Archive for category: Beverages & Drinks

New Dietary Guidelines Suggest 20% Reduction in Sugar

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced a drastic cut down on sugar. New dietary guidelines suggest a 20% drop in consumption of sugar-based calories.

The USDA and HHS added yet another diet restriction to the Dietary Guidelines that are renewed every five years. With an aim of reducing obesity and chronic diseases, the new diet rule seeks to limit the amount of sugar Americans have in food and beverages. Studies state that the average American consumes 270 sugar-based calories (or more than 13% of calories) on a daily basis.

Following the guidelines would mean a 60 calories reduction and on a national average, the numbers will go as high as 2.2 tonnes of sugar and corn syrup. Here’s how the implementation of the dietary guidelines will work out.

New Dietary Guidelines for Consumers

USDA Dietary Guidelines 2015 2020 SugarAs a step towards tackling the problem of obesity and health related issues, the 2015-2020 dietary guidelines draw attention to not just sugar, but caloric content of added sweeteners in food and beverage as well. The fitness-oriented consumer has a lot to gain regarding a better handle on diet plans. However, consumers will now have to be extra cautious about their purchases. Although limiting sugar intake helps consumer health goals, reading through product labels will become a challenge to the authenticity of alternatives. Meanwhile, health advocates believe that very few Americans will abide by the dietary guidelines.

 

Impact on Manufacturers

 

Introducing a decline in sugar consumption has a direct link with losses incurred by an entire industry dedicated to food and beverage manufacturers, especially soda and candy brands. On a larger scale, sugar and corn companies are in for a major setback. Manufacturers are beginning to react to the dietary guidelines in their own way. Just recently, The Sugar Association that represents several manufacturing companies dismissed the guidelines claiming that it has its basis in “weak science”. The American Beverage Association has funded multiple initiatives to fight tax and labelling laws. Coca-Cola took a different route and began promoting exercise regimes over diet plans for fitness. On the other hand, companies like Cargill have created low-sugar and non-sugar alternatives.

For the guidelines to be successful, the U.S government will have to conduct a lot more research and bring more awareness of sugar content on food labels.

Inspired by reuters.com

4 “Natural” Foods & Beverages With Artificial Ingredients

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Eating healthy requires you to replace a lot of the unhealthy food you’ve been consuming so far with better, healthier alternatives. Organic, healthy and natural food is in vogue among the health conscious. With all the options out there, deciding what’s best for your diet is a matter of a thorough understanding of the food label. In a market entrenched in the race for fulfilling the demands for natural products, many ingredients are passed off and approved under the guise of “natural”, “pure” and “organic”.

In a recent survey by Consumer Reports, they found that over 66% of people believe that “natural” food should contain no artificial ingredients. Below are four examples of natural food and beverages that contain artificial ingredients. To see all of the natural products with artificial ingredients, see the article by Consumer Reports, here.

Natural Fruit Cups

Del Monte claims that their fruit cups are filled with real fruit. However, the products are artificially sweetened. The fruit cups also contain artificial preservatives like potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate.

All Natural Sweet Potato Fries

Con Agra’s Alexia sweet potato fries have large quantities of xantham gum, an ingredient used as thickening agent. The company claimed that their products have been inspected by the FDA and are compliant with the regulations.

Consumers shouldn’t be in a hurry to swap their kitchen cabinet essentials for natural food products just yet. A smarter reading of pack labels will help you make better food choices.

Smithfield’s Cold Cuts

Cold cuts are an essential in most households. Companies like Smithfield, claim that their product Krakus Polish sliced ham contain all-natural juices. But, a reading of the ingredients reveals, at least, five artificial ingredients. Most cold cuts of meat and poultry contain chemicals like sodium nitrate as well.

Smucker’s Bottled Beverages

A majority of the fruit juices available in stores have tiny amounts of real fruit content. Artificial ingredients are used to enhance the color and texture of the juice these include preservatives, high fructose corn syrup, corn starch and artificial colors. The same goes for other aerated and bottled drinks. J.M Smucker’s Natural Brew Draft Rootbeer contains caramel color. The company claims that the color is derived from burnt sugar and yucca extract.

See the article by Consumer Reports with all of the natural products with artificial ingredients, here.

Post Inspired by usatoday.com

 

Synthetic Nutrients are Artificial Ingredients

artificial ingredients synthetic nutrients nutrifusion solution

Shouldn’t your nutrients be “natural” too? How is it 2016 and we are still fortifying our food with synthetic vitamins and minerals? It’s been impossible to add natural nutrients from fruits and vegetables to processed food due to the heat intensity of modern-day food processing. Now food companies have the opportunity to add these essential micronutrients to their products with NutriFusion. Our patent-pending process keeps the phytonutrients, vitamins, and minerals in fruits and vegetables stable through both intensive heating and cooling. To learn more about NutriFusion for your products, visit your industry below.

Clean Food Labels Are More Important Than Ever

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Americans are becoming more cautious about what they eat. According to a recent consumer study, 64% of Americans check the ingredients of food items that they purchase as compared to only 53 percent of Europeans. The research was done by research company GNT Group with Fooddive.com noting the study. This is a noticeable increase in the number of Americans reading food labels when compared to a study that was reported five years ago in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. The study concluded that around 51.6 percent of Americans have their eyes on food labels before they even make a purchase.

“The study’s result clearly shows that natural ingredients have become more important all around the globe. Many manufacturers already comply with consumers’ wishes by, for example, using coloring foods exclusively made from natural raw materials and clearly indicating that on the label. This development will continue to gather momentum in the upcoming years.” -Hendrick Hoeck, GNT Group Managing Director

Simple Ingredients and Clean Food Labels

This new clean label development is noticeable in supermarket food aisles. It is evident from the iconic blue box for Kraft Dinner mac n cheese to the cheery Lucky Charms which have been reported to be manufactured soon without any artificial ingredients. Americans have indeed made a turn for the better when it comes to healthier food choices. Of course, a healthy diet is just one part of becoming healthy. A person who wishes to attain good health must also practice an active lifestyle and should make efforts to exercise daily to reduce stress in their lives.

The study also points out that consumers are not just looking for healthy food, but they want easy to understand food labels and nutrient information. Consumers are also choosing foods that are natural which means no additives, artificial coloring, artificial preservative, and chemical ingredients. By choosing natural and preservative-free food, consumers can guarantee a better quality diet. Chemicals in food are known to cause cancer, allergies, and chronic illnesses. Therefore, extra effort should be used to find healthy and natural foods in the packaged food aisles. Checking for clean food labels will give consumers more power in choosing the best food items for their family and it will also increase the value of their money spent on groceries.

Inspired by fooddive.com

Add NutriFusion for Plant-Based Nutrients and Clean Food Labels

The United States is experiencing an extreme nutritional deficiency amongst its people. The majority of nutrients we consume on a daily basis are developed in a lab with synthetic chemicals. NutriFusion saw this problem and developed a breakthrough innovation for food and beverage manufacturers. Our patent pending method stabilizes vitamins and minerals in whole fruits and vegetables so that they can easily be added to many of our favorite packaged foods. Our ingredients are simple and easy to understand. Consumers immediately know that their nutrients are naturally sourced from fruits and vegetables. We believe our ingredient is essential to processed food over the next twenty years. Americans are not going to start eating fruits and vegetables overnight, so the least we can do is pack their favorite snacks and packaged foods with natural nutrition. If you are interested in learning more about NutriFusion, please visit your respective category.

Health and Wellness Influencing Food Decisions

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Taste, price and convenience are no longer the main factors that help consumers decide which food and beverage to buy. According to a study by Deloitte, Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) called “Capitalizing on the Shifting Consumer Food Value Equation,” about half of the surveyed Americans considered health and wellness, safety, social impact, experience and transparency as “evolving drivers.” These new drivers are examined in addition to traditional factors such as taste, price and convenience. The study also revealed that these new “evolving drivers” play into food decisions regardless of the respondents’ demographics.

 

No Artificial Ingredients & Clear Labels Connect Health to Food Safety

Americans are no longer connecting food safety according to only near-term risks to health. Around 74 percent of respondents agreed that food safety should not just be limited to food that can cause immediate harm. Health, wellness, and transparency are all connected to safety which is why food factors including freedom from dangerous ingredients, having clear and accurately made product labels, and the use of non-artificial ingredients should be utilized in describing packaged, processed foods.

“Food retailers are inherently ‘shopper advocates’ and they respect that their customers want both genuine and transparent shopping experiences. Our study sheds light on how companies can better understand the intersection of these new consumer food values and their own growth strategies.” – Mark Baum, Chief Collaboration Officer @ FMI

More Key Insights on Future Food Decisions

Furthermore, the study also addresses several important points regarding the shifting value equation for the industry. According to the results of the survey, the following affect consumer values and food decisions as well.

  • Preferences and tastes of food will continue to fragment
  • Retailers have a unique ability to influence consumers’ decisions
  • New and smaller companies will use new technologies, third-party affiliations, and increase engagement to gain trust.
  • Larger companies in the industry will do all they can to use new, unique value propositions; and market success will be affected by present competitive advantages.

“Today’s consumers have a higher thirst for knowledge than previous generations and they are putting the assessment of that information into their value equation. There is no doubt that the consumer value equation has changed – as taste, price and convenience are now only the foundation with the need to leverage the emerging value drivers. Brands that win with consumers will likely be those that provide the information they seek, well beyond what is on the label.” – Jim Flannery, SVP of Operations & Industry Collaboration @ GMA

Inspired by prnewswire.com

NutriFusion® is Here to Help

Consumer values have been changing over the past ten years, and many companies have tried to seize the opportunity.  Some companies have done an excellent job of creating healthier products, and others have suffered the fate of misleading consumers with health and wellness claims. It’s time to start taking these demands seriously and match your R&D efforts with the value of the future consumer. People have finally connected their health and wellness to food safety. How will you reinvent your products without artificial ingredients and clean labels to enable the consumer to make smart food decisions?

NutriFusion vegetable powder in a clear measuring cup set in a tray of finely ground yellow powder.

We would like to think that NutriFusion® could be the answer for some of your new products. Instead of fortifying  your packaged foods with synthetic vitamins, you should try our GrandFusion powders. We create non-GMO nutrients from whole fruits and vegetables. So why doesn’t everyone do this? It’s a difficult process and we have made huge advances in our nutrient stabilization method over the past 3 years. NutriFusion® will give you the ability to clean up your ingredient deck and make powerful claims about where your nutrients come from. If you are interested in learning more, please visit your respective category below.

Hershey Invests in Healthy, Nutritious Snacks in 2016

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Just the name Hershey may make you think about something really sweet. Right now you may be thinking of peanut butter cups, chocolate bars, and small kisses candies. But did you know the company is launching their new, healthy and nutritious product line this year?

Hershey is now expanding with healthy products that target nutrition savvy customers. Their newest SoFit brand is all about fruit and protein squeezes, nuts and seeds packets, and snack squares which are now available at Amazon.com. The nutritious snacks are a part of Hershey’s newly launched Brookside fruit and nut bar line and Krave, a jerky company which Hershey acquired in 2015. Marcel Nahm, vice president of Hershey’s snack division, revealed to Business Insider, “We understand that consumers’ relationship with food is changing.” He said, “Consumers are more than ever interested in knowing what they put into their body, where does it come from, how does it get there… Consumers want more and more choices.”

Nutritious Snacks Trending Amongst Competition

But Hershey is not the only company that’s turning to the healthy snack division. CVS has recently launched a protein smoothie and chia seeds line. It has also placed its Golden Emblem Abound “better for you” brand. Oreo and Cadbury’s Mondelez announced last year that it is developing a new healthy food line over the next five years. Hershey is not fazed at all. It believes that its long history in the confectionary industry has made it a strong contender than any other brand in the market. Nahm also mentioned that consumers also feel frustrated that they only have snack bars that have amazing nutrition profile but taste like cardboard.

 

Nahm believes that Hershey understands the value of flavor more than anyone else. The company has strong experience as well as resources for marketing new products making them more able to strike deals with retailers. Hershey’s VP is also confident that SoFit and Brookside’s snack approach to health will attract more customers as compared to addressing the needs of health-obsessed consumers. He says that Hershey’s will be between “health master” and “family pleaser.” Family-pleasing, less-healthy snack options from Hershey include Snack Mix and Reese’s Spreads Snacksters. Finally, Nahm said that consumers may see themselves as a short series of pluses or minuses when it comes to nutrition. They would identify foods such as pumpkin seeds and fruits as pluses while a donut or a chocolate bar would be minuses. As Hershey may have fallen into the minuses category over the years, it is now planning to promote pluses through their healthy snack line.

Inspired by businessinsider.com

Create More Nutritious Snacks With NutriFusion®

So many health aficionados will argue that we need to drop processed and packaged foods all together, but that’s really impossible at this point in our food system. Rather than eliminating these foods, we need to focus on improving their ingredients and making them “better for you”. That’s why we developed NutriFusion. We agree that the food system is broken and we need to start eating fresh foods like fruits and vegetables. But that’s not going to happen overnight and we need a solution now. With our ingredients, snack companies are able to all natural nutrients and vitamins from fruits and vegetables. Our products are completely processing stable meaning our nutrients can withstand the high heating and cooling of modern day processing. If you ar interested in learning more, please visit the consumer packaged food page to learn more.

Food is not Healthy, it’s Nutritious

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Will we be able to eat healthy food? According to Harry Balzer, an NPD Group analyst, “Never, because the moment something becomes popular, someone will find a reason why it’s not healthy.” But what is healthy food really about? We attribute healthy to foods such as kale while we think of a Big Mac as something that is not. But the thing is, kale salads are not really healthy but they are nutritious. When prepared well, a kale salad would also taste delicious. Describing it as healthy is simply beyond words. If you were to eat kale only then you would become sick.

 

 “Healthy is a bankrupt word.Our food isn’t healthy. We are healthy. Our food is nutritious. I’m all about the words. Words are the key to giving people the tools they need to figure out what to eat. Everyone is so confused.” – Roxanne Sukol, preventive medicine specialist at Cleveland Clinic and medical director of the center’s Wellness Enterprise

Words Matter…Food is Nutritious

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Technically the food we eat is not healthy; we will be healthy if we eat nutritious food. And healthy is not the only misleading word widely used in packaged and processed food products. Take the word protein. Protein is definitely good for the body since it’s needed for building strong muscles and other important bodily functions. We have grown fond of protein and now consume it at an extraordinary rate compared to our ancestors. But take eating pork cracklings, which is all protein, gets frowned upon because we believe this food has huge fat content. It is made of pork skin which is made of protein under a layer of fat. When pig skin is fried, fat is rendered and the remaining connective tissue pops. Pork skin may actually be an ideal protein snack to get you throughout the day.

Another word is “refined” which is commonly added to wheat which has been stripped of the bran, the germ, and all the impurities removed as well resulting in a pure starch. Refined wheat is technically devoid of all oils, iron and vitamins that make wheat nutritious. Sukol said, “Flour stripped of the nutrition that makes it valuable to our bodies but reduces shelf life. Food manufacturers, therefore,“enrich” it. Food companies add the iron that was removed from the refining process, but not enough of what we need. Sukol also said that these additions along with the lack of fiber take a toll on our metabolic systems resulting in diabetes and metabolic syndromes.

Food is either nutritious or not and we are healthy or not. It’s a guarantee though that if we eat food that is nutritious, we will be able to improve our health.

Inspired by washingtonpost.com

Consumers Want Transparency in Nutrition Labels

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Consumer awareness is increasing; they are now making demands that have never been seen in the food and beverage industry. Accessibility to information is driving this move as customers are now aware of how different ingredients affect their health. They are avoiding foods that can cause harm to their bodies as well as the environment. Consumer food companies must take action and provide more transparency in the nutrition labels on their products.

 

The Future of Nutrition Labels

Trends in consumer preferences were captured in a recent research study by Packaged Facts, “Nutritional Labeling and Clean Labels“. The study found that 87 percent of the customers reported looking at nutrition labels and a significant number of Americans actively seek out nutritional guidelines and information.

The study also found out that 67 percent of American consumers preferred to buy groceries which have simple and few ingredients. Almost the same percentage reported taking the ingredient statement into consideration when they are making decisions to purchase packaged food and beverages.

Clean Label Trend Promotes Product Overhaul

The FDA requires that companies who are manufacturing food and beverages to provide nutrition facts and labels. The companies are going a step further, prompted by the consumer trends; they are developing entirely new products which do not have artificial ingredients and food colors. They are now making products that are safe for consumers and provide information on the nutrition label, which will help them identify safe foods and beverages. The trends are pointing to the following: customers will see GMO ingredients off the shelves, and artificial colors and ingredients will no longer be part of traditional products. In the food world, the consumer is the CEO, and the trends dictate that food businesses will have to adapt to survive.

From Kraft Food Group to Nestle USA, the big players in the food and beverages industry are overhauling their production. Nestle USA made an announcement that they would stop the use of artificial flavors and colors in their chocolate candies. Tyson Foods is expected to eliminate the use of antibiotics on their poultry by late next year. Kraft Food Group just like Nestle USA plans to stop using artificial preservatives and colors in their products. Another company that has followed suit is Hershey; the company plans to give customers easy and simple ingredients statement, this will help the customers make easier and healthier decisions in the store.

Inspired by cspnet.com

Simple Ingredients is the Key to Clean Labels

Food companies are in desperation mode to find simple ingredients that make their products healthier while not impacting the taste. Many have chosen to fortify their products with synthetic vitamins, but is that the answer? No, we need vitamins and essential phytonutrients from food based sources like fruits and vegetables.

Millennials Enjoy Energy Drinks Even With Safety Concerns

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Over and over, concerns have been raised by the consumption of some of the ingredients in energy drinks and shots. From these concerns, we would expect the use of these products to go down as people strive to have a healthy lifestyle, but this is far from the reality. The consumption of energy drinks and shots have been on the rise. In America, it is expected that their consumption will continue to increase, especially among the millennials. A new report indicates that millennial consumption of energy drinks increased to 61% in a period of one year, this was a 6 % rise from the figures recorded in 2014. This is despite the fact that the Millennials express their reservations and concerns for energy drinks. 

Energy Drinks Need Warnings & Better Labeling

A significant percentage of energy drink consumers feel that manufacturers should provide more information to help the users make an informed decision. Customers are asking manufacturers to include details on the healthy amount that should be consumed on a daily basis. The labeling will help consumers avoid a situation where they drink more than is necessary. 

Consumer Behavior Explained

Energy drink consumers are aware of the dangers they put themselves in from consuming energy drinks, but surprisingly this does not stop them from consuming the products. Lifestyle changes have been partially blamed for the increased consumption. Older millennials are experiencing new situations like getting married or having kids that require more energy; this makes them resort to energy drinks to supplement those increased energy requirements. These same people display brand loyalty and have a potential of using the drinks for a longer period compared to other groups.

It is widely agreed and known that some of the ingredients used in making energy drinks are not healthy, but this seems to be a small concern to the majority of the consumers. They continue to take the drinks despite the concerns… With this kind of situation, it will take more than safety warnings to help people in making informed decisions about how they can lead a healthy lifestyle.

Inspired by mintel.com

Create Cleaner Labels with Simpler Ingredients

Energy drink manufacturers are going to be affected by the growing health and nutrition trend in the United States. The data from Mintel may indicate that millennials still enjoy energy drinks, but that trend is set to change. Consumers are demanding food and beverage products to use simpler ingredients and cleaner labels.

It’s time to experience NutriFusion®. Our GrandFusion blends are made from non-GMO fruits and vegetables to help processors use simpler ingredients to enhance the nutrition of their products. We patented a method for nutrient stabilization so that our ingredients can withstand the intensity of heating and cooling in modern day processing. If your brand is interested in learning more about our products, please visit our beverages page.