Search criteria: |
YOUR CORPORATE NEWSLETTER SOLUTION...
-
Ready-to-go newsletters on topics you choose, in your template
-
We prepare the content for you
-
You review, edit and click Send. Easy!
DELIVERING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE...
-
A competitive intelligence leader for 20 years
-
Helping top corporations with research and analysis
-
From quick projects to ongoing support and outsourced services
|
Subject: |
HEALTH & WELLNESS
|
Period: |
March 1, 2016 to April 1, 2016
|
Geographies: |
Worldwide
|
Categories: |
Comment & Opinion or Companies, Organizations or Consumers or Controversies & Disputes or Deals, M&A, JVs, Licensing or Earnings Release or Finance, Economics, Tax or Innovation & New Ideas or Legal, Legislation, Regulation, Policy or Market News or Marketing & Advertising or Other or People & Personalities or Press Release or Products & Brands or Research, Studies, Advice or Supply Chain or Trends
|
Contents
|
|
The FDA’s new non-binding guidelines covering acrylamide – a suspected carcinogen produced during high-temperature cooking of some foods – urge companies to take a close look at their products and try to figure out how to reduce the amount of the chemical. The guidelines are directed at growers, manufacturers, and food service operators, offering steps to reduce acrylamide. The guidance covers raw materials, processing practices, and ingredients pertaining to potato-based foods such as French fries and potato chips; cookies, crackers, breakfast cereals, toasted bread and other cereals-based foods; and coffee. All are sources of acrylamide exposure.
"FDA Issues Final Guidance for Industry on How to Reduce Acrylamide in Certain Foods", News release, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, March 10, 2016
|
Claiming to be non-GMO – as some restaurants, grocery chains and food companies have at least partially done – is not only problematic, it’s increasingly difficult to defend from a scientific standpoint without proof that GMO foods present a threat to humanity. It’s problematic because GMO crops and animal feed are inescapable. Staunchly anti-GMO Chipotle had to finally admit its meat and cheeses come from GMO-fed cows. Whole Foods acknowledged “GMOs are ‘pervasive’ and can be found in 70 percent of packaged foods.” Meanwhile, the scientific community seems less hostile to the food industry’s growing application of GMO technology as it waits for some reliable evidence that GMO foods are safe – or unsafe.
"In defense of GMOs", Canadian Grocer, March 13, 2016
|
USDA food scientists who experimented with the ancient grain amaranth, blending it with oats, whole wheat and chia seeds, say they’ve come up with more healthful, yet still tasty, sugar cookies. Both amaranth and chia contain the essential amino acid lysine. Blending amaranth with beta-glucan-rich oats results in a cookie that could help lower blood cholesterol. Blending an oat bran concentrate and whole wheat flour with finely ground chia may prove even more beneficial. Because chai seeds are rich in omega 3 fatty acids, baked goods made with the chia-oats-wheat mixture not only have improved texture, they could help lower blood cholesterol and prevent coronary heart disease.
"Ancient Grains Make Healthful, Tasty Cookies", News release, USDA, March 16, 2016
|
It is widely believed that children self-regulate food intake, but a new study takes issue with that belief: kids will eat a lot of calorie-rich foods if that’s what they’re served. The researchers tested 120 children (ages three to five) who ate lunch in three separate daycare centers for six weeks. They ate meals of different size and calorie densities, including chicken, macaroni and cheese, vegetables, applesauce, ketchup, and milk. They liked the lower-calorie and higher-calorie meals similarly. They also ate smaller portions of food as easily as larger portions. The good news from the study is that parents and caregivers can serve more healthful lower-calorie foods, and smaller portions, “and kids seem to be just as satisfied.”
"If You Give Kids Too Much Food, They’ll Overeat", Futurity, March 17, 2016
|
New research shows that caffeine works best when a person is rested, not sleep-deprived or sleepy. Caffeine clogs the body’s adenosine system, which is a sort of brake that allows the brain to switch off and fall asleep. Drinking coffee when well-rested blocks adenosine, allowing stimulation of brain chemicals such as dopamine. This doesn’t happen after a long work day because those chemicals have been largely used up. That’s why a cup of coffee is most beneficial in the morning, or after a nap. It heightens creativity, boosts typing and data processing speed, and eases mathematical computation. Studies also show caffeine intake, at the right times and in the right doses, may also increase longevity, reduce cognitive decline in men, and even help with Alzheimer’s in mouse models.
"How to Transform Your Coffee Into a Wonder Drug", Bloomberg Business, March 17, 2016
|
In a company blog, General Mills Chief Operating Officer Jeff Harmening says he is disappointed that there is still no national policy on labeling of foods with genetically modified organisms. It’s true that many consumers want to know which foods contain GMOs, so the company has created a public database of GMO foods. This despite the fact that “every major health and safety agency in the world agrees that GMOs are not a health or safety concern.” But a national policy on labeling is still needed, because Vermont requires it or companies can be slapped with stiff fines. Harmening insists, nevertheless, that General Mills will not retool its packaging for one state only, a move that would drive up costs for customers everywhere.
"We need a national solution for GMO labeling", Blog, General Mills, March 18, 2016
|
A food scientist in Singapore pondered some of the nutritional and health drawbacks of white bread. It digests too fast, for one thing, causing a spike in blood sugar. Its starch content is also digested too rapidly, leaving people hungry for more. All of this links white bread to obesity and related health issues. Zhou Weibiao’s solution to this problem was to add anthocyanin extract derived from black rice. A chemical reaction with the starch enzymes turns the bread purple, but the anthocyanins also slow digestion speed by 20 percent and are rich in cancer-fighting antioxidants. And the bread is made entirely of natural compounds.
"Purple bread: A new superfood?", CNN, March 18, 2016
|
General Mills executives last month expressed hope that a bill establishing a national standard for GMO food labeling would pass the U.S. Congress. Instead the bill died in the Senate, leaving the company and many others to deal with a Vermont law that requires labeling taking effect on July 1. Similar statutes could also also pop up in other states. Though the company believes GMO foods are safe, it would be enormously expensive to relabel products for only one state “without significantly driving up costs for our consumers,” said Chief Operating Officer Jeff Harmening. Newly relabeled General Mills products, noting GMO ingredients, will begin to reach grocery stores over the next few weeks.
"General Mills Will Label GMO Food Amid Stalemate in Congress", Bloomberg Business, March 19, 2016
|
|