Industry News:

The Next FDA Timeline

On January 1, 2010 all food companies must be compliant with FDA regulation additions and changes made between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2008. The same is true of January 2, 2012 for additions and regulations made between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2010. Upcoming changes will likely involve unifying allergen warning statements and making health/nutrition claims. Consumers today know more about health and nutrition than ever before. They look to food labels and claims to help guide their purchasing decisions.

Read full Storey: http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Financial-Industry/New-labeling-compliance-timetable

Make it Green and Make it Work for Me

In recent years we began to see a rise in the market natural and functional foods. Research from Datamonitor's Product Launch Analytics shows that 2009 will continue along the same trends, bringing even more health conscious and environmentally friendly food into the limelight. This new trend towards health and going green has opened the door to allow market suppliers to be educators. Consumers are now learning about their bodies and environment from television ads and food labels, making ethical advertising more important than ever. Although interest in saving the environment through living green is at an all time high, the sluggish economy is having its impact and making consumers think twice about paying for higher-priced biodegradable packaging.

Read full Storey: http://www.naturalfoodsmerchandiser.com/ArticlePage/tabid/66/itemid/3482/Default.aspx

Coca-Cola Moves Ahead with Stevia

Cocla-Cola and PepsiCo have been anxiously awaiting the acceptance of Stevia to the FDA’s Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) list. The calorie-free, natural sweetener has a sweetening power that is much stronger than that of pure sugar, and is currently only approved for sale as a dietary supplement. In light of the current economy Coco-Cola has decided to go ahead with three Stevia-sweetened Odwalla juices without awaiting FDA-approval. PepsiCo on the other hand has decided to take the conservative route and hold off on the launch of their Stevia-sweetened Sobe Life waters until the FDA gives the okay

Read Full Storey: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Diet/wireStory?id=6466108

Foodies Drive industry Innovation

Packaged Facts reports that there are about 31 million US adults that fit the “foodie” classification. They have also divided foodies into five groups: Foreign/Spicy, Restaurant, Cooks, Gourmet and Organic/Natural. Of these groupings the Foreign/Spicy sector seems to be the largest and fastest growing. Because of the consumer push for spicy fare researches expect to see a large amount of food innovation in this area. Foodies are an asset to the food industry because they are experimental, and are continuously looking for the next great taste, while at the same time can get restless when it comes to finding the next cuisine trend. This group will also help food companies through these hard economic times, as they tend to spend more on groceries than the average consumer.

Read Full Article: http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Financial-Industry/Foodies-lead-the-way-in-shaping-the-industry/?c=%2FcXgDTs85jQ2koZd%2Fzriyg%3D%3D

Salt Levels Remain High

High amounts of salt and sodium in the diet have been shown to raise blood pressure levels and increase the risk of heart disease. Public advocacy groups like the CSPI have been promoting that food companies offer lower sodium options for their lines to help reduce these risks. However, according to the CSPI many food companies have had little to no change to their products’ sodium levels between 2005 and 2008. Although sodium in foods may come from ingredient like MSG, baking soda, and other additives, the majority comes from salt added to enhance flavour and act as a preservative. The CSPI has proposed that the FDA remove salt from its list of additives that are Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS).

Read Full Article: http://www.cspinet.org/new/200812041.html

LABELCALC NEWS

Last Chance for End of Year Savings

Be sure to use the promo code apple09 when purchasing your labels to receive 10% off all labels and unlimited memberships. This offer will expire on 01/15/08.

Purchase Labels: http://www.labelcalc.com/register/Pricing.aspx

FoodCalc Blog

FoodCalc’s expert staff of Registered Dietitians and FDA regulation specialists is always available to our clients to answer any questions about compliance and nutrition labeling. To help spread our knowledge we have started a blog to help educate the food industry about current issues.

Check it out at: http://foodcalcblogspot.com/

LabelCalc Updates

LabelCalc is continuously looking for new ways to update our system to make it more user-friendly. In 2009 our users can look forward to new features, new ingredients, and a new look thanks to our expanding IT staff.

To make suggestions on ways to for us to improve please email alan@foodcalc.com