THC-containing snacks that mimic popular snack brands and products could unintentionally attract children, a new study warns (Drug Alcohol Depend. 2022. DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2022.109409).

Growing acceptance of cannabis use has ushered in a flurry of product innovation, especially in edible formats, called “edibles,” which include everything from drinks and gummies to baked good and mints. In fact, Zion Market Research projects the global cannabis edibles market will garner nearly $14 billion by 2025, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 30.5% between 2019 and 2025.

Tetrahydrocannabidiol, or THC, is the compound responsible for the psychoactive effects of cannabis.

The issue of children unintentionally consuming THC-containing products has become more prevalent as the use of marijuana becomes increasingly mainstream. Although cannabis use is prohibited under federal law, a handful of states have legalized marijuana for adult recreational use, and more than half have legalized the substance for medical use.

A recent Pediatrics study found that between 2017 and 2019, 1,906 calls about exposures to cannabis edibles in babies and children through age 9 were made to regional poison control centers, with 1,837 of exposures confirmed unintentional.

The frequency of these calls increased over the two-year period, which researchers attribute to unintentional exposures to edible cannabis products.

Likewise, recent media reports have warned of the dangers deceptive packaging of cannabis products pose to children.

The present study, published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence, aimed to determine whether cannabis products resemble commercial non-cannabis counterparts in accordance with recent reports.

For the study, researchers collected photos of cannabis products via an online survey of cannabis users and through personal contacts from May 2020 to August 2021.

Packages were evaluated for similarities with commercial non-cannabis counterparts according to brand name, product name, font, color, flavors and brand/promotional characters. Copycat/lookalike products were defined as products that use the same or similar brand name, logo and/or imagery as an existing commercial non-cannabis counterpart.

Of 731 cannabis products, 267 (36%) were edibles. Of those, 22 (8%) represented 13 unique copycat/lookalike products.

Specifically, eight products used exact brand/product names as existing commercial non-cannabis counterparts, and five used similar names. The copycat products copied or imitated a mean of 3.9 of six features.

Researchers also examined indications of cannabis content on the packaging, including THC content per package and serving, whether the package displayed a cannabis leaf symbol, and product warnings, cannabis terms, cannabis motifs, activation time and guidance on edible use.

Of the copycat products, cannabis content was indicated with a mean of 4.1 of eight features. Thirteen packages indicated a mean THC content of 459 mg/package. Four displayed the dose of THC per serving, with a mean dose of 47.5 mg.

Researchers characterized indications of cannabis on edibles packaging as “subtle.”

 “Copycat/lookalike edibles subtly indicate cannabis content while using high fidelity replication or imitation of their commercial non-cannabis counterparts,” they wrote.

Researchers also raised issue with the products’ high THC content and concluded that “these products may be attractive to children.”

Rachel Adams joined Informa’s Health & Nutrition Network in 2013. Her career in the natural products industry started with a food and beverage focus before transitioning into her role as managing editor of Natural Products INSIDER, where she covered the dietary supplement industry. Adams left Informa Markets in 2019.

Mondelēz International is doubling its Mexico business with a confectionery acquisition, while confectionery fuels Nestlé’s organic growth in Latin America.

Mondelēz International will acquire Grupo Bimbo’s confectionery business, Ricolino, for $1.3 billion, the company reported on Monday. The acquisition will double the size of Mondelēz Mexico’s business, where Ricolino leads in the confectionery category.

“This acquisition will provide a step change for our business in Mexico, an important growth market for us, more than tripling our routes to market and growing our position in core snacking categories,” Dirk Van de Put, chairman and CEO, Mondelēz International, said.

The acquisition also yields an entry point into the chocolate category for Mondelēz and will serve to expand the company’s grain-based baking and snacks businesses.

Ricolino garners approximately $500 million in annual revenue. Its iconic brands, Ricolino, Vero, La Corona and Coronado, are leaders in lollipops, marshmallows, chocolates, gummies and other confectionery products.

“We ventured into the confectionery industry with the establishment of Ricolino in 1970; today, after 52 years of growth and progress, it is the industry leader in Mexico,” Daniel Servitje, chairman and CEO, Grupo Bimbo, said.

The confectionery business employs nearly 6,000 associates and has four manufacturing facilities. Its products are distributed across traditional trade, supermarkets, convenience stores and other channels to reach more than 440,000 traditional trade outlets.

The transaction is expected to close late 2022.

In Q1, Nestlé saw the strongest organic growth in Latin America, clocking in at 12.5%. The company reported confectionery was the largest growth contributor in the region.

Growth of Nestlé’s confectionery business in Latin America is attributed, in part, to the company’s recent acquisition of La Fête, a direct-to-consumer premium chocolate business. In its Q1 report, the company cited strong demand for La Fête in Chile.

Also cited as a contributor of confectionery growth in the region is demand for KitKat and gifting products, which reflects confectionery trends reported by Nestlé in several markets.

The company reported overall organic confectionery growth of 10.5% during the first three months of 2022, reaching $1.8 billion in 2022, compared to $1.7 billion during the same period in 2021. Similar to trends in Latin America, strong growth for KitKat and gifting products contributed to sales growth.

North America also saw strong gains in confectionery, achieving double-digit growth, led by KitKat. Overall organic growth was reported at 9.9% in North America.

Single-digit growth of confectionery was seen in the markets of Europe, China, and Oceania and Africa. Similar to other markets, KitKat led demand in Oceania and Africa, while China’s confectionery market was led by strong demand for Shark wafer chocolate and solid growth for Hsu Fu Chi.

Nestlé reported overall sales of $22.2 billion and organic growth across all sectors and markets of 7.6% in Q1. Coffee, dairy and infant nutrition were other areas of growth.

The company predicted continued organic growth of 5% in 2022. Nestlé Health Science completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Orgain in April, a leader in plant-based nutrition, which Nestlé expects will support continued organic growth.

Rachel Adams joined Informa’s Health & Nutrition Network in 2013. Her career in the natural products industry started with a food and beverage focus before transitioning into her role as managing editor of Natural Products INSIDER, where she covered the dietary supplement industry. Adams left Informa Markets in 2019.

Frito-Lay launched a new electric fleet to serve the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, area, while The Vita Coco Co. and “the nature network” made strides in sustainability efforts.

Frito-Lay’s new electric fleet—expected to be 40-strong by summer, will reduce the company’s annual greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 390 metric tons. The first pilot Ford eTransit truck was delivered in April.

The trucks will deliver locally in Carrollton in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Frito-Lay is headquartered in Dallas-Fort Worth, where it employs 6,500 employees.

"The implementation of these 40 100% electric, zero-emissions route trucks is one of the many ways we’re supporting our local community and committed to improving air quality and reducing Frito-Lay’s absolute greenhouse gas emissions in the Dallas Fort Worth area,” said David Allen, vice president of sustainability, PepsiCo Foods North America.

A shrinking footprint

Also reducing emission is the nature network, which calculated and third-party certified its corporate carbon footprint as part of its goal to make its business operations climate-neutral by 2030.

In 2020, the nature network’s carbon footprint was 346,000 metric tons of CO₂ equivalents (CO₂e)—around the same as the annual CO₂ emissions of a small European town with 31,500 inhabitants. The greatest share of emissions (55%) is from the acquisition of plant raw materials, flavorings and ingredients, followed by 21% from heating for extract production and 12% from electricity consumption for production facilities and company premises. 

The calculation was made in accordance with the international standards of the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol and includes the seven major greenhouse gases defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and identified in the Kyoto Protocol. The results were certified by TÜV Rheinland.

The nature network pointed to potential energy savings in the areas drying of plant materials and field management and cultivation methods.

The nature network is a division of four tea, extracts and botanicals businesses: MartinBauer, Finzelberg, PhytoLab and Europlant Group.

Supporting communities

By building classrooms, training farmers and planting seeds, The Vita Coco Co. measurably impacted more than 30,000 people within the communities where the company sources coconuts and other materials, according to its first-ever annual “Impact Report.”

Since its inception, The Vita Coco Project has built 30 classrooms in communities where the company sources coconuts and other materials, planted more than 69,000 seedlings to replace aging trees and promote biodiversity, and trained 7,000 farmers in regenerative and agronomic best practices. The goal of the project is to positively influence the lives of 1 million people in global coconut farming communities.

In 2020-21, the company also donated over 6.5 million meals and $2.1 million worth of in-kind products and financial contributions to local communities, according to its Impact Report. The report also announced the company’s plans to map its coconut carbon footprint by 2022.

Gains that matter

Advances in sustainability matter for the health of the planet, but they also matter to consumers. Read more about how demands for sustainable products are shaping the market for foods and beverages.

Rachel Adams joined Informa’s Health & Nutrition Network in 2013. Her career in the natural products industry started with a food and beverage focus before transitioning into her role as managing editor of Natural Products INSIDER, where she covered the dietary supplement industry. Adams left Informa Markets in 2019.

Scientists from FDA and USDA are making substantial headway understanding what may be contributing to outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7 linked to bagged romaine lettuce, according to FDA.

Findings in a recently published study disclosed “season, and lettuce shelf life, can influence the bacterial communities and behavior of E. coli O157:H7 on cut lettuce stored in modified atmosphere packaging,” FDA noted in an April 18 constituent update.

One of the study’s most significant findings showed “E. coli survived on average 5.6 times better in cold-stored packaged romaine harvested in the fall than on the same varieties harvested in late spring,” according to an April 12 news release from USDA.

Researchers were somewhat surprised to find such differences since many existing theories about the seasonality of outbreaks tied to lettuce highlight differences in the prevalence of the E. coli pathogen in the environment, according to USDA.

"While prevalence may also be involved, our results strongly indicate that fall-harvested romaine and the microbe communities it harbors have intrinsic characteristics that make them a better place for E. coli to survive in fresh-cut product,” Agricultural Research Service microbiologist Maria Brandl said in USDA’s news release.

She questioned whether these intrinsic characteristics could be manipulated through such techniques as breeding, plant physiology and microbiome engineering.

“Our observations definitely open an entire new branch of inquiry about outbreak seasonality," Brandl said.

The research team also showed microbiome present on bagged romaine changed based on season, the state of the lettuce’s deterioration and whether E. coli’s survival on lettuce was low or high, FDA added. Microbiome, FDA explained, is a community of such microorganisms as bacteria, fungi and viruses that inhabit a certain environment.

The findings were published in December in the BMC Environmental Microbiome.

In the study, researchers studied the microbiome and E. coli colonization of fresh-cut lettuce of two cultivars with long and short shelf life harvested in the spring and fall in Salinas, California. The lettuce was stored in modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) at cold and warm temperatures.

The lettuce processed as fresh cut product was inoculated with E. coli O157:H7 before it was packaged in MAP and stored at either cold or warm temperatures, according to FDA’s constituent update. FDA then used genomic sequencing tools to describe the microbiome composition present on the lettuce samples.

“Collectively, our findings reveal that season, lettuce shelf life, factors intrinsic to MAP storage, and cultivation practices all impact bacterial communities as well as EcO157 behavior upon its introduction into minimally processed lettuce stored in MAP,” FDA and USDA researchers wrote in their conclusions in BMC Environmental Microbiome. “We also demonstrate that the lettuce microbiome and EcO157 behavior during storage are correlated.”

FDA’s constituent update described the study as “a significant step toward closing the knowledge gaps identified in the FDA’s Leafy Greens STEC Action Plan and helping the agency and its partners to reduce foodborne illness linked to the consumption of leafy greens.”

The latter program is aimed to help prevent outbreaks caused by Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC). Between 2009 and 2018, FDA and CDC identified 40 outbreaks of STEC infections in the U.S. with a confirmed or suspected connection to leafy greens, according to FDA’s Leafy Greens STEC Action Plan published in 2020.

STEC can cause such potentially life-threatening conditions as anemia, blood-clotting problems and kidney failure, FDA said.

USDA said most of the 36 outbreaks traced by CDC to lettuce between 1998 and 2019 involved romaine lettuce harvested in the fall on the California Central Coast such as in Salinas, and in late winter in Arizona and Southern California.

Consumers continue to be increasingly conscious of their health and wellness and make concerted efforts to live a healthier, balanced lifestyle.

Most people understand that sound nutritional choices can have a positive impact on their health, so they have become more engaged in this regard. Many challenges exist, however, and one of the big issues is curbing consumption of sugar while finding healthier sweetener alternatives.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Americans consume, on average, almost 152 pounds of sugar per year. That is the equivalent of 6 cups of sugar per week or approximately 42 teaspoons of sugar per day—far greater than the suggested 13 teaspoons per day for a 2,000-calorie diet. Clearly, Americans have a sweet tooth.

NMI’s research shows consumers are significantly more likely to monitor food and beverage labels today compared to a decade ago. As consumers become more engaged label-readers, they start to understand and recognize the ingredients in a product and can make more informed decisions about whether it is a healthy choice. Sugar and calories are the top two items checked most often on labels, exceeding fat, carbs, ingredient lists and a whole array of other items.

To that end, in proprietary NMI research, about 6 out of 10 consumers reported they typically watch the sugar content in their diet or search out food with lower sugar content. While consumers understand naturally occurring sugars are in many foods and beverages, they are also cognizant that many processed products also have sugar “added” beyond what the item may already contain.

Half of respondents reported they want foods with “no sugar added,” an attribute which is gaining in importance as consumers strive for healthier diets. FDA has set guidelines for labeling such that a “no added sugars” claim stipulates the product cannot be processed with any sugar or sugar-containing ingredients. This goes a long way to helping consumers understand and monitor their sugar intake.

Similar to the increasingly monitored sugar content is the growing scrutinization and concerns about artificial sweeteners. About 3 in 10 Americans said they use artificial sweeteners as a means to reduce sugar content, but twice as many expressed concerns about their negative side effects. While usage of artificial sweetener options such as aspartame, saccharin and sucralose has declined significantly in recent years, still nearly 6 in 10 reported using such sweeteners in the past year.

Consumers are clearly facing a conundrum: They don’t want to use artificial sweeteners, but may not be aware of or happy with other options. People want to watch the sugar content in their diet, but also want a sugar “replacement” which fits the desire for an all-natural, low- or no-calorie sweetener that fills all the taste and texture parameters of real sugar without the negative health implications.

Natural sweeteners such as stevia, honey and raw sugar are being used more on a regular basis. Less familiar natural alternatives—such as brazzien, oat and yacon sweeteners—are also becoming known among a small but growing percentage of the population.

To read this article in its entirety, check out the “Sweet innovation: Natural solutions in sugar reduction” digital magazine.

As chief operating officer, Steve French leads Natural Marketing Institute (NMI), a strategic consulting, market research and business development firm specializing in the health, wellness and sustainability marketplace. He has over 30 years of related experience and insight into today’s consumer and market trends, and has pioneered a range of consumer databases to help clients navigate, identify and validate market opportunities. Prior to joining NMI, French spent 15 years at PepsiCo, Mars and Marriott. For more information on NMI’s services or proprietary research tools, contact [email protected].

Following a diet of healthy plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables and legumes was associated with decreased risk of type 2 diabetes in healthy people, according to a new study (Diabetologia. 2022. DOIL10.1007/s00125-022-05692-8).

An unhealthy plant-based diet of refined grains, sugary drinks and sweet treats, however, was not.

In the recent study, published in Diabetologia, researchers set out to evaluate the associations between the metabolite profiles related to plant-based diets and the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Metabolites are substances used or produced by the chemical processes in a living organism and include compounds found in different foods. Differences in the chemical makeup of foods means that an individual’s diet should be reflected in their metabolite profile.

For the study, researchers analyzed blood plasma samples and dietary intake of 10,684 participants from three prospective cohorts (Nurses’ Health Study, Nurses’ Health Study II, and Health Professionals Follow-up Study).

Using the blood samples, researchers created metabolite profile scores for participants and recorded incidents of type 2 diabetes. Dietary intake was assessed via food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) completed by participants.

FFQs scored the participants’ diets according to their adherence to three plant-based diets: an overall plant-based diet, a healthy plant-based diet and an unhealthy plant-based diet. Plant foods were grouped as “healthy” and “unhealthy” based on their association with type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, obesity, high blood pressure and other conditions. Eighteen food groups were measured:

• Healthy plant foods: whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, vegetable oils and tea/coffee

• Unhealthy plant foods: refined grains, fruit juices, potatoes, sugar-sweetened beverages and sweets/desserts

• Animal foods: animal fats, dairy, eggs, fish/seafood, meat and miscellaneous animal-based foods

Researchers determined plant-based diets were associated with unique multi-metabolite profiles that differed significantly between the healthy and unhealthy plant-based diets. Participants who followed an overall plant-based diet or a healthy plant-based were less likely to develop type 2 diabetes.

Following an unhealthy plant-based diet showed no benefit to type 2 diabetes risk.

“Plasma metabolite profiles related to plant-based diets, especially a healthy plant-based diet, were associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes among a generally healthy population,” researchers wrote. “Our findings support the beneficial role of healthy plant-based diets in diabetes prevention and provide new insights for future investigation.”

The research also showed certain metabolites—including trigonelline, hippurate and isoleucine—may play a key role in how these diets are connected with diabetes risk. Trigonelline, for example, is found in plants such as coffee beans and fenugreek seeds.

Rachel Adams joined Informa’s Health & Nutrition Network in 2013. Her career in the natural products industry started with a food and beverage focus before transitioning into her role as managing editor of Natural Products INSIDER, where she covered the dietary supplement industry. Adams left Informa Markets in 2019.

Nutrition is one of the largest priorities at FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), “given the real opportunity to significantly improve public health,”  CFSAN Director Susan Mayne, Ph.D., said this month.

She discussed FDA funding and various programs within her office during an April 12 webinar hosted by the Alliance for a Stronger FDA, a stakeholder organization advocating for increased FDA appropriations.

Only 7% of CFSAN’s budget is earmarked for nutrition activities, Mayne disclosed. She also pointed out FDA’s budget at the Center for Tobacco Products is nearly 30 times larger than the budget earmarked for CSFAN’s nutrition work.

“Considering the central role that nutrition plays in the lives of every American, there is no question we could do more with more,” she said.

In its FY23 budget request to Congress, FDA sought an additional $11.6 million to improve “health equity” through its work in nutrition, Mayne said. That includes “$3.7 million for updating dietary guidance for mothers of children, $2 million in outreach to vulnerable populations and $5.7 million to modernize nutrition labeling,” she said.

FDA plans to use the additional resources, in part, to advance its partnerships with its “sister agencies to develop additional education and outreach efforts around the dietary guidelines, which for the first time included guidance for children under 2 years of age and expanded guidance for those who are pregnant or breastfeeding,” Mayne said.

“This work helps ensure that those who are pregnant or might become pregnant, as well as parents and caregivers, are aware of current recommendations for healthy eating patterns,” Mayne explained, “and from our perspective, it’s critically important that this advice takes in account FDA’s Closer to Zero work on toxic elements.”

Closer to Zero is an FDA initiative to reduce exposure to toxic elements from food consumed by babies and young children.

CFSAN also intends to partner with the FDA Office of Minority Health and Health Equity “to provide tailored education materials to vulnerable populations to better empower them to use FDA’s tools for labeling for better nutrition,” according to Mayne.

She further suggested FDA plans to use “healthy claims to better reflect current nutrition science and dietary recommendations.” For several years, including during a public meeting in 2017, the agency has been considering how to redefine the term "healthy" as a nutrient content claim.

FDA may eventually allow the use of a symbol to convey on a label that a product is “healthy.” As reflected in a recently published Federal Register notice, FDA plans to conduct two research studies to assess consumer responses to draft front of package symbols that companies could voluntarily use to represent the nutrient content claim “healthy.”

“We live in a world where people make quick decisions. People are busy and/or trying to limit time in a grocery store in the current pandemic,” Mayne reflected.

She cited growing evidence demonstrating “symbols and other front-of-pack labeling schemes can help consumers make quick, healthy choices, particularly those who have lower nutrition literacy.”

A preliminary analysis released in April suggests “life expectancy in the U.S. is now five years lower than our peer countries, and nutrition is a significant contributor to chronic disease,” Mayne said.

Between 2019 and 2020, life expectancy in the U.S. decreased by a median 1.87 years from 78.86 years to 76.99 years, according to the results of a cross-sectional study published recently in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). By comparison, in 2020, mean life expectancy in 21 peer countries was 81.50 years—4.51 years higher than U.S. life expectancy—researchers found.

“We do have an opportunity to make a generational improvement in the nation’s nutrition—and thus our life expectancy—and the resources we have requested in our [2023] budget will be crucial for that work,” Mayne concluded.

Adolescents as young as 12 who eat a diet of mostly ultra-processed foods are 45% more likely to be obese, a new study showed (J Acad Nutr Diet. 2022. DOI:10.1016/j.jand.2022.01.005).

For the cross-sectional study, researchers analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to determine how the eating patterns of adolescents impacted body weight.

The participants included 3,587 adolescents ages 12 to 19 who recalled at least one day of eating.

Researchers used the Nova Food Classification system, which groups foods into one of four categories based on its extent of processing—ranging from “unprocessed or minimally processed” to “ultra-processed.” Then, researchers studied associations between the dietary contribution of ultra-processed foods (expressed in percentage of total grams per day) and outcomes.

According to Nova, ultra-processed foods are formulations made entirely or mostly from ingredients extracted from foods, such as oils, fats, sugar, starch and proteins, and manufactured using techniques such as extrusion or preprocessing by frying. Ultra-processed foods may also derive from food constituents or be synthesized from food substrates or organic sources.

Per Nova, examples of ultra-processed foods include salty or sweet packaged snacks, breakfast cereals and bars, ready-to-eat (RTE) pizza, burgers and hot dogs, candy, pastries and soft drinks, among others.

The study results found those who consumed the highest amounts of ultra-processed food—64% of total diet by weight—were 45% more likely to be overweight/obese, compared to those with the lowest consumption (18.5% of total diet).

Those who consumed the most ultra-processed food were also 52% more likely to have abdominal obesity and 63% more likely to have visceral obesity, marked by excess fat tissue surrounding the abdominal organs. Excess visceral fat is linked with serious health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension and other types of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

 A 10% increase in consumption of ultra-processed foods in the diet was associated with an increased risk of both abdominal overweight/obesity and visceral overweight/obesity.

Obesity in children and adolescents is a “serious problem,” according to CDC, which reports about 14.4 million children and adolescents are obese. The disease plagues 21.2% of young people aged 12 to 19 years, the organization reports.

Ultra-processed foods comprise a large—and growing—portion of children’s diets. In 2018, 67% of the calories consumed by children and adolescents came from ultra-processed foods—up from 61% in 1999. Studies have long pointed to widespread availability of high-caloric, less-expensive food as a key contributor to rising obesity rates.

For a related digital magazine on healthy snacks, click the link.

Rachel Adams joined Informa’s Health & Nutrition Network in 2013. Her career in the natural products industry started with a food and beverage focus before transitioning into her role as managing editor of Natural Products INSIDER, where she covered the dietary supplement industry. Adams left Informa Markets in 2019.