Off the Label: Contrary to Reports, FDA Guidelines for Off-Label Promotion Tighten Loopholes
Recent media reports about the FDA’s plans to set guidelines for the kinds of literature drug makers can use to support the off-label use of FDA-approved drugs largely missed the mark.
Food Trendlines | Nerac Food Science Analysts Look To the Coming Year
From innovation based on nanotechnology to the increasing attention being paid to food safety, Nerac’s food science team looks at the events of 2007 to see what is likely to unfold in 2008.
Beauty in a Bottle | Beverages Touting Healthy Skin Show Potential for Growth
We are starting to hear new terms in the functional foods lexicon—cosmeceutical, nutra-cosmeceutical, skin-gestible—companies in the food, beverage, and cosmetic industries are recognizing the marketing potential of products that claim to help women especially look young and beautiful forever.
As Fast Food Goes Healthy, What Opportunities Await Food Companies?
Fast food chains have been jumping on the healthy food bandwagon with varying success for some time now, enhancing their menus with foods featuring lower fat, lower cholesterol, and lower sodium. Nerac Food Science Analyst Shanon Trueman explores where those opportunities lie.
Milk Shake Up | The Move to Label Milk Hormone-Free Runs Into Snags that Affect Food Companies
The question more and more consumers are asking is whether the milk they drink and the foods made from it are free of the synthetic growth hormones that are routinely given to dairy cows to increase production.
Nanotechnology Is the New Frontier for the Food Industry
Nanotechnology, the science of building things on a molecular or atomic scale, is invading the food industry, creating a buzz that thus far has been confined for the most part to the electronics industry. Nerac Food Science Analyst Brenda Van Goethem talks about how nanotechnology is being applied in innovative ways in what seems like all facets of the food industry from ingredients to packaging.
Feeling Full | Ingredient Innovations Can Help Dieters Get Past Hunger Pangs
Nutritional research is leading the way in developing functional foods that curb appetites and increase satiety. Of the three major food macronutrients—proteins, fats, carbohydrates—protein is the clear leader in promoting satiety and reducing hunger. Of particular importance is the form of protein consumed. Solid foods high in protein have an established record of increasing satiety, whereas liquid protein sources have not demonstrated this benefit.
How Can Food Companies Keep Up with Gen X? Interview with Doris Zelinsky
When Gen X’ers get home at night, they don’t turn on the oven and rattle the pots and pans. In fact, they’re unlikely even to set aside the time and place for a meal with several food groups arranged on a plate. Instead, they’re snacking six or more times a day. To find out how food manufacturers should address this phenomenon, Nerac Food Science Analyst Natasha Bangel talked with Doris Zelinsky, an independent consultant whose practice includes food manufacturers and retailers.
Umami and the MSG Controversy
Umami has only recently been accepted as our fifth taste, although cooks and food companies have been exploiting it for years. And while the ingredients that trigger umami sensations come from natural, healthful sources, such as soy, seaweed, asparagus, and tomatoes, they are referred to as “silent killers” on many websites.
Why Flax is Being Used in More Foods | Flax Canada 2015 Interview
One ingredient increasingly making its way into products ranging from dairy, juices, cereals, bread, and soups is flax, a high-fiber grain with important omega-3 fat that is thought to have heart health benefits and is proving helpful in moderating immune function response. To find out more about flax and flaxseed oil, Nerac Food Science Analyst Natasha Bangel talked with Kelley Fitzpatrick, the Director of Health and Nutrition for Flax Canada 2015.
Shaking Salt | How the Origin of Salt Can Lower Sodium Content and Enhance Flavor
Food companies are working diligently to lower the amount of salt in their products without risking current flavor profiles, but the task has been an arduous one. Yet, there might be an elegant way out. Regional sea salts can help manufacturers maintain or even improve flavor notes and increase mineral content while lowering total sodium content.
Gluten-Free | Food Companies Are Starting to Take Notice of a Significant Market Opportunity
Innovative food companies are continuing to develop new products and alter existing products to meet demand from a significant population that suffers from celiac disease, gluten intolerance and gluten sensitivity. As more food manufacturers try to market to increasingly narrow yet well-defined niches, expect them to introduce even more gluten-free products.
Nerac Q&A | Dietary Supplements: Current Good Manufacturing Practices and the Impact on Nutraceutical Quality and Business
For years critics and proponents of the dietary supplement industry felt that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was slow in proposing rules for quality and manufacturing requirements to legitimize the industry. Finally, in June 2008, current good manufacturing practices (CGMPs) for the dietary supplement industry took effect. To find out how the new rules will affect the dietary supplement industry, Nerac Food Science Analyst Brenda Van Goethem spoke with Mandy Kraynik, the Marketing Director of Enzymatic Therapy Inc., North America's leading manufacturer and distributor of dietary supplements and natural medicines.
Nutrigenomics for Personalized Nutrition
By assessing emerging technologies, food companies can create products that tap into a potentially lucrative market.
The field of nutrigenomics could play a significant role in expanded use of nutraceuticals, particularly relative to the growing interest in personalized nutrition. There is a wealth of scientific and scholarly information about the field, or more accurately, the fields of technology relevant to nutrigenomics. The fields of bioinformatics, computational biology, genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics are contributing to our understanding of nutrigenomics.
Modified Foods: Benefit or Hazard?
Let government and industry debate the merits of the latest food modification technology, from genetic engineering to irradiation and hormone treatments. Consumers ultimately win the argument.
A Recipe for Successful Functional Food Development
Dr. Danik M. Martirosyan, founder of the Functional Foods Center at D&A, Inc., talks with Nerac Analysts Shanon Trueman and Coreen Reed about formulating functional foods.
Top 5 Questions About Implementing Open Innovation
Analyst David Fazzina answers the most common questions asked at a series of executive roundtables that Nerac recently conducted around the United States and in the United Kingdom.
Nerac Analyst, Lynn Deffenbaugh speaks at IFT 08 Annual Conference
Lynn Deffenbaugh, session speaker at IFT 08 Annual Conference June 30, 2008, "Geneticeuticals: How genetic marker technology can lead to the development of specific disease-preventive nutraceuticals that target high-risk populations"
Nerac Analysts present at Prepared Foods 2008 R&D Applications Seminar East, April 2008
Natasha Bangel and Howard Lucas presented: “Food Industry
Trend Spotting: “The Baby Boom Effect”
Scott Lloyd presents at Prepared Foods 2008 R&D Applications Seminar East, April 2008
Scott Lloyd presented: “International Regulatory Challenges to
GMO Product Development”
Scott Lloyd presents at IFT08, June 2008
IFT Expo
June 29-July 1
New Orleans, LA
Scott Lloyd moderated a panel discussion on “Nutraceutical product
development: The roles of intellectual property and regulatory pathway
mapping in successful commercialization.”
Formulation Benefits and Considerations | Published in Prepared Foods in April 2009
From chocolate bits to variegates, nuts to nougats, such ingredients enhance a product's appearance, taste and healthiness wriites Nerac Analyst Marie Rittweger. Read more.
The Future of Biodegradable Food Packaging
The future of biodegradable food packaging podcast features Nerac Analysts, Mary Jo Leber and Jeff Casavant; the author of an academic report on bioplastics, Lillian Liu; and the product development manager at Gilbreth Packaging, Theresa Sykes.
An Emerging Strategy in Functional Foods
Responding to the growing number of consumers who see functional foods and beverages as important to good health, food companies are developing strategies to highlight functional ingredients already in products that they have been making for years. In doing so, they avoid the costs associated with reformulations or new product introductions.
To examine this emerging business strategy, we posed some questions to Susan Spiggle, an Associate Professor at the University of Connecticut who heads the school’s Marketing Department; Nerac Food Science Analyst Brenda Van Goethem, and Nerac Business Analyst Keith Lucas.
Childhood Obesity
Can food producers develop healthy products beyond yogurt and granola bars that kids will actually eat?
According to the World Health Organization, “An estimated 22 million children under five are estimated to be overweight worldwide.” While health and government officials continue to debate why kids are becoming dangerously obese, Nerac wanted to know about the market opportunities for Food & Beverage companies.
To investigate this important topic, we posed some questions to two Nerac Analysts, Food Chemist Coreen Reed and Microbiologist Shanon Trueman, and Liz Weiss, nationally-known dietitian and acclaimed book author.
WEBINAR | Consumer Attitudes on Health and Wellness
Thank you for attending the webinar on March 10, 2009 from 12:30-2:00pm EST. If you missed it, you can view the entire webinar here!
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Can You Position Your Healthy Products for Success in an Unhealthy Economy?
We all wonder how the recession will affect the health and wellness markets. Would you like to hear answers to the following questions about Health & the Economy?
- Will health & wellness products disappear because of the economy?
- How can companies best position their health & wellness products to consumers? What do consumers want?
- Do "healthy" and "convenient" go together? If so, how?
- Does decreased spending on restaurants spell opportunity for convenience meals?
We invite you to join a free webinar hosted by Solae and Nerac, on March 10, 2009 from 12:30-2:00pm EST, which discusses these questions and more. Solae and Nerac will bring together food industry experts from Mintel and Euromonitor International for an interactive presentation and discussion on the changes in consumer behavior related to healthy food purchases during a down economy.
Solae and Nerac have designed this event to help food manufacturers answer pressing questions that have surfaced in today's tough economic times. A discussion themed Powerful Nutrition will consider questions such as:
- What is the impact of the global financial crisis on the future performance of naturally healthy food?
- What are the market opportunities and challenges in high protein products?
- Sports nutrition-a must have or an unnecessary indulgence?
Who should attend?
- Global Food & Beverage manufacturers and producers who are developing products in the health and wellness category.
- Senior Managers, Directors and VPs in Marketing, Sales, Research & Development, Client Services and Consumer Insights.
The webinar will be interactive, with the opportunity to submit your questions throughout the presentation. In addition, results of a pre-event survey of registered attendees will be shared so you can see how your goals compare to those reported by the group as a whole.
Speakers & Topics
Moderator: Lynn Deffenbaugh, Ph.D., Nerac Analyst
Health & the Economy | Natural Partners or Natural Enemies?
Lynn Dornblaser, Director of Consulting
Mintel Custom Solutions
Read Lynn's full biography here
Powerful Nutrition | 2008 and Beyond
Ewa Hudson, Head of Health and Wellness Food & Beverages Research, Euromonitor International
Read Ewa's full biography here
Eleni Grammenou, Industry Analyst for OTC Healthcare, Euromonitor International
Read Eleni's full biography here
Click on the download button below to hear a small portion of the webinar.
