Absolut tests its metal on berries

The Absolut Spirits Companyhas launched Danzka Cranberyraz Vodka, said to be the first flavoured vodka to combine the naturally sweet taste of wild raspberry with a hint of slightly tart cranberry. Danzka Cranberyraz Vodka joins the brand's other unique flavours of citrus and grapefruit, all offered in a signature metal bottle that is made to chill vodka at optimal temperatures.

According to an independent research institute quoted by the firm, the aluminum bottle chills the contents 50 minutes faster than vodka in glass packaging and will stay cold 50 minutes longer.

Pharma firms drive obesity hysteria – claim
Birds Eye cuts carbs to 17 per serving 
Refillables gain ground in Germany
Some winners, some losers
Scientists discover protein fat regulator
Better aim, fewer failures is target
US opens, Europe hides GM field sites

Briefly

Graham Packaging plans to open a new through-the-wall plastic bottle plant near Hazleton, Pennsylvania, next door to a Dial Corporation factory. The 205,000-square-foot plant will open on 1 September making PET (polyethylene terephthalate) and HDPE (high-density polyethylene) bottles.

BOC has installed a third Cryomaster 2100 cryogenic freezing tunnel at the Somerset, UK-based factory of Markus Products - manufacturers of garlic and savoury butters, flavoured spreads and oils.

Dr Pepper/Seven Up says it plans to introduce 7 UP PLUS, a carbonated beverage fortified with calcium, vitamin C, real fruit juice and sweetened with Splenda. This is the first fortified carbonated beverage from a major brand and represents a new category for carbonated beverages.

NexTag, a US on-line comparison shopping service, has launched a UK-based version of it comparison shopping engine. NexTag UK provides British online shoppers with the best prices for products in categories like consumer electronics, computer products, home appliances, and mobile phones. The site currently features products from more than 50 British retailers, and will continue to roll-out additional retailers and product categories over the next several months.

A symposium to mark the official opening of the Proteome Research Centre in the Conway Institute of Biomolecular & Biomedical Research, University College Dublin will take place on June 3rd and 4th 2004. Delegates at the two day conference will hear lectures from world experts in protein research.

Obesity

Pharma firms drive obesity hysteria – claim

The US Center for Consumer Freedom claims that pharmaceutical firms are funding research that grossly exaggerates the costs of being overweight, and that lawyers are perpetuating the myths in the hope of earning fat fees suing food companies.

In a new report, An Epidemic of Obesity Myths, the food industry-funded lobby group disputes many commonly cited statistics and presumptions. Citing a number of researchers, it suggest there is little truth that the US Surgeon General’s findings that

• Obesity kills 400,000 Americans a year
• Obesity costs the US economy $117 billion per year
• 64 percent of Americans are overweight or obese
• Overeating is the primary cause of obesity
• Overweight individuals are unhealthy
• Excess soda consumption can lead to childhood obesity

The pro-choice lobby group says there is little evidence that their diet is harming Americans, and has published a booklet setting out the “obesity myths”.

Meanwhile, a study of 4,700 adults reported in the June issue of the Journal of Food Chemistry and Analysis shows that Americans get a quarter of their calories from “junk food” such as soft drinks and sweets.

Gladys Block, a professor of epidemiology and public health nutrition at the University of California, Berkeley, who led the study, said “What is really alarming is the major contribution of empty calories in the American diet.”

She said sweets and desserts, soft drinks and alcoholic beverages account for nearly 25 per cent of all calories consumed by Americans, with salty snacks and fruit-flavoured drinks adding another five per cent.

Bock used data from a US government survey called the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. “Healthy foods as vegetables and fruit make up only 10 percent of the caloric intake in the US diet. A large proportion of Americans are undernourished in terms of vitamins and minerals,” Block added.

“We shouldn’t be telling people to eat less -- we should be telling people to eat differently.”

NPD

Birds Eye cuts carbs to 17 per serving

A carbohydrate-reduced line of ready meals from Birds Eye contains 17 or fewer carbs than its standard line. The new Voila! line features protein and healthy vegetables. Each product contains 17 or less total carbs and 13 or less net carbs per serving “and delivers optimal taste and health benefits”, claims the maker.

Flavours are Down Home Chicken & Vegetables, Roasted Garlic Chicken & Vegetables, Chicken & Sausage Tuscano, Teriyaki Beef & Vegetables, and Chicken Teriyaki & Vegetables.

The launch picks up on research that indicates that 38 per cent of US adults have cut their consumption of carbohydrates over the past 18 months, and more than 26 million Americans are on a hard core reduced-carb diet. But increasingly, consumers are shifting to a more balanced approach to their meals as opposed to a protein-only, often high-fat, solution.

Packaging

Refillables gain ground in Germany

Soft drink and other beverage firms are turning to refillable packaging as a result of the introduction of a controversial deposit system a year ago.

Market researcher Canadean says in its Soft Drinks Quarterly Review for the first quarter of 2004 the market for refillable PET bottles grew 60 percent, and the market for cans slumped a further three per cent.

There is a 25 cent deposit on non-returnable plastic and metal containers of carbonated beverage products and still packaged water up to 1.5 litres, and 50 cents on packages above 1.5 litres. Milk-based products are excluded from the mandatory deposit, as are non-carbonated beverages (except still packaged water). Cartons are excluded as they are seen as environmentally friendly.

“There was a significant shift back to refillable packaging in Germany in 2003, most significantly in the carbonates category, where refillable PET was up by over 60 per cent on 2002 volumes,” Canadean says. In 2004 refillable PET is expected to continue to be the major player, but growth will slow considerably to just four per cent.

“Non-refillable glass was hit hardest, suffering from a negative trend even before the introduction of the deposit system. Within non-refillable PET, the 2l non-refillable bottle was largely delisted in 2003 as it attracts double the deposit of the smaller bottles. As a result, the 1.5l bottle took up most of the volume lost by the bigger format.

“The can was on the decline even before the introduction of the deposit for non-refillable containers and the effect of the new legislation appears to be pushing the packaging format rapidly out of the carbonates profile, with a further drop of nearly three percent forecast for 2004.”

Biotech

Some winners, some losers

Novartis, AstraZeneca, and Merck were named top sponsors by European researchers, says Thomson CenterWatch, a market research firm, which 306 European investigative research centres to evaluate their relationship with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies that sponsor clinical research. Novartis had the highest overall average rating with AstraZeneca tops for work style and on-going process effectiveness. Merck took the highest ratings for its support of the grant payment process.

Meanwhile, the US market for biotech initial public offerings stalled in the face of worries about the Iraqi war, despite a growing economy, says Steven Burrill, CEO of Burrill & Company, a San Francisco-based life sciences merchant bank. The Burrill Biotech Select Index's dropped 14 per cent in value in May, but up three per cent compared to the NASDAQ. "We can also see the pullback in he IPO market where the three companies that managed to go public in May all lowered their price radically," noted Burrill. 

Research

Scientists discover protein fat regulator

UK-based scientists have discovered a protein that controls the amount of fat stored in the body. The discovery offers new clues for obesity treatments.

The research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows how the protein regulates the activity of a key gene responsible for maintaining the body’s temperature, called uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1). The new protein, called RIP140, blocks the expression of UCP1, and causes the body to use up more energy and store up to 20 per cent less fat.

Events

Better aim, fewer failures is target

Product developers in the food and beverage industries can get the latest insights to consumer trends and reduce the risk of their work becoming one of the nine in 10 products that fail each year.

Marketing Week is holding its annual NPD event on 20 and 21 September 2004 at the Russell Hotel, London. Details from tel +44 (0)20 7970 4770 Web www.marketingconferences.co.uk

GM

US opens, Europe hides GM field sites

The US Department of Agriculture plans to disclose more information about crops that are genetically engineered to produce pharmaceuticals, but German and French government sources have refused to give details of the location of fields with trial plantings of GM crops.

The USDA is responding to concerns from consumers, farmers and the food industry about GM crops intended for drug production finding its way into the food chain.

Cindy Smith, the USDA’s deputy administrator for biotechnology regulatory services, said the department’s Web site will carry its analysis of the risks and environmental impacts of the crops that are being grown in field trials.