2024 – Page 114

Study finds correlation between sweetener, higher heart disease risk

CLEVELAND — A study published June 6 in the European Heart Journal finds an association between consuming the sweetener xylitol and a higher risk of cardiovascular disease.

A research team led by Stanley Hazen, MD, PhD, director of Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Microbiome and Human Health, identified a higher three-year risk of cardiovascular events in an analysis of over 3,000 patients in the United States and Europe. The third of patients with the highest amount of xylitol circulating in their plasma were more likely to experience a cardiovascular event.

“This study again shows the immediate need for investigating sugar alcohols and artificial sweeteners, especially as they continue to be recommended in combating conditions like obesity or diabetes,” Hazen said. “It does not mean throw out your toothpaste if it has xylitol in it, but we should be aware that consumption of a product containing high levels could increase the risk of blood clot-related events.”

Xylitol, a polyol/sugar alcohol, is found in sugar-free candy, low-sugar baked foods and oral products like toothpaste, according to the Cleveland Clinic. The sweetness of xylitol is similar to the sweetness of sucrose, but it has 2.4 calories per gram compared to 4 calories per gram for sucrose.

The US Food and Drug Administration considers xylitol to be Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS). The European Union allows the use of xylitol but assigns it an E-number: E967.

“The results of this study are contrary to decades of scientific evidence substantiating the safety and efficacy of low-calorie sweeteners such as xylitol by global health and regulatory ‎agencies,” said Carla Saunders, president of the Calorie Control Council, an international association representing the low- and reduced-calorie food and beverage industry. “While the authors used multiple methods, it should be noted that the findings are limited in their ability to establish association only. Further, one phase of the study included individuals who were already at increased risk for adverse cardiovascular events.‎

“These findings are a disservice to those who rely on alternative sweeteners as a tool to improve their health. Xylitol has been trusted as a great tasting, low-calorie sweetener for over 60 years.”

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The GIANT Company Announces Leadership Appointment

CARLISLE, Pa. – The GIANT Company announced that it has named Rebecca Lupfer senior vice president and chief merchant. In her new role, Lupfer will lead all aspects of merchandising for the company as well as commercial planning and pricing, reporting directly to The GIANT Company’s president, John Ruane. The appointment is effective immediately.

“With nearly 20 years of retail grocery experience spanning nearly all areas of the business, Rebecca brings a tremendous amount of expertise to the table as well as an incredible passion for building strong teams that deliver results,” said John Ruane, president, The GIANT Company. “With her strong knowledge of our business, team, and customers, I know The GIANT Company will continue to be the grocery store of choice for customers and team members alike.”

Lupfer joined Ahold Financial Services in 2005 as a business analyst and held various positions of increasing responsibility before joining Ahold USA in 2016 as a portfolio lead for seasonal merchandising. She joined The GIANT Company in 2018 as director of merchandising planning and over the next six years held various positions including vice president of merchandising – center store, vice president of the company’s Mid-Atlantic division, and most recently, chief financial officer.

Lupfer currently serves on the board of directors for the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, and the Academy of Food Marketing and The Food Marketing Educational Foundation at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. In addition, she serves as the executive sponsor of the company’s women’s business resource group. Lupfer has received numerous industry and community awards throughout her career, including being a two-time winner of Progressive Grocer’s Top Women in Grocery Award, a 40 Under 40 Award Winner by the Central Penn Business Journal, a City & State PA Above and Beyond Award, a Woman of Excellence by the YWCA of Greater Harrisburg, and was honored by Mass Market Retailers as Person Who Made a Difference. She earned an MBA from Lebanon Valley College and a bachelor’s degree in accounting at the Pennsylvania State University. 

About The GIANT Company

The GIANT Company is a modern, omnichannel grocer with more than 35,000 team members dedicated to serving millions of neighbors and making a difference in local communities across Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. Founded in 1923 in Carlisle, Pa. The GIANT Company is known locally as GIANT, MARTIN’S, and GIANT Heirloom Market with 193 stores, online grocery services, pharmacies, and fuel stations to meet the ever-evolving needs of today’s customers. The GIANT Company is a company of Ahold Delhaize USA. For more information, visit the GIANT or MARTIN’S websites.

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Inulin Packs Nutritional Punch for Bakery, Snacks

By now it’s no secret that grocery shoppers are increasingly making food purchase decisions based upon an item’s perceived health benefits. In fact, 55 percent of U.S. consumers are seeking information on the value of foods and almost half are comparing labels to select the most nutritious options. [1]

Chief among the most sought-after nutrients is fiber. Decades of research has shown that fiber leads to numerous positive outcomes including decreased chronic disease, increased longevity and improved gut health. [2] Yet the story remains the same: most people aren’t getting nearly enough. Americans get about 15 grams daily, compared to the 25-35 grams of fiber needed for children and adults. [3]

Bakery and snacks have long been strong categories for fiber-enhanced products. In the baking category in particular, there has been recent movement away from traditional fiber-rich ingredients and toward isolated fibers, such as inulin. [4]

Recognized for its prebiotic benefits, inulin is well-established in the market and is among the fastest-growing prebiotic fiber ingredients. [5] And for good reason. As a functional nutritional ingredient, inulin acts as a growth factor for gut microbiota, improves digestion, improves mineral solubility and absorption, and decreases glucose uptake. [6]

Inulin is derived from agave, chicory root, beets, among other plant-based sources. It is a non-digestible, longer-chain carbohydrate that offers developers various functional properties, including fiber, sugar reduction, fat replacement (up to 50 percent), sweetener texturizer and humectant. Notably, inulin’s sweetness has anywhere from 30-50 percent of the sweetness of table sugar. This means inulin can be increased for higher fiber content without negatively impacting flavor. [7]

“As the market for inulin continues to grow, bakery and snack brands have a unique opportunity to educate consumers about how this bioactive, powerhouse ingredient can help them meet their daily fiber intake and other health goals,” said Tonya Lofgren, product manager for CIRANDA, the premiere North American provider of certified organic, non‐GMO and fair‐trade food ingredients.

To meet growing demand for inulin, CIRANDA offers Organic Agave Inulin, which is non-GMO and kosher.

CIRANDA’S Organic Agave Inulin comes from the Agave tequilana var. weber plant — a plant that naturally contains a high concentration of inulin fructans. It is extracted from the agave pina with water, filtered to purify, and spray-dried. It is an odorless, clean tasting, mildly sweet white powder that is highly soluble in liquid. It can be used in bakery applications such as cereal and granola bars, energy balls, cookies, and baking mixes.

“Our expert technicians work with brands to effectively formulate products with inulin to meet a brand’s quality, nutrition, taste and clean-label goals,” said Lofgren. “Our agave inulin delivers on taste and texture, while also satisfying the health-conscious consumer’s desire for more fiber and reduced-sugar options.”

Agave inulin has natural water-absorption properties. It is an excellent alternative to other commercial inulin sources, such as chicory. Compared to inulin from chicory, agave inulin has more branched chains versus straight chains. These branched chains make it very soluble in cold water and enhance its functional characteristics. It acts as a fat mimetic to improve the texture and mouthfeel in reduced sugar or reduced fat applications.

“CIRANDA has decades of experience in organic agriculture, sustainable food systems and technical applications,” said Lofgren. “We look forward to helping more product developers in the bakery and snack category offer their customers the functional health benefits of inulin.”

For more information about CIRANDA’s ingredient options, please visit www.ciranda.com.

[1] “Ingredient Insider: Now & Next for Fiber & Prebiotic – US,” Innova Market Insights, March 2024

[2] Alice Callahan, ” You Probably Aren’t Getting Enough Fiber,” New York Times, Aug. 14, 2023 (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/14/well/eat/fiber-diet.html?searchResultPosition=2)

[3] “The Nutrition Source,” Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. (https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/carbohydrates/fiber/#:~:text=Fiber%20helps%20regulate%20the%20body’s,vegetables%2C%20legumes%2C%20and%20nuts)

[4] “Ingredient Insider: Now & Next for Fiber & Prebiotic – US,” Innova Market Insights, March 2024

[5] “Ingredient Insider: Now & Next for Fiber & Prebiotic – US,” Innova Market Insights, March 2024

[6] Ankan Kheto, Yograj Bist, Anchal Awana, Samandeep Kaur, Yogesh Kumar, Rachna Sehrawat, Utilization of inulin as a functional ingredient in food: Processing, physicochemical characteristics, food applications, and future research directions, Food Chemistry Advances, Volume 3, 2023. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772753X23002642)

[7] Ankan Kheto, Yograj Bist, Anchal Awana, Samandeep Kaur, Yogesh Kumar, Rachna Sehrawat, Utilization of inulin as a functional ingredient in food: Processing, physicochemical characteristics, food applications, and future research directions, Food Chemistry Advances, Volume 3, 2023. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772753X23002642)

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Albertsons sued for allegedly stealing trade secrets

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Dive Brief:

Replenium, an e-commerce company that offers auto-replenishment technology to retailers, filed a lawsuit Monday in federal court against Albertsons, alleging the grocer misappropriated trade secrets and breached the companies’ contract.
The software company claims the grocer used its partnership with Replenium to build its own system to replace Replenium’s.
“Albertsons’ calculated maneuver cost Replenium millions of dollars in contract revenue and tens of millions of dollars in development of the platform and inflicted a substantial loss to Replenium’s investors,” Replenium said in the suit.

Dive Insight:

Albertsons partnered with Replenium in October 2020 to launch the Replenium Platform, agreeing to pay the company service fees based upon the net revenue generated through the replenishment orders placed by the grocer’s customers, according to the complaint.

At the end of 2021, Albertsons unveiled “Schedule & Save,” an online auto-replenishment offering for loyalty program members that it developed in partnership with Replenium, noting the tool was available to select Safeway customers in northern California. Albertsons said in the announcement that it planned to roll out the tool nationwide in 2022 as well as add a new feature to allow people to continuously add items for automatic replenishment.

Replemnium says that Albertsons delayed — yet continued to promise — the nationwide rollout as it kept asking the software company to share trade secrets and confidential information.

“As an added inducement, [Albertsons Senior Vice President of Digital Shopping Experiences Jill] Pavlovich specifically pointed Replenium to Albertsons’ recently announced planned merger with Kroger, stating that Replenium stood to generate fees beyond Albertsons’ replenishment volume because” of the merger, according to the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

In October 2023, Albertsons abruptly ended the contract with Replenium, citing the proposed Kroger merger as one of the reasons, and then quickly launched its own, “nearly identical” full-basket auto-replenishment solution, according to court documents.

“Unbeknownst to Replenium, during Replenium’s three years of confidential information sharing, Albertsons was misappropriating Replenium’s trade secret and confidential information by building its own competing, full grocery basket auto-replenishment solution to replace the Replenium Platform,” the complaint says.

Albertsons declined to comment.

Tom Furphy, a former Amazon Fresh and Wegmans executive, founded Replenium in 2015.

Replenium is seeking a jury trial and wants Albertsons to pay it an unspecified monetary amount.

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Automated Flexible Conveyor Introduces SPIRALFEEDER

A new SPIRALFEEDER flexible screw conveyor from process equipment manufacturer Automated Flexible Conveyor features a custom design that automatically transfers fine powders that cake and clump without clogging the conveying tube.

Developed to transfer a proprietary wheat flour for a major food and nutritional product manufacturer, this portable SPIRALFEEDER features an asymmetric agitator design to continuously sweep wide swaths of powder into the hopper discharge, FDA-compliant air diffusers to reduce particle-to-particle contact, and a vibrating hopper to ensure constant movement towards the screw. The fine powders move from hopper to discharge in a first-in, first-out process in a choice of throughput rates.

Suitable for gently transferring bentonite clay, powdered sugar, starch, detergent and other non-free flowing materials and ingredients, the sanitary flexible screw conveyor also includes a hopper dust cover with dust sock to keep any fine particles enclosed in the powder transfer system. In addition, an automated low-level shutoff stops operation when the hopper is empty to prevent excessive wear on the screw conveyor and tube.

The AFC SPIRALFEEDER is custom-designed and manufactured at the company’s New Jersey facility. Product and material testing are offered in the on-site test laboratory.

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Argentine toothfish harvester appoints CEO

Marcos Osuna replaces Alan Mackern, who led the company for 10 years.

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Grocery shoppers still working through higher prices

LENEXA, KAN. — Although inflation is easing, consumers are still feeling the pinch of higher prices that have been rising the past few years. They have a variety of priorities in how they spend their food dollars, and they’re trying to find a balance between money, time, taste, nutrition and experience.

“If you were to compare the prices of food and beverages today versus 2019 or 2020, you’re looking at 25% to 30% higher,” said Anne-Marie Roerink, principal at 210 Analytics, who spoke at Corbion’s 2023 Media Day on Oct. 17. “I doubt there’s a lot of us here today that are making 25% to 30% more money today than we did in 2019 or 2020, and that’s really what’s causing a lot of the pressure.”

She talked about the conflicting needs forcing consumers to figure out which items they will splurge on and other areas where they’re cutting back as well as finding a balance between healthy, nutritious foods and indulgent treats.

“It is not a race to the bottom where it’s always cheapest,” Roerink said.

Value and affordability are top of mind for consumers shopping in retail stores.

“When people are buying in grocery stores, they continue to really change things up there,” she said. “We see 93% of shoppers month after month that are applying some kind of money saving measure.”

And nearly four in 10 consumers said they are either eating out or ordering in less often, according to a 210 Analytics survey from August.

Consumers are spending more food dollars at retail stores than at restaurants and spending less at restaurants by cutting back on certain items like alcohol, appetizers and desserts. More people are turning to takeout rather than eating at restaurants. For instance, families may be buying a restaurant entrée to bring home then supplementing the dish with chips, drinks and other items. This creates opportunities for retailers.

“Every single department around the store has an opportunity to add onto those restaurant-based meals,” Roerink said.

Consumers are also cooking hybrid meals at home, buying convenience items to make meal prep easier.

Retailers are finding that consumers are really watching their spending because it’s harder to get shoppers to act on promotions, she added.

“That price has to be pretty hot for them to move on it,” Roerink said. “And that’s exactly what we see out in the marketplace. Certainly we see a move toward private brands. They are outgrowing national brands in virtually every category. But we’re also seeing not quite the same reaction to promotions.”

Consumers are gravitating toward value and club stores where they save money and stock up on items.

There is a “big willingness to shift channels, more than I’ve ever seen before,” Roerink said. “Across food and beverages, look at the loss in share for traditional supermarkets. The areas that are picking up share really are the mass supercenters. In other words, Walmart is absolutely growing gangbusters and has been for several years.”

Retailers have many ways to reach out to consumers. They are willing to splurge on holidays and special occasions, which means not only promotions for large holidays but also days like National Grilled Cheese Day.

“You have of course the big primary holidays that we go after, but then if you go after those smaller ones — Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Labor Day, St. Patrick’s Day — there is a lot of opportunities out there and what I would call the primary holidays, the secondary holidays but also those micro occasions.”

Retailers are finding ways to offer personalized ads, such as highlighting items on sale that the customer has purchased before.

“Value has everything to do with relevance,” Roerink said. “‘I can help you save time and I don’t need to sift through the whole ad when everything I see is relevant to me.’ Sixty-two percent say that is a good or great idea.”

Providing more information on packages to provide greater transparency for consumers and showcasing how products are helping the planet, people or promoting animal welfare are also suggestions Roerink said would appeal to consumers. Additionally, social media is an effective area of promotion, such as viral TikTok crazes for interesting new products.

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Malaysia primed for growth in US pork exports

DENVER — In the past year, five US pork facilities have become eligible to export to Malaysia, with another recently being approved without the need for an on-site audit, which has supported significant growth in that market.

While Malaysia has previously maintained a cumbersome process for approving US plants, the country is emerging as a promising destination for US pork as it modifies its process, according to the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF). Malaysia is working to remove the barriers of on-site audits for export approval to only requiring a paper application.

“Malaysia had requested to come do a physical audit of five pork facilities,” explained Jim Remcheck, USMEF director of export services. “They wanted a selection of five facilities to physically audit, and then, therefore, if all five pork plants passed the audit, any future pork plants wanting to be registered for Malaysia could do so via a paper application process and not have to post a physical audit in order to become registered.”

Remcheck believes the recent approval of a pork facility without an on-site audit is a “harbinger of good things to come.”

Last year US pork exports to Malaysia reached 5,170 tonnes with a value of $16.3 million, which was over 1,500% of 2022 levels. Through May of this year, exports are approximately 50% above the 2023 pace, already topping $10 million in value.

Other contributing factors to growth in US pork exports to Malaysia included the impact of African swine fever (ASF) on domestic production and tightening supplies of European pork.

As Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim country, a large portion of the population refrains from consuming pork. However, the non-Muslim portion of the population has a strong demand for pork.

USMEF is working to get more beef facilities approved by Malaysia as well, but this process has proved challenging.

“Because there’s no halal aspect to the pork approvals, we are in a scenario in which we can do this paper process,” Remcheck said. “When it comes to approving a beef facility, not only does the Malaysia Department of Veterinary Services need to be involved in the physical audit, their halal authority does as well. So that makes things a lot more complicated for beef.”

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Believer Meats grows executive leadership team

CHICAGO — As cultivated meat company Believer Meats looks to move into the next phase of commercialization, the company announced three new executive leadership appointments, effective immediately.

Believer Meats named Heather Hudson its new chief product and growth officer. She will be based near the company’s forthcoming commercial-scale facility in Wilson, NC, which is expected to be operational in 2024.

With over two decades of experience driving innovation in Fortune 500 companies and startups within the food and agriculture industries, Hudson will play a key role in Believer Meats’ expansion. The company believes her expertise will lend to the commercial success for Believer Meats’ products in the emerging cultivated meat industry.

Hudson brings experience from Kraft Heinz, Bumble Beef Foods and Pairwise. She holds a bachelor’s degree in nutrition, a PhD in food science and a Master of Business Administration.

The second appointment announced was Frida Grynspan as the company’s new chief science officer. She brings more than two decades of experience in biotech and life sciences into her new role.

Most recently, Grynspan served as head of Lonza’s Collaborative Innovation Center in Haifa, Israel, overseeing all operations and the development of new innovative technologies related to mammalian protein cell expression. Prior to Lonza, Grynspan served as vice president of R&D for leading startups within the fields of human cell therapy, protein chemistry and biomedical devices.

Grynspan earned her PhD in chemistry and biochemistry from the University of Illinois, Chicago, and completed post-doctoral research and work at the Harvard Medical School. She holds patents in the fields of autoimmune, degenerative diseases, mammalian cell development and antibody expression.

The third and final appointment made by Believer Meats was Marc Shelley’s appointment as chief legal officer. In his role, Shelley will lead legal, regulatory, IP and corporate affairs. He will also serve as corporate secretary to ensure smooth corporate governance processes at Believer Meats.

Shelley joins the Believer team from Anheuser-Busch InBev, where he spent over five years as the global director of litigation and risk management. Previously, he was a partner at Shook, Hardy & Bacon for more than 10 years, seven of which he spent based in Geneva, Switzerland.

“Believer Meats is at an exciting inflection point as we enter a new phase of our commercialization in 2024,” said Gustavo Burger, chief executive officer of Believer Meats. “We are thrilled to welcome Heather, Frida and Marc to our executive leadership roster, as they bring a strategic fusion of scientific acumen and food industry expertise to our team, positioning us uniquely within the food tech and nutrition landscape. The breadth and depth of their expertise, as well as their successful track records, will help propel our company forward as we execute against our growth strategy and prepare for our imminent product launch.”

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Cal-Maine Foods announces new cage-free projects

RIDGELAND, MISS. – Cal-Maine Foods Inc. announced on March 31 that it approved new capital projects to expand its cage-free egg production capabilities. The company plans to invest an estimated $82 million in these projects with available cash on hand, investments and operating cash flow.

“We are pleased to announce these cage-free expansion projects that will further advance our growth strategy and better serve customers given growing customer and consumer demand and expanding state requirements for cage-free eggs,” said Dolph Baker, chairman and chief executive officer of Cal-Maine. “Cal-Maine Foods is well-positioned as an industry leader in meeting this demand.”

The proposed project includes the two projects at Cal-Maine Foods’ locations:

Delta, Utah – four new cage-free layer houses and two pullet house conversions with capacity for approximately 810,000 cage-free layer hens. The work is expected to start immediately with project completion expected by fall 2023.
Guthrie, Kentucky – nine cage-free layer house conversions and two pullet house conversions with capacity for approximately 953,000 cage-free layer hens. The work is expected to begin immediately with expected completion by spring 2025.

Baker added since 2008, including these projects, the company allocated approximately $625 million in facilities, equipment and related operations expanding cage-free production and distribution capabilities. Cal-Maine is expected to finish $123 million in projects in the next three years.

Cal-Maine Foods primarily is engaged in the production, grading, packing and sale of fresh shell eggs, including conventional, cage-free, organic and nutritionally enhanced eggs. The company sells the majority of its shell eggs in states across the southwestern, southeastern, mid-western and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.

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