This week, McDonalds Canada partnered with the Rainforest Alliance to serve its branded McCafé coffee made exclusively from 100 percent Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee beans in all Canadian restaurants. Nestlé announced the launch of its YES! snack bars in a new recyclable paper wrapper manufactured using a high-speed flow wrap technology. Teagasc revealed that the Irish dairy industry has increased its exports of Irish dairy products and ingredients from €1.84 billion (for the average of 2007 to 2009), to over €4 billion in 2018. Kelli Heinz, Vice President, Marketing at Bell Flavors & Fragrances was inducted onto the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA) Board of Governors. FEMA issued GRAS approval (“generally recognized as safe”) for Vitosa natural flavors, a new line of stevia products from plant-based ingredients manufacturer HB Natural Ingredients. 

In brief: Sustainability
McDonalds Canada has partnered with the Rainforest Alliance to serve its branded McCafé coffee made exclusively from 100 percent Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee beans in all of its Canadian restaurants. The Rainforest Alliance Certified Arabica beans sourced by McDonalds for its McCafé coffee are grown and harvested according to strict environmental, social and economic criteria, designed to protect biodiversity, improve livelihoods, and foster a culture of respect for workers and local communities. McCafé hot beverage cups used in Canadian restaurants will now sport the Rainforest Alliance Certified seal. Recently, the company announced plans for a “Green Concept Restaurant,” with two restaurants acting as incubator locations to test new packaging options and recycling initiatives. Sourcing only 100 percent Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee beans is one part of this journey, to help ensure the long-term wellbeing of farm communities, forests and wildlife. McDonalds claims it is also committed to ensuring that 100 percent of fiber-based packaging is sourced from recycled or certified sources by 2020. “Having a partner like McDonalds and the McCafé brand is a meaningful way to help educate Canadians about how their coffee is grown and how everyday choices can make a difference,” says Miguel Zamora, Director of Core Markets, Rainforest Alliance. 

Nestlé has announced the launch of its YES! snack bars in a new recyclable paper wrapper. In a breakthrough innovation, a confectionery bar has been packaged in paper using a high-speed flow wrap technology. The launch has unlocked the potential for recyclable paper packaging to be widely used in the confectionery industry, noted by the brand. Previously, high-speed production of shelf-stable snacks was only achieved using plastic films and laminates. Now paper can be used at large scale while guaranteeing product quality and freshness over the entire shelf life. This paper wrapper is a further step in Nestlé’s commitment to make all its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025. The wrapper is widely recycled in the countries wher it will be available. The paper is from sustainable sources, certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and The Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification. With the new paper wrapper and a wider range of flavors, YES! is now being launched in more countries. It will now be available in Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxemburg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, and the UK. More countries will follow soon.

In brief: Trade and commerce
Teagasc, the semi-state authority in the Republic of Ireland responsible for research and development, training and advisory services in the agri-food sector, hosted its Dairy Open Day, Moorepark’19, on July 3. At the event, it was announced that the Irish dairy industry has increased its exports of Irish dairy products and ingredients from €1.84 billion (for the average of 2007 to 2009), to over €4 billion in 2018. Milk production in Ireland has increased to 7.57 billion liters  in 2018 and current indications are that milk production in 2019 could reach 8 billion liters. Director of Teagasc, Professor Gerry Boyle warned dairy farmers that Irish dairy industry is currently facing a number of key challenges, namely climate change; water quality; remaining competitive; access to markets; and availability of skilled labor. A Dairy Farm Infrastructure Workbook, which was produced by Teagasc in partnership with Ulster Bank, was launched at Moorepark’19 and will help farmers to plan improvements in the areas of grazing infrastructure, milking practices and energy use. “Ulster Bank wants to help farmers make good decisions for future growth while simultaneously recognizing the inherent challenges, such as weather and prices, so that they are well-positioned to deal with whatever difficulties they face,”  says Dr. Ailish Byrne, Ulster Bank’s Head of Agriculture.

In brief: Leadership
The 2019 Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA) annual leadership conference was held recently in Florida, US. This is the premier annual flavor industry event for FEMA members wher flavor industry leaders come together to gain insights into current policy changes, inspire new thinking and make connections. During the conference Kelli Heinz, Vice President, Marketing at Bell Flavors & Fragrances was inducted onto the FEMA Board of Governors. In this role, Kelli will be responsible for fostering a comprehensive environment in which the flavor industry can create, innovate, and compete. She will join 13 other Governors in helping to shape the future of the flavor industry. Founded in 1909, FEMA asserts its commitment to assuring a substantial supply of safe flavoring substances. The organization performs its work through the efforts of industry executives and scientists with a staff experienced in legislature, regulatory, academia, science and media. FEMA’s vision is to create universal acceptance of the value of flavorings.  

FEMA has issued GRAS approval (“generally recognized as safe”) for Vitosa natural flavors, a new line of stevia products from plant-based ingredients manufacturer HB Natural Ingredients. The Vitosa range of natural flavors is  specially designed to provide unique flavor modification properties that can be used to impart, enhance or modify the flavor profile of a wide range of food and beverage and pharmaceutical applications. The result of patent-pending technological innovation, Vitosa offers a solution for a broad range of product applications including carbonated soft drinks, juices, energy and sports drinks, flavored water, dairy products, cookies and candies. The natural flavorings are synergistic with a wide range of natural sugars and high-intensity sweetener sugar-reduced and sugar-free food and beverage products. Theyincrease the overall sensory performance of natural and artificial high-intensity sweeteners by increasing the sweetening power up to 50 percent in added sugar water at the authorized doses, which provides full-bodied mouthfeel and improved flavor and aroma. Vitosa is also synergistic with low-calorie and slow release carbohydrate sweeteners and rare sugars. Three distinctive Vitosa products are made available: Active, Delight and Match. “With Vitosa, its now possible to develop a much broader range of great tasting natural flavor systems and reduced and sugar-free product development solutions that deliver great taste while also reducing calories,” explains Dr. Varuzhan Abelyan, Co-Chairman and Chief of Science & Technology. The FEMA GRAS approval and classification of Vitosaas a “flavoring with modifying properties” (FMP) is good news for flavor producers and consumer product makers. Other benefits include:

Freely soluble in water, propylene glycol and aqueous ethanol solutions.

High temperature and pH stability in food and beverage applications.

Excellent storage stability.

By Benjamin Ferrer

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