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Looking at the position fibers and gums are playing in everyday foods and beverages reveals product developers paying closer attention to these key ingredients for their dual functions as both texturants and nutraceuticals. This has become especially evident where those two functions merge—in plant-based products designed to mimic meat and dairy.

What some thought was temporary adaptation to an unexpected retail store challenge, has proven to be a transformational period for our industry with eCommerce in the forefront.

Most analyses during the pandemic have focused on discerning its impact on consumer behavior and forecasting how this might change going forward. However, before the pandemic structural changes in the workforce and the aging population already contributed to a home-centric lifestyle, and COVID accelerated it, reports The NPD Group.

In the world of food colorants, the anti-artificial trend governs the space today, with natural colors appearing in about 75% of new food product launches. Consumers still use their eyes to choose foods, but they want the ingredients, including (and sometimes especially) any colors, to be derived from biological sources, such as fruits, vegetables, flowers, and other botanicals. 

There are many GRAS or GRAS-affirmed ingredients poised for use in foods and beverages to improve health and well-being. Some are “new,” some have been gaining traction, and some are surprisingly familiar. Here are half a dozen that merit a closer look.

Innova Market Insight's 2021 Global Lifestyle & Attitude Survey reports that 43% of consumers are actively attempting to reduce waste and 32% are taking action to eat in moderation.

Students find themselves in culinary school having come from many different backgrounds and having traveled down many paths. Some are cooks that are ready to move into a more challenging role in the kitchen; others want to learn new skills in baking by becoming a pastry chef; and others are building on years of cooking experience, having had no formal training. I found my way to Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School by way of music. 

Mounting research into causes of dementia and cognitive decline have produced the recognition that two of the potentially modifiable risk factors into these conditions are diet and exercise. In a recent study at King’s College, London 418 adults age 65 and up were tested every two to three years over a 12-year period. Results revealed that cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s Disease were linked to levels of neural stem cell death. Importantly, underlying which was low levels of vitamin D, carotenoids, and lipids