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NEWS
NEW TANG
We’re used to fruity yoghurt
products, but three new bold
yoghurt drink flavours could
shake up the food market in
China like nothing before. Inner
Mongolia Mengniu Dairy
Group has released spicy, bitter
and salty flavours of drinking
yoghurt under its Zuo range
to cash in on the dominance
of bold flavour this year – including
ingredients like ginger
and red jujube, dark chocolate,
sea salt and kumquat. Data and
analytics company GlobalData
says fruit flavours account for
eight of the top 10 flavours for
new yoghurt drinks launched
globally in the past year, but
half of Chinese consumers
want unique influences in
their non-alcoholic drinks
choice. Zuo in Chinese means
a person seeking attention by
acting unreasonably, and has
be-come popular with younger
consumers to imply something
unique. “Flavour innovation
does have limits, and Mengniu
Zuo yoghurt drink may test
those. Chinese yogurt consumers
tend to prefer fruity,
sweet and tart flavours. Very
few rank salty, bitter or spicy
flavours near the top of their
list when it comes to yogurt,”
GlobalData innovation insights
director Tom Vierhile says.
“Just 3.5% of Chinese consumers
say that a savoury,
bitter or spicy flavour appeals
to them the most for yogurt.
With that the case, Mengniu
Zuo yogurt drink may be a long
shot regardless of how unique
it is.”
NEW COLLABORATION
Nestle will remove the 4.5 health star
rating from its Milo powder, which
is almost 50% sugar, by June. The
drink, given a Bad Taste Food Award
by Consumer NZ in 2016, has been
under the consumer watchdog’s
spotlight since. Consumer NZ chief
executive Sue Chetwin says Milo has
a 4.5 star rating – out of a possible five
stars –and product packaging boasts
pictures of active young sportspeople.
Milo’s high rating is based on the drink
being made with skim milk; however,
on its own, the powder only earns
1.5 stars. “It’s the skim milk that
boosts the number of stars,” Chetwin
says. “But our research found most
milo drinkers prepare the drink with
standard blue top or full-cream milk.”
Health star guidelines let companies
calculate the number of stars on an ‘as
prepared’ basis. This means a rating
can reflect the nutritional components
of the added ingredients, such as skim
milk, rather than just the product itself
Chetwin says. This rule undermines
one of the main objectives of the rating
system, which is to give consumers ata
glance information about the nutrition
content of a packaged food, and
Consumer NZ has been campaigning
to get rid of the loophole. It supports
ratings being calculated on an ‘as sold’
basis, with the exception of products
that need to be drained or reconstituted
with water. To make sure consumers
can trust the star ratings, Consumer NZ
also wants caps on ratings for products
high in sugar, saturated fat or sodium.
HEALTH STAR REMOVED
AgTech solutions company Autogrow and Plant & Food
Research will collaborate in the development of protocols to
maximise yield and enable continuous production of perennial
fruits. Signed by Autogrow chief executive Darryn Keiller and
Plant & Food Research’s Dr Kieran Elborough, the agreement
will combine the two entities’ science and environmental
agriculture expertise to take perennial fruits to the next
level. “Working with a global company like Autogrow has
the potential for us to match new breeding strategies with
future growing systems that deal with numerous horticultural
challenges such as climate change, sustainable food production
and reducing land availability,” Elborough says. Autogrow’s
director of plant science and agronomy Dr Tharindu Weeraratne
will head up Autogrow’s team as part of the MoU.
8 APRIL 2018