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Kathryn Calvert
Editor NZ FOODTechnology
A recent trip to the blockaded Middle Eastern country of
Qatar has opened my eyes to the instability of food supply
and the power of nationalism. When countries such as
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates stopped all air
and land links this time last year in an effort to punish what
they considered to be a maverick sibling showing off its
modern, forward-thinking to the world, the more than two
million inhabitants of Qatar seriously wondered if their food
supplies from traditional sources would dry up. But a seachange
has happened, thanks to the actions of the country’s
clever leader Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani to not only
encourage Qatari-based food and beverage companies
to up their game and start manufacturing non-traditional
food inhouse, but also offering funding, rebates and fasttrack
construction of manufacturing plants. An example is
egg production – from producing very few a year ago, the
country now supplies all its eggs from farms strewn across
the desert landscape. The supermarkets are dotted with
more than 100 Kiwi products – such as Whittaker's chocolate,
Anchor cheese, beef, lamb, Jazz apples and Wattie's frozen
vegies. I visited a company based in the sprawling industrial
area of Doha that has recently opened the country’s first
cheese factory utilising Fonterra dried milk powder…check
out what I saw on page 16. Have a great June.
EDITOR'S NOTE
BREAKING NEWS
THE QATAR CONNECTION
IT’S SWEETNESS, JIM, BUT NOT AS WE KNOW IT
Milkybar Wowsomes, described as the first chocolate
bar in the world to use uniquely structured
particles of sugar to deliver 30% less sugar than
similar chocolate products, is a “game changer,”
according to leading data and analytics company
GlobalData. The chocolate, manufactured by
Nestlé and already released in the British and Irish
markets, will change the sugar reduction game
in the confectionery industry as the product does
not rely on challenging or controversial alternatives
to conventional sugar (like stevia, aspartame
or sucralose) to reduce sugar content, GlobalData
innovation insights director Tom Vierhile says.
“Fifty two percent of UK consumers say that ‘low
in sugar’ means ‘healthy’ to them, a significantly
higher percentage than the 44% of consumers
globally who express this sentiment,” he says.
”This suggests that Nestlé may find a curious
and willing audience in the UK for Milkybar Wowsomes
and its breakthrough sugar technology.”
FMCG companies have made sugar reduction a
global priority in response to government regulation
and changing consumer attitudes towards
the ingredient, Vierhile says. Milkybar Wowsomes
are unique because sugar reduction is achieved
via a newly developed process said to be inspired
by candy floss. The structure of the sugar used
in Milkybar Wowsomes has been changed into
porous particles said to dissolve more quickly in
the mouth than conventional sugar. According
to Nestlé, the new restructured sugar formula
delivers the same perceived level of sweetness
as a product sweetened with conventional sugar,
but with reduced sugar content. Offered in white
chocolate and milk/white chocolate flavours, the
largest bar – 18 grams – has 95 calories and the
80g multipack holds eight 10-gram bars. ‘‘Consumers
are much more focused on the sugar
content of their food and drink products these
days,” Vierhile says. “UK consumers say they
are paying attention to sugar or sweeteners in
food and drink products…and we feel that this
gap may narrow thanks to interventions like the
UK sugar tax which injects economic pain into
making product choices that may be health-challenged.
The confectionery industry was probably
lucky to avoid the so-called ‘sugar tax’ in the UK,
which is aimed at sugary drinks, but that luck may
not last forever. It may only be a matter of time
before confectionery is subject to a ‘sugar tax’ of
its own. Ingredient innovations like restructured
sugar will make it a lot easier for some FMCG
brands to achieve sugar reduction goals while
curbing the call for the consumer to ‘sacrifice’
by consuming less product.” www.nestle.com
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