Search results: a life in food

Here’s Canada’s new food guide:

Doesn’t this look a lot like the USDA’s MyPlate?

Actually, the Canadian guide is better.  Even though it retains the annoying “Protein” section (we don’t eat protein; we eat foods containing protein and lots of other nutrients), it drops the dairy requirement.  Even better, it comes with mostly useful suggestions: [my comments]:

• Be mindful of your eating habits
• Cook more often
• Enjoy your food [Yes!]
• Eat meals with others
• Use food labels
• Limit foods high in sodium, sugars or saturated fat [alas, the usual switch from foods to nutrients when talking about eating less]
• Be aware of food marketing [yes, but lots more on this please]

I can see why this has been greeted with some enthusiasm and less criticism than usual:

• Globe and Mail: “good upgrade, skirts around inequality”
• Yoni Freedhoff’s Weighty Matters: “a giant step forward”and on why the food guide is important even if nobody looks at it
• Bill Jeffrey’s Food for Life Report: still fuzzy about amounts and reflects industry lobbying
• Along with 2 minutes of satire (from the program 22 Minutes)

The documents

• Canada’s new food guide
• Canada’s food guide snapshot
• Revision process
• Canada’s Dietary Guidelines
• History of Canada’s food guide
• Healthy eating recommendations
• Evidence behind Canada’s food guide

 

I think this collection of articles from FoodNavigator on the dairy industry is especially clear in revealing three notable trends: (1) the ongoing decline in milk consumption, (2) a more recent decline in yogurt consumption, and (3) an increase in production, availability, and marketing of dairy products high in fat.  Take a look:

 Special Edition: Dairy innovation

It’s been a challenging year for many dairy brands, with continued weakness in fluid milk and yogurt categories and growing competition from dairy-free alternatives. But there has been no shortage of innovation, spanning everything from ‘intentionally less sweet’ high protein yogurt launches to  whole milk and even ‘triple cream’ offerings as fat roars back in some parts of the category.

• Retail sales of French-style yogurt Oui have topped $100m, says General Mills: US retail sales of yogurt have tailed off in the past two years as Greek has lost its luster. But this is just a temporary blip, predicts the president of General Mills’ US yogurt business, who is confident the overall category will return to growth… Read
• Peak Yogurt taps into keto trend with 17% milk fat ‘triple cream’ yogurts: ‘Milk fat is one of nature’s original superfoods’:  Fat is back in the dairy aisles, if the recent proliferation of products touting their whole milk (c. 3.5% milk fat) credentials is anything to go by. But San Francisco-based start-up Peak Yogurt is taking the trend one step further in a bid to carve a niche in the market with ‘triple cream’ yogurts boasting 15-17% milk fat with low or no added sugar that tap into the keto trend… Read
• Tillamook CEO talks dairy innovation and ambitions of reaching $1bn in sales:  Tillamook County Creamery Association has had a loyal regional following in the Pacific Northwest for more than 100 years (founded in 1909), but in order to secure its next 100 years the dairy co-operative needed to execute a national growth strategy set forth by CEO Patrick G. Criteser who has ambitions of hitting $1bn in annual sales… Read
• Whole-fat and convenient merchandising drive dairy sales moving forward, IRI:  Fat has not only become more accepted among consumers but also the focal point of many popular diets such as keto and paleo. As a result, sales of some, not all, whole-fat dairy products are reaping the benefits of a renewed interest in fat influenced by convenient merchandising at retail, according to IRI… Read
• Full fat and Icelandic pockets of growth in lackluster US yogurt market; while flavored milk and lactose-free help offset declines in fluid milk:  US retail sales of yogurt have continued to fall over the past year, although there have been pockets of growth in Icelandic style and full fat products, according to data from Nielsen and SPINS… Read
• American cheesemakers must balance innovation & cost with consumer education to thrive:  Free from the constraints of the appellation d’origine contrôlée that dictate how cheese in Europe is made, American cheese makers are able to add innovative twists to traditional methods to create unique products that meet evolving consumer demand, according to leadership at the American Cheese Society… Read
• Siggi’s launches whole milk Simple Sides, says top line grew 36% in latest 52 weeks:  Icelandic skyr brand siggi’s aims to expand its share of the US yogurt market with a move into the ‘mix-ins’ category via the launch of Simple Sides, a new line of whole milk skyr with a side of dried fruits and nuts containing no added sugar… Read
• Chobani gears up for national rollout of low sugar, high protein, Hint Of yogurts:  Chobani is rolling out its Hint Of… low sugar, high protein, Greek yogurts nationwide in August following a successful debut in the Pacific, Northeast and Florida markets, with ‘new formats’ of the brand hitting stores in January 2019… Read
• Arla introduces skyr cream cheese line: ‘We’re trying to get in early on that adoption curve…’:  It’s not as big as Greek just yet, but the explosive growth of Icelandic skyr in the yogurt aisle could inspire a flurry of skyr-infused spin-offs in other parts of the store, predicts Arla Foods Inc, which has recently launched a skyr cream cheese in the US market with three times the protein and just over half the calories of regular cream cheese… Read
• General Mills unveils ‘intentionally less sweet’ YQ by Yoplait: ‘It’s unlike anything that exists in the yogurt aisle today’:  Following on from the success of its French-style yogurt Oui, General Mills has unveiled YQ by Yoplait, a 99% lactose-free yogurt made with ultra-filtered milk (milk filtered to concentrate the protein and reduce the lactose/milk sugar) that “delivers big on protein with an intentionally less sweet taste.”.. Read
• Ample Hills Creamery hopes square pints will build brand awareness, loyalty and community:  By thinking inside the box, the husband and wife duo behind Brooklyn-based ice cream company Ample Hills Creamery hopes to better connect consumers to each other and the brand with the launch of unique square-shaped pints at retail… Read
• Got milk? Yes, but not as we used to know it, Jim:  While sales of plain dairy milk have been declining for years, and US yogurt production has dropped off after peaking in 2014, new data shows the continued growth of cheese, butter, and ready-to-drink coffee, yogurt drinks and protein beverages featuring dairy milk, suggesting that the growing interest in all things plant-based has not prompted a mass consumer exodus away from dairy, but that consumption habits are changing… Read
• Plant-based and dairy drive growth in yogurt side-by-side, Danone exec says:  While still growing at a healthy clip, the yogurt category is slowing slightly – but Danone North America still sees significant potential for the segment, especially related to options that are plant-based, lower in sugar, packed with science-back probiotic strains and dairy-based, according to a top company executive… Read
• Children are drinking less milk and juice as they get older… But what are they drinking instead?  New government data* shows that water accounted for 43.7% of beverage consumption among US kids aged 2-19 in the period 2013-2016, followed by milk (21.5%), soft drinks (19.9%), and 100% juice (7.3%)… Read
• a2 Milk rolls out at Walmart: ‘It’s a real validation of our business proposition’:  Tummy-friendly brand a2 Milk is now in more than 6,000 stores in the US, including Walmart. However, the reception from the wider dairy industry has been “lukewarm at best,” claims its US CEO Blake Waltrip: ‘There’s an irrational fear that this is somehow going to vilify milk, when in fact it’s going to bring consumers back to milk.”.. Read

This is a collection of articles from the industry newsletter, FoodNavigator.com, about marketing foods to kids—kids’ food.

Really, kids would be much better off eating the healthy foods their parents eat.  They don’t need food aimed just at them.  Much of this is about selling products to busy parents.  Here’s how companies do it.

• FOOD FOR KIDS: Why do so many kids have food allergies, and what can we do about it?: The prevalence of food allergies has increased dramatically over the last 25 years, with infants and children most severely affected. But why? Is it changes in gut bacteria? The so-called ‘hygiene hypothesis’? The rising use of antibiotics? Is prevalence, and in some cases severity, increasing? What do we know, what don’t we know (yet), and what are the next steps in addressing the problem?.. Read
• FOOD FOR KIDS Vox Pop: Parents share their take on food for kids: Parents to young kids face many competing demands for their time. So is sitting down to dinner together a realistic option seven days a week? Is it a daily struggle to get kids to eat healthy?.. Watch now
• FOOD FOR KIDS: A chat with child nutritionists: With kids spending so much of their day in school while also being heavily influenced by their parents’ eating habits, how can we get kids to make healthy food and beverage choices?.. Watch now
• FOOD FOR KIDS: Sitting down with Nurture Life: The ideal situation for families with young children is a sit-down dinner seven days a week, but in many cases that’s just not realistic, says co-founder of Nurture Life Jennifer Chow… Watch now
• FOOD FOR KIDS: How can you earn professional recommendations for your healthy food brand?  ‘Influencers’ are increasingly sought after by brands looking to connect with their target audience via a trusted intermediary, and pediatricians are about as trusted as they come if you’re trying to reach parents of young children. So how can you put your brand at the center of conversations between pediatric professionals and millennial moms and dads?.. Read
• FOOD FOR KIDS: What’s the connection between infant gut bacteria and health outcomes later in life? Babies born in the USA today don’t have the same microbiome as those born 100 years ago, a seemingly innocuous discovery that could prove to be a game-changer in pediatrics, claims one California-based company on a mission to rejuvenate the ‘dysbiotic’ American gut… Read
• Square Baby promises a ‘foolproof way to give your baby 100% daily nutrition’:If not everyone is convinced of the viability of the direct to consumer (D2C) meal kit delivery business, the economics of the subscription model for baby food are much more appealing, claims Square Baby, one of a new wave of D2C brands targeting babies, or more accurately, their stressed and exhausted parents… Read
• $6.7M investment will help RETHINK Brands raise awareness of its kids’ water packed in juice boxes: With the help of a $6.7 million investment led by AccelFoods, the founders of boxed water company RETHINK Brands hope to change how more people think about water and the beverages they send with their children to school, sports practice and other events… Read
• GoGo SqueeZ targets tweens with new BlastZ fruit pouches: BlastZ – the latest innovation from GoGo squeeZ – is designed to attract new consumers to the burgeoning fruit squeezers category by appealing to kids that have outgrown apple sauce but are still looking for a convenient fruit snack, says associate brand manager Dennis Katsnelson… Read

Fat remains in the news.  Which ones are health, and which not?  FoodNavigator-USA collects its articles on the topic.  My thoughts:  Beyond that, food fats are mixtures of monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and saturated fatty acids, of the omega-3, -6, and -9 varieties.  And then there are the hydrogenated trans-fats.  These variations make fats complicated.

One attribute of fats is not complicated: fat has 9 calories/gram compared to 4 for protein and carbohydrate.  A tablespoon of oil, butter, lard, or tallow has about 100 calories.  If you are concerned about energy balance, watch out for fat calories (and the other ones count too).

FoodNavigator’s Special Edition: Healthy fats
Fat – we are told – is back. But what kind of fat, and can you have too much of a good thing? Is the science changing on saturated fats? Is whole milk a better choice, or should we stick to low fat dairy? Is coconut oil as healthy as some marketers make out, and is the pressure off to reduce fat now all eyes are on added sugar?  Get the lowdown on fat in this special edition…

• Chewing the fat: Need help navigating the healthy fats minefield?:   Fats are often classed into good, bad and ugly categories. But do we know for sure which are which, and are consumers, food marketers, and health professionals all on the same page on this? Is the science really changing on saturated fats? And is the keto diet backed by sound science?.. Read
• Which fats do consumers think are healthiest (and are they on the same page as nutrition scientists)?  Olive oil is routinely ranked by consumers as the healthiest fat, says Cargill. But other oils also high in healthy mono- and poly-unsaturated fats – soybean, corn, and canola oil – all rank lower than coconut oil (which is high in saturated fat), while perceptions of lard and tallow are also improving, highlighting a disconnect between what consumers think about fats, and what nutritional scientists are telling them… Read
• What’s trending in the oils and fats aisle? From ghee to pumpkin seed oil: Ghee – a ‘clarified butter’ produced by boiling butter and pouring off the butterfat, leaving milk sugar (lactose) and protein (casein and whey) behind – is very high in saturated fat, but it’s gaining traction among shoppers looking for something new in the butters and spreads aisle, says specialty oils brand Carrington Farms… Read
• Is saturated fat really ‘back?’ In short, no, argue experts at ICVN 2018:“So the ketogenic diet, sure, it will cause you to lose weight in the short term. So would cholera, or a cocaine binge, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea,” observed Dr David Katz at the 7th International Congress on Vegetarian Nutrition (ICVN) this week. “There is more than one way to eat badly and the American public is committed to exploring them all.”.. Watch now
• Replacing partially hydrogenated oils: In conversation with Qualisoy: With the June 18 deadline to drop partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) fast approaching, most food manufacturers have found alternatives, from palm oil, to liquid oils blended with palm fractions. But R&D work on interesterified high oleic oils that perform even better in some challenging applications than first and second wave solutions is ongoing, says soy industry expert Qualisoy… Read
• Has coconut oil lost its luster? New data from SPINS shows sharp sales declines in 2017: US retail sales of culinary coconut oil – a category demonstrating explosive growth in recent years – have continued to decline, according to new data from SPINS, with the strongest reversal of fortunes in the conventional (MULO) channel, where sales soared by 38.8% in 2015, but fell 5.2% in 2016, and sank 25.9% in 2017… Read
• Limit trans-fats and saturated fats to reduce CVD risk – WHO: The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a public consultation on draft guidelines for intake of saturated fats and trans-fats… Read
• Enzymatically interesterified oils in focus as PHO replacement deadline looms: There has been a recent growth in interest in enzymatic interesterification (EIE) as more formulators deploy the technology to replace partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) in some challenging applications as the June 18 deadline* to phase them out approaches, says one leading enzyme supplier… Read
• Omega-3s from plants: ‘This technology is going to have a massive impact on the industry’: As demand for omega-3s continues to rise, alternative sources are being explored, with many think that genetically engineered oil seed crops could have a massive impact on easing pressure on fish stocks… Read
• NAOOA strengthens olive oil quality standards to boost consumer confidence and sales: “It’s critical to encourage more people to use olive oil, not to intimidate them by thinking they can’t afford it or they’re not going to get the real deal. That’s why we continue working to strengthen our standards and educate consumers,” says Joseph Profaci, executive director, North American Olive Oil Association (NAOOA)… Read
• FDA Commissioner: Removing PHOs from the food supply is a ‘significant public health achievement’:The FDA has made it clear it wants to remove all PHOs (partially hydrogenated oils) from the US food supply and has shot down the Grocery Manufacturers Association’s (GMA) petition seeking to allow specific and limited uses of PHOs… Read
• WHO pushes to remove artificial trans fat from diet and reduce overall trans fat intake: The World Health Organization’s draft recommendation that adults and children reduce trans-fatty acid intake to less than 1% of total energy and industrially produced trans-fatty acids be removed from the global supply chain leaves both public health and consumer rights advocates wanting more… Read
• ‘The lifestyle of including fat in your diet is here to stay’, says CoreFX CEO: The low-fat diet that was popular in past decades is an experiment that failed leading to a new relationship consumers have developed with food, particularly with “healthy fats”, says CoreFX Ingredients CEO, Denis Neville… Read
• FBOMB macadamia nut butter: ‘We’re very entrenched with the whole keto crowd right now’: While common when sitting at home on the couch, eating nut butters straight from the jar before hopping on a plane (if TSA didn’t confiscate) or during a rigorous workout can be a clumsy, messy experience, but FBOMB’s redesigned, single-serve pouches of macadamia nut butter solves for this pain point… Read
• ‘Don’t hold back’: Studies support eggs for heart health and prediabetics: An egg a day may reduce risk of stroke by 26%, and eating up to 12 per week does not negatively impact cholesterol for people with pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes, according to a couple of new studies… Read

This is one of FoodNavigator’-USA’s ongoing series of collected articles on specific topics from a food-industry perspective, in this case, digestive health.

Special Edition: Digestive health

Digestive health used to revolve around roughage, but as understanding of the relationship between our gut and our overall health has grown, consumers are now exploring everything from prebiotic fibers and probiotics to a new wave of fermented foods or simply avoiding foods that make them feel bloated or lethargic. We explore how consumers are thinking about gut health and how manufacturers can tap into demand for foods that make our microbes happy.

• How are consumers thinking about digestive health? Hartman Group weighs in: For some consumers, digestive health is about avoiding foods that make them feel bloated or lethargic, for some, it’s about ‘roughage’ and ‘regularity,’ while for others it’s about keeping their guts happy with prebiotics and probiotics, says Hartman Group… Read
• Green banana flour: A powerful new tool in the digestive health toolbox?  Milled starchy unripe bananas – which are low in sugar and high in RS2 resistant starch – can help people better control their blood glucose, but they also confer an exciting range of digestive benefits, making them a powerful new gut health ingredient, claims the firm behind NuBana green banana flour… Read
• Not all fiber is created equally, creators of resistant starch-packed Barley+ argue: Consumer demand for fiber is on the rise thanks in part to increased awareness of the ingredient’s cancer-fighting and other health benefits, but according to recent research not all fiber packs the same punch… Watch now
• Good mood food? Consumers are catching onto prebiotics, says dietitian turned food entrepreneur: While nutrition scientists are still unlocking the secrets of the gut microbiome, consumers increasingly understand that what we feed the army of microbes that line our digestive tracts may be intimately connected to our physical – and mental – health and wellbeing, says Kara Landau, the dietitian behind a new brand dedicated to gut health: Uplift: Good Mood Food… Read
• Beneo: ‘Prebiotics open a whole new door to the world of gut health that hasn’t been well explored in the US’: Brands and consumers are getting more comfortable talking about digestive health, with the conversation shifting beyond getting enough fiber for regular bowel movements, to the gut microbiome, says Beneo, which says growing interest in probiotics is helping Americans get their heads about the concept of prebiotics… Read
• Dannon continues yogurt and gut microbiome exploration with $50,000 in fellowship grants: As part of Danone North America, the Dannon Probiotics Fellowship Grant Program has awarded two graduate students with $25,000 each to help fund their independent and novel studies of yogurt, probiotics, and the human gut microbiome… Read
• Paleo On The Go sees ‘huge’ potential for convenient, auto immune protocol compliant products: With one in five Americans suffering from an auto immune disease and looking for ways to manage their conditions through diet, the market potential for foods and beverage that comply with the auto immune protocol is “huge,” and yet relatively untapped, according to one entrepreneur in the space… Read
• CHR Hansen sees growing demand for probiotics in drinkable yogurts, kids’ snacks, plant-based fermented foods: US consumers are increasingly interested in the relationship between intestinal bacteria and overall health, says CHR Hansen, but there is some confusion about which foods and beverages contain probiotics: live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host (according to the World Health Organization)… Read
• FDA issues guidance on added sugar, dietary fiber, serving sizes: The FDA has unveiled guidance on added sugars, serving sizes and dietary fibers to help manufacturers implement the new Nutrition Facts label, and says it’s working on a plan to incentivize manufacturers to make healthier products and “provide consumers with helpful tools to make healthy food choices, including clarity on food label claims.”.. Read
• Unique milling process qualifies Grain Millers’ oat hull fiber as ‘intrinsic and intact’ dietary fiber under FDA rules, claims company: Should oat hull fiber be classified as a dietary fiber? It depends, according to Grain Millers, which claims that its unique, mechanical milling process ensures that its oat hull fiber is the only one on the market that meets the FDA’s definition of ‘intrinsic and intact’ fibers, and queries whether oat fibers made using traditional chemical methods meet the FDA definition of ‘isolated or synthetic’ fibers either… Read
• Barrel Creek Provisions breathes new life into fermented foods: Barrel Creek Provisions has undergone a brand transformation to establish itself as a formidable player in the fermented foods category, a market that continues to grow alongside consumers’ interest in gut health and probiotics… Read

Canada’s food guide has been around since 2007.

 

Bill Jeffery, the executive director of the Canadian Centre for Health Science and Law (which publishes the Food for Life Report) has produced an annotated version of the food guide with proposals for fixing its major problems.

Critics viewed it as far too industry-friendly.

Here’s a graphic summary of the proposed revisions.

This is a great opportunity for Canada to produce a food guide that really does promote health.

Fingers crossed.

For review copies, interviews, etc, contact Kelsey Odorczyk at Basic Books: Kelsey.Odorczyk@hbgusa.com

For information about the book, see Basic Books/Hachette,  IndieBound,  Amazon

For reviews and media accounts, scroll down.

Portuguese translation, Elefante Editora, 2019:

Summary

Is chocolate heart-healthy? Does yogurt prevent type 2 diabetes? Do pomegranates help cheat death? News headlines bombard us with such amazing claims. They are reported as science, and have dramatic effects on what we eat.  Yet, as food expert Marion Nestle explains, these studies are more about marketing than science; they are often paid for by the companies and trade associations that sell those foods. Whether it’s a Coca-Cola-backed study hailing light exercise as a calorie neutralizer, claims for beef as a health food, or a report from investigators paid by a blueberry trade group concluding that this fruit prevents erectile dysfunction, every corner of the food industry knows how to turn conflicted research into big profit. As Nestle argues, it’s time to put public health first. Written with unmatched rigor and insight, Unsavory Truth reveals how the food industry manipulates nutrition science—and suggests what we can do about it.

Blurbs

“What happens when one of the country’s great nutrition investigators follows the money in food and science? You get this riveting, provocatively-written book, which deftly explores how the processed food industry has deepened our dependence on its products by sponsoring and manipulating food research for decades. This book should be read by anyone who has been seduced by the words, ‘New study shows…’—which is all of us.”  —Michael Moss, author of Salt Sugar Fat

“Marion Nestle is a tireless warrior for public health, and her meticulous research and irrefutable arguments are desperately needed right now. This book, as frightening as it is, compels us to discover where true health begins: nutrition starts in the ground, with real food that is sustainably grown, eaten in season, and alive.”  —Alice Waters, founder, owner, and executive chef of Chez Panisse

 “In clear, concise language, Marion Nestle details the many ways our ideas about what to eat are being manipulated by Big Food.  If you want to make better choices, read this book.”  —Ruth Reichl, former editor of Gourmet Magazine

 “Marion Nestle is a national treasure.  She has the courage to take on multinational corporations and the wisdom to separate the facts from the spin.  If you care about our food system and the health of your family, Unsavory Truth is essential reading.”  —Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation

“Marion Nestle has been a guiding light for sanity, credibility, and justice in food and nutrition for decades; she stands alone in her field. In Unsavory Truth, she exposes the awful deceptions practiced on eaters by manipulative food companies using ‘scientific research’ try to make themselves look good.”  —Mark Bittman, author of How to Cook Everything

 “Marion Nestle is a truth-teller in a world awash with nutrition lies of one kind and another. In this scintillating and eye-opening book, Nestle reveals how much of our confusion about food in modern times has been spread by the food industry itself, which passes off marketing as science and funds ‘research’ designed to show that its products are harmless. Unsavory Truth is essential reading for anyone in search of hard facts about what to eat.”  —Bee Wilson, author of First Bite and Consider the Fork

Reviews and media

2021

July 7   SPINS: What We’re Reading

2019

June 6  Review in American Journal of Public Health 2019;109(7):952-953.

Mar 11  Interview with VegSource with Jeff Nelson

Mar 5  TVO (Canada) The Agenda with Steve Paikin: Battling bias in nutrition research.  Also on YouTube.

Feb 17 Cover story based on Unsavory Truth, San Francisco Chronicle: “The myth-making of food”

Feb 5  KQED San Francisco, Michael Krasny’s Forum

Feb 2  Sarah Boseley reviews Unsavory Truth in The Lancet

Jan/Feb  Nutrition Action Healthletter: Peter Lurie’s editorial

Jan 25  Interview with Holly Friend of LS:N Global

Jan 22  KPFK radio interview , Feminist Magazine with Lynn Harris Ballen

Jan 21  Cookery by the Book, podcast with Suzy Chase

Jan 16  Kara Goldin’s podcast on Unstoppable, Unsavory Truth

2018

Dec 21 The Hagstrom Report’s five best ag books of 2018

Dec 19  Podcast with Max Lugavere, The Genius Life Episode 39 (iTunes), on Unsavory Truth

Dec 17  Radio interview with Rose Aguilar, KALW San Francisco on Unsavory Truth

Dec 14 Podcast review by Narsai David, KCBS

Dec 13  Lecture on Unsavory Truth (video) at Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center

Dec 13  Online interview at PLoS Blog

Dec 12  Podcast with Wooden Teeth

Dec 6  NYU Journalism Kavli Conversation on Science Communication with Paul Greenberg, moderated by Robert Lee Hotz

Dec 3  Interview (podcast) with Bhavani Jaroff of iEat Green

Nov 30  Conor Purcell interview for Undark’s Five Questions

Nov 29 Paul Thacker on Unsavory Truth in the BMJ

Nov 28  Podcast interview with Monica Eng on Unsavory Truth: Chewing episode 55

Nov 26  Lisa Held on Unsavory Truth, Edible Manhattan

Nov 19  Interview with Gabrielle Lipton, Landscape News

Nov 18  Video of interview with Dean Malcolm Clemens, Forum at Grace Cathedral, San Francisco (audio file).

Nov 15  Review by Gavin Wren, Medium.com

Nov 15  Video of keynote at launch of UCSF Food Industry Documents Library (my talk is in Part I: 14:30)

Nov 12  Jennifer Bowden on Unsavory Truth in New Zealand’s The Listener.

Nov 12  Interview with Jesse Mulligan, Radio New Zealand

Nov 10  Review in New Scientist

Nov 7  Podcast interview with The Potter Report

Nov 7  A. Pawlowski.  What are superfoods?  The truth about blueberries, dark chocolate and pomegranate.  Today.

Nov 6  Interview with Paul Thacker.  Tonic.

Nov 4  Lorin Fries.  Who decides what you eat?  (Hint: it’s not only you).  Forbes.

Nov 1  Review in New York Journal of Books

Oct 31 Review from New York Magazine’s The Cut

Oct 31  Interview with Julia Belluz in Vox

Oct 30  Excerpt from Unsavory Truth on Medium.com: “When Big Soda Started Stalking Me”

Oct 30  NPR radio interview with Brian Lehrer

Oct 30 Yoni Freedhoff, Weighty Matters.

Oct 30  Jane Brody.  Confused by nutrition research?  New York Times, Science section.

Oct 29  RT America video interview on Boom Bust about Unsavory Truth.

Oct 28  Hailey Eber. How the food industry fooled us into eating junk.  New York Post, 42-43.

Oct 23  Nestle M.  Superfoods are a marketing ploy (excerpt).  The Atlantic .

Oct 22  Àlex Pérez.  Una verdad desagradable no vende.  ElPiscolabis (Spain).

Oct 18 Nature Magazine (2018;562:334-335): Felicity Lawrence reviews Deborah Blum’s The Poison Squad and Unsavory Truth as “Poisoned Platefuls.”  “Nestle…could make a fair claim to [Harvey] Wiley’s mantle today…The book is a remorseless dissection of the corruption of science by industry.”

Oct 18  Interview with Maggie Tauranac on Unsavory Truth, FoodPrint

Oct 16 Podcast with Danielle Nierenberg on Unsavory Truth and other matters

Oct 2  Science Magazine: “There is indeed something rotten in the state of dietary science, but books like this show us that we consumers also hold a great deal of power.”

Sept 25 La Stampa (Italy): “I cibi di lunga vita sono illusori e troppi sponsor li promuovono.” (The newspaper clip).

Sept 24  Publishers Weekly: ” a groundbreaking look at how food corporations influence nutrition research and public policy.”

Aug 13 Booklist: “This well-documented, accessible venture makes a compelling argument.”

Aug 1  Kirkus: “Nestle proves yet again that she is a unique, valuable voice for engaged food consumers.”

July 17  Phil Lempert’s Lempert Report: Get ready for a new era of transparency (video)

July 9  David Wineberg, “Nutrition: conflict of interest as a career,” Medium.com.

Feb 12 Finnish Public Radio interview about Unsavory Truth (Google Translate, English)

Jan 31 Profile in New Scientist: The Unpalatable Truth about Your Favorite foods

Tweets (Highly Selected)

Michael Pollan, October 30

Ing Fei Chen, October 16:  Undark

Yoni Freedhoff, October 7: his mentions

Basic Books, October 2: Mark Bittman blurb

Basic Books, September 25: Ruth Reichl blurb

Basic Books, September 6: Eric Schlosser blurb

Basic Books, August 28: Alice Waters blurb

Michael Pollan, August 18: “This is a terrific and eye-opening book”

Bee Wilson, August 17: “I feel lucky to have an advance copy …A great piece of investigative writing.”

Basic Books, August 17: Bee Wilson blurb

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