Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
that includes an understanding of such terms as 'wholefood', 'wholegrain',
'superfruits' and 'natural antioxidants', many of which are closely linked to health
and wellness. Consumer awareness of nutrition, additives and ingredient
declarations continues to grow assisted by both retailers and the media, and by
government initiatives such as the 'Traffi c Light system' to highlight foods low,
average and high in the basic nutrients. This greater awareness will drive the
markets particularly at the premium end.
Europe has been the main driver in the move towards natural food products, and
although the number of launches containing 'minus' or 'plus' dipped between 2005
and 2009, the trend towards natural claims has increased and the trend looks set to
continue according to the Mintel Global New Products Database (GNPD) (Barnett
2011). Governments and consumers continue to ask for greater transparency in
food labelling. The disclosure of the countries of origin of the food is being
demanded by consumers as much as shorter ingredient declarations and the absence
of preservatives and antioxidants and associated E numbers (Greenerchoices 2007).
The move towards full naturalness in our food will be delayed because full
natural alternatives do not yet exist technically or commercially. Starch technology
continues to advance and will continue to do so to fi nd solutions for food systems
that undergo extreme processing conditions. Non-natural preservatives continue
to be used as we do not yet have failsafe natural alternatives to fully control the
microbiological safety of our food. Natural fl avourings can be adequate
alternatives to non-natural, if at a sometimes restrictive cost due to being generally
weaker in fl avour. Thermal process fl avourings manufactured totally from natural
ingredients are available to provide strong fl avours, but these cannot be termed
natural in the EU. Flavours that are made with mild processing technology that
may be declared as natural with similar fl avour properties to thermally processed
fl avours are now being introduced (DSM Food Specialities 2010).
The natural approach will be even more important in targeting savoury food
products for children, although it must be pointed out that some sectors of the
food industry are more advanced in the move to natural than some others.
Chefs both in restaurants and on TV continue to infl uence food trends and we
are seeing a growing desire and willingness by consumers to have some
involvement in the food they are eating by cooking meals at home made from
proportioned natural ingredients in the form of meal kits. This is in contrast to the
previous trend of 'food on the go' associated more with the younger generations
and the use of food service outlets and may well be a result of consumers desiring
to know exactly what is in their food products.
Over and above the use of natural ingredients are other trends. The chef
infl uence means that consumers are eager to try ingredients that have a provenance
or varietal claim in the belief that these will be more natural and less processed
than more readily available ingredients. This is coupled to a requirement for less
and natural or biodegradable packaging and a desire to reduce the 'Air Miles'
associated with food.
There is an on-cost associated with a move to natural ingredients, whether for
fl avour or functional reasons, and it is this cost that will ultimately be the limiting
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