Another 14% of Americans admit to having stolen a frozen dinner from the workplace freezer.

While new and unique bakery products are always popping up, old classics, like cupcakes and pies, are still trendy. However, the new twist for manufacturers is to provide even healthier baked goods, with more fruits, vegetables, grains and nuts, as well as less fat, sugar, calories and sodium.

One presentation at the 2010 Prepared Foods’ R&D Applications Seminar-Chicago provided insights into how some companies may be missing out on an important way to reduce R&D costs--without cutting resources.

Wal-Mart, one of the world's largest retailers, announced a five-year plan to make thousands of its packaged foods lower in unhealthful salts, fats and sugars, and to drop its prices for fruits and vegetables.

Formulating reduced-fat dessert mixes, cakes, pastries and cookies with texture and sensory properties that closely match a full-fat standard just got easier.

The more information product development (PD) teams have, the more efficiently and quickly they are able to launch successful new products.

A recent HealthFocus International (HFI) study reveals that cutting costs has expanded into higher income groups -- namely, those with annual incomes upwards of $75,000.

Private label's future includes reformulating/redesigning to reduce costs, or issue-related product innovations, such as green or organic. Attendees of Prepared Foods' R&D Seminars series also learned about co-branding and effective business strategies.

As the economy continues to impact the way consumers think about discretionary spending, restaurant dining today is a buyers' market, and consumers are increasingly picky.