy de la Mauviniere/Associated Press)

Economic growth across the eurozone was stronger than expected at the end of 2013, according to official figures released Friday, raising hopes the recovery is gaining a foothold.

Gross domestic product grew by 0.3 per cent in the October-December period from the previous quarter, said Eurostat, the European Union's statistics office. That amounts to an annualized rate of about 1.2 per cent.

In the third quarter, growth was only 0.1 per cent across the bloc, which counted 17 members before Latvia joined this year.

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"While still far from dynamic, it is a step back in the right direction," said analyst Howard Archer of IHS Global Insight.

The eurozone's recovery is important to the world economy as Europeans are big buyers of goods from the United States and Asia. Canada recently signed a trade deal with the EU.

Uncertainty over the bloc's financial future in recent years weighed on global growth.

Emerged from recession in 2013

The eurozone came out of recession at the beginning of 2013 as it started emerging from a five-year financial crisis, but continues to suffer from high unemployment of 12 per cent. A strong euro is still hurting its exporters and governments are more focused on cutting debt than investing.

The fourth quarter growth — the third consecutive quarter of expansion — beat analysts' expectations for a rate of 0.2 per cent and eases some of the pressure on the European Central Bank to loosen its monetary policy further. Some analysts, however, still think the ECB to take action in coming months to keep inflation from falling further below its target.

The growth uptick was largely driven by higher than expected activity in the bloc's biggest economies, namely Germany, France and Italy.

Analyst Chris Williamson of Markit said the figures added to recent data showing "the eurozone's recovery has moved up a gear."

Signs of life in Italy

Italy's quarterly growth rate of 0.1 per cent marked the country's first positive growth result since 2011. The stock market in Milan opened higher on the news, even though the country's Prime Minister, Enrico Letta, resigned yesterday.

Germany's economy, considered Europe's strongest, grew by 0.4 per cent in the fourth quarter, while France's saw an uptick of 0.3 per cent.

Growth in the Netherlands was a strong 0.7 per cent, and the economies in crisis-hit countries like Spain and Portugal also showed new signs of life, growing by 0.3 per cent and 0.4 per cent.

"Not only has the pace of growth picked up to the fastest since the second quarter of 2011, but the recovery is also becoming more broad-based, encompassing core and so-called 'periphery' countries alike," said Markit's Williamson.

The figures also showed the economy of the wider 28-nation EU, which includes members like Britain that don't use the euro, grew by 0.4 per cent compared with the previous quarter.

For the whole of 2013, the figures showed the recovery was still at an early stage. The eurozone's GDP fell 0.4 per cent, while the EU's inched up 0.1 per cent.

Analysts are still concerned about job growth, with unemployment extremely high in some countries, and about the lack of consumer or household spending that could help power further economic expansion.

© The Associated Press, 2014 

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This year's 6 top healthy food trends

This year's 6 top healthy food trends

Find out which top food and health trends are already grabbing headlines in 2014.

Food trends, like fashion, come and go. But healthy foods are always a good bet—trendy or not. EatingWell’s editors have their ears to the ground and their taste buds on alert for the latest in smart eating choices. Here are the healthy food trends that are sure to be winners: they’re delicious and good for you too!

—Jessie Price, Editor-in-Chief, EatingWell magazine

Clean eating is the new buzzword for healthy

Interest in healthy eating continues to surge and leading the way is the craze for everything “clean.” What’s clean eating all about? It means eating more vegetables, less meat, less sodium, watching your alcohol, limiting processed foods and choosing whole grains. In other words: it’s basic, common sense, good, healthy eating!

Trash fish is the new sustainable seafood

What happens to all those fish that get caught up in fishermen’s nets but aren’t the popular fish, like cod, halibut or salmon, that people want to eat? They’re thrown back or turned into fertilizer. This year some of those underappreciated species, such as wolf eel and sea robin, will be given some well-deserved love. Chefs around the country are hosting delicious “trash-fish dinners” to showcase just how delectable these fish can be. The aim: to get Americans eating a wider range of seafood and to protect the overall balance of fish populations in our oceans.

Cauliflower is the new 'it' vegetable

Sure, kale chips are still everywhere you turn, but cauliflower is the up-and-coming darling vegetable of the moment. And for good reason—it’s loaded with nutrients and can do all sorts of culinary tricks, from standing in for starchier, higher-calorie potatoes in dishes to turning a soup creamy and rich without any cream.

Say hello to quinoa’s little cousin, kaniwa!

When quinoa shows up in the grocery aisle in little boxes with a variety of seasoning blends right next to the Rice-A-Roni, you know it’s gone mainstream. What’s next? Baby quinoa, called kaniwa, which is similar to quinoa but smaller. It’s also from the Andes, cooks quickly and is high in protein. Look for it at natural-foods stores or buy it online.

The ancient craft of fermentation is hot again

Fermentation harnesses the power of microbes to transform the flavors and textures of food—like milk into creamy yogurt, cabbage into sauerkraut and tea into bubbly kombucha. Signs of the fermentation craze are everywhere: fermentation guru Sandor Katz’s latest book, The Art of Fermentation, won a James Beard Award this year; mobile kombucha brewing stands are bubbling up at farmers’ markets; and rows of small-batch artisanal sauerkrauts are filling shelves at the local supermarket.

Community-supported foods explode

By now, the trend of farms operating with the help of a community that supports the risks and rewards through a membership—a.k.a. community-supported agriculture (CSA) shares—is well documented and much loved. But new up-and-coming community-supported food businesses are launching left and right, with new offerings like weekly shares of bread, cheese and fish.

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FOOD TRENDS: Organic food back in vogue as sales increase

Organic food back in vogue as sales increase

Shoppers are now more concerned with the quality of what they eat, say retailers

• Jamie Doward
• The Observer, Saturday 8 February 2014 16.15 GMT
• 
  

After years of falling sales, organic food is making a comeback.Supermarkets and food associations say that after a sustained decline, demand for organic fruit, vegetables and dairy produce is on the rise, as consumers become more willing to pay a premium for food produced to higher farming standards.

Experts say that better product availability is helping to drive growth. A powerful organic marketing campaign, set up by growers and retailers, has also played a part. "Early indications show positive growth in the organic market in 2013, after around four years of decline – showing strong appetite among consumers for the environmental, animal welfare and health benefits of organic produce," said Bob Sexton, chief executive of certification at the Soil Association.

"Not only is the sector back in growth, but businesses that carry the Soil Association organic logo are experiencing relatively buoyant year-on-year growth of 5.3%. There is great potential in the organic sector and, in particular, a growing public demand for organic and food logos that they can trust."

Sexton said growth was led by dairy products, which are outperforming sales in the non-organic dairy sector. "Organic sales account for 5%, 7% and 5.3% respectively of all milk, yoghurt and eggs," he said. Organic baby food still makes up more than 54% of all baby-food purchases."

Latest growth figures from retail analysts Nielsen indicate that overall organic sales grew by just over 1% last year, valuing the UK organic market at £1.24bn.

Abel & Cole, the organic food supplier that came close to collapse when recession struck, released results last week showing it has emerged from huge debts to record a rise in turnover. Sales rose to £38m in the eight months to May 2013, a 24 per cent increase on the same period a year before.

Tesco reports sales of organic bananas are up 60%, while sales of other fruits, such as grapes and apples, have also shown double-digit growth. It says organic dairy products are enjoying a boom. Sales of organic feta cheese, for example, are up 95% at Tesco, while those of organic mature cheddar are up 45%. Organic whole milk sales are up 40% with semi-skimmed up 25%.

During the recession, price-conscious consumers switched from organic food as they sought to cut spending on groceries. But more competition in the organic market appears to be helping keep a lid on prices. Tesco's organic buyer, Harriet Turnbull, said supermarkets were finding it difficult to source organic products to meet demand.

"As the popularity of organic food increases, the more we are able to support our growers and suppliers by investing in research to offer shoppers even better-tasting produce."

Declining sales led to the creation in 2008 of the Organic Trade Board, a non-profit organisation of more than 120 producers and retailers, to promote the sector. "Rising interest in the quality of food, where it comes from, availability and an improving economy are major factors in the growth of organic," said Paul Moore, its chairman.

"In addition, we are better at explaining organic benefits to consumers. This has all helped deliver the growth we are seeing now." The Soil Association is due to release a report soon that will confirm that organic came back into vogue with consumers in 2013. During last year's month-long "organic September" promotion, there was a 9% increase in sales.

Sales of organic food declined by 12% in 2010 and have been falling since. Growing consumer interest in how food is produced is being partly put down to recent food scares. It was reported yesterday that the results of 900 sample tests by councils in West Yorkshire found 38% of foods were mislabelled or not what they claimed to be.

"In February 2013, immediately after the revelations about horse meat, total supermarket organic sales increased to their highest level in nine months, indicating a growing desire among consumers for food that they can trust," Sexton said.

"Our own research later in the year backed this up, with consumers telling us they wanted to know where their food was coming from. Organic food offers consumers a very high standard of product integrity, as well as the use of fewer pesticides, and better animal welfare."

Independent and online retailers are also driving the organic renaissance. Home delivery box schemes are proving increasingly popular.

Shifting demographics are also a factor. Under-35s have significantly increased their spending on organics.

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FDA SEEKS PUBLIC COMMENT ON HIGH-RISK FOODS.

Published February 10, 2014 in Food Product Design

Posted in News, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Regulatory, Food Safety, Food Safety Modernization Act, Bacteria, Microbial

Check out my new e-book entitled: Social Media Marketing in Agri-foods - Endless Profit and Painless GainWASHINGTON—The Food Safety Modernization Act requires the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to designate high-risk foods for recordkeeping purposes in an effort to swiftly trace such foods during an outbreak of foodborne illness.

Although FDA hasn't yet designated high-risk foods, it published a notice last week to present its draft methodological approach to doing so.

FDA said it plans to publish a list of high-risk foods before or at the same time it issues a proposed rule to establish recordkeeping requirements for such foods.

The methodological approach doesn't identify specific foods or hazards. Rather, it is based on an evaluation of chemical and microbial hazards combined

FDA specifies that it must base the designation of high-risk foods on the following:

(1) known safety risks of a particular food, including the history and severity of foodborne illness outbreaks attributed to such food, taking into consideration foodborne illness data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;
(2) likelihood that a particular food has a high potential risk for microbiological or chemical contamination or would support the growth of pathogenic microorganisms due to the nature of the food or the processes used to produce such food;
(3) point in the manufacturing process of the food where contamination is most likely to occur;
(4) likelihood of contamination and steps taken during the manufacturing process to reduce the possibility of contamination;
(5) likelihood that consuming a particular food will result in a foodborne illness due to contamination of the food; and
(6) likely or known severity, including health and economic impacts, of a foodborne illness attributed to a particular food.

"Inclusion on the high-risk food list would be based on the total risk score for foods or food categories," FDA explained.

FDA is seeking public comment and scientific data on alternative approaches for identifying high-risk foods, whether or not certain criteria should be weighted equally, changes in the scoring system and how the agency should categorize foods. Comments can be submitted through April 7, 2014.

Among some of the other information FDA is requesting: a list of pathogens and chemical contaminants that are likely to be found in food, the levels of contaminants in food, the point at which contaminants are likely be introduced and typical steps and control measures taken in the manufacturing process to reduce the possibility of contamination.

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FOOD SAFETY: Japanese executives resign over deliberate malathion food poisoning

Japanese executives resign over deliberate malathion food poisoning

Published in Red24Assist 

On the 2 January 2014, Tokyo-based Maruha Nichiro Holdings Inc. began recalling some 6.4 million packages of frozen food ranging from croquettes to pizza following customer complaints of a foul odour emitting from the opened packages and well over 350 cases of severe illness associated with eating the affected products were reported. The food subject to the recall was

reportedly made at a factory of subsidiary Aqlifoods Co. in Gunma Prefecture and the matter subsequently prompted a major police investigation after malathion (pesticide) at 2.6 million times the permitted levels was found in the frozen croquettes. 

Police in Japan began questioning over 300 employees of the packaged-food maker after prefectural health officials could find no evidence of contamination during production at the facility and a deliberate attempt to contaminate the products was suspected since the pesticide is not used in the regular manufacturing process. Ichiro Gohara, a spokesman for the company stated that “We test products several times a day for evidence of spoilage, based on the law, but we had no reason to believe pesticides would be present, so we didn’t test for that.”

Additional laboratory tests later revealed that malathion was found in nine frozen food products

distributed in six prefectures and that residual levels of the chemical were high enough to sicken a child who had consumed just one-eighth of a croquette.

Malathion, a colourless to amber liquid with a musky or garlic-like smell and was registered as an agricultural chemical in 1953 with the US Environmental Protection Agency for use on food, feed and ornamental crops according to the US National Pesticide Information Centre. It is a relatively mild poison but while the case count rose to a staggering 2,800 illnesses and the source of the contamination eluded police, Maruha Nichiro recalled all products shipped from the plant and then suspended all further operations. 

Masako Mori, Japanese state minister for consumer affairs and food safety summoned senior officials of Maruha Nichiro Holdings to the Consumer Affairs Agency to request an improved level of consumer services after it was revealed that Maruha Nichiro had only managed to recover 1.11 million of the recalled 6.4 million products by mid-January. Mori further criticized the company for being too slow in handling aspects of the issue, such as publicising relevant information and responding to the consumers’ inquiries.

On the 22 January police arrested 49 year old Toshiki Abe, a factory worker at the plant identified as the lead suspect, who has since denied all charges. Abe was previously suspected of attempting to poison food four times in October last year and Kyodo News service reported that malathion was found in his possession at the time of his arrest.

On the 26 January, what appears to be an intentional act aside, Maruha Nichiro announced executive pay cuts and said that President Toshio Kushiro and the president of the subsidiary would be resigning in March to take responsibility for the food poisoning. The Tokyo-based manufacturer has repeatedly apologized and bought full-page ads in major newspapers to warn people not to eat any of the possibly tainted food. No life threatening illnesses stemming from the incident have been reported, but public trust in the company’s food safety has been severely shaken.

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BAKERY INSIGHTS: 42% OF GLOBAL BREAD LAUNCHES TOUT HEALTH CLAIMS

42% OF GLOBAL BREAD LAUNCHES TOUT HEALTH CLAIMS

Published February 10, 2014 in Food Product Design

Posted in News, Market Research, Market Trends, Bakery / Cereal, Bakery, Bread, Health Claims,International, Fiber, Grains / Pasta / Tuber, Ancient Grain, Whole Grain, Vitamins / Minerals, Fortification,Nutraceuticals, Omega-3s, Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA), Fatty Acids, Fats/Oils, Healthy, Healthy Foods,Functional Foods, Organic, Natural, Heart Health, Digestive Health, Calcium, Gluten, Proteins

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DUIVEN, The Netherlands—New bread products continued to hit the global market in 2013, with 42% of the new launches making some type of health claim, according to new market data from Innova Market Insights. In fact, new breads with health claims rose 75% in the United States and Australia and 70% in Latin America, but fell to less than 30% in the non-traditional bread markets in Asia.

According to Lu Ann Williams, director of innovation at Innova Market Insights, the functional bread sector has generally seen much lower levels of new product and promotional activity over the past few years because of the growing influence of health claims regulations, particularly in the European Union and North America. She noted that interest in healthier options has not reduced, but the positioning of bread has changed to focus more on a generally healthy and nutritious image rather than making specific claims.

Health claims and positioning are divided into two types—passive (low and light, organic, gluten-free, etc.) and active, which involve the addition of particular ingredients, such as calcium, protein, fiber, etc., or the promotion of specific benefits like heart health or digestive health.

Globally, passive claims dominated in the bread market, with more than 40% of launches using them in 2013, compared with just 5% using active claims of some kind. The numbers vary regionally, with more than 11% of launches using active claims in the United States, compared with 6% in Asia and 3% in Europe.

The most popular health claims in the bread market overall referred to naturalness, with one-fifth of 2013 launches using one or more claims relating to naturalness, an additive- or preservative-free formulation or an organic positioning. Nearly 17% used either high-in-/source-of-fiber claims or a whole-grain positioning. In terms of active health claims, usage was much lower, with the most frequently used being vitamin and mineral fortification, featuring on 1.5% of launches, ahead of omega-3/DHA fortification and heart health, with about 1% each.

The United States had an even higher level of interest, with more than one-third of tracked launches used claims relating to naturalness and a similar percentage utilized fiber/whole-grain claims. U.S. consumers continue to focus on healthier breads, fortified with healthful ingredients or featuring reduced levels of sodium, sugar and fat. Whole-grain products have continued to grow in popularity and the use of ancient grains is also continuing to increase.

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HEALTH ALERT: HEALTH CANADA ACCEPTS FLAXSEED HEALTH CLAIM

HEALTH CANADA ACCEPTS FLAXSEED HEALTH CLAIM

Published February 5, 2014 in Food Product Design

Posted in News, Flax, Nuts and Seeds, Cholesterol, Heart Health, Healthy, Healthy Foods, Nutrition, Diet,Fats/Oils, Fatty Acids, Omega-3s, Fiber, Label Claims, Labeling, International, Regulatory, Bakery / Cereal, Bakery, Cereal, Cookies, Snack Foods, Cardiovascular

WINNIPEG, Manitoba—Health Canada recently accepted the Flax Council of Canada's health claim linking ground whole flaxseed to cholesterol lowering, a major risk factor for heart disease.

“Now food manufacturers will be able to clearly state on labels the relationship between flax consumption and a reduction of cholesterol. This health claim will help encourage the development  and demand for products containing flax," said Eric Fridfinnson, board chair, Manitoba Flax Growers Association.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada provided guidance on the science and the regulatory pathway to substantiate the ability of flax to lower blood cholesterol—the daily consumption of five tablespoons (40 grams) of ground flaxseed can help reduce cholesterol levels.

Flax contains omega-3 fatty acids, fiber and other nutritional benefits, and is available as whole seed and ground whole seed. Grinding or milling the seeds makes the nutrients more available. Flaxseed can be incorporated into many foods, including muffins, cookies, snack foods and casseroles.

“This is a proud achievement as Canada is the first country in the world to allow a health-related claim for flaxseed for use on food labels. This claim is one of only a dozen deemed to meet the rigorous scientific criteria established by Health Canada," said William Hill, president, Flax Council of Canada.
In recent research, flaxseed was also shown to lower blood pressure. Adding flaxseed to the diet of patients with hypertension helped significantly lower blood pressure and reduced their incidence of heart attack and stroke by 50%

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