Food bites... Social media should be conversation not promotion

"Facebook allows us to have a real time conversation with fans and we’re approaching it from the perspective of a relationship, not a promotional tool... Were making friends not promotions online and using it in a conversational way, not a marketing way... In order for customers to be loyal to brands, brands need to be loyal to customers."

Editor's Stuff - Feeding the world today and tomorrow: the importance of food science and technology

I come across many food industry gems in my weekly research of pertinent material for this newsletter, but hit on a particularly important one this week: a brilliant review on the role of food science/technology in society drafted and published by the IFT in the US, the American version of SAAFoST.

Its main objective is to serve as a public outreach and education tool and to address misperceptions and misinformation about processed foods, and goodness knows there are a million of those. The intended audience includes those who want to know more about the application of science and technology to meet society's food needs and those involved in public education and outreach. IFT's hope is that readers will gain a better understanding of science and technology in the food system, and an appreciation for the complexity of the modern food supply.

Very readable and accessible, and only five pages long, it's a succinct synopsis of the whole food production process from farm to fork, starting with some historical perspective and covering all the pertinent trends that are currently shaping the industry.

I think it offers great value and perhaps should even be prescribed reading for every new food tech/science student, even for all new or exisiting employees in food companies, as part of their induction, to get a quick overview and understanding of the world and industry in which they work. You can download the pdf here

Enjoy this week's read!

Email Brenda Neall: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Publisher & Editor

FOOD INDUSTRY JOBS ADVERTISED THIS WEEK! Tongaat Hulett is looking for technical sales staff - equity employment opportunities!
 See jobs here and here.

Afrikaans translation: To translate this page, go to http://interpret.co.za/, and simply paste the URL into the page translator module. The translation is by no means perfect, but is a help if you want to read in your home language.

Local Food Industry Stuff

Finally, the long-awaited Walmart bid for Massmart

Finally, after almost a year in the offing, Walmart has made an offer for Massmart. It comes as no surprise to Afro-optimists who said that Africa was dying for a multinational retailer to make an appearance on the continent. All of the players kept tight-lipped about Walmart's intentions, hoping that the behemoth from Arkansas would make an offer for them. The real interest in Massmart lies not in South Africa but in the rest of Africa. Moneyweb. Read more

Another 1% milk launched

Two weeks ago, we published news of the launch of a 1% milk by Fair Cape Dairies, and now comes news that Clover, SA's largest dairy company, has done similarly.

The rush to market is due to legislation changes. Although never prohibited, up until recently no legislation existed for 1% milk in South Africa, only for the full cream, 2% and fat free milk categories. The legislation has now been changed to allow for 1% milk in accordance with international trends. Globally, 1% milk is becoming increasingly popular amongst consumers as it allows for a wider choice in healthier low-fat options. Those who don’t enjoy the taste of fat free milk can still enjoy the benefits of a very low-fat product without sacrificing on taste. FastMoving.Read more

And still with Clover... a JSE listing on the cards

Clover SA CEO Johann Vorster is talking about a JSE listing before the end of the year, another brick falling from the wall of the old once-regulated food industry. The move should hasten greater openness in food production, an industry that may be having trouble shaking off its collusive ways of the past. The Competition Commission has been investigating milk producers for collusion since 2005. Business Day. Read more

SA foodies - finding foreign markets

After The New York Times food doyenne Florence Fabricant tasted SA gourmet foods at the New York Fancy Food Show, she wrote that SA was “more than ready for prime time, with sophisticated products like NoMU’s vanilla paste in a squeeze bottle, and Verlaque balsamic reductions flavoured with pomegranate”.

She’s not the only one. “SA cuisine is gaining popularity across the US in supermarket chains as well as speciality shops,” says Jim Thaller, MD of Talier Trading Group, a New York-based speciality food development company which develops and markets African brands. He cites favourable trade agreements such as the African Growth & Opportunity Act, which liberalises trade between the US and 38 African countries. SA is one. Business Day. Read more

SA Olive speaks out over newly-uncovered olive oil fraud

Scam olive oil has been in the headlines again, this time with MNET's Carte Blanche show uncovering the dubious practice of certain Jo'burg restaurants parading seed oils as Extra Virgin Olive Oil. The local olive oil industry is indignant. FOODStuff SA. Read more

McDonald’s SA is planning to open 100 new restaurants

Capitalising on recent success, McDonald's SA says it plans to open 100 new restaurants over the next five years. McDonald’s SA marketing director, Sechaba Motsieloa, says the local market’s top position among 32 countries gives the company’s international owners the confidence to invest further in SA. In the year to April 2010, SA was the best-performing market in the Asia- Pacific, Middle East and Africa region .

"This is testimony to the success we’ve experienced, mostly attributed to our gearing up for the 2009 Confederations Cup and 2010 World Cup," Motsieloa says. "This success has earned SA the right to grow." Financial Mail. Read more

Cape Town city and partners introduce food voucher programme

The City of Cape Town, in partnership with the Broccoli Project and Pick n Pay, has launched a Food Voucher Programme as an incentive for residents to give to street people responsibly and for street people, in turn, to buy responsibly. The vouchers are designed to substitute cash handouts to street people, and can be redeemed at any Pick n Pay for essential basic goods, with the exception of cigarettes, alcohol or other harmful substances. CapeTown.gov.za. Read more

Food Industry News

Nestlé creates two new health units

Nestlé SA has said it will invest around 500 million Swiss francs over ten years in a new venture that will harness its nutritional and pharmaceutical expertise to produce more food and drink products with health benefits, a high-margin segment that has proved controversial with regulators and consumers.

Nestlé has created two new units, Nestlé Health Science SA and the Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences, that together will deepen its use of scientific research to develop products that may prevent and treat chronic ailments such as diabetes, obesity and Alzheimer's disease - all expected to be major contributors to soaring healthcare costs in coming years. Nestlé's chairman, Peter Brab: "The combination of health economics, changing demographics and advances in health science show that our existing healthcare systems...need redesigning" Read more

COMMENT: Is Nestlé's move too good to be true?

Nestlé, the inventor of powdered baby milk and soluble coffee, has a long track record of success when it comes to product launches and market understanding. The run on its Nespresso coffee capsules and the stylish machines that are sold in hip downtown locations all around the world is just the latest in a series of winning streaks.

Its newest push into the realm of food and pharma, which is aimed a creating something like magic chocolate balls that should help treat diseases such as Alzheimer’s, however, may sound too good to be true or, some may say, full of hubris. Wall Street Journal. Read more

US: Abbott infant formula recall to cost $100m

Abbott said its recall of five million cans of Similac powdered infant formula because of possible contamination with beetles is likely to cost $100m in lost revenues. The US-based company issued the alert last week after insects were found in its powdered formula at its Michigan plant. Abbot subsequently issued a voluntary recall in the US, Puerto Rico, Guam and other Caribbean countries. No other markets - including its Ireland-based European operations - are said to have been affected. Food Production Daily. Read more

EU: Fruit juice industry welcomes plan to ban sugar

The European fruit juice industry has welcomed a proposal from the European Commission (EC) to ban the addition of sugar to fruit juices - in line with its policy of reducing added sugars and promoting balanced diets. The addition of sugar would be allowed only for nectars and some specific products where the labelling specifies the addition of sugar. Richard Laming, media director of British Soft Drinks Association, says that the proposal would help to end confusion about the sugar content of fruit juices. Beverage Daily. Read more

US: Ben & Jerry's to drop 'All Natural' from labels

Ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s announced that it is dropping the term “all natural” from all of its labels. This is in response to a request made from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a health advocacy group. The Washington-based group sent a letter to Unilever, Ben & Jerry’s parent company, and identified nearly 50 products that it felt were improperly labelled since they contained alkalized cocoa, corn syrup, hydrogenated oil and other ingredients that are factory made. The Guardian. Read more

Cadbury will not ditch ‘glass and a half’ slogan

Cadbury has rubbished reports that it is dropping the “glass and a half’ slogan from its marketing. It was reported in some British newspapers this week that the confectioner was dropping the iconic slogan. A Cadbury spokesperson says that the glass and a half icon, slogan and strapline in advertising will remain. Marketing Week. Read more

Beverage winners at America's biggest drinks expo

This inaugural 2010 InterBev Beverage Innovation Awards, designed to reward and champion beverage innovation and excellence, attracted over 100 entries in 12 categories. A panel of industry experts met on 21 September in Orlando to select the finalists and choose the winners. The InterBev Beverage Innovation Awards is a partnership initiative by the American Beverage Association, the International Bottled Water Association and FoodBev Media’s Beverage Innovation magazine.

Best new ready to drink beverage: Winner: Dr Pepper Snapple Group with Mott’s Medleys; Finalists: New Leaf Brands with New Leaf Lemonade; Bolthouse Farms with Bom Dia Coconut Splash. FoodBev. See all the winners here

China tops world in catch and consumption of fish

China leads the world in tonnage of fish caught annually as well as the amount of fish consumed, according to new findings. The research ranks the top 20 nations that have the greatest impact on ocean ecosystems through catching or consuming marine wildlife. ScienceDaily. Read more

Food Industry Trends, Innovation & Marketing

Six 'mega-trends' to drive new food product development

The September edition of Food Technology, the official magazine of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT),  identified "six mega-trends" and urged the food industry to take note. They are based on market research data from  Mintel, Frost & Sullivan, Innova Market Insights, The Nielsen Company, HealthFocus International. They include Weight Management; Out With the Salt; and Less is More ... Food Technology. Read more

Innova: Healthy growth in wholegrains

Interest in the health benefits of wholegrains is continuing to rise globally and is reflected in levels of new product activity being recorded on the Innova Database. According to Innova Market Insights, the number of food and drinks launches marketed on a wholegrain platform rose nearly 10% in the 12-month period to the end of March 2010, equivalent to about 3% of total launches recorded over that timeframe. Bakery and cereal products accounted for two-thirds of total wholegrain launches recorded, with the next largest categories being ready meals & meal components and then snacks. FOODStuff SA. Read more

Innova: Heart health product innovation continuing unabated

Despite ongoing regulatory issues with regard to health claims, the positioning of food and drink products on a heart health platform appears to be continuing unabated. FOODStuff SA. Read more

Britons grab tastes of Africa

Exotic meats, red-hot peppers and Nelson Mandela's favourite pudding – foods from Ghana to Botswana are starting to tempt British palates... For, having previously been pretty much the exclusive preserve of local ethnic cafés, the cuisine of that vast continent is starting to make its way on to British palates. You can now taste authentic African dishes all the way from Margate to the wilds of Scotland. Shaka Zulu, a £5.5m, 750-seat South African restaurant, opened its doors last month in Camden with one of that country's top chefs manning the stoves. Internet retailers of "alternative meats" are reporting huge increases in sales ever since the World Cup. The Independent. Read more

New natural PepsiCo product could influence industry shift towards sugar

Sierra Mist Natural, PepsiCo’s reformulated carbonated soft drink product, may indicate a swing towards the use of sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup, say two industry analysts. PepsiCo North America Beverages said that the re-launch this week of its niche lemon-lime soda product was fuelled by growing US consumer demand for natural ingredients, with the drink now positioned as containing 'real sugar' along with no artificial ingredients or flavours, preservatives, or caffeine. Beverage Daily. Read more

US: Craft beer market on the up and up

The economic downturn has hurt the restaurant industry and cancelled a lot of travel plans, but it hasn't dampened enthusiasm for ales, lagers, stouts and other specialty brews known as craft beers. While overall beer sales fell by 2 percent last year, the first decline in six years, the craft segment keeps growing. Bellingham Herald. Read more

BOB's BEAT: For marketers it's a hard new world they compete in ...

Marketing in the good ol' days (or bad ol' days depending on your perspective) used to be so simple. Or at least it seemed that way. You made a new product, you went to market with it, and you waited to see how consumers responded to it. If it took hold, great; if it failed, you eventually yanked it out of the marketplace and went on to something else.

As to how this business of processing food worked, well, no one in the good ol' days really seemed to give it a second thought. You produced it, we ate it, end of discussion. Today, however, the rules have changed.

Today, it isn't just about making and marketing products. It's about who you are as a company. It's about how you do business and what you believe in. It's about your sensitivities to consumer concerns about everything, from the ingredients you use to the way you treat the environment, to the way you manage the animals you process for food. It's about how you respond to an instinctively suspicious media in a crisis. It's no longer possible to just circle the wagons and hide behind corporate doors until the rage dies down; now you can be called out by any number of critics who are determined to bring you down if they believe you have endangered them or their environment.

Bob Messenger, publisher of The Morning Cup, and the US's foremost food industry observer

Health and Nutrition Stuff

This is why Americans are fat — by the numbers

Nibbling on the data nuggets found in this "Food Consumption in America" infographic delivers a real jaw-dropper, showing the literal weight of an average American's food choices in a typical year.

According to the graphic from banking site Visual Economics, which combines data from sources such as the USDA, FDA, and CDC, the average man is 5'9" and weighs 190 pounds, while the average woman is 5'4" and weighs 164 lbs. A quick check of the Mayo Clinic's Body Mass Index calculator shows that both Joe and Jane Sixpack are thus overweight, with a BMI of 28.1 -- 30 and above is classified as obese. When you look at the breakdown of breakfast (and the many meals that follow), it's obvious why... [Do check this wonderfully informative, infographic. Ed] Grist. Read more

US: Michelle Obama's healthy eating? Not on America's menu

The First Lady's healthier eating plan runs up against a fat reality; Americans don't wanna, says a new Gallup Poll.

Last week Obama, whose chosen cause is fighting childhood obesity, told the nation's restaurants they need to change their recipes and offerings to make them healthier - less sugar, cream, salt - and more vegetables and fruits - even if that means deleting a most popular dish or two and hurting sales ... But now comes a new Gallup Poll of more than 176,000 Americans showing that ... 92% of Americans report easy access to affordable fresh produce. They can find the green and yellow things virtually anytime they want. They just don't want to eat that stuff. LA Times.

US: Family dinners help teens avoid drinking and using drugs

Newly-released statistics from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University show that teens who have infrequent family dinners — less than three per week — are more than twice as likely as teens who eat with their families at least five times each week to say they expect to try drugs in the future. Those same teens are twice as likely to have used tobacco and alcohol and 1.5 times as likely to have used marijuana. Time. Read more

Food Science Stuff

New clues to common food poisoning from salmonella

The bacteria Salmonella enterica - a common cause of food poisoning - exploits immune response in the human gut to enhance its own reproductive and transmission success, according to new research. The strategy gives salmonella a growth advantage over the beneficial bacteria that are normally present in the intestinal tract and promotes the severe diarrhea that spreads the bacteria to other people. ScienceDaily. Read more

Most complete beer 'proteome' finding could lead to engineered brews

In an advance that may give brewers powerful new ability to engineer the flavour and aroma of beer - the world's favorite alcoholic beverage - scientists are publishing the most comprehensive deciphering of the beer's "proteome" ever reported. Their report on the proteome (the set of proteins that make beer "beer") appears in ACS' monthly Journal of Proteome Research. Eureka Alert. Read more 

"Mad scientists" drive NYC's leading cooking school

Dave Arnold and Nils Noren, are, respectively, the director of culinary technology and vice president of culinary and pastry art at New York City's leading cooking school. But really, they are mad scientists, overstimulated, insatiable, with the kind of superhuman intellect that used to be indicated in science-fiction movies by giant bald, radish-shaped cerebellums. Usually, the posts on their blog, Cooking Issues, look at a particular problem that nobody ever gave a crap about, such as the best way to cook a yak steak or how differently shaped ice cubes affect a drink. Basically, this blog is what every young chef in the country is reading to come up with the next big thing. (And if they're not reading it, they should be.) Time. Read more and visit the blog here: http://www.cookingissues.com/

Hot Stuff

Opinion: Why outrageous food health claims will continue

Until there are very specific standards for what food companies can and cannot say under what circumstances, unproven claims are going to continue and accelerate ... When Forbes investigated the science behind so called functional foods–yoghurts with beneficial bacteria, breads and juice with extra omega-3 fatty acids, and energy drinks with strange additives–our reporters found that too often the health claims were unsubstantiated. The problem: it is easy to do a small study in a few animals or a few people, and reach some optimistic conclusion that can be spun into good marketing copy. Measure enough physiological parameters, you will always find something positive to say. But these early stage stage studies fall way short of definitive evidence. Forbes. Read more

Opinion: High fructose corn syrup: A sugar by any other name

Once upon a time sugar was sugar, and sugar was most definitely not good for you. So the Corn Refiners Association move to rebrand high fructose corn syrup as corn sugar is a daring move – but should do little to sweeten its reputation ... High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has suffered from a serious image problem for years, having been variously accused of causing obesity and type-2 diabetes, not to mention being an evil, secret weapon of mass destruction. The evidence behind such claims is, at best, inconclusive (and at worst paranoid fear-mongering) but at this stage it hardly matters. The sweetener has fallen out of favour with consumers and sales have slumped. FoodNavigator. Read more

Opinion: Why the debate over GM salmon misses the point

Will the FDA approve a genetically-modified salmon for sale in supermarkets around the country? Bet on it. Members of a federal advisory group in Maryland heard testimony last week from scientists, environmentalists and businesspeople on the safety of AquaAdvantage salmon, a new brand that would be the first genetically engineered animal to enter the US food supply. Time. Read more

Opinion: America: A big, fat, stupid nation

Stupid? Welcome to a population who know less about what they put into their mouths than they do about, well, take your pick...celebrities or cars or American Idol or iPhones? Animals have the intelligence to know what to eat and to never get fat (except the ones fed by humans). Yet that simple challenge, gaining nourishment without destroying the body, is beyond your capabilities? Huffington Post. Read more

Weird, whacky and wonderful stuff!

Six myths about food busted

This article highlights various food myths that just won’t die...
Myth 1: Eggs are bad for your heart.
Myth 2: High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is worse for you than sugar.
Myth 3: Microwaving zaps nutrients.

Booze in bulk with self-serve wine dispensers

Carrot vending machines are pretty nice. Wine vending machines  are even nicer. And the nicest of all is the machine that lets green-minded winos buy their Bordeaux blends in bulk. Just BYOB - bring your own bottle - and fill 'er up for about $2/litre. Started at eight grocery stores across France, rumour has it that these tanked tanks may be jumping the pond over to some US supermarkets in the next year. Grist. Read more

Marmite cooks up Very Peculiar chocolate bar

Marmite, the British household favourite, is to extend its brand with the launch of a Very Peculiar chocolate bar in time for Christmas. Marketing Magazine. Read more

Another weird Japanese Pepsi flavour: Mont Blanc with Nuts and Snow

Following the the World Cup 2010 themed release of Pepsi Baobab this summer, the global fizzy drink manufacturer is getting ready for the winter season and will introduce Mont Blanc, the new flavour of the iconic beverage.

It seems that the creativity of the Japanese team is really ceaseless—the line of bizarre editions was started in 2007, and since that time local consumers have taste extremely unconventional Pepsi Iced Cucumber, Pepsi Shiso (green perilla), Pepsi Blue Hawaii (pineapple & lemon), Pepsi Azuki (boiled wit sugar red azuki beans) and the above mentioned Pepsi Baobab. The new product comes as tribute to one of the symbol of France, its “White Mountain,” and in some way to the upcoming Christmas season as well. Read more

That's all the stuff for this week, folks!