Breaking News on Beverage Technology & Markets

Cranberry waste may lead to alternative ingredients

Cranberry pomace, a by-product of the juicing process, may be extruded to produce a range of polyphenol-rich ingredients for use in supplements or functional foods, says a new study.

Soft drink portion depends on how it's served

Consumers’ view of soft drink portion size depends on whether they are drinking out of a glass or a can, research indicates, but as long as the energy per portion is marked this should not pose a problem.

EFSA mass rejects probiotics and antioxidants as article 13.1 batch two published

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has issued negative opinions to ‘most’ of 416 health claim dossiers including submissions linking health benefits to vitamin D, probiotics, green tea, black tea, lutein, beta glucans, meso-zeaxanthin, alpha-lipoic acid and melatonin.

Coke unveils plan to buy most of its largest bottler

Coca-Cola has revealed plans to buy the bulk of its largest bottler following a similar move from rival PepsiCo last year.

Coffee again linked to anti-diabetes benefits

Consuming a whopping 12 cups of coffee a day may reduce the risk of diabetes by an impressive 67 percent, according to a new study with Native Americans.

No miracles forecast for flat Western European beverage market

Canadean expects Western European beverage volumes to once again contract in 2010, albeit with a slight slowdown in the rate of decline.

Carlsberg beats Heineken on beer volume and profits

Brewing giants Heineken and Carlsberg have struggled through a tough year for beer and reported a mixed set of financial results.

News in brief

Lightweighting cuts PET water bottle weight by a third

New industry research suggests that the average gram weight of a 16.9 ounce single serve bottled water container has fallen by 32.6 per cent over the past 8 years.

Sugar and stevia join forces to cut calories

PureCircle and Imperial Sugar have launched a joint venture to offer sugar and stevia combinations to the food and beverage industry as it looks to meet consumer demand for natural lower calorie products.

Weekly comment

Banning energy drinks is a doomed shot in the dark

Energy shot drinks have come under fire from German authorities which are employing an old-school prohibition logic that history has repeatedly dunce-hatted.

Brewers brace themselves for Russian beer tax hike

Carlsberg and other big brewers operating in Russia are turning to premium products to protect themselves from a massive hike in excise duty on beer.

Special edition: Antioxidants

Gaining benefits from leaf and bean: Antioxidants in tea and coffee

In the fourth part of our series on antioxidants, NutraIngredients looks at coffee and tea – two products seen increasingly as functional beverages for their antioxidant content.

Exclusive interview

New Brewers of Europe head speaks out on industry threats

Governments throughout Europe are threatening tighter alcohol regulations and beer consumption is on the decline. In this challenging environment, the new secretary general of The Brewers of Europe, Pierre-Olivier Bergeron, speaks out on his priorities and plans.

New Krones system cuts blow-moulding change-over time

Krones has developed a system called the MouldXpress Advanced to reduce change-over time for moulds in its Contiform stretch blow-moulding machine.

Scientists find antimony in juice above EU drinking water limits

Scientists have found antimony levels in commercial juices and cordials that exceed the EU limit for drinking water and raise concern about leaching from packaging.

Study points to prebiotic soft drinks with tagatose

Beverage formulators looking at next generation product could harness the sweetening and prebiotic effects of tagatose in acidic drinks, says a new study supporting the stability of the ingredient.

News in brief

New head of flavours for Firmenich

Aldo Uva has officially taken over from Don Hartman as corporate VP of flavours at Firmenich and a member of its executive committee.

Rexam warns of beverage can weak spots

Rexam has warned that beer taxes in Russia and specialty can uncertainty may hold back its European beverage can sales in 2010.

Crown expands can production in Vietnam

Crown is planning to install a second beverage can line and double production at a recently acquired drinks container facility in Vietnam.

Bag-in-box specialist targets Russian market

DS Smith has set up a Russian subsidiary that will enable bag-in-box specialist Rapak to develop its position in the region.

DSM and Anchor set up wine ingredients business

DSM and Anchor BioTechnologies have agreed to set up a joint venture bringing their bio-tech wine ingredients together under one roof in the south of France.

News in brief

UK threatens mandatory alcohol labelling

A UK government report has criticised the drinks industry for failing to adhere with a voluntary agreement to introduce better alcohol labelling.

Swedish firm to launch Yerba Mate with stevia in France

A Yerba Maté beverage is set to be one of the first products on French shelves sweetened with stevia-derived rebaudioside-A (Reb-A), recalling a traditional use of the plant by Guarani Indians in Paraguay.

Britvic and PepsiCo switch up to 600ml bottles

Unlike Coca-Cola which has recently introduced a mini can in the US to encourage healthier drinking habits, Britvic and PepsiCo are increasing their bottle sizes in the UK for the same reason.

Weekly comment

Do drink makers have stomach for anti-obesity fight?

Bravo! The beverage industry has responded enthusiastically to Mrs. Obama’s campaign to tackle childhood obesity - but there’d better be more than froth behind that sparkling rhetoric.

Peanut flour offers instant powder beverage innovations

Partially defatted peanut flour could provide the foundations for an instant shake-style beverage with excellent consumer acceptance, according to a new study from the US.

Resealable cans hit UK beverage aisles

Resealable cans are making their debut on the UK market this month with the launch of No Fear Extreme Energy.

News in brief

Diageo’s ‘other’ drinks outperform its priority brands

Diageo has reported that its group of priority brands performed worse than other brands in the latest quarter as consumers turn to cheaper options.

Beverage industry backs Mrs. Obama’s anti-obesity drive

The US beverage industry has been quick to show its support for Michelle Obama’s new ‘Let’s Move’ campaign, by announcing new calorie-labeling initiatives.

Kirin and Suntory break off merger negotiations

Plans to merge Kirin and Suntory and create a Japanese drinks powerhouse have fallen through as the companies fail to agree on terms.

News in brief

Soft Drinks Association slams pancreatic cancer study

Soft drinks are safe and not a risk factor for cancer, says the British Soft Drinks Association (BSDA) in response to yesterday’s study from an Asian population.

Krones builds new water efficient cellar concept

Krones has launched a new cellar concept that the company claims connects pipes and tanks in a way that cuts down on water consumption, saves on energy use, and reduces cleaning times.

Tea science stacks up for weight management, but concerns continue for extracts

Leaf through the scientific literature and the benefits of tea, green and black, for weight managements garner much support, but more research is needed before the beverage and its extracts have “great public health importance”, says a new review.

Study links energy drinks to heart attack risk

Energy drink consumption has been linked to heart attack risk in a newly published study, but Red Bull claims the research is old and the results would be no different for a cup of coffee.

Combi checkweigher and metal detector saves cash and space

Low cost of ownership, significant space savings and versatility are benefits claimed by manufacturer Loma Systems for its new combination checkweighing and X-ray inspection system.

News in brief

Red Bull reacts to German opinion on energy shots

Energy shots are safe if used according to instructions, says Red Bull, as the German risk assessor BfR calls for a ban on energy shots because consumers could not be trusted to drink ‘safe’ amounts.

Nationwide soda tax proposal fizzles out

The prospect of a national tax on soft drinks has been effectively quashed for the time being as a key congressional committee has refused to consider such a levy, according to a report in the LA Times.

Soft drinks may increase pancreatic cancer risk

Drinking two or more soft drinks per week may double the risk of developing pancreatic cancer, suggests the first study of its kind in an Asian population.

Weekly comment

US military may enlist Omega-3s to boost performance but why wait?

“An army marches on its stomach.” This advice, from French military adventurer Napoleon, seems to have impressed the US military which is considering fortifying troops’ rations with omega-3 fatty acids. What is it waiting for?

Beers rich in hops and barley malts linked to better bone health

A new study suggests that beers containing plenty of hops or pale barley malts could promote better bone health thanks to their dietary silicon content.

OPCs come out tops for heart health beverages

Cranberry juice rich in antioxidant procyanidins is effective at boosting the health of blood vessels, thereby supporting previous research supporting the cardiovascular health of such compounds.

Germans call for energy shot ban

German health authorities have issued a 14-page statement warning against over-consumption of energy shots – one of the fastest growing segments of the international beverages market.

News in brief

Unilever boosts year with promos and ads

Unilever has reported strong end of year sales on the back of a Q4 advertising drive, with particularly good progress in reestablishing volume growth in Western Europe.

Europe depresses Pepsi Bottling Group sales

The Pepsi Bottling Group (PBG), which is being bought out by PepsiCo, has published flat full year sales figures as volumes declined sharply in Europe and Mexico.

Coca-Cola faces mercury poisoning cases in China

Coca-Cola brand Sprite has been caught up in a Chinese investigation into two cases of alleged mercury poisoning.

Hibiscus tea may reduce blood pressure in at-risk people

A few cups of hibiscus tea a day may reduce blood pressure and offer cardiovascular benefits for people at risk of developing hypertension, says a new study from Tufts University.

Crown eyes acquisitions; forecasts demand rebound in US and Europe

Crown Holdings said it is looking to make acquisitions in emerging markets and expected demand in its North American and Western European packaging sectors to bounce back this year.

‘Jury still out’ on sweeteners and metabolic effects

The scientific literature does not support a link between intakes of artificial sweeteners and metabolic changes in children, says a new review from the US National Institutes of Health.

Britvic drinks to sales success

Britvic has published revenue growth of 5.6 per cent for 2009 prompting some analysts to suggest that the soft drinks business is in a position to expand more aggressively.

Zero-calorie fruit-based sweetener gets FDA GRAS

BioVittoria has received an FDA letter of no objection that its fruit-derived zero-calorie Fruit-Sweetness sweetener is GRAS (generally recognized as safe), the company said on Monday.

Beverage firms complain of poor servicing and support from suppliers

Beverage manufacturers have complained of poor service and support from packaging and processing equipment suppliers in a recent survey.

Weekly comment

No bitter battle over salt science

Excess salt can cause hypertension, heart disease, death. That’s the scientific consensus behind public health campaigns to reduce consumption of sodium chloride in the diet. But not everyone reads the science as conclusive, and when it comes to minerals that are essential to human life, the voice of caution must not be drowned out.