Food industry may have to rethink pester power

The first systematic review of the research literature about marketing food and beverages to children, commissioned by the UK Food Standards Agency, shows that

There is a lot of food advertising to children

The advertised diet is less healthy than the recommended one

Children enjoy and engage with food promotion

Food promotion is having an effect, particularly on children's preferences, purchase behaviour and consumption

This effect is independent of other factors and operates at both a brand and category level.

“This does not amount to proof of an effect, but in our view does provide sufficient evidence to conclude that an effect exists,” said the researchers.

The industry spokesbody, Food and Drink Federation, said in response the issue is complex. FDF deputy director general Martin Paterson said "We should be wary of patronising the real consumers.” He said the most recent survey showed that food advertising plays a role in affecting consumers' choice of brands, but it does not dictate overall eating habits of children. “Frankly, parents are just too ‘clued up’ for that,” Paterson said.

The full review is at http://www.foodstandards.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/foodpromotiontochildren1.pdf.

US consumers take the rap
Fighting fat with fibre substitute
Diet may slow body clock
Innovators honoured

BRIEFLY

Passengers flying from Copenhagen can now buy a range of specially developed meals and snacks to eat on their flight if they pre-order the food from the Carry-On Cuisine website www.carryoncuisine.dk. The range includes salads, sushi and sandwiches, two vegetarian options, and an 'energy box' with fruit salads and orange juice. If this initiative proves popular, Select Service Partners is likely to extend it to other airports. Carry-On Cuisine was developed in conjunction with US software company Cardinal Technologies.

Celestial Seasonings has a new six-flavour range of TeaHouse lattes and chais, creamy, tea-based beverages that appeal tea and coffee drinkers alike. Inside each decorated, collectible tin is a unique easy-to-prepare specialty tea mix. Lattes include Golden Vanilla Hazelnut, French Vanilla Velvet Decaf and Creme Caramel Dream while the chais include Cinnamon Spice, Vanilla Ginger Spice Decaf and Sweet Coconut Thai.

Dow Pharmaceutical Sciences has appointed David Osborne vice president of product development.

US snack foods maker Frito-Lay is picking up on the trans fat scare with a new advertising campaign that claims zero grams of trans fat in many of its products. The campaign covers the brands of Lay's, Doritos, Tostitos, Fritos, Ruffles, and Cheetos.

The UK’s Food Standards Agency has published new guidelines for honey products aimed at getting a more consistent application and enforcement of the regulations and bringing Britain into line with EC directive 2001/110, which Europe adopted in 2001.

Kyowa Hakko Kogyo, a Japanese developer of pharmaceutical and biotechnology products, has produced a tablet version of CSPHP, its novel cholesterol-lowering food ingredient. This follows the launch of a liquid version in July 2003. The GRAS compound combines soy protein hydrolysate and soy phospholipids to block the absorption of cholesterol in the intestine. It also increases healthy HDL cholesterol in hypercholesterolemic volunteers.

Dunkin' Donuts chief executive Jon Luther says the rivalry with Krispy Kreme and Starbucks has created awareness for the category. The company has learned four things soon after rivals appeared: Competition can be good; Innovation is overrated; Markets have several niches; grow at your own pace.

McNeil Nutritionals has launched its sucralose sugar-free sweetener Splenda in a 9.7oz (275ml) re-sealable moisture-resistant stand-up pouch it calls a Baker’s Bag.

Obesity

US consumers take the rap

Most Americans concede they are responsible for problems caused by overweight and obesity, according to new findings from Research International and Lightspeed Research.

Some 79% of respondents agreed that it is their own responsibility to fight obesity, versus 11% who blamed companies that manufacture or sell food, and 10% who blamed government agencies for not doing anything about this health issue.

One survey respondent said "People make choices; obesity is a product of one's gluttony. People know what makes them fat as much as they know where babies come from."

Of the 500 adults surveyed, 71% confessed they ranged from somewhat overweight to morbidly obese while only 29% considered themselves to fall in the range from ideal weight to significantly underweight. Further, respondents apparently want to eliminate excuses about what they choose to put in their mouths by asking for more nutritional information about their choices. Most agreed that fast food restaurants should have to provide nutritional information on the menu and that manufacturers should be required to provide more detailed labelling.

But while these respondents blame themselves for being overweight, and for their children's weight problems, they agreed that advertising high calorie foods encourages overeating. One commented "TV advertising of foods which are incompatible with healthy diets (such as sugared cereals, ice cream, candy, sugared soft drinks, high trans-fat and high saturated fat fast food) should be limited to the hours of 10h00 to 17h00 or banned entirely, much as cigarette advertising was banned."

The survey respondents also agreed that restaurants should provide smaller portions to discourage overeating.

Regardless of political affiliation, respondents didn't want the government to force production of healthy foods. The survey also showed that respondent knew what to eat to lose weight, and that they need to exercise more to slim down. But apparently most don't "just do it!"

Innovation

Fighting fat with fibre substitute

US-based FiberGel Technologies has launched a new corn-based fat substitute in gel, emulsion and powder form.

It claims Z-Trim, originally developed by the US Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service, can reduce fat and calories and increase insoluble fibre in a variety of products, including cheeses, baked goods, meat products, dressings, confectionary products and a wide range of other prepared foods without affecting tastes and mouth-feel properties compared to full-fat foods.

FiberGel is providing potential domestic and international marketing partners with product samples of Z-Trim and research consultation along with limited exclusivity within their market specific segments.

Ageing

Diet may slow body clock

California scientists believe they have found a way to reverse a key ageing process that destroys mitochondria, the energy factories found in all cells.

Data presented by Dr Bruce Ames at the International Association of Biomedical Gerontology (IABG) in Cambridge, UK, show that it's not only age that contributes to mitochondrial and neuronal decay, but also bad diets. Common vitamin and mineral deficiencies appear to accelerate both.

Ames, a professor of molecular and cell biology at the University of California, Berkeley is the co-founder of diet supplements firm Juvenon. The data also showed that acetyl-L-carnitine and the antioxidant alpha lipoic acid restored mitochondrial and neuronal function in rat models.

"Cumulative oxidative damage to the mitochondria of the cell is a major contributor to ageing," said Ames. "When we fed older rats the two mitochondrial-activating components, we reversed some of this decay, restoring mitochondrial function. Surprisingly, we also saw some reversal of neuronal decay. We think the restoration of some of the ambulatory activity, cognition, and immune function in the old rats is because cellular mitochondrial function has been restored."

The two mitochondrial-activating components improved energy levels, reduced signs of ageing in revitalised cells, reduced oxidant by-products of mitochondria, reduced oxidative damage, and increased burning of fat for energy. The supplement was developed at UCB by Ames, a winner of the National Medal of Science, and Tory Hagen, assistant professor at the Linus Pauling Institute of Oregon State University.

Innovators honoured

Innovators whose ideas and energy create wealth were recognised at an “Innovators’ Oscars” hosted by the UK business journal The Economist in San Francisco last night.

Readers and a panel of judges chose winners. Nominees were judged on impact on an emerging branch of science and technology; effect on a marketplace or the creation of a new market; and impact on revenue of the sponsoring organisation.

The winners are

Bioscience, Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Raymond Damadian, president and chairman of FONAR. Damadian first proposed the idea of a magnetic resonance scanner (MRI) in 1969 as an "external probe for the detection of internal cancer." In 1970, he made the seminal discovery that launched MRI.

Computing, World Wide Web: Tim Berners-Lee, director of W3C World Wide Web Consortium. Berners-Lee first proposed his global hypertext project in 1989. Later known as the World Wide Web, the allowed people to combine knowledge into a web of hypertext documents and forever altered the way information is shared.

Energy and the Environment, Hydrogen Fuel Cell: Geoffrey Ballard, chairman of General Hydrogen. Ballard's pivotal role in the development of the modern fuel cell has led to international recognition as the "father of the hydrogen economy." Although fuel cell engines are still years from mass production, Ballard's company expects to begin replacing toxic lead-acid batteries with fuel cell engines in forklift trucks by 2006.

"No Boundaries", Theories Which Eventually Led to Radio Frequency Spectrum Auctions and Tradable Emissions Permits: Ronald Coase, professor emeritus of economics at the University of Chicago Law School. Economist Ronald Coase began developing radical new theories on business processes, transaction costs, and property rights in the 1930s. His research and ideas have created new markets to trade the intangible, such as auctions for radio frequencies and tradable emissions permits.

Telecommunications, Packet Switching: Paul Baran, founder of The Institute for the Future. Packet Switching is the breaking up of large data chunks into smaller units and sending them in pieces. The technology inspired by Baran evolved into the foundation for the Internet, making e-mail, ATM and interactive web pages possible.