News on Health and Nutrition from the Americas

ConAgra Foods, Inc., (NYSE: CAG) one of North America’s leading food makers, today announced its pledge to reduce salt across its portfolio of food products by 20 percent by 2015. Since 2006, the company has already removed more than 2 million pounds o...

Consumers International (CI) hace un llamado a las empresas a detener la promoción de alimentos con alto contenido de grasas, azúcar y sal, dirigida a la población infantil, como parte de una estrategia para abordar esta crisis de salud pública. Recie...

It's confirmed: the recession really did make us chow down on potato chips and other salty snacks. A new report from Mintel shows that after years of mediocre sales increases, the potato chip market grew 22% during the economic downturn.

A natural byproduct of cooking high-carbohydrate foods at high temperatures, acrylamide turns up in a wide variety of roasted and baked foods, including potato chips, french fries, breakfast cereal, baby food, bread and crackers.Research has shown tha...

The “green” movement is all the rage these days. And yet, if you’re a retailer or consumer of potatoes, green is the last thing you want.NNZ Inc., Lawrenceville, Ga., and Walnut Packaging Inc., Farmingdale, N.Y., have joined to manufacture, market and ...

Since so many consumers feel they lack control over significant economic matters today, they compensate by snacking. It’s the tiniest affordable slack that people allow themselves in order to feel a bit more comforted or a bit less frustrated. Although...

Reducing Americans' average intake of sodium to the amount recommended by health officials could save the nation as much as $18 billion annually in avoided health care costs and improve the quality of life for millions of people, according to a new R...

Myth or fact? It is possible to create affordable and nutritious meals from scratch in under thirty minutes without ever turning on the oven. Fact! With the United States Potato Board's (USPB) new "Quick and Healthy"recipe series, potato sal...

It's a controversy that's as close as your local supermarket shelf - those familiar government nutrition labels. Now some big food manufacturers are adding labels of their own."The purpose is to help people make choices about healthier food and to...

The majority of US consumers are unaware of acrylamide even as major North American governments are taking action to deal with the suspected carcinogen, according to new consumer research. Acrylamide is a chemical produced during high temperature cooki...

Industry officials are assailing a recently published report recommending that local governments seeking to curb obesity should ban fast-food restaurants from operating near schools and in certain neighborhoods.A report by the Institute of Medicine and...

Mintel Menu Insights, which tracks restaurant menu trends, says the average kids’ menu doesn’t offer enough variety or healthy food, even as parents, kids and chefs alike call out for better options.Analyzing kids’ menus from 2005 to the present, Minte...

A new report released by Pricewaterhouse Coopers shows that the U.S. functional foods market experienced sales revenue of $27 billion in 2007 and is expected to grow 8.5–20% each year. This is ahead of the overall industry, where growth is estimated at...

Health Canada has added acrylamide to the government’s list of toxic substances.   Having added acrylamide to its toxic list, Health Canada will be pursing a three-pronged strategy to reduce exposure to the substance from food sources. It will press ...

Consumers’ secrets are out: When shopping for themselves and their loved ones, they are swayed by what’s prominently displayed on food labels. As U.S. consumers actively embrace healthier lifestyles, Tate &Lyle found that 55 percent of them displa...

Technomic has found that the recession is adversely affecting consumers’ healthy eating behavior. Results from the Chicago-based food industry research firm’s recent consumer survey show that while over half of consumers are more concerned about their ...

Salty snacks like popcorn and certain cereals may be healthier than previously thought thanks to their unusually high antioxidant content.New evidence presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society (ASC) indicates that some snacks and cereals ...

Americans love sodium and most of us consume considerably more than we should on a daily basis. Mintel’s recent data shows consumers are starting to pay more attention to their intake as more than half (52%) are monitoring the amount of sodium in their...