"Ladies and gentlemen, you heard it here first. Sodium will be one of the next consumer hot buttons," said Anne Berlack, executive v.p., Information Resources Inc., Chicago, when she spoke at the SmartMarketing meeting on March 17 in Atlanta. "We've gone through counting fat and carbohydrate grams in pursuit of healthier lifestyles and better overall wellness. With that comes a return to keeping sodium intake levels low, as sodium intake is correlated to hypertension and heart health."
Did you know that there are currently 97 federal standards of identity for various dairy products out of a total of 262 standards for all foods, including dairy? The dairy industry has a disproportionate number-37%-and cheese has the largest proportion of the dairy standards. Even worse, few of the dairy standards have been updated to allow for advancements in formulating, processing or packaging.
Key considerations when formulating "good-for-you" ice cream are what you wish to accomplish and what you want to promote about the finished food. These are determined by balancing marketing- and other business-related objectives with regulatory limitations and allowances. That is, when considering a specific "good-for-you" claim, consider finished weight (pounds per gallon) and compositional limitations amongst other objectives. Working backward from a target finished weight per serving can help fix levels of certain compositional factors such as total fat, total saturated fat, total sugar(s), total carbohydrates, calories, etc.
Any health-conscious consumer knows that cultured products are good for you because they help promote digestive health. Any health-conscious consumer also knows that limiting calories and sugar is beneficial as well.
According to in-store scanner data from Information Resources Inc., Chicago, the category called "cappuccino/iced coffee" increased slightly more than 55% from 2000 to 2004. Indeed, ready-to-drink packaged, coffee-flavored, milk-based beverages are an exploding business. Sales of other coffee-flavored dairy products such as frozen desserts appear to be steady, suggesting they are still quite popular with consumers.
If properly incorporated, hydrocolloid stabilizers can provide excellent functional attributes to cultured dairy products. Stabilizers are high molecular-weight hydrophilic (water-loving) hydrocolloids that are added to food products to control water. Many stabilizing compounds are polysaccharides, often derived from plant sources. Examples include seed gums (guar gum, locust bean gum), those isolated from seaweeds (carrageenan, agar), microbially-derived polysaccharides (xanthan gum), as well as pectins, food starch and modified-food starch. In addition, protein-based stabilizer gelatin may be used in certain cultured dairy product applications.
Q: What's new in whey proteins? A: Today's food formulators can select from a universe of specialty whey proteins that have been modified or processed to provide unique functional and
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005, issued in January, suggests some key dietary changes for consumers. For starters, the guidelines encourage every American more than eight years of age to consume three servings of low-fat or fat-free dairy products each day. In addition, they also tell Americans to consume a sufficient amount of fruits and vegetables while staying within their energy needs. For a reference 2,000-calorie-a-day diet, two cups of fruit per day are recommended.
What do milk and tea have in common? Well, they both just happen to be some of the most favorably talked about commodities in the food and beverage industry today. The science and intellectual properties focusing on milk and tea are immense. Specifically with tea, since 2001, more than 1,000 studies have been conducted on tea; and more than 450 patents have been applied or issued for tea products around the world.
Though at birth the human digestive tract is nearly sterile, that of a child or adult contains a complex mixture of many different bacterial species known as the intestinal microflora.
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