Search results: pizza

The NAFTA agreement meant that the US, Canada, and Mexico would not impose tariffs on each other’s products.

But the Trump Administration has announced tariffs on steel and aluminum imported from Canada and Mexico.

Canada is retaliating.  Here is its list of US products subject to new tariffs.  Table 2 lists agricultural products, among them,

• Yogurt
• Coffee
• Prepared meals
• Maple sugar
• Pizza and quiche
• Chocolate
• Waters
• Whiskies

Mexico also is retaliating.  Its list (in Spanish) includes, among others,

• Cheeses
• Apples
• Ham
• Pork
• Potatoes
• Whisky

This means that these products will be more expensive—a lot more expensive—in Canada and Mexico and, therefore, will not sell as well.

Pork producers are particularly distressed.

Remember calorie labeling on the menu boards of chain restaurants?

This started in New York City in 2008.  The chains have survived, and the world has not come to an end.

In 2010, the Affordable Care Act (remember that?) was passed with a provision to take calorie labeling national.

Since then, the delays have been endless but menu labeling is scheduled to go into effect in May 2018.

For the history of all this, see the FDA’s summary.

But now the House of Representatives has introduced, and will vote this week on, an anti-menu-labeling bill, the Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act (HR. 772).  Its purpose is to further delay and weaken the provisions.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest  (CSPI) has issued an emailed action alert pointing out that:

Over 80 percent of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents support menu labeling, according to a new January 2018 poll released by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Further, over 80 percent think chain supermarkets, convenience stores, and pizza (like Domino’s) should be held to the same standard for labeling calories as chain restaurants.

It has suggestions for immediate advocacy:

• Mobilize your members to write their Representative. CSPI’s action alert is here.
• Engage your grassroots to urge a number of House Democrats who previously voted for the bill last Congress to oppose the bill. We have a list of targets and can provide a model note and talking points.
• Send a letter to the House opposing the bill. We can provide a model note.
• Activate your members via social media. Here are some examples:
  • 8 out of 10 Americans across all parties—Democrats, Republicans, and Independents—want calorie labeling when eating out. Oppose #HR772 that would weaken and delay #menulabeling: http://bit.ly/2phlGJd.
  • 8 out of 10 Americans think pizza chains should label calories just like restaurants, yet #HR772 would exempt labeling inside pizza chains. Protect #menulabeling: http://bit.ly/2phlGJd.
  • Congress is considering weakening enforcement and consumer protections for #menulabeling. Urge them to oppose: http://bit.ly/2phlGJd.

CSPI provides additional resources about the problems with this bill:

• Claims versus Reality of the Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act
• The Problem with Arbitrary Serving Sizes
• Hiding Calorie Labeling is like Hiding Speed Limits

UPDATE

The House passed the bill on a vote of 266 to 157.

I was fascinated to read in FoodNavigator-Asia that the Chinese like durians so much that they have created a demand for durian-flavored food products.  Alibaba, the Amazon of China. offers plenty of durian products, but FoodNavigator mentions cookies, cakes, pie fillings, coffee, and much else.

Durians, shown below, are—to put it mildly—controversial.

People either love them or hate the way they smell and taste.

Singapore has banned them on subways.

Their, how shall I put this, unique odor comes from a variety of sulfur compounds.

For people who love them, they are worth eating for their nutritional benefits (like those of any other fruit).

Durian pizza, anyone?

Since September, the New York Times has been investigating how the food industry markets its products in the developing world, and how this marketing is encouraging a rising prevalence of obesity and its health consequences. The series is called Planet Fat.   This is the complete set to date, in reverse chronological order.

If you haven’t read them, this week is a good time to catch up.  Enjoy!

One Man’s Stand Against Junk Food as Diabetes Climbs Across India

India is “sitting on a volcano” of diabetes. A father’s effort to ban junk food sales in and near schools aims to change what children eat.

By GEETA ANAND

Dec. 26, 2017

 

Dec. 23, 2017

 

Dec. 11, 2017

 

Nov. 13, 2017

 

Oct. 2, 2017

 

Oct. 2, 2017

 

Sept. 16, 2017

 

Sept. 17, 2017

 

The Canadian Heart & Stroke Foundation has released a report on consumption of processed food consumption in Canada.

The report is based on the NOVA (not an acronym) system for classifying foods by their level of processing: unprocessed or minimally processed, processed ingredients, processed foods, and ultra-processed foods.  The last category is the one that matters; consumption of ultra-processed foods is highly correlated with obesity.

The report found:

• Canadians consume nearly half their calories as ultra-processed foods.
• This is true among all socioeconomic groups, except for immigrants.
• Children aged 9-13 consume the most ultra-processed food (57% of calories)
• The most frequently consumed ultra-processed products are pizza, burgers, sandwiches and frozen dishes, followed by packaged breads and sweetened drinks.

Lots of room for improvement here.

At the moment, we are on track to have the long-delayed calorie labeling on menu boards by May 2018.

The FDA has just issued draft guidance on how to do it.

Recall that menu labeling was authorized by the Affordable Care Act of 2010, but the FDA delayed it until May 2017 and the Trump administration delayed it again for another year.

Why?  Lobbying by everyone affected by it, but particularly by trade groups for movie theaters, grocery stores, and pizza places.

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb issued a statement listing the agency’s compromises for these groups:

We’ve heard the [industry’s] concerns, took them to heart, and are responding with practical solutions to make it easier for industry to meet their obligations in these important public health endeavors.

For instance, some store owners asked us whether posters, billboards, coupon mailings, and other marketing materials would meet FDA’s definition of a menu that would be required to include calorie information. Our new draft guidance explains that these materials are not considered menus under our regulation and do not require calorie counts.

Supermarket and convenience store managers with self-service buffets or beverage stations asked whether they needed to have an individual sign next to each item with a calorie declaration. While this is one way to comply with the regulation, our draft guidance offers other practical ways to post calories for multiple items on a single sign. For instance, a single sign posting that is visible while consumers are making their selection is one way to comply that may provide additional flexibility for some establishments.

Pizza delivery chain owners told us they were struggling to develop menu boards reflecting the thousands of topping combinations people might want on their pizza, so we provided several new examples for how to do this to help them comply with the law’s plain language.

For some segments of the industry, these compromises are not enough.

According to Politico, a spokesman for the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) complained that the new guidelines do

nothing to pull down the barriers to compliance that have retailers facing extraordinary costs, uncertain enforcement and frivolous lawsuits…The failure of FDA’s latest menu-labeling ‘guidance’ to address the concerns of NACS and others has left even the agency confirming that Congress must step in to fix its one-size-fits-none mess.

Such groups must think that menu labeling will discourage sales of high-calorie items.  Good.  That’s their point.

This is one of FoodNavigator.com’s collections of articles on one topic of interest to the food industry.

Dairy innovation

From kefir to savory yogurt, upmarket cottage cheese, whole milk yogurts and farmer’s cheese bars and cups… What’s hot in dairy? What consumer trends are the most successful firms tapping into? And how is the dairy industry addressing the rapid growth in non-dairy alternatives in the milk, cheese and yogurt aisles?

• Noosa co-founder: ‘We continue to be the darling of grocery stores with such explosive growth’: Honey-infused Aussie-style yogurt Noosa has expanded into the snacking category with its new Mates line, and is on course to generate revenues of $220m this year, says co-founder Koel Thomae… Read
• Yooli Foods breaks novel ground in protein snacking segment with farmer’s cheese bars, cups: They might be a novel concept for most Americans, but farmer’s cheese bars could develop into a potentially exciting new category in the burgeoning protein snacking segment, says the co-founder of Yooli Foods, which is rolling out farmer’s cheese cups this month and aims to start shipping its chocolate-coated bars before the year-end… Read
• Savory yogurt… a step too far for American consumers, or a sleeper hit in the making? Are Americans ready for savory yogurt? Right now, it seems the jury is still out, with some high profile brands quietly dropping some of their more adventurous SKUs and Blue Hill pausing production of its beet- and carrot-fueled yogurts. However, some trend-watchers believe the concept could still work for a US audience… Read
• Icelandic Provisions CEO: Skyr could be as big as Greek: Could skyr – which is higher in protein and lower in sugar – be as big as Greek yogurt, or is the ‘Icelandic’ segment of the dairy aisle likely to remain a quirky niche? Ten years ago, people were asking the same question about Greek yogurt, says the CEO of Icelandic Provisions, “and we all know what happened next.”.. Read
• fairlife ultra-filtered milk sales surged 79% in 2016; Core Power and Yup! to be brought under fairlife brand umbrella: Dollar sales of Coca-Cola-backed high-protein milk fairlife grew 79% in 2016, as consumers continued to trade up in the fluid milk category… Read
• Formulating with dairy: More protein, less sugar, a cleaner label: Less sugar, more protein, a cleaner label, savory flavors, and new formats from farmer’s cheese bars to ambient moon cheese… What’s keeping dairy formulators busy these days? FoodNavigator-USA caught up with Stephen Cobbe, R&D director, dairy, at Kerry to find out….. Read
• Dairy farmers use technology in effort to cut greenhouse gas production by 25% by 2020: Animal agriculture in the US is often criticized for its heavy environmental impact, but data from the National Dairy Council tells a very different story – one of farmers using technology to improve the sustainability of their lands and dairy production… Watch now
• Revelé Gelato uses air to create better-for-you profile without compromising quality ingredients: The entrepreneurs behind the startup Revelé Gelato thought health-conscious consumers seeking to indulge in frozen dessert faced an unfair decision: choose between high quality, recognizable ingredients that typically come with a higher fat and calorie count, or “weird” ingredients like those used by some better-for-you brands that can irritate the stomach… Read
• Animal-based protein tops consumer choice, but plant-based options are rising fast, Nielsen finds: When it comes to meeting consumers’ growing demand for protein, animal-based products continue to reign supreme in the US and Canada for now – but plant-based options are gaining traction and hold significant sales potential, according to the market research firm Nielsen. .. Read
• NMPF spars with Dannon, Dean Foods, over ‘rampant fear-based marketing’ on GMOs: “Rampant fear-based food marketing” – most notably from brands touting their non-GMO credentials – is damaging consumer trust and “jeopardizing the safe, sustainable farming practices that have enhanced farm productivity over the last 20 years” says the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) in a new marketing campaign that’s been sharply criticized by leading dairy brands… Read
• The Chaat Company, Hargol FoodTech, Funny Farm to take center stage at FOOD VISION USA as our 2017 trailblazers: From turmeric paste and green banana flour to sprouted mung bean snacks and cauliflower wraps and pizza bases, the entries to our 2017 trailblazers challenge are at the cutting edge of food & beverage innovation. But we could only pick three winners ….. Read
• No light at the end of the tunnel for Dean Foods as milk price wars escalate, says Bernstein: Milk price wars are “compressing the margin of private label retail prices over the Class I milk input cost to abnormally low levels,” say analysts at Bernstein… Read
• Chobani’s Peter McGuinness explains the new org chart: ‘To me, having a separate sales department is archaic’: Bringing sales, marketing, insights, product innovation and commercial finance under one new ‘demand’ department will help break down silos and make Chobani even more responsive to customers and consumers, the firm’s new chief marketing and commercial officer tells FoodNavigator-USA… Read

FoodNavigator reports that Public Health England is taking on—what a concept!—calories as a means to prevent childhood obesity.

It will be looking at ready-to-serve meals, pizzas, burgers, savory snacks, and sandwiches in an effort to help children cut back on the excess 200-300 calories a day they are currently consuming.

The UK is planning targeted reductions in sugars in processed foods.

The food industry doesn’t like this: bans on advertising sugary foods to kids are “choking the industry.”

I once attended a White House meeting at which I heard representatives of food companies insist that they could not stop marketing to children.  This was their line in the sand.  They had to keep marketing to children to stay in business.

As for the United States, the CDC has just published the latest data on obesity in adults and children.

The trend?  Upward.

Looks like marketing to kids works, and well.

Public health, anyone?