Articles by Phillip S. Tong

In today’s world, where health and wellness takes center stage, the subject of functional cultured dairy foods typically are about consumption of the probiotic bacteria and their associated health benefits, such as improved immune function, improved digestive function and reduction of symptoms associated with irritable bowel syndrome.

Today’s consumers are more willing to seek out and try new food products. Delivering products to meet a diverse range of interests is a key to keeping consumer brand loyalty. So what should cultured dairy product processors do to grow and maintain sales and profitability?

The consumer can find a wide range of textures in fermented milk products. From drinkable to spoonable to spreadable – these foods are expected to exhibit textures of semi-solid gels, viscous liquids or thin liquids, depending upon the specific product (for example, fermented milk beverage, stirred yogurt, quark, etc.) and consumer expectations.

Consumers have hectic, complicated lives. The 2011 trends forecast by the Food Channel (in conjunction with Culturewaves, the International Food Futurist and Mintel International) states: “for years we talked about simplicity, sometimes under names like ‘local’ or ‘social consciousness’ or ‘green.’

In this age of negative and “gotcha” reporting about our food supply and the food industry, let’s not forget that dairy foods satisfy us and meet our needs in so many ways.

Traditionally, the primary association of milk and dairy foods in a nutrition and health discussion would be for health maintenance – calcium to build strong bones and vitamins to prevent diseases associated with nutrient deficiency.

Probiotics are defined as “live microorganisms which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a beneficial health effect to the host.”A joint working group of the Food and Agriculture Organization of

If you are responsible for growing your company’s dairy business over the foreseeable future, it can be a daunting task in today’s stagnant economy. While it may not always be

It was not too long ago that if we were going to discuss a frozen dairy food, the focus would be on how rich and how decadent we could make a superpremium ice cream.