The Cracker magazine, March 2011

Cracker The

March 2011 Edition 52, No. 1

The Official Voice of the International Nut and Dried Fruit Council Foundation for the World Nut and Dried Fruit Trade

BUDAPEST CONGRESS MAY 20-22

CHOCOLATE FORTUNES

IN CHINA

NUTS & DRIED FRUIT:

HEALTH TRENDS 2011

www.nutfruit.org/cracker

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Hazelnuts

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Most of your favorite flavors are accompanied by Turkish hazelnuts. With Turkish hazelnuts, every flavor gain plus value.

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www.ftg.org.tr

Cracker The

march 2011, edition 52 INTERNATIONAL NUT AND DRIED FRUIT COUNCIL FOUNDATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS Jack Mariani – chairman mariani nut company, Usa Giles Hacking – Vice-chairman cG hacking & sons Limited, UK Jordi Martí – treasurer & General secretary borges saU, spain Asadollah Asgaroladi hassas export co. Ltd., iran Pino Calcagni V. besana spa, italy Baljit Chadha balcorp Limited, canada Helmut Dankert max Kiene Gmbh, Germany Erdinç Kapkaç aegean exporters association, turkey Barry Kriebel sun-maid Growers of california, Usa Mark Mariani mariani packing company, Usa Chris Nubern Kraft foods, Usa Antonio Pont – honorary president borges saU, spain Sabit Sabir sabirlar findik ihracat Ltd. sti., turkey Berton Steir paramount – roll international corp, Usa Frank Vaerewijck Q.m. frank Vaerewijck bVba, belgium Kees van de Sandt c. Van de sandt bV, netherlands Dick Walden the Green Valley pecan company, Usa Michael Waring mWt foods, australia Douglas Youngdahl blue diamond Growers, Usa Cuneyd Zapsu balsu as, turkey Bian Zhenhu china chamber of commerce, china Executive Committee Jack mariani – chairman Giles hacking – Vice-chairman pino calcagni antonio pont berton steir douglas youngdahl cuneyd zapsu Goretti Guasch – executive director Senators hubert berrebi, france John cardassilaris, Greece raul Gamon, france chris hacking, UK Walter f. payne, Usa abbas rafii, Luxembourg don soetaert, Usa James swink, Usa Jack taillie, netherlands The Cracker Editorial Committee Jack mariani – chairman susan brauner – editor Goretti Guasch – advertising sales Graphic design by dome printing Legal deposit: b-7497-1989 Permanent Secretariat of INC Goretti Guasch, executive director calle boule 2, 43201 reus, spain tel: +34 977 331 416 | fax: +34 977 315 028 e-mail: inc@nutfruit.org | Web: www.nutfruit.org The Cracker is published three times a year by the International Tree Nut and Dried Fruit Council Foundation (Fundacio Privada International Tree Nut CIF G-43738475). This magazine including all articles and illustrations, is copyright protected. Any utilization beyond the light limits set by the Copyright Act is subject to publisher’s approval.

The Official Voice of the International Nut and Dried Fruit Council Foundation for the World Nut and Dried Fruit Trade

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featured artiCles

indeX

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51

World neWs

Germany develops rapid detection systems for allergens; Nuts top list of recalled foods; US Dietary Guidelines 2010 unveiled; new tests to detect salmonella, E. Coli and more.

statistical outlook

85 advertisers 88 nutrition research

24 ChoColate fortunes

Part 1 of a two part special report tells the inside story of the ‘Big Five’ chocolate companies and how they battled to capture the hearts of Chinese consumers to establish their brands.

31 neWs from inC seCretariat

Learn how to become part of the new INC Home; we have a new corporate image and framework; our Global Statistical Review 2004-09 is now available; learn about our Mycored-Moniqa Training Course; and see new recipes in our Haute Cuisine in Tree Nuts and more!

42 BudaPest ConGress 20-22 may

It’s time to make final plans to attend our XXX Congress in Budapest, Hungary. See inside for business program, tours and events and sign up now!

47 hoW nuts fit in neW dietary Guidelines

An analysis of the new US Dietary Guidelines 2010 reveals how nuts fit in the US diet. Protein, fiber, good oils and the Mediterranean lifestyle is discussed.

72 nuCis italy

The Italian market for nuts and dried fruit using point of sale materials is explored for how to enhance value of increasing consumption of value-added products to consumers.

78 an historiCal looK at nutrition

INC Scientific Committee Member, Professors Jordi Salas-Salvado and Marta Guasch-Ferre trace how history has treated the nutritional value of nuts and dried fruits since ancient times.

86 neW GloBal ProduCts

Nut application in chocolate products is analyzed through 2010.

Various companies approach to new product development is explored; healthy snacks using dried fruit and nuts is among new 2011 trends.

www.nutfruit.org

All trademarks, brand identities and graphic images shown in this publication are the property of their respective owners.

While the publishers believe that all information contained in this publication was correct at the time of going to press, they can accept no liability for any inaccuracies that may appear or loss suffered directly or indirectly by any reader as a result of any advertisement, editorial, photographs or other materials published in the Cracker.

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Chairman’s commentary

Greetings from Winters, California!

Y

by Jack Mariani, INC Chairman

et another growing season is on the horizon as we begin seeing the first blossoms on the trees here in California. With most of our commodities in somewhat short supply, the hope of excellent 2011 crops is foremost in our minds.

It’s also time to make arrangements to attend our XXX World Nut and Dried Fruit Congress in Budapest Hungary May 20-22. This is where everyone in the tree nut and dried fruit industry has a chance to hear the latest reports by industry leaders about crop expectations, current opportunities and even concerns about various commodities. This year’s working group format will change from individual presentations to panels of diverse representatives to discuss a broader range of topics. We hope that this format change will elicit more dialogue between industry members about timely topics of interest.

If you are planning to attend our Budapest Congress, please take the opportunity to register early to be assured you are signed up. We expect another sell-out event! This will guarantee your spot in our Budapest business meetings and festivities. Unfortunately for some, last year in Beijing, the Congress became oversubscribed and late registrants had to be turned away due to lack of room. So, commit early to be a part of what has become an annual highlight of the Nut and Dried Fruit industry. It’s a chance to get the latest market updates, visit old friends and make new business acquaintances. It’s also an opportunity to contribute to our nonprofit foundation whose proceeds go for research and promotional activities that benefit all of us involved in the industry.

Plans for the new offices to house INC continue to progress on schedule. Recently we received word from the Spanish Government that they will be making a very generous contribution to the reconstruction of our historical building. To date, we have received donations from over 25 INC members. Their names appear in our Secretariat News section of this magazine. Our goal is to receive enough financial support so the building will be paid in full upon completion of the project and all INC income can continue to be used for activities that benefit all of us. Please contact the INC office if you wish to be included with the member companies already on the list.

INC continues to be present at events worldwide where there is the opportunity to distribute positive information about tree nuts and dried fruit. In the first quarter of 2011 alone, INC will be at Fruit Logistica in Germany; a program called “Promotion of Nut Consumption in the World” in Brazil; American Council for Food Safety and Quality/DFA at their 103rd Annual Meeting in Monterey, California; Kaju India in India; Gulfood in Dubai, UAE; and the annual Australian Nut Conference in Australia.

Because INC is always pursuing activities to increase food safety among our products, we participated in the 2nd annual Consortium on Microbiological Safety of Nuts, Seeds, Herbs and Spices in the UK in January; continued work on the Mycored Project attempting to reduce mycotoxins in food; led the testing of pine nut kernels with a bitter aftertaste by testing in three countries; and we continue our ongoing work with the UNECE, Codex, FAO, and EU Sanco on quality standards, maximum residue levels and the new EU Plant Health Law. All of these activities are proof of our rock-solid dedication to our members and to giving them a voice and a presence in the global marketplace. We are vitally interested in protecting our livelihood and our consumers as we continue to produce, process and market the healthiest and safest nut and dried fruit products in the world.

You have my word that your Board of Directors is diligent in the approval of projects that benefit all members and that are invested in research or promotional areas with greatest potential for increasing consumption. Thank you for your continuing support

Best Regards and I look forward to seeing you in Budapest!

Jack Mariani

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World nut & dried fruit neWs KeeP UP WITH CUrrenT eVenTs froM THe InTernaTIonal nUT & drIed frUIT IndUsTry new technology for optimal detection BEST has launched a new optical configuration to detect quartz stones, colored plastic and other hard-to-detect foreign material in raisins. According to Best, it is difficult to detect foreign material in raisins due to stickiness of the product and often, the color of the defects match that of raisins! Much of the success is due to a partnership between the raisin industry and technicians looking for a better way to assist with improving food quality and safety for a better return on investment.

fdf allergen to Curb excess ‘may Contain’ labelling The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) in the UK has published an allergen guidance paper that aims to curb excessive use of precautionary ‘may contain’ labelling.

The trade association said that current allergen management practices have succeeded in reducing risks for allergy sufferers. But it said manufacturers have no consistent, unified approach to risk assessment and this has led to excessive use of precautionary ‘may contain’ labelling.

The Allergens Steering Group at the FDF has therefore published a paper entitled “A Vision for Allergen Management Best Practice in the Food Industry” in a bid to improve the situation. The paper employs a risk-based approach to allergen management and sets out action levels based on current scientific and clinical data. Its aim is to equip industry with the necessary information to allow food manufacturers to consistently apply precautionary labelling and clearly communicate the allergen status of products.

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According to Paul Berghmans, CEO of BEST, “We have been searching for different laser combinations to create a bigger contrast between the foreign material (mainly stones, quartz stones and different types and colors of plastic) and good product.” “Results from this new configuration are significantly better for improved detection of foreign material, but also, and very importantly, a lower false reject level. This means improved yield for the processor and optimal quality and safety for the consumer. If we can sort raisins, we can sort almost anything!”

World nut & dried fruit news

Most People Unable to Identify Different Types of Nuts When it comes to visually identifying different types of nuts, most adults and kids don’t have a clue, even if they are allergic to peanuts or tree nuts, according to a new study presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI) 2010 Annual Scientific Meeting.

Clinicians treating patients for their allergies should not just prescribe dietary avoidance, they should be educating them on how to identify peanuts and tree nuts, said Todd L. Hostetler, MD, from Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. “Peanuts and tree nuts are common food allergens and are the leading cause of fatalities from food-induced anaphylaxis,” he said. “The primary way we manage these patients is with dietary avoidance, but in order to do this successfully, patients must be able to visually recognize what it is that they are allergic to.”

A study done several years ago that looked at children’s ability to visually identify nuts found that they were unreliable in doing so. “The question that [arose] then was whether adults could do this reliably. In fact, I even questioned my own ability to name all the different types of nuts. So we decided to study this in both children and adults. This is something people may assume they can do, but really don’t do well,” added Dr. Hostetler.

He and his colleagues showed 1105 study subjects 6 years and older a display of peanuts and 9 tree nuts in a total of 19 different forms, and had them identify each item by filling out a form. They found that the mean number of peanuts and tree nuts identified by all of the subjects was 8.4 out of a possible 19 (44.2%). For subjects 18 years and younger, the mean number identified was 4.6 (24.2%); for those older than 18 years, the mean was 11.1 (58.4%; P < .001). Only 21 participants (1.9%) correctly identified all of the nuts.

The easiest nuts to identify were peanuts in the shell (94.7%) and without the shell (80.5%). The hardest to identify were hazelnuts, which are also known as filberts; 16.1% of the subjects were able to identify them in the shell, and 16.7% were able to identify them without the shell.

Even the 27 participants who had a peanut or tree nut allergy (24%) had a difficult time identifying all of the nuts, Dr. Hostetler said. They correctly identified a mean of 9.4 nuts, whereas those without such an allergy identified 8.4 (P = .465). Half of the allergic subjects were able to identify all forms of peanuts and tree nuts they were allergic to.

The study found little difference in the ability to identify peanuts or tree nuts between parents of children with and without nut allergies.

Parents of children with peanut and tree nut allergies were able to identify 14 items correctly, compared with 12 for parents of children without allergies (P = .081), and 73.3% were able to correctly identify all forms of peanuts and tree nuts to which their children were allergic.

The study also found that subjects who had ever worked in childcare were able to correctly identify 11 nuts, those who worked in food services were able to identify 11, and those who worked in the medical field were able to identify 12. “We, as clinicians, need to appreciate this gap in many of our patients’ and our own knowledge so we can help our patients,” said Dr. Hostetler. “We have to realize that they may not know the different nuts as well as they think, so we need to make sure that they learn how to differentiate the different types of nuts if they or their family members are diagnosed with a food allergy.”

He admitted that he doesn’t yet know the best way to educate patients and their families, but suggested a nut display in the office or some kind of photo handout might help. “We do this in our office all the time,” said John J. Oppenheimer, MD, clinical associate professor at New Jersey Medical School in Newark, and chair of the ACAAI abstract review committee. “We are stunned that people have no idea what certain nuts, for instance a hazelnut or a filbert, look like.”

The situation is even worse for chopped nuts, which all look alike, he said. “This study is very germane because one of the most common lifethreatening illnesses we have is allergy to peanuts and tree nuts. . . . Here we are, telling people to avoid something, but if we’re not helping them identify what they need to avoid, it makes for a very bad experience. This study is simple, but it has a significant impact on patient care,” he said.

“The primary way we manage these patients is with dietary avoidance, but in order to do this successfully, patients must be able to visually recognize what it is that they are allergic to.”

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World nut & dried fruit neWs

neW TesTs deTeCTInG salMonella, e. ColI fasTer According to news reports U.S. food safety scientists are looking for faster ways to detect salmonella, E. coli, listeria and other pathogens within hours or minutes instead of days. The goal is to catch contaminated food before it leaves a processing facility, thereby averting costly recalls.

It also could mean a longer shelf life for products, if companies don’t have to wait as long for tests to show that food is safe before shipping it.

In December, Agilent Technologies Inc. said it was working with the University of California, Davis on getting results from food safety tests within hours instead of days. And DuPont has worked with U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers on a test that offers results on E. coli within as little as eight hours.

sample is contaminated. The light-emitting protein Beacon uses comes from a deep sea crustacean and is 10,000 times brighter than what many existing tests use. Today Beacon reproduces the protein in the lab.

While initial customers might be food processors or restaurants, Beacon Food Safety envisions its system one day making it to consumers.

The company has spent about $3 million developing the chip. Each disposable test would cost about $20. Traditional tests have relied on growing samples that can be checked for pathogens.

In early 2011, Beacon Food Safety, based in Greenwood Village, Colo., plans to introduce a device that can detect 112 pathogens at the same time, with results available in about 30 minutes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. has an estimated 48 million cases of foodborne disease each year and about 3,000 related deaths.

One scientist has developed lab tests to detect live salmonella in poultry and eggs and E. coli in beef within hours. The method reportedly uses a dye so scientists can distinguish between live and dead cells in a sample, which is important because dead cells won’t make people sick. According to some sources, if testers want to hunt down just 10 cells of bacteria, it could take 12 hours, but the scientist’s method still would reduce the amount of false positives. Unlike other pathogens, as few as 10 cells of E. coli can cause sickness in humans.

Beacon Food Safety’s device, about the size of a thumb drive, contains a chip with 112 tiny detectors in an area smaller than a dime. A user places a sample on the detectors, plugs the device into a computer, and software “reads” light that is emitted when a detector finds a pathogen.

The user would simply see a red light on the screen indicating if a

Beacon’s device also only looks for live cells. So far it can detect as few as 75 cells but it is working to detect about half that level without substantially raising the time it takes to get results. According to a lead scientist with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, the goal should be detecting just one cell to reduce the chance of a false negative result.

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new rules for food allergies Parents who have eliminated foods from their children’s diets based on allergy tests alone may find that some are safe to eat after all. The National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases issued the first clinical guidelines for diagnosing and treating food allergies, saying that blood or skin tests aren’t sufficient when making a diagnosis.

An allergy should be suspected if someone has a reaction within minutes or hours of eating a food, according to the guidelines. Physicians should then take a detailed medical history, conduct a physical exam and confirm the allergy with a skin-prick test, in which tiny drops of the suspected allergen are pricked into the skin, usually in the forearm, to see if red wheals form. None of those steps is definitive by itself, the recommendations say, which will likely to lead to fewer diagnoses.

For a correct diagnosis, “it takes a combination, and in some cases an oral food challenge,” in which patients are exposed to tiny amounts of the suspect food under close medical supervision, says Hugh A. Sampson, director of the Jaffe Food Allergy Institute at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York and one of the authors.

The guidelines, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, are aimed at resolving wide discrepancies in diagnosing and treating food allergies among allergists, dermatologists, gastroenterologists, pulmonologists and emergency physicians, as well as pediatricians and internists. More than 30 professional organizations, federal agencies and patient groups were involved in the report, which was in the works for two years. The research company Rand Corp. contributed a review of scientific studies.

Roughly 4% of children under age 18—about three million— reported having food allergies in 2007, an 18% increase from 1997, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Milk, eggs, peanuts, wheat, soy, fish and shellfish are the most common culprits, although more than 170 other foods have been reported to cause allergic reactions. Symptoms can range from eczema and hives to asthma, inflammation of the esophagus, diarrhea, vomiting and life-threatening anaphylaxis, in which major body systems quickly shut down.

The prevalence of food allergies has been difficult to gauge because of different standards in diagnosing and a proliferation of tests being marketed to doctors. Some tests have not been scientifically validated, experts say, and some doctors lack the expertise to interpret those that have been. The report did not state that kids were being misdiagnosed, but it did note that erroneous diagnoses could affect their nutritional well-being and quality of life.

Blood tests that measure immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies are very often misinterpreted, experts say. Having IgE antibodies to specific foods doesn’t necessarily mean a person will have an allergic reaction

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when eating the foods. Skin-prick tests are more predictive, but they, too, measure IgE “sensitization,” which may not result in an actual reaction.

The report estimates that 50% to 90% of presumed allergies are not, in fact, allergies. In a study published online in the Journal of Pediatrics, a review of 125 children evaluated for food allergies and eczema at National Jewish in 2007 and 2008 found that over 90% of the foods they were avoiding were returned to their diets after food challenges. The guidelines also recommend against using intradermal tests, in which a potential allergen is introduced deep under the skin, and skin-patch tests, a larger version of skin pricks, to diagnose food allergies. And they note that there is little scientific data to support a long list of other tests for allergy assessments, including hair analysis, facial thermography, which detects heat patterns and histamines in the skin, and immunoglobulin G tests, which purport to measure hypersensitivity to 100 or more foods at a time.

Medical history is the most important key to a diagnosis, experts say. “The major piece of the puzzle is what happened? What did they eat and when? How long was it between eating and having symptoms? What else was going on?” says A. Wesley Burks, chief of pediatric allergy and immunology at Duke University Medical Center and another author of the guidelines. In the real world, it’s often far from clear which of dozens of different foods a child eats during the day, or what unknown ingredient in a restaurant meal, may have set off a reaction. That’s why the guidelines also call for using a skin-prick test to verify that the patient does have an immune reaction to a suspected food.

“ Milk, eggs, peanuts, wheat, soy, fish and shellfish are the most common culprits, although more than 170 other foods have been reported to cause allergic reactions.”

In more than 50% of cases, the report notes, the presumed food allergy isn’t a real allergy. A different food could be responsible, or there could be some other cause entirely, particularly with gastrointestinal symptoms. If the diagnosis still isn’t clear, the most definitive test is an oral food challenge. The gold standard is a double-blind placebocontrolled challenge, in which neither the tester nor the patient knows which sample is a potentially allergenic food and which is harmless but looks and tastes similar.

World nut & dried fruit neWs More information on the guidelines may be found at the NIAID food allergy guidelines portal at http:// www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/foodAllergy/clinical.

The available information includes a document titled Frequently Asked Questions about the guidelines at http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/foodAllergy/clinical/ Pages/guidelinefaq.

Information for patients and their families may be found at http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/foodAllergy/ clinical/Pages/patients.

NIAID conducts and supports research — at NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwide — to study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing and treating these illnesses. News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID Web site at http://www.niaid.nih.gov.

neW: smart laser sorter for nuts Visys Sorting recently launched a new generation of smart laser sorters at the IPA/SIAL in Paris under the “Python” name. Visys offers a full suite of sorting technologies to the nut and dried fruits industry. The smart laser sorter complements a Digital laser Sorter through added advanced shape recognition and self-calibrating software, which makes the sorter intelligent.

Since January the Python is now also available for all types of tree nuts and peanuts. Processors can sort out broken from whole kernels or improve foreign matter detection, especially for almonds, peanuts and walnuts. The Python features a proprietary and recently patented infeed slide chute and can be equipped with the aflatoxin detecting ToxynTM lasers. The customer can elect a step-up purchase matching changing sorting needs.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation’s Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

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Sustainable Practices Make Hilltop Ranch the Long-Term Source for California Almonds Hilltop Ranch uses sustainable practices to make a cleaner environment, and to enhance the quality and value of California Almonds - the world’s most versatile and successful tree nut. We are working to be good neighbors, and provide a strong foundation for generations to come.

Here are just a few of the things we do as an environmentally sustainable supplier of California Almonds: Our Solar Power plant provides 75% of the electric power required by our processing facility.

Our New, Clean Diesel Truck Fleet moves containers to the Port of Oakland with respect for the environment and our neighbors.

New “Green” corrugated packaging looks great, and is easier to recycle.

To Hilltop Ranch, it is just common sense - take care of the environment with sustainable practices, and good things will follow.

Hilltop Ranch, Inc. 13890 Looney Rd. Ballico, California 95303 USA Tel. 1. 209. 874. 1875 Fax 1. 209. 874. 1877 almonds@hilltopranch. com www. hilltopranch. com Product of USA

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World nut & dried fruit neWs

adUlTs UndersTand PrInCIPles of HealTHfUl eaTInG U.S. adults across all generations understand the principles of healthy eating, but while the majority of adults recognize the need to eat healthy, their translation into healthy eating behavior varies by generation. That’s according to a new report by the NPD Group, which finds that older generations eat more healthfully than the younger generations, but still four out of five adults (nearly 170 million people) have a diet whose quality needs improvement.

The NPD report – “Healthy Eating Strategies by Generation,” which identifies the gaps between actual consumption behaviors and intentions – finds that younger generations (Generation X, Y and younger boomers, ages 21 to 54) have the least healthful diets. Older consumers, ages 54 and up, often have the greatest need to eat healthy due to underlying medical conditions. What the generations appear to have in common, the report found, is a shared understanding of what constitutes healthy eating. Adult consumers, across generations, define healthy eating consistently and are aware of the top characteristics of healthy eating and of a healthy lifestyle: exercise regularly, eat well balanced meals, eat all

things in moderation, limit/avoid foods with saturated fat or cholesterol or trans fats, and drink at least 8 glasses of water per day.

The nutritional value of foods is also front and center with many adults, according to the report, which draws on NPD’s continual tracking of actual consumption behavior over the past three decades. Almost 85 million adults ranked nutritional value/healthful as first or second in importance as a need driver in deciding what to eat and drink; taste and price/value are in the top three for the three younger generations. For older consumers, freshness replaces price/value in ranked importance.

While many aspects of their diets could use improvement, overall, the largest deficiencies in adults’ diets are insufficient intake of fruits, vegetables, and dairy products and over consumption of total fats.

Consumption of total fats is the most critical for those 54 and older.

The NPD Group is the leading provider of reliable and comprehensive consumer and retail information for a wide range of industries, including food and beverage, foodservice, beauty and consumer technology.

us food industry launches nutrition labeling America’s leading food and beverage manufacturers and retailers announced the launch of Nutrition Keys, a new voluntary front of pack nutrition labeling system that will help consumers make informed choices when they shop. The program represents the most significant modernization of food labels since the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990.

The Nutrition Keys program will change the look of the vast majority of the country’s most popular food and beverage products by placing important nutrition information (calories, saturated fat, sodium and total sugars content) on the front of packages. To appeal to busy consumers, the information will be presented in a fact-based, simple and easy-to-use format. The icon will inform consumers about how the key nutrients in each product fit into a balanced and healthy diet as part of the federal government’s daily dietary advice.

In addition, the Nutrition Keys icon on some products will display information about “nutrients to encourage” that are important for

PER SERVING

450

CALORIES

5

360mg

25% DV

15% DV

g SAT FAT

SODIUM

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g SUGARS

a healthy diet, but are under-consumed by the general population.

Nutrients to encourage that may appear on some products as part of the Nutrition Keys icon are: potassium, fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D, calcium, iron and also protein.

Companies will begin to place the icon on their products in 2011 according to seasonality and production schedules. Consumers will begin to see the Nutrition Keys icon on their favorite products in the next few months, and the number of products that carry the icon will continue to grow throughout the year. To build consumer awareness and promote use of the icon, America’s food and beverage manufacturers and retailers have agreed to support the change to their product labels with an unprecedented consumer education campaign. Participating manufacturers and retailers will initially invest at least $50 million in an advertising, public relations and in-store marketing campaign aimed at those who serve as the primary shopper for their family.

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reactions to 2010 us dietary Guidelines nUTs ToP THe lIsT of reCalled foods The US Senate approved the Food Safety Modernization Act last December with bipartisan support, 73-25. The bill, a similar version of which passed the House in 2009, could be the first major food safety legislation to become law in more than seven decades. In either form, the bill would strengthen the Food and Drug Administration’s powers to regulate food production and administer recalls. The legislation comes on the heels of a rash of high-profile recalls, including a massive peanut recall in early 2009 and last summer’s recall of more than half a billion eggs.

Below are the top foods and medical products that have been at the center of FDA recalls since January 2009. Many of the 222 nut recalls that top the list were due to the peanut salmonella scare in early 2009.

Likewise, a vast majority of recalled snack bars and trail mixes, No. 2 on the list, were pulled from the market because they contained peanuts potentially tainted with salmonella.

ProduCT TyPe

numBer of reCalls

Nuts

222

Snack Bars and Trail Mixes

204

Baked goods

94

Medications and Supplements

94

Candy

90

Fruits and Vegetables

84

Ice Cream

79

Medical Supplies

49

Condiments

45

Animal Feed

36

Cheese

36

Source: U.S. News analysis of Food and Drug Administration data.

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Sodium reduction, providing smaller portion sizes, and better portion labeling are key areas for food industry action in light of the upcoming Dietary Guidelines for Americans, according to the advisory committee chair.

Chair of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) Linda Van Horn, and chair of its Carbohydrates and Protein Subcommittee Joanne Slavin outlined some of the main findings of the DGAC and how research has shifted nutrition evidence since the 2005 guidelines were issued: “First of all, sodium,” she said. “The food industry has been running rampant on sodium for a long time, but now is the time for them to reduce sodium – and not sacrifice taste. I believe American ingenuity can do it.”

Some experts expressed concern that reducing daily sodium consumption to below 1,500mg per person could prove to be difficult – especially considering that only 9.6 percent of the population meets the current recommendation of 2,300mg per day. However, this is an area in which the food industry has already made a significant effort, with many major companies pledging to cut sodium within certain timeframes.

Van Horn said that companies are also aware that if they don’t find a way to reduce sodium without affecting consumer acceptance, their competitors will. She added: “Because of the obesity problem we need to look at calories, so the other big issue is portion size.”

About how to help Americans reduce portion size, whether through better labeling or by reducing actual product size, she said: “I think it has to be both.” In particular, Van Horn and Slavin highlighted the inclusion of two new chapters in the upcoming guidelines. These chapters address the concept of ‘total diet’, moving away from a purely nutrient-focused approach; and that of the ‘translational diet’, which attempts to explain how the dietary guidelines could be adapted to dietary preferences, such as vegetarianism, or the dietary requirements of various religions.

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March 2011 | The Cracker

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World nut & dried fruit neWs

Kellogg Crunchy nut: taste as #1 message how does a new product differentiate itself in the extremely crowded cereal category?

With its U.S. launch of Crunchy Nut -- which has been a favorite in the U.K. for three decades -- Kellogg is betting that adults bored with hearing about various nutrient and weight-control benefits will respond to messaging stressing tastiness.

The campaign for Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut, launched in January is taglined “It’s Morning Somewhere” -- meaning that adults will love the cereal’s taste so much that they’ll be looking for excuses to eat it not just for breakfast, but throughout the day.

“We’re kind of debunking the notion that only children want great-tasting cereal,” says Derek Sherman, executive creative director for Kellogg’s long-time creative agency, Leo Burnett. “This is definitely an adult, non-decadent breakfast cereal, but our message is that it’s a joyful experience. We looked for a humorous way of conveying this to an adult audience that also fits with Kellogg’s wellestablished positive, optimistic brand voice. Our solution was to poke fun at adults’ guilt about eating cereal as a snack or dessert or meal other than breakfast -- a behavior that’s quite common -- by giving them the ‘It’s Morning Somewhere’ excuse.”

The cereal was available nationwide in February and comes in two flavors: Golden Honey Nut (corn flakes drizzled with honey and topped with peanuts) and Roasted Nut and Honey (corn and oat O’s topped with roasted peanuts and honey).

doCs TIP of THe day: Get nuttier, not wider Well-known health professionals and authors Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D. recently syndicated an article on King Features that encouraged doctors to include nuts in their patients diets: “Turns out that acting a little nutty helps your heart. And we don’t mean clowning around, although laughter does make blood vessels healthier. We’re talking about our No. 1 snack: a daily fistful of walnuts, almonds or peanuts, which are packed with fiber, protein, cell-protecting flavonoids and heart-healthy fats. (Yup, we know peanuts are legumes.)

But here’s the news: If one fistful is heart-smart, researchers now say two are even better, knocking back heart-menacing LDL cholesterol by 10 points and high triglycerides by 20 points.

Just one snag: One fistful (about 1 ounce) has 160 to 200 calories.

Double that and you’re into some serious calories. How to enjoy more nuts without ending up in elastic-waist jeans? Try these: 1. Swap. Instead of two pieces of whole-wheat morning toast with 1 tablespoon of butter (300 calories), try one slice with 2 tablespoons of peanut butter (280 calories). Instead of a grilled chicken breast in your lunch salad (260 calories), save half the breast and toss in a handful of almonds instead (162 calories).

2.

Pair with low-cal crunchies. Don’t count on a fistful of nuts to fill a snack-hungry tummy. Add chunky fruit or veggies for volume (apples, plums, mini carrots, sliced red pepper).

3.

Make the most of ‘em. Enhance their flavor by toasting nuts for 9 to 12 minutes at 275 to 350 degrees. Then chew thoroughly: 40 chews satisfy better than 10 or 20 crunches. Eat the skins, too. Almond skins are packed with flavonoids; peanut skins are full of polyphenols. You lose them when you eat ‘em naked.

(The nuts, not you.)

The You Docs - Mike Roizen and Mehmet Oz - are authors of the best-selling “You: On A Diet.” To submit questions and for more info, go to www.RealAge.com. “

nuts for Wholesome Goodness “There must be solid reasons for health practitioners and nutritionists to emphasise on the goodness of nuts even though they are notoriously high in fat. The reason is simple. Nuts have the potential to promote great health among those who consume them regularly,” says a Natural Health Media article which excerpts information from INC’s Nutrition Research and Education Foundation website nuthealth.org.

The article continues, “Unfortunately, many adults and growing-up children are not encouraged to include nuts as part of their everyday diet – no thanks to parts played by mainstream media to hype on low fat diet the last few decades which has entered our psych to avoid these nutrient-packed power food altogether for their high fat, high cholesterol and high calories content. Nuts would not have been featured in the Food Guide Pyramid as a source of protein alongside meat, fish and poultry without a good reason. Although low fat-high protein diet has its merits, a low carbohydrate food like nuts should be made an integral part of your diet – as long as they are the raw and unsalted variety.

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The Cracker | March 2011

World nut & dried fruit neWs

Pepsi research focus on healthy snacks A small group of Pepsi scientists in white lab coats wander through their laboratory, describing the state-of-the-art equipment: a spectrometer, which uses light to determine the nutrients in a food sample and an RT-PCR machine (“reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction”), as seen on “CSI.” It can identify a sample of food by reading its DNA!

dissolve on the tongue faster, so more salt is tasted even though there is less of it. The New Haven lab doesn’t have specific breakthroughs to boast of yet - or at least not any they can talk about publicly. “There’s stuff in the pipeline that should be coming out soon,” says Mark Pirner, head of the lab and director of the company’s clinical and scientific development strategy.

It’s all part of the research laboratory that PepsiCo opened in New Haven’s Science Park building last year. The eight full-time scientists who work there focus on finding ways to make snack foods more healthful.

PepsiCo officials say the lab is part of a pattern toward offering more healthful fare.

The researchers are focused on gathering information on nutrition in general. So there are no specific goals yet, such as developing a crunchier, leaner chip. “The discovery is what’s going to lead to innovation,” Pirner says. “I think some of the best science has been accidental discovery.

I’m hoping it allows us to learn things beyond what we can predict all by ourselves.” The lab has no formal affiliation with Yale, but it operates near the campus and the researchers say they hope to benefit from their proximity to the university’s resources. Also linking the lab and Yale was Pepsi’s joint announcement about the lab’s opening and its awarding of a $250,000 five-year fellowship for the Yale Medical School’s MDPhD program. The fellowship is for students researching nutrition and obesity-related diseases.

In expanding its product line, Pepsi has bought part of Sabra, a company that makes hummus; its Frito-Lay division now offers sunflower seeds and several types of nuts. And the company recently bought WimmBill-Dann, a Russian dairy company. Placing a greater emphasis on science, Pepsi hired Mehmood Khan in 2007 as its chief scientific officer.

Khan, who had worked as an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic, has set such goals as reducing sodium and added sugar by 25 percent in key products and cutting saturated fat by 15 percent.

Before the new lab opened, Khan says, Pepsi scientists had found a way to reduce salt on chips by reducing the size of salt crystals. They

GerMany deVeloPs raPId deTeCTIon sysTeMs for food allerGens German researchers are developing rapid detection systems to identify allergenic substances in food through the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR). Food extracts are applied to a test strip which can reveal the presence of allergens and identify them within 10 minutes.

Tests can be made anywhere and no special laboratory equipment is necessary.

New analytical methods are able to detect the hereditary material of the allergenic substances with a high reliability, even in intensely processed foodstuffs. All reagents needed for testing are generally available and the methods can be applied worldwide. Allergens can even be detected in traces of ppm (parts per million).

Different allergens can be analysed in parallel, including those which so far have proved difficult to detect. In 2011, research will focus on

standardising the developed screening processes. The German National Action Plan against Allergies, organized by the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV) is intended to improve the labeling of allergenic substances on foodstuffs.

Currently rules specify that traces of allergenic substances must be labeled if there is a risk that they may transfer unintentionally into the product during food production. For example, if two different types of chocolate, one containing nuts, are produced one after the other on the same production line, nut traces may contaminate the second batch.

Official testing methods exist for hazelnuts and peanuts. But no detection methods are available for many other allergenic components. Producers label their products, for precautionary reasons, with general statements such as “May contain traces of hazelnuts”.

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food Prices Worldwide hit record levels Global food prices are moving ever higher, hitting record levels last month as a jittery market reacted to unpredictable weather and tight supplies, according to a united nations report.

It was the seventh month in a row of food price increases, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, which put out the report. With some basic food stocks low, prices will probably continue reaching new heights, at least until the results of the harvest next summer are known, analysts said. Scattered bright spots in the report led experts to suggest that a repeat of the 2008 food riots stemming from similar sharp price increases might not be imminent.

Rice was slightly cheaper and meat prices stable, they noted. But the overall uncertainty and inflation could eventually make the situation worse than three years ago, they said.

Riots and demonstrations erupting across the Middle East are not directly inspired by rising food prices alone, experts noted, but that is one factor fueling the anger directed toward governments in the region.

Egypt was among more than a dozen countries that experienced food riots in 2008. The F.A.O. price index, which tracks 55 food commodities for export, rose 3.4 percent in January, hitting its highest level since tracking began in 1990, the report said. Countries not dependent on food imports are less affected by global volatility. Still, food prices are expected to rise 2 percent to 3 percent in the United States this year.

Four main factors are seen as driving prices higher: weather, higher demand, smaller yields and crops diverted to biofuels. Volatile weather patterns often attributed to climate change are wreaking havoc with some harvests. Heavy rains in Australia damaged wheat to the extent that much of its usually high-quality crop has been downgraded to feed, experts noted.

This has pushed the demand and prices for American wheat much higher.

Sugar prices are also at a 30-year high. Prices for cereals are rising but still below their April 2008 peak. Oils and fats are up and close to their 2008 level, and dairy is higher but still below its 2007 peak, the report said. Even positive news, like good rains in Argentina and a strong harvest in Africa, has failed to keep prices from rising.

Changing diets around the world stemming from higher incomes, especially in places like China and India, mean a greater demand for meat and better grains. Although it takes time for that to translate into higher prices globally, it does buoy demand, the experts said. In 2009, the richest nations pledged more than $20 billion to aid agriculture in developing countries, including $6 billion for a food security fund housed at the World Bank. Just $925 million of those pledges has been paid because of financial problems in the donor countries. That will bring consequences as one billion people already go without sufficient food daily.

Cerealsâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;double digit growth predicted Around 273 million bowls of cereal are eaten every day and three quarters are eaten in the U.S, U.K, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland, General Mills and Nestle expect rapid growth for their Cereal Partners Worldwide joint venture especially in developing markets. They also include countries like France and Turkey where traditionally not so many cereals are eaten, as well as Asian countries where the average per capita consumption is around 300-400g per year compared with 4-5 kg in the big six markets.

Cereal Partners generates annual sales of 2.6 billion Swiss francs, and is now the second biggest cereal producer in the world after Kelloggâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s.

The current value of the global market is $20 billion. According to the cereal leaders, there is still room for growth as some nations are only

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beginning to consume cereals as part of a healthy diet. The market is estimated to double to a $40 billion market in ten years.

This is why CPW has invested 47 million Swiss francs developing an innovation centre in Orbe, Switzerland. The centre will improve existing cereals, for example, by reducing their sugar or salt content. It will also develop new ones with a specially designed food kitchen as well as pilot factory to work out the best way to produce new cereals. They are also working to include fiber in the cereals in a way that tastes good. The CPW belives that growth will come from combining raw materials, ingredients, fruit and chocolate into a one-stop cereal! Nuts could have a place in this added-value growth plan!

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sPeCial rePort

ARE WE MAKING OURSELVES SICK Part ii of “the heart of the matter” Bill Layden & Victor Fulgoni, III, Ph.D., from Food Compass (powered by FoodMinds and Nutrition Impact)

Diabetes is a disease characterized by elevated blood glucose typically due to insulin insufficiency or ineffectiveness. There are two types of diabetes: 1) Insulin dependent diabetes (Type I) and 2) non-insulin dependent diabetes (Type II); Type I diabetes is associated with the lack of insulin secretion and usually occurs younger in life Type 2 diabetes occurs when insulin secretion is insufficient to overcome resistance to its action, leading to inadequate regulation of blood glucose levels It was previously a disease of middle-aged and elderly people, but frequency has increased in all age groups and the condition is now seen in adolescence and childhood Described as pandemic, diabetes affects about 246 million people globally and projected to increase to 380 million in 2025 Chronic diseases are the major cause of death and disability worldwide with total of 58 million deaths in 2005 with diabetes-related deaths accounting for 2% (1.2 million deaths); Diabetes was the fourth major chronic disease contributor of deaths in 2005 Bill Layden & Victor Fulgoni, III, Ph.D., from Food Compass (powered by FoodMinds and Nutrition Impact) The U.S.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated last year that as many as 1 in 3 adults could have diabetes by 2050 if current trends continue.1 Similar trends have been reported around the world. This is the second in a series of articles based on a review of global nutrition trends and related key public health issues and activities commissioned by the Almond Board of California.

“Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S. and a major cause of heart disease and stroke. ” 22

The Cracker | March 2011

The U.S.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated last year that as many as 1 in 3 adult s could have diabetes by 2050 if current trends continue.1 Similar trends have been reported around the world. This is the second in a series of articles based on a review of global nutrition trends and related key public health issues and activities commissioned by the Almond Board of California.

Nearly 26 million adult Americans have diabetes. According the CDC, the vast majority of these cases are heavily influenced by diet and physical activity. What is even more troubling is that more than a third of adults in the U.S. or about 79 million people have prediabetes, a condition in which blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes.

Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S. and a major cause of heart disease and stroke. According to CDC, diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, nontraumatic lower-limb amputations, and new cases of blindness among adults in the U.S.

sPeCial rePort

Diabetes is a group of diseases indicated by high levels of blood glucose resulting from defects in insulin production. Type 1 diabetes, previously called insulindependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) or juvenile-onset diabetes, accounts for about 5 percent of all diagnosed cases of diabetes. Type 2 diabetes, previously called non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDUM) or adult-onset diabetes, accounts for about 90 to 95 percent of all diagnosed cases of diabetes.

Poor diet and lack of physical activity are contributing to excess weight gain and obesity, which, in turn, is contributing to an increase in Type 2 diabetes, including among children and adolescents. In short, the population is making itself sick from poor diet and physical inactivity.

The good news is that scientific research has confirmed that lifestyle interventions can prevent or delay Type 2 diabetes. According to CDC, the Diabetes Prevention Program, showed that losing weight, eating right and being more physically active reduced the development of Type 2 diabetes by almost 60 percent during a 3 year period in people at high risk for diabetes.

Moreover, research has found that lifestyle interventions are more cost-effective than medications.

For further information about these data or other global nutrition trends and related key public health issues and activities, please contact Bill Layden of FoodMinds at blayden@foodminds.com.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;In short, the population is making itself sick from poor diet and physical inactivity.â&#x20AC;?

March 2011 | The Cracker

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ChoColate fortunes:

the Battle for the hearts, minds and Wallets of China’s Consumers Part 1 of a 2-part series

By Lawrence L. Allen

Over the past thirty years China has transformed itself from an isolated economic basket case to an indispensable economic powerhouse within the global economy. China’s breathtaking transformation from a command to a market-socialist economy has turned some 300 million of its 1.3 billion people into ravenous consumers of everything from candy to cars. And thirty years ago, almost none of them had ever eaten a piece of chocolate; their taste for chocolate ready to be shaped by whichever chocolate company came roaring into the country with a winning combination of quality, marketing savvy, and manufacturing and distribution acumen.

“Chocolate Fortunes tells the inside story of the “Big Five” global titans of chocolate—Ferrero, Cadbury, Hershey, Nestlé, and Mars—that are battling to capture a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to establish their brand with one-fifth of the world’s population.”

It was a classic story of East meeting West through the introduction into China, a xenophobic land of austerity and deprivation, of an icon of the Western world’s decadence and self-indulgence: chocolate. In short, China was the next great frontier, a market of almost limitless potential to be liberated in a war between the world’s leading chocolate companies for the hearts, minds and taste buds— and ultimately the wallets—of China’s consumers.

Even today, the amount of chocolate sold in China is relatively tiny, accounting for less than 2% of total global consumption. A nation of more than a billion people, it consumes about 146 million pounds of chocolate

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The Cracker | March 2011

annually, or 1.8 ounces per person. Switzerland, with a population of less than 8 million, consumes 167 million pounds annually, or 22 pounds per person. Americans, by comparison, consume approximately 3 billion pounds a year, or 11.7 pounds per person annually. But per capita consumption figures don’t really tell the story, because most Chinese can’t find chocolate in their vicinity even if they were willing to buy it.

When sizing up the opportunity in China, the key for the Big Five was identifying “geographically accessible” consumers—those to whom the product could be marketed and sold with relative ease through China’s antiquated distribution and retail infrastructure. Relying distribution figures alone would grossly overstated the potential of China’s chocolate market, since the vast majority of Chinese consumers with access to chocolate were not likely consumers, either because of their age, their resistance to foreign foods, or their level of disposable income. Even if the Big Five chocolate companies were able to get their products in front of these consumers, chocolate is so foreign that it would have limited appeal to their untrained palates.

The difficulty in estimating something as basic as China’s market size was symptomatic of one major challenge faced by business managers operating in it: the lack of basic business information. The emerging China market was a level playing field for all of the Big Five when they began arriving in the 1980 and 1990s. Chinese consumers viewed chocolate as an exotic foreign product, so each of the chocolate manufacturers enjoyed the same level of prestige and credibility that China’s inexperienced consumers associated with foreign goods. Retail prices were relatively high and manufacturing costs relatively low, so none found pricing and cost to be barriers to entry. And, each was flying blind when it came to consumer and market information, and by the seat of their pants when dealing with China’s mercurial economic and regulatory environment. How their executives applied the experience, management skills, and leadership capabilities they brought to China would be decisive in how each approached the emerging consumer market and whether they ultimately succeeded. one CounTry, Three CenTuries In 2008, China celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of the country’s reopening its doors to the outside world, and it has been over a quartercentury since chocolate gift boxes were first hand-carried into the country as gifts. Since Deng Xiaoping began picking up the pieces of

feature story the country’s broken economy in 1978, China’s GDP has grown by over sixty-nine times, an astonishing 10 percent per year on average. Surpassing Germany in 2008, and more recently Japan, China’s economy is now the second largest in the world behind the United States.

Despite China’s radical transformation over the past three decades, it is still a work in progress. Figuratively speaking, in China today there are fewer than 50 million people living in the twenty-first century, about 300 million living in various stages of the twentieth century, and nearly a billion people living in the latter part of the nineteenth century. This historic mass economic migration—from the nineteenth century to the twentieth and even twenty-first centuries—has made hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers physically, culturally, and financially accessible to multinational companies. As China’s distribution infrastructure and quality retail environments continue to penetrate ever deeper into the country, with each new air-conditioned supermarket that opens, tens of thousands of people will suddenly have access to chocolate for the first time. As this process continues, even if 20 million of China’s near billion inaccessible consumers emerge each year to become accessible consumers, it will take another half-century for all of China’s citizens to make this passage. These waves of millions of eager new consumers creates an extraordinary long-term opportunity for the world’s consumer product companies, making it imperative for them to stake a claim in China’s fast-growing consumer markets.

China’s ChoColaTe war China’s economic transformation was unprecedented and so too was the establishment of foreign businesses within a major country undergoing monumental economic and social change. For the world’s leading chocolate companies China was a new frontier with boundless possibility. But the chocolate war wasn’t simply a battle for the hearts, minds, and taste buds of China’s consumers, it was also a struggle for these global chocolate giants to discern their own route to commercial success in China; for their greatest challenges did not lie externally in China’s enigmatic marketplace, but internally within each organization. Ultimately, they challenge each other and themselves for dominance of China’s rapidly growing chocolate market.

China’s decades-long near total isolation from the rest of the world prior to 1978 ensured that all of the Big Five chocolate companies shared the same anonymity with China’s consumers. Essentially China’s consumers were a blank slate in terms of chocolate taste preference and brand awareness. Furthermore, since chocolate had no history or tradition in China, to speak of, it was a completely foreign product to virtually all Chinese when it arrived in the 1980s. Each of the Big Five chocolate companies would make a contribution to the development of China’s chocolate market, simply by establishing a presence there.

However, the one that could establish a culinary and cultural bridge between its products and China’s emerging consumers, successfully navigate the complexities and ambiguities of China’s rapidly transforming economic system, and best understand consumers’ common experience through their country’s recent history would be the one to establish its chocolate as the preferred chocolate taste among China’s first generation of chocolate consumers and could declare victory in China’s chocolate war.

Each player came to the battlefield equipped with its own arsenal of strengths. Hershey, the purveyor of the great American chocolate bar, was the most U.S. domestic-oriented, and though it was a market leader in the relatively homogenous American market, it did not have a proven track record in the more diverse and varied international marketplace. In spite of this, Hershey brought a much-needed will to find a way in China.

Mars, an American family-owned chocolate giant, had a much more established international presence and consequently a much broader base of experience to apply in China. But with a reputation as a tough street fighter its most powerful weapon was its determination to succeed in the China market. Cadbury was the chocolate of the British Empire and had a presence in Britain’s Chinese enclaves during the colonial era.

Nestlé, the Swiss-based global food titan, brought enormous resources and extensive experience to global markets. Both Cadbury and Nestlé had been marketing chocolate around the world from just after the turn of the twentieth-century, providing them greater depth and perspective from which to develop a successful approach to the China market.

Finally, Italian chocolate maker Ferrero, the Ferrari of chocolate, and relative newcomer to retail chocolate, would prove to be the wild card of the group. It had one of the most expensive and exotic chocolate products to offer: Ferrero Rocher, a unique product with an upscale cachet that had a proven appeal to chocolate consumers worldwide.

“...since chocolate had no history or tradition in China, to speak of, it was a completely foreign product to virtually all Chinese when it arrived in the 1980s.”

ferrero Founded in postwar Italy, in the small, southern Piedmont village of Alba, the Ferreros have grown their family-owned company into a global food industry giant. In 1982 Michele Ferrero, son of the company’s founder, developed and launched Ferrero Rocher, the Ferrari of chocolate, a unique product—a delicate chocolate and hazelnut

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confection encased in an elegant gold foil wrapper—with an upscale cachet that had a proven appeal to chocolate consumers worldwide.

In status and fashion-conscious 1980s Hong Kong, a luxury chocolate such as Ferrero Rocher was a natural. Although most of its citizens could not afford the $30,000 jewel-encrusted gold Swiss Rolex watches that filled shop windows along Hong Kong’s narrow streets, nearly all could afford an Italian gold-colored Ferrero Rocher chocolate gift box. For those aspiring to a higher station in life, Ferrero Rocher was a symbol of the good life.

With Hong Kong serving as the port of entry on the modern-day silk road for consumer products arriving in China, it was only a matter of time until the cachet of Ferrero Rocher crossed the border and captured the fancy of China’s emerging and impressionable consumer class. As the first point of contact with the outside world for many Chinese people, well-heeled Hong Kong businessmen became an important symbol of success to be admired, envied, and even emulated. By the mid-1980s many of them hand-carried gifts to China, including Ferrero Rocher, to develop both personal and business relationships.

First impressions are of course lasting ones, and with Ferrero Rocher having had the greatest early impact in the market, the expectation among China’s fledgling chocolate consumers was that chocolate should be foreignbranded, expensive, and deliver on the promise of a highly indulgent eating experience. This image of chocolate not only served Ferrero well but its multinational competitors as well and allowed the entire China chocolate market, both the gift-giving and self-consumption segments, to develop

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The Cracker | March 2011

under a premium image.

Ferrero knew its product was exceptionally expensive for the market, and consequently did not expect to sell Ferrero Rocher to a billion people there. It focused on the emerging chocolate market’s “sweet spot,” which consisted of high-end retail outlets where chocolate was being purchased, seasonal gift-giving events when chocolate was being purchased, and the pockets and gift expense accounts of those who could afford to buy chocolate.

Furthermore, Ferrero Rocher’s extreme sales seasonality would make it highly inefficient to have a manufacturing plant in China, which would sit virtually idle for much of the year. For this reason the Ferreros have opted out of in-country manufacturing, still export their products to China, and distribute them through a national master distributor.

Marco Polo’s father, Nocolo, and uncle, Maffio, undertook one of the earliest documented journeys of Europeans all the way to China’s seat of power, Beijing, in 1266. Seven hundred years later, Italians would again be among the first to establish trade with China. But this time, it would be the Ferrero Family of Alba, Italy, instead of the Polos of Venice who would bear gifts of gold along the modern-day silk road to China: Ferrero Rocher goldfoil-covered chocolate gift boxes. Ferrero Rocher was, simply, the global chocolate industry’s first ambassador to China. mars The Mars company had humble beginnings as turn-of-the-twentiethcentury kitchen-craft of founder Frank C. Mars. His son, Forrest Mars Sr., led the diversification and globalization of the company. Unlike

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archrival Milton Hershey, who was satisfied with the opportunities that the American market offered Mars’s international ventures began with a move into the U.K. market in 1932, and the local manufacture and sale of Milky Way (renamed the Mars Bar for the U.K. market). Mars has since grown into a truly global company. Today, it is one of the world’s largest family-owned businesses. Most of the company’s sales are now made outside of the Americas and the company claims to have facilities in 150 locations around the world and that its products are sold in more than

180 countries. With Mars’s legacy of aggressive instincts for international expansion (Mars was also one of the first candy companies to move into Eastern Europe and Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union), it is not surprising that it was one of the first Western candy companies to take an active interest in the China market.

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...Quality, Commitment, Tradition

March 2011 | The Cracker

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That none of the Big Five opened a factory in China until the 1990s is testament to how far the country had to come with its economic transformation, which had begun over a decade earlier. Before packaged food and beverage companies could justify manufacturing in-country, they needed to first introduce their products to Chinese consumers, and China’s consumer markets had to develop and grow to the size where they created sufficient sales opportunities to justify such an investment.

Mars was the first of the Big Five to establish chocolate manufacturing in China with the completion of its factory in suburban Beijing in 1993.

But large-scale self-consumption of chocolate would only become prevalent beginning in the mid to late-1990s, and in this respect Mars would also be the first to experience the early growing pains of the market, and they struggled to push their products—M&Ms, Snickers and Dove chocolate bars—into a mass-market of consumers whose chocolate self-consumption habits were still in their infancy.

M&Ms was introduced to China’s first generation of chocolate consumers under the brand’s global positioning of “fun candy,” but this was hardly in keeping with the premium, exotic mystique that had developed around foreign chocolate brands. Snickers was also launched in China during the early 1990s, and consumers found the idea of consuming a bar of chocolate, peanuts, nougat, and gooey caramel in big-bite fashion to satisfy hunger abhorrent and unnatural. The sales inflection point for these two mega brands would arrive only when a new generation of consumers emerged at the very end of the 1990s:

Chinese teenagers, who grew up wearing sneakers, riding skateboards, and playing video games—those with pocket money to spend on small luxury items, and a palate attuned to the occasional McDonald’s hamburger, Pizza Hut pizza and Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC).

It was the company’s newest product, Dove chocolate, that delivered the kind of rich and indulgent chocolate-eating experience that China’s first generation of consumers expected from a foreign-branded chocolate. However, a single Dove chocolate bar would set them back RMB 6 (US$0.88) for the privilege, an expensive proposition for nearly all consumers at that time.

By being the first to plant their company’s manufacturing flag in China, Mars positioned itself to be in for an extremely long haul in China.

Though they were now well positioned to dominate the market from a supply-side, Mars had unwittingly accepting a large share of the financial burden to literally lead the development of China’s self-consumption chocolate market, and in doing so entered into an endurance race that would test its commitment to China’s consumers and its determination to win in China.

In the July issue Of The Cracker, we will continue with Part 2 of Chocolate Fortunes where Mr. Allen will explore how Cadbury, Hershey and Nestle approach the chocolate market in China.

about lawrence allen: Lawrence Allen is a twenty-year China-business veteran, leadership advisor, and author living in Beijing, China. After graduating from the Thunderbird School of Global Management in 1987, Allen established his career building global consumer brands for multinational companies in the Greater China region. For seven years, between 1998 to 2006, the author was a foot soldier on the front lines of China’s “chocolate war,” first as an executive with Hershey, and later Nestlé. allen is author of the book Chocolate fortunes: The Battle for the Hearts, Minds, and Wallets of China’s Consumers, published by AMACOM in fall 2009 (to learn more about Chocolate Fortunes visit www.amacombooks. org/book.cfm?isbn=9780814414323 or, www.amazon.com/ChocolateFortunes-Battle-Wallets-Consumers/dp/081441432X

This article is adapted by www.amacombooks.orgpermission of the publisher, from the book Chocolate Fortunes by Lawrence L. Allen ©2010, Lawrence L. Allen, AMACOM books, Division of American Management Association, New York, New York, All rights reserved.

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The Cracker | March 2011

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Over 35 Sponsors have already signed on to support the New INC Home.

The INC extends a very big and heartfelt thank you to the companies whose sponsorship will make the New INC Home possible. Without the upfront commitment of our sponsors -many of which have been loyal supporters of our efforts for many years now- we would not be able to build the future. We truly appreciate their help.

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Opportunities for Members Sponsorship Benefits for 8,000 EUR: • Recognition as GOLD Member • Discount for INC Congresses • A plaque of recognition at the entrance of the building Gold Sponsors and Government Sponsors are open for Sponsorship. Now the INC offers the opportunity to be part of the project and build the future together to its members.

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Month March Year 2011 | The Cracker

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NEWS FROM THE INC SECRETARIAT

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The Cracker | March 2011

NEWS FROM THE INC SECRETARIAT

March 2011 | The Cracker

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NEWS FROM THE INC SECRETARIAT

News FROM THe INC seCReTARIAT

INC AT GulFOOd dubAI The INC exhibited at GulFood Dubai, Middle East’s Number 1 trade event for the foodservice and hospitality industries, from the 27th of February to the 2nd of March 2011. It was the first time that INC participated in an exhibition in the Middle East. With more than 3,000 exhibitors and over 55,000 visitors from 150 countries, Gulfood is one of the most important food, drink and hospitality markets events, and provides industry suppliers with the region’s largest business hub.

This was an excellent opportunity to show companies from the Middle East the wide-ranging services of our organization. It was the right time to promote the upcoming World Nut and Dried Fruit Congresses in Budapest and Singapore. The number of visitors to the stand exceeded all expectations and many informative brochures were available at the booth, so being present gave us the opportunity to meet potential new INC members and Congress participants. All in all it was a successful exhibition which will contribute to further growth of INC in the Middle East.

“It was the fIrst tIme that INC partICIpated IN aN exhIbItIoN IN the mIddle east”.

MyCORed-MONIQA TRAINING COuRse CApACITy buIldING IN MyCOTOxIN sAFe FOOd TRAde

The INC participated in the training course “Capacity Building in Mycotoxin Safe Food Trade”, from the 6th to the 10th of December 2010, and represented by Mr. Pino Calcagni, Chairman of the Scientific and Government Affairs Committee. The course was organized by EU-FP7 MycoRed Project and MoniQA, and was addressed to 27 food inspectors and young researchers. Mr. Calcagni was guest speaker and trainer in

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The Cracker | March 2011

two sessions: “Codex Alimentarius” and “Monitoring and Enforcement”, within the session “The regulatory environment”. According to the organizers, the results of the course have been very positive for all the participants, regarding the achievement of a wider knowledge concerning new strategies, monitoring, and quality assurance for worldwide mycotoxin reduction in food and feed chains.

Month Year | The Cracker

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NEWS FROM THE INC SECRETARIAT

March 2011 | The Cracker

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NEWS FROM THE INC SECRETARIAT

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The Cracker | March 2011

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Safe Food. Clean Food.

March 2011 | The Cracker

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&

safety Quality Taking The Road Less Traveled

a brief synopsis of the food safety modernization act By: Sam Keiper

In January 2011, President Obama signed the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). It took 15 pens to accomplish this feat.

This legislation survived numerous attempts by legislators to delay or kill the bill. The bill had to clear the Senate twice and the House three times before it was signed into law. While there are several items that are unclear regarding the implementation, one thing is certain: change is on the horizon for the way in which the food-process business approaches food safety.

Several industry groups, like GMA, hailed the signing of the bill as the most comprehensive reform of food safety laws since the Great Depression. The new food safety act contains several key provisions, in summary: expanded records access, increased inspection frequencies, mandatory recall authority, authority to require import certifications for food, biennial facility registration, re-inspection fees, hazard analysis and risk based controls, tracking and tracing requirements, and development of performance standards.

In addition, farms have further requirements, including: hazard analysis, risk based controls, produce safety standards, and tracking and tracing requirements.

The final impact on the industry is uncertain at this time because the US FDA now has the task of developing the rules and regulations regarding how they will implement and enforce the provisions of the Act. One thing is certain though, the FDA now has a legislative mandate, which requires the development of a comprehensive, risk based control program that will be implemented across the entire food chain.

According to the law, any company that is required to register with the FDA under the Bioterrorism Act will be subject to the new law.

However, there are a few exemptions in the law: (1) small farms that gross less than $500,000 and (2) food processors that sell more than half of their products directly to individual consumers (truck farms, farmer’s markets, etc.)

With 18 new provisions in the law, the implementation is somewhat speculative. As the FDA develops the rules, controversy, debate and written redrafts of protocol will be countless; which in-turn will make it difficult to determine what the outcome will look like. But for now it is important to look at some of the more significant regulations in anticipation for the future: First and foremost, Section 101 provides the FDA with expanded records to access if there is a “reasonable belief” that food will cause a serious adverse health effect or death. Prior to the act, the FDA could only access records of food that were known to be adulterated or contaminated. Although, farms and restaurants are exempt, the facility is subject to this section if it manufactures processes, packs, distributes receives, holds, or imports an article of food.

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The Cracker | March 2011

Secondly, Section 102 addresses biennial facility registration within 180 days of enactment. Currently all facilities must be registered with FDA with no requirement for re-registration. This provision now requires that facilities to update their registration information every two years. The registration may be suspended if food is found to present a reasonable risk of causing serious health effects or death. And now registrations must be completed by December 31 on the even numbered years.

Likewise, Section 103 states that Hazard Analysis and risk-based controls are mandatory every 18 months. Within the 18 month time frame, facilities are required to conduct a Hazard Analysis, implement preventive food safety measures and develop a food safety plan that document the monitoring and verification of these controls. This document and associated records must be made available to FDA during their inspections. Additional requirements could include documented sanitation procedures, recall procedures, allergen controls, supplier verification and environmental sampling and testing.

In addition, Section 104 demands performance standards every two years. It directs the Secretary to review and evaluate relevant data to determine which food borne contaminates pose the greatest risk and, as appropriate, issue guidance documents, regulations and action levels. Every two years, FDA will evaluate data that has been collected to determine which food borne contaminates pose the greatest risk. In response, FDA will issue guidance documents and impose action levels.

All registered facilities will be required to demonstrate that the controls in place are effective in mitigating the hazards that have been identified.

Moreover, Section 107 authorizes the collection of fees upon enactment. This act allows FDA to collect fees for conducting reinspections to determine if any non-compliance issues identified in previous inspections have been corrected. However, fees have not been set at this time.

In Section 201 it states that the frequency of inspections will be increased upon enactment. Based on a risk analysis, FDA will target high-risk facilities for increased inspections. It is suspected that tree nut facilities will be in the high-risk category. In other words, expect to see the FDA or State Inspector more often. Furthermore, since the American Council for Food Safety & Quality/DFA of California has a partnership agreement with the FDA, we will work closely with them on this provision.

It is important that all facilities develop procedures for handling regulatory inspections and train personnel on these procedures. While it is not a requirement, it is imperative that facilities develop a 24-hour contact list and test it on more regular basis.

Section 202, or laboratory certification, will require the Secretary to, within two years of the Act’s ratification, establish a program for the testing of food by accredited laboratories; establish a publicly available

safety & Quality registry of accreditation bodies; develop model standards that an accreditation body shall require U.S. and foreign laboratories to meet; and periodically re-evaluate accreditation bodies and revoke recognition of any that are not in compliance with this section.

Furthermore, Section 204 requires the FDA to create a product tracing system after conducting pilot tests in the processed food sectors.

Within one year, FDA will publish a list of high-risk foods that will require additional recordkeeping requirements.

Prior to the enactment, FDA could only request that firms perform recalls. If the firm refused, FDA could only issue a notice to consumers and then try and get a court order. However, Section 206 gives FDA the authority to take action without having approval from a court. Since most recalls are voluntary, it is assumed that this tool will be used rarely since most respectable food firms do not want to make consumers sick.

On the same note, Section 303 gives the FDA authority to require import certifications on food. First, FDA must identify what is a “high risk” food. If you look at the countries which have had problems in the past (e.g. China, Mexico), it seems likely that the FDA will require imported foods to be certified and comply with US food laws. But how they will bring this into fruition is still unclear. It may mean an expanded opportunity for third party auditing. Regardless, this certification will add to the cost of importing certain foods into the US.

Nevertheless, the Food Safety Modernization Act will significantly impact food safety plans. It is essential to each business that Hazard Analysis and Risk Based Controls be documented and implemented.

Firms must demonstrate their plan to be effective in controlling the risks identified; in addition, with recalls for undeclared allergens on the rise, allergen management will be key in this plan. Although it’s not required by the new law, preventive and proactive measures should be included in the food safety plan such as recall procedures, which include traceability studies (raw material forward, finished product backward and food contact packaging). Lastly, supplier verification and documented sanitation will become protocol in all Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s).

In summary, the Food Safety Modernization Act will hit across all industry lines. For some, their current operational standards will easily be adjusted to comply with the new laws, while others will feel the challenges of the “Road Less Traveled.” Time will tell how this law will play out, but the time is now to prepare for the future and the change it will bring.

Lastly, Section 306 addresses inspection of foreign food facilities; herein, the Secretary may enter agreements with foreign governments to facilitate the inspection of foreign registered facilities. If the facility does not comply, the company’s product may be refused entry in the US. Yet the logistics and facilitation of this is still to be determined.

Sam Keiper is President & CEO of the American Council for Food Safety & Quality/DFA of California and the Specialty Crop Trade Council

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TheCracker Cracker || Month March 2011 The Year

XXX World Nut and Dried Fruit Congress

Budapest

Hungary, May 20-22, 2011

D

ear friends, We are set to welcome you in Budapest, Hungary, for the first time ever INC Congress in East Europe, where we look forward to offering you a unique and memorable experience.

We are ready to greet you with a big welcome to the InterContinental hotel, located on the Danube bank and surrounded by Budapest’s most iconic landmarks, where professionals from around the globe will gather to meet worldwide colleagues, strengthen commercial relations, and explore new initiatives in the nut and dried fruit business.

On Friday 20 May, we will have a Scientific Seminar about the main challenges and issues facing the nut and dried fruit industry, and a two hour Scientific Symposium on “Nuts and Dried Fruits on Health and Disease”. Saturday and Sunday sessions will be dedicated to market dynamics, new crop estimates and promotional campaigns in the form of round tables on tree nuts, peanuts and dried fruits.

In addition, the program includes a panel with leaders of major supermarkets chains, and a presentation on “Nuts and Gastronomy” delivered by the International Academy of Gastronomy.

Since this event is gaining popularity and attracting more and more participants, we are proud to announce the launch of our brand new Congress micro-site, designed to offer you a better user experience. Please visit www.nutfruit.org/budapest2011 and let us know your opinion.

Finally, an amazing social program will provide attendees with a fun and relaxed atmosphere in which to socialize and network. Friday 20 May will welcome participants in a sightseeing boat trip on the Danube in a memorable Welcome Cocktail, and Sofitel Hotel will held the Casual Buffet Dinner on Saturday, with traditional Hungarian food, gypsy music, and acrobatics. The traditional Cocktail and Gala Dinner will be served in the InterContinental Hotel on Sunday.

Likewise we have prepared a lively and entertaining program that will give participants the opportunity to enjoy the famous Hungarian folk music. Art and music will come together in this unique event meant to delight your senses.

We very much look forward to greeting you all in Budapest for a memorable INC Congress.

The Organizing Committee: Jack Mariani, INC Chairman Károly Bognar & Pino Calcagni, Congress Co-Chairmen Goretti Guasch, INC Executive Director

March Month2011 Year| |The TheCracker Cracker

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Preliminary Program

Budapest, Hungary, 20-22 May 2011 WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY 18-19 MAY 2011 9:00am 5:00pm

Registration at InterContinental Hotel

FRIDAY, 20 MAY 2011 6:30am

Bus departs for Golf Tournament at Pannonia Golf and Country Club.

Sponsored by Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella, USA

8:30am

INC Tennis Tournament at Romay Tennis Academy

9:00am 5:00pm

Registration at InterContinental Hotel

1:00pm 5:30pm

Booth Exhibition at InterContinental Hotel

1:30pm 3:00pm

Congress Welcome at InterContinental Hotel.

Scientific Seminar “Challenges and key issues facing the nut and dried fruit industry”, moderated

by Pino Calcagni, Chairman of the INC Scientific and Government Affairs Committee

3:00pm 3:30pm

Coffee Break

3:30pm 5:30pm

Symposium “Nuts and dried fruits on health and disease” at InterContinental Hotel, co-moderated by Prof. Jordi Salas-Salvadó, Rovira i Virgili University, Spain, and Ms. Maureen Ternus, Nutrition, Research and Education Foundation, USA

7:00pm 9:00pm

Welcome Cocktail at Europa Boat. Sightseeing boat trip on the Danube.

Sponsored by Blue Diamond Growers, USA

SATURDAY, 21 MAY 2011

4 42

9:30am 2:30pm

Spouses Tour: Budapest City Tour. Lunch and return to the hotel

9:00am 2:00pm

Booth Exhibition at InterContinental Hotel

8:30am

Congress officially opens at InterContinental Hotel

9:15am

DRIED FRUIT Round Table, moderated by Barry Kriebel, Sun Maid Growers, USA

10:30pm

CASHEWS Round Table, moderated by Ashok Krishen, Olam International, Singapore

10:50am

Coffee Break

The Cracker Cracker || March Month2011 Year The

11:05am

HAZELNUTS Round Table, moderated by Dr. Rossano Barbieri, Nestle’ ZEUR

11:25am

PINE NUTS, BRAZIL NUTS, MACADAMIAS Round Table, moderated by Michael Waring, MWT Foods, Australia

12:05am

Panel: How to market nuts in supermarkets throughout Europe

12:50pm

PECANS Round Table, moderated by Richard Walden, Green Valley Pecan Co., USA

1:15pm

Buffet Working Lunch.

Sponsored by Rajkumar Impex Ltd, India

3:00pm

Ambassadors Meeting at Sofitel Hotel

7:00pm 10:00pm

Buffet Casual Dinner at Sofitel Hotel

SUNDAY, 22 MAY 2011 9:30am 2:30pm

Spouses Tour: Meet Sissi in Gödöllö. Lunch and return to the hotel

9:00am 2:00pm

Booth Exhibition at InterContinental Hotel

9:00am

INC General Assembly at InterContinental Hotel

10:00am

2012 Singapore. Presentation of the XXXI World Nut and Dried Fruit Congress, chaired by Ashok Krishen, Olam International

10:20am

ALMONDS Round Table, moderated by Craig Duerr, Campos Brothers, USA

10:40am

Coffee Break

11:10am

PISTACHIOS Round Table, moderated by Mark Masten, Paramount Farms, USA

11:30am

“Nuts and Gastronomy” Keynote Speaker: Rafael Anson, International Academy of Gastronomy

12:00pm

WALNUTS Round Table, moderated by Jack Mariani, Mariani Nut Company, USA

12:20pm

PEANUTS Round Table, moderated by Beatriz Ackerman, Argentine Peanut Chamber, Argentina

12:45pm

Closing Ceremony

1:00pm

Buffet Working Lunch Sponsored by Sun-Maid Growers of California, USA

6:30pm

Cocktail at InterContinental Hotel

7:30pm

Gala Dinner and Ball at InterContinental Hotel

Month The Cracker Cracker March Year 2011 || The

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SPECIAL EVENT

US Dietary Guidelines Revealed The federal government has issued the first update in five years of its “Dietary Guidelines for Americans” -- but despite broad recognition of the U.S. obesity crisis, the update left the major cornerstones of the guidelines largely intact.

The revision, a joint effort of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), last updated the guidelines in 2005. Basic recommendations for maximum intake of fats and cholesterol, sodium, potassium, and fiber remain unchanged from the last edition. Instead, the “Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010” focused mainly on wording tweaks -- reorganizing how some of the recommendations are presented.

For example, the recommendation to reduce calories from added sugar now gets separate emphasis. In the 2005 edition of the dietary guidelines, added sugar was lumped with other suggestions in a large section on carbohydrates. It also includes more suggestions of healthy foods to eat, whereas earlier editions concentrated more on unhealthy foods to avoid.

The new edition of the dietary guidelines sets the following daily limits or targets: • Fat intake: 20% to 35% of total calories • Saturated fat: less than 10% of total calories (mono- and polyunsaturated fats may be substituted) • Trans-fats: less than 1% of calories • Cholesterol: less than 300 mg • Fiber: 14 g per 1,000 calories • Potassium: 4,700 mg • Sodium: less than 1,500 mg for all African Americans and those with hypertension, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease (including children), as well as persons older than 51; everyone else is advised to consume under 2,300 mg of sodium a day • Fruits and vegetables: at least 2.5 cups • Refined grains: less than 3 oz Although most of these basic numeric targets are the same as before, the 2010 revision expands on them in new ways. For example, the new guidelines make numerous references to “solid fats” -- such as butter and trans-fats -- as fat sources to be avoided or minimized. It also recommends substituting mono- and polyunsaturated oils for solid fats when possible.

The new edition also makes more specific suggestions of alternatives to refined grains and sugars and high-fat meats.

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The sodium numbers are likely to be among the most controversial elements in the 2010 edition -- since they hardly vary from the 2005 version. The major difference is that the 1,500-mg/day sodium limit for individuals with hypertension or its risk factors was an “aim” in 2005 -- but has now been promoted to a full-fledged recommendation that the document notes “applies to about half of the U.S. population, including children, and the majority of adults.”

Also, the new revision adds diabetes and chronic kidney disease to the list of risk factors that trigger the 1,500 mg a day cap. But it also appears to raise the age limit for which the lower figure applies. The 2005 guideline merely indicated that it was appropriate for the “middle aged,” which was not explicitly defined but is generally understood to mean older than 40.

US Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the government had to respect consumers’ ability to adhere to the recommendations. Noting that the current average daily sodium intake is about 3,400 mg, he said many people would likely rebel against the change in the taste of food that large-scale reductions in salt content would entail.

The full 112-page USDA/HHS publication, “Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010,” also includes tips on kitchen hygiene, safe cooking and refrigeration temperatures -- and other methods for avoiding food-borne diseases. The kitchen and cooking tips were among the document’s 16 appendices. Those appendices also include dietary recommendations for specific population groups such as children, pregnant women, and people at high risk for metabolic diseases; suggestions on interpretation of food labels; vegetarian and vegan adaptations of the guidelines; and lists of common foods rich in nutrients that many Americans don’t get enough of -- including vitamin D, calcium, and fiber.

Food companies react to guidelines Major food retailers and manufacturers industry say they are already moving to cut saturated fat, sodium and calories from products.

According to a report in the StarTribune newspaper in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, USA, more recently, companies have begun adding nutrients such as fiber and antioxidants. This is partly in response to a variety of factors including consumer requests and expectations of new government guidelines.

Golden Valley-based General Mills, maker of Yoplait yogurt and Bugles salty snacks, late last year announced that it had boosted whole grains, cut salt and sugar and made other healthful changes to products that amounted to 25 percent of its U.S. food sales. And since the federal

sPeCial eVent dietary guidelines were last revamped in 2005, items that represent nearly 60 percent of the company’s U.S. retail sales have been nutritionally improved. “We have taken steps to reformulate our products to help consumers meet these guidelines,” General Mills said in a statement.

Minnetonka-based Cargill, one of the largest U.S. salt producers, didn’t find any big surprises in the dietary guidelines’ salt intake recommendations. Cargill works with the nation’s big food manufacturers to help them retool their products for nutritional reasons, such as reducing salt without effecting taste.

Wal-Mart looks forward to working with the government “to make healthier food more accessible for millions of Americans, while making these choices more affordable for our customers.”

Kraft Foods Inc. cited previously announced plans to reduce sodium in its foods by an average 10 percent by 2012 and its plans to double whole grains across its Nabisco products by 2013.

ConAgra Foods Inc. also reiterated its efforts to cut sodium from a broad range of products.

The company said its Healthy Choice entrees can aid in controlling food portions, timing four new Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers meals with the USDA’s announcement. ConAgra also said its Hunt’s line of canned tomato products could help consumers eat more from the red and orange subgroup of vegetables.

Sales growth of healthier products have been outpacing conventional foods, according to ConAgra. Healthy Choice sales increased at a double-digit rate for the 12-week period ending Jan. 16.

how nuts fit in the new us dietary Guidelines The newly released 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans give consumers yet another reason to eat a handful—or 1½ ounces—of tree nuts (including almonds, Brazils, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts) every day.

“All of this research continues to support the recommendation that nuts should be an important part of a healthy diet,” states Maureen Ternus, M.S., R.D., Executive Director of the International Tree Nut Council Nutrition Research and Education Foundation.

The 2010 Dietary Guidelines recommend consuming a variety of protein sources, including nuts, along with nutrient-rich foods and healthy fats in order to help curb the rising rates of overweight and obesity in this country, and to reduce the risk of chronic disease such as heart disease. . Fortunately, nuts are nutrient-rich and contain unsaturated fats (poly- and monounsaturated fats). They also provide fiber and important vitamins and minerals such as potassium and calcium— key shortfall nutrients in U.S. adults. In addition, tree nuts contain a wide variety of phytochemicals, or plant compounds such as phytosterols (beta-sitosterol), carotenoids, flavonoids and proanthocyanidins, which may help protect against heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States.

Last year the most comprehensive study to date on nuts and blood lipids was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, providing more evidence that regular nut consumption can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.

The pooled analysis looked at 25 studies

conducted in seven countries with 583 men and women. Those who consumed roughly 67 grams (or 2.4 ounces) of nuts per day had an average drop in total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, LDL/HDL ratio and total cholesterol/HDL ratio of 5.1%, 7.4%, 8.3% and 5.6% respectively. The effect of nuts was dose-related and different types of nuts had similar effects on blood lipids.

The findings in this analysis support those from epidemiological studies which have consistently shown that nut consumption reduces the risk of heart disease. In 2003 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), based on all of the evidence, issued a qualified health claim that states: “Scientific evidence suggests but does not prove that eating 1.5 ounces per day of most nuts, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease.”

While heart disease is still the biggest area of research when it comes to nuts and health, more studies are looking at the effect of nuts in other areas including weight, satiety and diabetes. Over 170 studies were submitted to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (the abstracts and related information can be found at www.nuthealth.org).

According to an analysis by Maureen Ternus, several sections of the new US Dietary Guidelines specifically address how nuts fit in the recommendations about nutrient-density and protein. The context of the following

Story Continues on Page 48

March 2011 | The Cracker

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sPeCial eVent Story Continued from Page 47

☟

excerpts about nuts can be accessed at dietaryguidelines.com.

ChaPTer 2: BalanCing Calories To manage weighT Page 15: “Plant sources of protein include beans and peas, nuts, seeds, and soy products.”

Page 17: Fat intake should emphasize monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, such as those found in seafood, nuts, seeds, and oils.

ChaPTer 4: food and nuTrienTs To inCrease Page 34 under “Key Recommendations”: “Choose a variety of protein foods, which include seafood, lean meat and poultry, eggs, beans and peas, soy products, and unsalted nuts and seeds.”

Page 35 under “Supporting the recommendations”: “…Nutrient-dense foods provide vitamins, minerals, and other substances that may have positive health effects, with relatively few calories. They are lean or low in solid fats, and minimize or exclude added solid fats, added sugars, and added refined starches, as these add calories but few essential nutrients or dietary fiber. Nutrient-dense foods also minimize or exclude added salt or other compounds high in sodium. Ideally, they are in forms that retain naturally occurring components such as dietary fiber. All vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products, seafood, lean meats and poultry, eggs, beans and peas (legumes), and nuts and seeds that are prepared without added solid fats, sugars, starches, and sodium are nutrient-dense.”

Page 38: Protein foods “Protein foods include seafood, meat, poultry, eggs, beans and peas, soy products, nuts, and seeds. In addition to protein, these foods contribute B vitamins (e.g., niacin, thiamin, riboflavin, and B6), vitamin E, iron, zinc, and magnesium to the diet. However, protein also is found in some foods that are classified in other food groups (e.g., milk and milk products). The fats in meat, poultry, and eggs are considered solid fats, while the fats in

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The Cracker | March 2011

seafood, nuts, and seeds are considered oils…

Meat, poultry, and eggs are the most commonly consumed protein foods, while seafood, beans and peas, soy products, nuts, and seeds are consumed in proportionally smaller amounts.”

“Consumption of a balanced variety of protein foods can contribute to improved nutrient intake and health benefits. For example, moderate evidence indicates that eating peanuts and certain tree nuts (i.e., walnuts, almonds, and pistachios) reduces risk factors for cardiovascular disease when consumed as part of a diet that is nutritionally adequate and within calorie needs. Because nuts and seeds are high in calories, they should be eaten in small portions and used to replace other protein foods, like some meat or poultry, rather than being added to the diet. In addition, individuals should choose unsalted nuts and seeds to help reduce sodium intake. Beans and peas, as discussed previously under Vegetables and fruits, confer health benefits as sources of important nutrients such as dietary fiber.”

Page 40 under “Oils”: “Oils are naturally present in foods such as olives, nuts, avocados, and seafood. Many common oils are extracted from plants, such as canola, corn, olive, peanut, safflower, soybean, and sunflower oils. Foods that are mainly oil include mayonnaise, oil-based salad dressings, and soft (tub or squeeze) margarine with no trans fatty acids. Coconut oil, palm kernel oil, and palm oil are high in saturated fatty acids and partially hydrogenated oils contain trans fatty acids. For nutritional purposes, they should be considered solid fats.

Americans consume more solid fats but less oil than is desirable. (See Chapter 5 for specific information and recommendations.) Because oils are a concentrated source of calories, Americans should replace solid fats with oils, rather than add oil to the diet, and should use oils in small amounts. For example, individuals can use soft margarine instead of stick margarine, replace some meats and poultry with seafood or unsalted nuts, and use vegetable oils instead of solid fats, such as butter, in cooking.”

Page 40 under “Nutrients of Concern— fiber”: “Additional sources of dietary fiber include other vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and nuts. All of these foods are consumed below recommended levels in the typical American diet.”

ChaPTer 5: Building healThy eaTing PaTTerns Page 44 in a discussion on the DASH diet: “DASH emphasizes vegetables, fruits, and low-fat milk and milk products; includes whole grains, poultry, seafood, and nuts; and is lower in sodium, red and processed meats, sweets, and sugar-containing beverages than typical intakes in the United States.”

Page 44: Research on Mediterraneanstyle eating patterns “…No single set of criteria exists for what constitutes a traditional Mediterranean eating pattern. However, in general terms, it can be described as an eating pattern that emphasizes vegetables, fruits and nuts, olive oil, and grains (often whole grains).”

Page 45: Common elements of the healthy eating patterns examined “Although healthy eating patterns around the world are diverse, some common threads exist. They are abundant in vegetables and fruits.

Many emphasize whole grains. They include moderate amounts and a variety of foods high in protein (seafood, beans and peas, nuts, seeds, soy products, meat, poultry, and eggs)…Americans also consume too little potassium; dietary fiber; calcium; vitamin D; unsaturated fatty acids from oils, nuts, and seafood; and other important nutrients.” aPPendiX 14 Under Fats: “Omega-3 Pufas—Alpha-linolenic acid is an n-3 fatty acid that is required because it is not synthesized by humans and, therefore, is considered essential in the diet. It is obtained from plant sources, including soybean oil, canola oil, walnuts, and flaxseed. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are long chain n-3 fatty acids that are contained in fish and shellfish. Also called n-3 fatty acids.”

You just can’t sort things too carefully.

For BEST’s engineers, sorting is a serious business. Words like ‘foreign object’, ‘contamination’ and ‘recall’ strike fear into their very souls. And so every detail of every sorting machine we make is checked repeatedly to make sure it’s up to the job. All this commitment to quality is for just one reason - our clients’ reputations depend on it. And we wouldn’t be a world leader in sorting if the world couldn’t expect, the best from us. For a demonstration of just what’s possible, contact us or visit our website.

info@bestsorting.com www.bestsorting.com

March 2011 | The Cracker

49

mauriziopatscot

...now offering the best fruit with the best chocolate... bellissimo! www.besanaworld.com

50

The Cracker | March 2011

March 2011 | The Cracker

51

52

The Cracker | March 2011

UK USA Germany Netherlands Australia Others

0

USA

USA

Australia

UK

Italy

Australia

New Zeland

Canada

Others

Others

0

200

400

600

800

1.000

1.200

0

1.000

2.000

500

3.000

1.000

4.000

5.000

1.500

6.000

7.000

2.000

March 2011 | The Cracker

8.000

2.500

53

GLOBAL STATISTICAL REVIEW

Cashew · Anacardo · Noix de Cajou · Anacardio · Cashewkerne · Cashew Cevizi

INDIA

AFRICA

The Cashew kernel market continued to be very firm in the beginning of 2011. The shortage of rawseeds in all major crop areas had pushed up the rawseed cost, which pushed up the market to historically high levels. However, demand remained strong even at such high price levels. Overall, domestic consumption was good during the Indian holiday season, and the entire production had been sold off. Demand was slightly subdued in December, but did not depress the market levels significantly.

According to the African Cashew Alliance, up to five new processors are expected to begin operations this year. Ghana, Benin and Burkina Faso are attracting most investors’ interests. Despite the political tensions in Côte d’Ivoire, crop indications were good at the beginning of the year, and the port in Abidjan was running almost normal schedule. Some higher costs and increased cross-border trade with neighboring countries (mainly Ghana) were expected.

Estimated World Cashews Production. Kernel Basis. Metric Tons Brazil converted basis: 4,8 kg RCN = 1 kg kernel, all others: 4,2 kg RCN = 1 kg kernel

COUNTRY

2009/2010

2010/2011

BEGINNING STOCK

CROP

TOTAL SUPPLY

ENDING STOCK

BEGINNING STOCK

CROP

TOTAL SUPPLY

ENDING STOCK

INDIA

0

160.000

160.000

0

0

125.000

125.000

0

COTE D'IVOIRE

0

90.476

90.476

0

0

95.000

95.000

0

VIETNAM

0

55.000

55.000

0

0

71.429

71.429

0

BRAZIL

0

57.000

57.000

0

0

50.000

50.000

0

GUINEA-BISSAU

0

25.000

25.000

0

0

30.000

30.000

0

INDONESIA

0

24.000

24.000

0

0

24.000

24.000

0

TANZANIA

0

23.300

23.300

0

0

22.135

22.135

0

NIGERIA

0

19.047

19.047

0

0

21.000

21.000

0

MOZAMBIQUE

0

15.500

15.500

0

0

17.000

17.000

0

BENIN

0

16.600

16.600

0

0

18.200

18.200

0

CAMBODIA

0

10.000

10.000

0

0

12.000

12.000

0

SENEGAL

0

7.142

7.142

0

0

7.800

7.800

0

GHANA

0

4.762

4.762

0

0

5.238

5.238

0

BURKINA FASO

0

4.500

4.500

0

0

5.000

5.000

0

KENYA

0

2.200

2.200

0

0

2.000

2.000

0

OTHERS

0

7.800

7.800

0

0

9.000

9.000

0

WORLD TOTAL

0

522.327

522.327

0

0

514.802

514.802

0

WORLD CONSUMPTION (SUPPLY - ENDING STOCK)

Source: CEPCI, ACA, VINACAS, and other INC sources.

4 54

The Month2011 Year The Cracker Cracker || March

522.327

514.802

GLOBAL STATISTICAL REVIEW

Hazelnut · Avellana · Noisette · Nocciola · Haselnuss · Findik

TURKEY The carry-over from 2009 was revised at 30,000 MT (in shell basis), instead of the previous forecast of 10,000 MT at the beginning of the season (a 20,000 MT increase, 9,400 MT of which came from TMO stocks of 2008 crop, and 10,600 MT came from growers / handlers).

Turkish hazelnut exports reached 137,774 MT (kernels) from September 1st until December 31st 2010, showing a 32% increase regarding last year’s same period and a 9% increase over the last two seasons.

Beginning January 2011 the price was around 8.90 Turkish Liras per kilo (about 5.74 US$), for class 1, 11-13 and 13-15 mm sizes Levant, compared to 7.50 / 7.60 in September 2010 (about 5.00 US$).

Domestic consumption is forecast to reach about 100,000 MT (inshell) from September 1st 2010 to August 31st 2011, quite similar to last season.

Estimated World Hazelnuts Production. Kernel Basis. Metric Tons COUNTRY

2009/2010

2010/2011

BEGINNING STOCK

CROP

TOTAL SUPPLY

ENDING STOCK

BEGINNING STOCK

CROP

TOTAL SUPPLY

ENDING STOCK

TURKEY

15.000

250.000

265.000

15.000

15.000

305.000

320.000

15.000

ITALY

11.750

39.950

51.700

4.700

4.700

41.000

45.700

4.700

AZERBAIJAN

1.200

12.000

13.200

400

400

18.000

18.400

1.600

GEORGIA

1.200

10.800

12.000

800

800

16.200

17.000

1.400

USA

500

17.040

17.540

500

500

9.800

10.300

600

SPAIN

900

8.100

9.000

0

0

9.000

9.000

0

0

9.000

9.000

450

450

12.150

12.600

900

30.550

346.890

377.440

21.850

21.850

411.150

433.000

24.200

OTHERS WORLD TOTAL

WORLD CONSUMPTION (SUPPLY - ENDING STOCK)

355.590

408.800

Estimated World Hazelnuts Production. In Shell Basis. Metric Tons COUNTRY

2009/2010

2010/2011

BEGINNING STOCK

CROP

TOTAL SUPPLY

ENDING STOCK

BEGINNING STOCK

CROP

TOTAL SUPPLY

ENDING STOCK

TURKEY

30.000

500.000

530.000

30.000

30.000

610.000

640.000

30.000

ITALY

25.000

85.000

110.000

10.000

10.000

87.200

97.200

10.000

AZERBAIJAN

3.000

30.000

33.000

1.000

1.000

45.000

46.000

4.000

GEORGIA

3.000

27.000

30.000

2.000

2.000

40.500

42.500

3.500

USA

1.250

42.600

43.850

1.250

1.250

24.500

25.750

1.500

SPAIN

2.000

18.000

20.000

0

0

20.000

20.000

0

0

20.000

20.000

1.000

1.000

27.000

28.000

2.000

64.250

722.600

786.850

45.250

45.250

854.200

899.450

51.000

OTHERS WORLD TOTAL

WORLD CONSUMPTION (SUPPLY - ENDING STOCK)

741.600

848.450

Source: INC

Month MarchYear 2011 || The The Cracker Cracker

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GLOBAL STATISTICAL REVIEW

Date · Dátil · Datte · Dattero · Dattel · Hurma As previously stated, world supply of dates is forecast at 7.1 million metric tons in 2010/11, similar to 2009/10.

Estimated World Raw Dates Production. Metric Tons COUNTRY

2009/2010

2010/2011

BEGINNING STOCK

PRODUCTION

TOTAL SUPPLY

ENDING STOCK

BEGINNING STOCK

PRODUCTION

TOTAL SUPPLY

ENDING STOCK

EGYPT

170.000

1.100.000

1.270.000

150.000

150.000

1.100.000

1.250.000

125.000

SAUDI ARABIA

120.000

1.070.000

1.190.000

70.000

70.000

1.090.000

1.160.000

80.000

IRAN

35.000

1.030.000

1.065.000

40.000

40.000

1.045.000

1.085.000

45.000

UAE

38.000

750.000

788.000

40.000

40.000

780.000

820.000

35.000

ALGERIA

40.000

600.000

640.000

30.000

30.000

620.000

650.000

10.000

PAKISTAN

15.000

440.000

455.000

16.000

16.000

430.000

446.000

8.000

SUDAN

15.000

330.000

345.000

18.000

18.000

320.000

338.000

14.000

IRAQ

20.000

310.000

330.000

17.000

17.000

310.000

327.000

16.000

OMAN

18.000

250.000

268.000

16.000

16.000

260.000

276.000

12.000

LIBYA

16.000

170.000

186.000

12.000

12.000

180.000

192.000

8.000

TUNISIA

1.800

140.000

141.800

1.200

1.200

142.000

143.200

2.000

CHINA

8.000

125.000

133.000

7.000

7.000

125.000

132.000

7.000

MOROCCO

10.000

68.000

78.000

6.000

6.000

80.000

86.000

4.000

ISRAEL

250

19.000

19.250

300

300

19.000

19.300

200

USA

600

15.000

15.600

500

500

15.000

15.500

600

20.000

182.000

202.000

22.000

22.000

160.000

182.000

25.000

527.650

6.599.000

7.126.650

446.000

446.000

6.676.000

7.122.000

OTHERS WORLD TOTAL

CONSUMPTION (SUPPLY - ENDING STOCK)

6.680.650

391.800 6.730.200

Source: INC.

Dried Apricot · Orejón · Abricot Sec · Albicocca Secca · Getrocknete Aprikose · Kuru Kayisi

TURKEY Turkey’s production of dried apricots in 2010/11 season is forecast at 80.000 MT, representing a 20% reduction regarding the 2009/10 season as a result of bad weather conditions. Due to the lack of apricot production in Malatya region, export prices of apricots (whole type) reached to US$ 6,000/ton in the market. Mid January 2011, Turkish dried apricots exports of 2010 crop had reached 45,465 MT (including whole, diced, industrial apricots). From

August 2010 to the end of January 2011, domestic dried apricots consumption reached 8,000 MT. It is estimated that approximately 5,000 MT of dried apricots will be consumed domestically until the end of July 2011.

Consequently, 22,000 MT of dried apricots will be available for export markets. The top destinations are the United States (19.4%), the Russian Federation (10 %), Germany (9.9 %), and France (8.6 %).

Estimated World Dried Apricot Production. Metric Tons COUNTRY

2009/2010

PRODUCTION

TOTAL SUPPLY

ENDING STOCK

BEGINNING STOCK

PRODUCTION

TOTAL SUPPLY

ENDING STOCK

17.500 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 17.500

100.000 25.000 5.000 2.500 1.400 450 30.000 164.350

117.500 25.000 5.000 2.500 1.400 450 30.000 181.850

0 n/a n/a n/a n/a 0 n/a n/a

0 n/a n/a n/a n/a 0 n/a n/a

80.000 24.000 5.500 2.500 1.500 600 30.000 144.100

80.000 24.000 5.500 2.500 1.500 600 30.000 144.100

0 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a

TURKEY IRAN CHINA USA SOUTH AFRICA AUSTRALIA TAJIKISTAN TOTAL CONSUMPTION (SUPPLY - ENDING STOCK)

Source: Aegean Exporters Association and other INC sources.

12 62

2010/2011

BEGINNING STOCK

The Cracker Cracker || March Month2011 Year The

181.850

144.100

GLOBAL STATISTICAL REVIEW

Dried Fig · Higo Seco · Figue Sec · Fico Secco · Getrocknete Feige · Kuru Incir

TURKEY Turkey’s production of dried figs in 2010/11 season is forecast at 58,662 MT, up 17% from the previous season. Mid January 2011, Turkish whole type dried figs exports of 2010 crop had reached 27,386 MT, up 5% compared to the same period last year (including whole, diced, industrial figs

and fig paste: 32,477 MT). The top destinations are Germany (16.2%), France (12.7%), Italy (12.4%), the Russian Federation (5.4%), Switzerland (4.6%), and the United States (3.7%).

Estimated World Dried Figs Production. Metric Tons COUNTRY

2009/2010

2010/2011

BEGINNING STOCK

PRODUCTION

TOTAL SUPPLY

TURKEY

ENDING STOCK

BEGINNING STOCK

PRODUCTION

TOTAL SUPPLY

ENDING STOCK

0

50.000

50.000

0

0

58.662

58.662

0

n/a

23.000

23.000

n/a

n/a

22.500

22.500

n/a

USA

0

12.038

12.038

n/a

n/a

10.000

10.000

n/a

GREECE

0

9.000

9.000

n/a

n/a

7.500

7.500

n/a

SPAIN

n/a

5.000

5.000

n/a

n/a

5.000

5.000

n/a

ITALY

0

4.000

4.000

n/a

n/a

3.500

3.500

n/a

IRAN

PORTUGAL

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

400

400

n/a

TOTAL

n/a

103.038

103.038

n/a

n/a

107.562

107.562

n/a

CONSUMPTION (SUPPLY - ENDING STOCK)

103.038

107.562

Source: Aegean Exporters Association, California Fig Advisory Board, and other INC sources.

Prune · Ciruela Seca · Pruneau · Prugna Secca · Backpflaume · Kuru Erik · Pruna Seca

USA According to the California Dried Plum Board (CDPB), the 2010 dried plum crop is estimated at 113,000 MT -a significant shortfall versus the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) June estimate of 136,000 MT. This estimate represents a 22% decrease from the 2009 crop. Cooler than normal weather conditions during the summer delayed harvest time, and negatively impacted the prune crop by reducing the total fruit count in orchards. Total supply is 10% lower than the previous year.

California prune exports reached 16,779 MT (18,496 net short tons, processed conditions) from August 1st until October 31st 2010, up 36% regarding the previous year’s same quarter, while domestic shipments increased by 31%, reaching 17,233 MT (18,996 net short tons).

Estimated World Prunes Production. Metric Tons COUNTRY

2009/2010

2010/2011

BEGINNING STOCK

PRODUCTION

TOTAL SUPPLY

ENDING STOCK

BEGINNING STOCK

PRODUCTION

TOTAL SUPPLY

ENDING STOCK

USA

47.504

145.151

192.655

60.500

60.500

113.000

173.500

n/a

CHILE

12.100

50.000

62.100

7.000

7.000

50.000

57.000

n/a

4.500

15.000

19.500

5.000

5.000

42.000

47.000

n/a

ARGENTINA FRANCE

20.000

39.000

59.000

20.000

20.000

40.000

60.000

n/a

AUSTRALIA

900

1.550

2.450

250

250

5.000

5.250

n/a

ITALY

290

1.670

1.960

300

300

1.500

1.800

n/a

SOUTH AFRICA TOTAL CONSUMPTION (SUPPLY - ENDING STOCK)

60

1.480

1.540

100

100

1.700

1.800

n/a

85.354

253.851

339.205

93.150

93.150

253.200

346.350

n/a

246.055

346.350

Source: CDPB and other INC sources.

Month The Cracker Cracker March Year 2011 || The

13 63

GLOBAL STATISTICAL REVIEW

Raisins, Sultanas & Currants · Uva Pasa · Raisin Sec · Uvetta · Rosine · Kuzu Üzüm

USA

TURKEY

According to the US Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), in 2009, the United States exported 150,750 MT of raisins (about 20% of the world’s total raisin exports). Total exports from January to November 2010 exceeded 142,000 MT. This was 3% higher than in 2009. The United Kingdom continues as the leading export market at 24,314 MT shipped from January 2010 through November 2010. Japan is the second largest export market with 18,596, followed by Germany with 12,601 MT.

Turkey’s production of Seedless Dried Grapes in 2010/11 season is forecast at 248,547 MT, 9% less regarding the 2009/10 season. With approximately 21,000 MT carryover stock from the previous season, total supply of Turkish seedless dried grapes totals 269,628 MT. Mid January 2011, 2010 crop Turkish seedless dried grapes exports reached 96,518 MT. No carryover is expected at the end of the season. The top destinations are the United Kingdom (26.2%), Germany (17.5%), the Netherlands (14%), and Italy (11%).

Estimated World Raisins, Sultanas & Currants Production. Metric Tons COUNTRY

2009/2010

BEGINNING STOCK

PRODUCTION

137.000

275.000

USA TURKEY

2010/2011

TOTAL SUPPLY

TOTAL SUPPLY

ENDING STOCK

412.000

ENDING STOCK 75.000

BEGINNING STOCK 75.000

PRODUCTION* 268.000

343.000

60.000

302.000

21.081

21.081

248.547

269.628

0

133.000

5.000

5.000

155.000

160.000

5.000

175.000

3.000

3.000

130.000

133.000

5.000

75.000

5.000

5.000

55.000

60.000

1.000

Global Sats 14/16

28.000

274.000

IRAN

8.000

125.000

CHINA

25.000

150.000

CHILE

5.000

70.000

SOUTH AFRICA

5.600

32.600

38.200

1.000

1.000

40.000

41.000

3.000

UZBEKISTAN

1.000

35.000

36.000

2.000

2.000

25.000

27.000

1.000

ARGENTINA

1.800

28.000

29.800

2.000

2.000

25.000

27.000

2.000

GREECE

2.000

28.000

30.000

2.000

2.000

20.000

22.000

2.000

500

14.000

14.500

500

500

18.000

18.500

500

AUSTRALIA OTHERS WORLD TOTAL

1.000

30.000

31.000

1.000

1.000

50.000

51.000

1.000

214.900

1.061.600

1.276.500

117.581

117.581

1.034.547

1.152.128

80.500

CONSUMPTION (SUPPLY - ENDING STOCK)

1.158.919

1.071.628

* Southern Hemispher crop of Spring 2010.

Source: Aegean Exporters Association and other INC sources.

US Raisin Exports. Metric Tons 200.000 150.000

120.428

2004

108.543

113.878

118.712

2005

2006

2007

160.276

150.747

2008

2009

142.133

100.000 50.000 0

2010*

(*) Jan-Nov 2010 Source: USDA, FAS.

US Raisin Exports. Metric Tons 2004 22.497 19.515 8.013 12.758 12.308 4.663 1.569 39.105 120.428

UK Japan Germany Canada China(*) Sweden Australia Others TOTAL

2005 16.748 16.824 7.076 10.987 13.627 4.980 1.143 37.158 108.543

(*) Incl. Hong Kong/Taiwan.

Source: USDA, FAS.

14 64

The Cracker Cracker || March Month2011 Year The

2006 17.836 16.227 9.900 12.013 13.310 5.562 959 38.071 113.878

2007 18.469 18.487 10.988 13.174 13.614 4.924 1.993 37.063 118.712

2008 34.137 19.553 20.939 13.389 12.191 5.323 6.046 48.698 160.276

2009 29.488 17.139 14.353 13.689 13.508 5.901 5.574 51.095 150.747

Jan-Nov 2009 27.805 15.719 12.799 12.727 12.266 5.501 4.957 46.063 137.837

Jan-Nov 2010 24.314 18.596 12.601 12.655 12.324 5.627 5.223 50.793 142.133

% Change -13% 18% -2% -1% 0% 2% 5% 10% 3%

March 2011 | The Cracker

65

66

The Cracker | March 2011

Fig. 1. At Borges, we know that no two almonds are the same.

3 mm.

53 mm.

21,5 mm.

61 mm.

ø

54,3 mm.

2,4 mm.

21,5 mm.

42 mm.

ø

42,6 mm.

- Shelled nut weight: 1 to 2 grams.

- Nut weight with shell: 5 to 8 grams.

Weight, diameter, length, thickness, packaging, price … At Borges we seek and select the best option for your Company's needs, taking into account a whole range of criteria. We are backed by 40 years' experience exporting almonds to over 60 countries. Our processes are endorsed by the leading certificates (HACCP, ISO 9002 and ISO 14001). If what you're looking for is expertise and specialisation, if you need an immediate answer to year-round demand with the best value for money, if you're seeking cooperation throughout the whole process, trust in Borges.

BORGES, S.A. - Flix, 29 - 43205 REUS, Spain.

Tel. No. +34 977 30 90 00- info@borges.es - www.borges.es

March 2011 | The Cracker

67

World industry neWs

CREATING CONSUMER DEMAND FOR CALIFORNIA ALMONDS AROUND THE WORLD

By Melissa Mautz, Manager, North America Consumer Marketing, Almond Board of California Contributions by Stacey Humble, Dariela Roffe-Rackind, and Becky Sereno, Almond Board of California

Almond Board of California’s (ABC) marketing program was recently featured during a session, “Creating Consumer Demand Around the World,” at the 2010 annual California Almond Industry Conference.

The session, moderated by Mark Masten, Almond Board’s International Committee chairman, featured a review of how the Almond Board continues to use market research insights to develop consumer marketing strategies along with an overview of recent programs in the North America, Europe, China and India. Session speakers included Stacey Humble, Director of Global Strategic Initiatives and North American Marketing (ABC); Dariela Roffe-Rackind, Associate Director, European Region (ABC); Becky Sereno, Specialist, International Marketing (ABC); and Maggie Jiang, of Hill and Knowlton China.

Now in its fourth year of execution, the California Almond industry’s global marketing strategy continues to focus on the core geographic markets of North America, the European Union, China, India, Japan, and South Korea. These geographies have shown to have the highest longterm potential for California Almonds.

In crop year 2009/10 Almond Board shipped 1.47 billion pounds of almonds worldwide.1 This marked the fourth consecutive year for record shipments and reflected a six percent increase over the prior year. As the Almond Board continues to see shipments rise, we see global consumer demand for California Almonds continue to grow even as the economic downturn persists. For the second year in a row, almonds were the number one nut for total new retail product introductions globally and the top nut in the Asia-Pacific region.2

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norTh ameriCa Shipping over 33 percent and 489 million pounds of almonds in crop year 2009/10, North America was the single largest market for California Almonds. Investment in the North American core consumer target audience, Jane, has been very strategic and has driven growth with the support of other target audiences. This investment can be attributed to the long history of market research in the North American market. The research has given the North American marketing program a tremendous amount of information, both demographic and psychographic, on the consumer targets. This has enabled ABC to continue to place the California Almond message where Jane will see it and when it is relevant to her.

World industry neWs In January 2010, Almond Board launched a new consumer print advertising campaign. Themed “A Handful of…”, the campaign brings to life California Almonds in everyday situations in which our target consumers look for food to provide a nutritious solution. The ads show that almonds can help consumers accomplish tasks big and small, succeed in daily endeavors, and make the most out of any moment.

The print advertising campaign is complimented by an online advertising campaign.

The North American advertising program is supported by a comprehensive public relations program made up of spokesperson endorsements, food and nutrition media outreach, and direct to consumer activities. In 2009, the Almond Board partnered with Ellie Krieger, RD, New York Times bestselling cookbook author and host of the hit show Healthy Appetite on the Cooking Channel. Ellie, known for her so-simple meal and entertaining strategies, partnered with the Almond Board to provide Jane with solutions to her everyday meal planning and snacking dilemmas. The 2009/10 PR activities featuring Ellie garnered over 150 million media impressions.

In addition to our ongoing food and nutrition media outreach, in 2010, the Almond Board launched a consumer eNewsletter. Each edition, distributed to over 100,000 consumers, provides the Almond Board an opportunity to engage its consumer base and feature new recipes and highlight promotional programs underway at the time. euroPe Western Europe is the largest export region for California Almonds.

In crop year 2009/10, Western Europe accounted for 43 percent of exports and over 441 million pounds shipped. In recent years, a greater emphasis in market research has been placed in Europe. This investment has helped the Almond Board gain a deeper understanding of the opportunity for growth and has helped to define a strategy for the consumer target audience, European Jane.

In 2009, Almond Board conducted the first ever in-depth consumer assessment study in Europe to identify common beliefs, values, attitudes and opportunities to reach Jane. The research revealed a gap for nutritious, natural snacks in the European market. Based on the study conclusions, Almond Board refreshed its strategic approach for this region, with the emphasis on driving consumer awareness of California Almonds as a naturally satisfying snack choice that enhances Jane’s day. The United Kingdom (UK) was specifically identified as a major snack volume opportunity for California Almonds and the first UK consumer advertising campaign launched in January 2011. The new creative, themed around the content of women’s handbags, demonstrates how almonds are a convenient, delicious and nutritious snack that is essential to the target audience.

The new advertising campaign is supported by an integrated mix of public

relations, spokesperson endorsement and media partnerships in the UK centered on the handbag. It leverages Juliette Kellow, a leading dietician, to communicate the nutritious snacking message. The campaign includes a series of advertorials that drive consumers to a competition hosted on AlmondBoard.co.uk.

The UK campaign is part of a well-established year-round pan-European program which includes the UK, France and Germany. Specifically in France, the nutritious snacking message was recently supported by a New Year’s Resolutions campaign featuring Julie Ferrez, fitness expert. The campaign, hosted on the #1 female website – aufeminin.com, included a series of top fitness and snacking tips for a great start to 2011. Almonds were central to the campaign and endorsed by Julie as her “favorite, nutritious snack”. EU Janes were also invited to enter the details to receive an almond tin and snack pack further expanding the French consumer database. Media impressions to date equal over 8.4 million.

China In crop year 2009/10, China was among the fastest growing export markets and was ranked as the second largest export markets for California Almonds accounting for 133 million pounds. As China’s middle class continues to flourish, Almond Board of California’s marketing program is keeping up. It is focused on building awareness, preference and year-round demand for California Almonds to get the Chinese to eat a handful of almonds everyday. A balance of public relations and advertising programs work to spread key messages to consumers about the benefits of eating almonds as a nutritious snack.

Meet Jing. Jing is the Almond Board’s primary consumer target in China. Jing is considered to be an upwardly mobile, young working woman. We also know that Jing is family-oriented and taking care of her family is her upmost concern. She is health and brand conscious, in pursuit of quality life, and wants to be perceived as a tasteful and trendy woman. She is torn between the pressures at work and her family responsibilities.

In a recent survey among China’s growing middle class, 88 percent of consumers said they prefer products containing almonds to similar nonalmond products and 85 percent said they were willing to pay a premium for almond-containing products.3 In 2009, Almond Board partnered with actress Gao Yuan Yuan to effectively promote California Almonds in China. Ms. Gao’s endorsement of almonds focused on the health benefits of snacking on California Almonds throughout the day and sharing them with family and friends.

Ms. Gao is currently featured in print media, online communications, in-store advertising, and more. These activities began in September 2010 and built momentum through the Chinese New Year. Almond Board’s

Story Continues on Page 70 March 2011 | The Cracker

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World industry neWs Story Continued from Page 69

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goal is to hit 10,000 stores with the in-store promotional campaign.

Activities with Ms. Gao continue to expand and she will be visiting California’s Central Valley, along with Chinese media, to see a California Almond orchard during bloom. india For centuries, India has been feeding almonds to children and pregnant women, as well as gifting almond during festive occasions.

With these strong cultural associations and traditional usage of almonds, India presents a huge potential for California Almonds. California Almond exports have made significant increases over the past couple of years and in crop year 2009/10 it represented the fourth largest export market for California Almonds accounting for 84 million pounds.

Almond Board of California’s strategy in India is to build upon existing traditions and positive perceptions for almonds while providing new reasons and ways to enjoy them. While almonds are currently popular and products containing them are present, there is an opportunity to more strongly associate almonds with snacking in the daily diet. In fact, almonds are the first dried fruit women think of on a country-level basis, they are rated as the favorite dried fruit by 47% of female consumers in India (both the number one responses).4

She is lifestyle conscious, sophisticated, and the manager of her household income. Neha is juggling home, children, elders, servants, and sometimes a career. It is important to Neha that she keeps up with her neighbors and peers. It is very important that she find a balance in traditions and modern life.

In 2010, Almond Board partnered with Bollywood actress Karisma Kapoor. She is a recent mother of two which fits into the target profile.

Ms. Kapoor is featured in a new print advertising campaign and television infomercials reaching moms across India. In addition, she has been featured in a series of advertorials where the nutrition benefits of California Almonds are described. This multifaceted media crusade featuring Ms. Kapoor led up to one of the peak festivals, Diwali, when almonds are traditionally given as gifts and continued through January 2011.

1 Almond Board of California Position Report, July 2010.

2 Global New Products Database, 2009.

3 Synovate China, 2009

Meet Neha. Neha is a woman, 30-40 years old, she is university educated, and lives in the metro cities of Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore.

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2/8/11 1:59 PM

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Korean dIeTary GUIdelInes 2010:

nuts moved to Protein food Group Last November during the annual conference of the Korean Nutrition Society in Seoul, Korea, the newest edition of the Korean Dietary Guidelines was announced. The Dietary Guidelines had previously been illustrated in a Food Guide Tower, a well-known illustration that can easily be found in school text books. The illustration of the guidelines aims to emphasize the importance of each food group to maintain a balanced diet and help the general public understand the types and quantity of essential nutrients that Koreans need. The guidelines are restructured every five years according to the Korean constitution.

New Korean Food Balance Wheels, Dietary Guidelines 2010 Illustration; Courtesy Korean Nutrition Society

For the 2010 revision, the Dietary Guidelines underwent a few changes both in the graphic illustration and the content. In particular, the most remarkable and impactful change for the nut industry is the classification of nuts in the meats, beans and other proteins group. Nuts had been grouped with oils, fats and sugars. Therefore, the recommended daily intake of nuts was low and something to be strictly monitored.

Now as part of the protein group, nuts have been more accepted as a nutritious food group adding to the overall balanced diet of Korean consumers, similar to the position in the U.S. Dietary Guidelines published by the FDA. The protein group is the second most important group in Korean Dietary Guidelines, in terms of recommendation to be consumed most often.

The second striking change is the new visual representation of the Dietary Guidelines in a bicycle format with the wheels depicting the importance of water and the food groups and the cyclist representing the necessity of daily physical activity.

Eurofins_Anzeige_TheCracker_Trampe_version2.1 Dienstag, 20. April 2010 16:16:32

Korean Food Guide Tower 2005; Courtesy Korean Nutrition Society

March 2011 | The Cracker

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nUTs and drIed frUIT:

ENHANCING VALUE AT POINTS OF SALE

a proposal for Italian Modern distribution The conference “Enhancing the Value of Nuts and Dried Fruit at the point of sale in an innovative way” – a proposal for Italian Modern Distribution”- took place during the opening day of Marca 2011.

Sponsored by Nucis Italia – Italian agency of the Nucis foundation, it was organized to raise the awareness about the beneficial effects of the consumption of nuts and dried fruit. SG Marketing Agroalimentare also helped to organize the event which offered operators of this sector an opportunity to better understand the state-of-the-art development potential of the category.

Several expert speakers led the conference, including Claudio Scalise, General Manager of SG Marketing Agroalimentare, who spoke about the current Italian market for nuts and dried fruit. He said that the sector is generally growing, an opposite trend compared to the majority of sectors in the food industry. According to provided by IRI, retail sales grew by 12.3% in value in the last three years, mainly due to pressure exerted by large-scale distribution. This represents 95 percent of category sales.

In structural terms, the market is split with the five best performing operators representing no more than 43 percent of sales. An analysis of consumption penetration highlights high growth potential with only 45 percent of Italian families currently buying nuts and dried fruit at least once a year. Scalise explained survey results conducted in eight Italian chains of distribution with key category managers. The survey highlighted the growing importance attached to the category, illustrated by the increase in space dedicated to two positions out of three and the strengthening of private labels. Despite innovative approaches to segmentation according to use, there is still huge diversity among the different chains towards what they offer, which is not always consumer-oriented.

The second speaker, Alessandro Annibali, Chairman of Nucis Italia, briefly presented the first stage of a project “Nuts and Dried Fruit are Healthy.” This program was implemented between 2007-2010 using contributions from Italian companies producing and trading nuts and dried fruit. The main objective of the initiative was to disseminate a positive attitude towards these products through acknowledged scientific testimonies. For this purpose, an institutional campaign was developed for relevant operators to use with physicians, health and nutrition experts.

The initiative involved more than 4,000 specialists in the dissemination of the message “Nuts and Dried Fruit are Healthy.” More than 1,5 million families in three years received the message. Annibali also presented the second stage of the project for 2011-2013, which includes not only trade development initiatives, but also tactics to increase awareness about the beneficial effects of nuts and dried fruit consumption. This strategy will use point of sale materials with shoppers.

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GENERAL SCENARIO OF NUTS AND DRIED FRUIT IN ITALY

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feedBaCK from disTriBuTors aBouT The iniTiaTiVe is PosiTiVe.

emphasized almonds as a nutritional ingredient in other foods as part of a healthy lifestyle.

The third speaker of the conference was Alessandra Bordoni, Food Science Specialist at the University of Bologna, who stressed the positive nutritional value of nuts and dried fruit, especially addressing the clichĂŠ of presumed weight increase in nut consumption. The researcher stressed portion control in a balanced diet. Indeed, substitution of saturated fat/oil in the diet according to a number of studies can reduce weight! Bordoni ended her speech stating that dried fruit, if consumed in proportional quantity, is an effective alternative to fresh fruit, whose consumption hardly ever corresponds to the recommended one.

Next, Gianmarco Guernelli, National Category Manager of Conad, talked about the relevance of nuts and dried fruit category in his chain store. He emphasized a dedication to supporting the importance of this sector. Guernelli identified the need to distinguish between sectors to increase margins by reclassification of its promotions to focus more on the end-users expectations. This means streamlining the range of products, the distribution system and focusing on the range of private labels. This led to a new, more user-friendly, display, with better performance in 2009 compared to the market (+8.1% vs. +5.5% in sales value; +5.2% vs. +3.2% in volume sold.)

Julie Adams represented the California Almond Board presented an overview of how the industry communicated a healthy message to increase almond consumption over the last 10 years in North America and Europe. California produces 80 percent of the world supply of almonds. The speaker highlighted that more than two thirds of the supply is exported, while 30 percent is sold in the USA. The message in North America is that almonds can reduce cholesterol in a predominately unsaturated fat diet. This message has changed the focus of consumer advertising campaigns from taste-versatility (1998-2003) to taste-cardiovascular benefits (2005-2006), with an intermediate stage focused on the nutritional values of almonds (2003-2004). The results achieved were excellent, both in terms of top-of-mind awareness and of purchasing trends. In 2002- 2010, communication messaging adopted by the Board for Europe was similar to North America, which

Finally, Vanes Cantieri, Fruit and Vegetable Manager of Co-op Italia, stressed the national leadership of his chain in distribution of nuts and dried fruit, with share of market value at 20.5 percent in the retail category in 2010. The management policy of the nuts and dried fruit section of adopted by the Co-op emphasizes the seasonality of products.

This increases the availability of fresh products, while packaged products are placed outside the shelves, on dedicated isles at certain times of the season. The range of products is based on a national promotion based on the retailerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assessment of availability. The Co-op does not plan to separate nuts and dried fruit from fruit and vegetables, but Cantieri says that a stronger link could be made between snacking and well-being to increase new consumption habits.

SALES SHARE WITHIN THE NUTS AND DRIED FRUIT SECTOR

Phone: (562) 3437246 Fax: (562) 2236870 Fidel Oteiza 1941 of.701 Santiago - Chile e-mail: dryfrut@dryfrut.cl www.dryfrut.cl

March 2011 | The Cracker

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nucis Germany Publicizes major health Booklet about nuts At the end of 2009 an updated revised version of the Nucis booklet “Nuts and Nutrition” was published. This booklet summarizes the major health benefits of all nuts and the nutritional profile of them relating to body weight, metabolic syndrome, type II diabetes, cardiovascular heart diseases and cancer.

The overview was written by two scientists of the Max Rubner Institute, Federal Research Center of Nutrition, Karlsruhe PD: Dr. Achim Bub and Dr. Berenike Stracke. These are also published along with other scientific papers on the Nucis homepage.

Key-messages in The BooKleT inClude The following: • Moderate to high nut consumption has no influence on the body weight, regardless of whether nuts are consumed as a replacement for other foods or as an addition to the normal diet.

•

Nut consumption improved the glucose metabolism of patients with metabolic syndrome.

•

The latest published studies show that a nut-enriched diet reduced the risk of type II diabetes as well as the risk factors of diabetic secondary complications.

•

Nuts reduce the risk of cardiovascular heart disease as reported in previous epidemiological studies and verified in clinical trials. Regular nut consumption decreases the risk factors of cardiovascular diseases and cholesterol levels in the blood. There is an indication that mainly the positive fatty acid profile of nuts, with a relatively high content of monounsaturated fatty acids, plays an essential role in the health benefits of nuts. A part of current clinical research is directed to establish whether other ingredients have the potential to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.

•

Studies also show that high nut consumption can positively influence the chronic inflammatory mechanism.

Dr. Berenike Stracke

The complete booklet “Nüsse in der Ernährung” can be downloaded (German version) for free from the Nucis-homepage www.nucis.de. This service is highly requested and demonstrates the scientific standards information published by Nucis. The literature list is updated by Nucis annually. The booklet is also made available at congresses Nucis participates at and is handed out at the end of lectures.

The next congress at which Nucis will participate will be the VDD Congress on the 6th and 7th of May 2011 in Wolfsburg where German nutritionists gather to learn more about current nutrition science and how to communicate it to their patients.

Because diabetes is a severe health challenge in Germany, Nucis will host a lecture at the congress Dr. Phillip Rösler about how nuts can improve the patient’s diet. The German Federal Minister of Health, Dr. Philipp Rösler, will address the congress and be invited to visit the Nucis booth and lecture about nuts.

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WALNUTS CELEBRATE HEALTH STATUS WITH NATIONAL HEALTH NUT CAMPAIGN Walnuts truly are an “Original Health Nut.” Not only are walnuts one of the oldest tree foods known to man, dating back to about 10,000 B.C., but ancient civilizations honored walnuts for their health properties. It is believed walnuts were even eaten by the earliest humans, providing necessary nutrients to provide strength and endurance in the battle against meat eating creatures. Thanks to modern science, we now know even more about the health benefits of walnuts.

The grand prize winner will win an all-expenses paid trip for two to Napa, California for the 2011 California Walnut Harvest. A friend of their choice who is in need of a “health makeover” will accompany the winner. During the trip, the friend will work one-on-one with some of the Original Health Nut experts, learning how to make better health, diet and lifestyle choices. In the end, the experts will help them transform their way of life for the better.

The original landmark study1 published in 1993, found that incorporating moderate quantities of walnuts into one’s diet could result in lower cholesterol. However, walnuts are not just good for the heart. Clinical research indicates that walnuts may aid in cognitive function2, satiety and weight management3, reduce breast cancer tumors4, and decrease inflammation5 which has been linked to many chronic illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes. Happily, the impressive body of clinical research has grown along with the walnut industry as indicated by the recent record crop of 501,446 short tons.

In an effort to continue the California Walnut Commission’s (CWC) marketing success, the CWC has spent the last eight months developing an integrated social media presence. By engaging consumers through various social media outlets, the CWC now has over 500 Facebook fans and over 700 followers on Twitter, along with an extensive collection of videos on YouTube and a growing album of photos on Flickr.

Most recently, the CWC embarked on a social media-driven campaign with Mindless Eating author Dr. Brian Wansink, RealAge co-founder and co-author of the popular YOU book series Dr. Michael Roizen, cookbook author Mollie Katzen, and fitness expert Petra Kolber. These experts, along with the CWC, are searching for America’s “Original Health Nut.” The Quest for THE Original Health Nut is a campaign to find the person in America who best embodies the spirit of a health nut.

This inspirational person can be from anywhere in the country, from all walks of life. It could be someone who has influenced others to adopt new eating habits or wake up a little earlier to get in a morning run before the workday. Perhaps it is a local firefighter who gets up early on their day off to teach a CPR class at the local YMCA or the retired nurse who volunteers at the local senior center each week. There are Original Health Nuts across communities in America, and this quest is to find those who stand out among the rest!

The Quest for THE Original Health Nut is accepting nominations until April 15, 2011 and more details, including the monthly featured nominees, can be found at www.originalhealthnut.org.

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In addition to prizes, nominees have the chance to become the featured nominee on www.originalhealthnut.org each month!

Information prepared by Jennifer Getz,, Marketing Director, Domestic, CA Walnut Board & Commission.

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March 2011 | The Cracker

September 2005 â&#x20AC;˘ the CraCker

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NutritioN review from the iNC SCieNtifiC Committee

NutritioNal attributeS of NutS

through

hiStory

By Prof. Jordi Salas-Salvadó and Marta Guasch-Ferré. Prof.

Salas-Salvadó, Chair of Human Nutrition Unit, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Spain. Member of the INC Scientific Committee.

Nut consumption in human societies dates back to ancient times. It is known that many nuts and dried fruits appeared in the Mediterranean Region and in Asia Minor, although some varieties have other origins.

In this article, we consider only nuts that emerged and were principally distributed in the Mediterranean area (almonds, hazelnuts, pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts).

Nuts and fruits were probably the first types of food consumed by humans.

There are evidences demonstrating the presence of almonds, pistachios and other presumably extinct hard nuts, together with pitted stones in Israel dating from the Pleistocene (780.000 BC) giving a reasonable indication of nut-cracking activity at this site(1).

Remains of pine nuts from the Mesolithic period have also been found in various caves, such as those in Nerja (Malaga, Spain) and Lattes in southern France, which prove the presence of the pine tree and the use of pine nuts, as well as other nuts, in the diet of human groups (2). In 1995, archaeologists found evidence of very large-scale Mesolithic nut processing in the Hebridean island of Colonsay (Scotland, UK) that dates back 9000 years. In addition to this, hundreds of thousands of burnt hazelnuts were found there (3), suggesting that an important commercial activity took place around these types of nuts.

Pistachio cultivation was widespread in the ancient Persian Empire (4).

Moreover, other nuts such as walnuts from 7000 BC were found in Persia.

In ancient Persia only the royalty ate walnuts, and they were known as Royal Walnuts (5).

Later, in the Early Bronze Age (3000-2000 BC) in the near eastern Mediterranean basin, there is evidence of the existence of home-grown almond trees. Almonds were also discovered in Tutankhamun’s tomb in Egypt (c.1325 BC) (6). Pine nuts were also used in Egyptian culture for

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medical purposes. In the book ‘The physicians of Pharaonic Egypt’ the author Paul Ghalioungui mentions pine nuts as one of the products that the ancient Egyptians used to cure illnesses (7).

From several sources we know that nuts were used widely in Greek civilization for their medical and nutritional properties. For example, almonds played an important role in the Greek diet; they were included in many recipes in ancient Greece, where they were used particularly in sauces and desserts (8). Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, said that “Almonds are burning but nutritious; burning because they are oily and nutritious because they are fleshy” (9).

“Nuts have beeN diversely coNsidered importaNt through history for their NutritioNal aNd mediciNal properties.”

We also have evidence of hazelnuts and pine nuts being used in the treatment of illnesses in this civilization. Greek doctors thought hazelnuts were moderately nutritional, but they believed they were difficult to digest if eaten raw and recommended toasting them (10). In his book De Materia Médica, Dioscorides said that pine nuts were astringent, had some calorific value and relieved coughs and chest infections, either on their own or after being mixed with honey (11). This author notes as well the use of hazelnuts in remedies for curing common colds and baldness.

NutritioN review from the iNC SCieNtifiC Committee

Furthermore, in ancient Greece other nuts, like pistachios and walnuts, were also used as a source of energy. Pistachios were also known to the Assyrians and the Greeks as a medical drug, a potent aphrodisiac and an antidote against poisonous animal bites (12). Greeks used walnuts not only for food, but also as a medicine and they were considered astringent and good for digestion (13). Heraclides of Tarentun (c.2nd century BC), a Greek physician, suggested they stimulated appetite, and advised that they should be eaten at the beginning of a meal (14).

All these nuts were also used extensively in the Roman Empire.

Almonds were included in various dishes, sauces and desserts in Apicius’ book De re coquinaria (15). In his book, Apicius also listed spices, seeds and condiments that were essential in the kitchen, and among these were hazelnuts, which were used in sauces to season meat, fish and many other recipes (16). The Roman author Pliny also gave many medical uses for bitter almonds against headache and fever. On the other hand, he wrote that the remedial properties of sweet almonds were not so extensive; still however, they were considered to have a purgative nature, and were diuretic (17). Pistachios and walnuts were also well known in Europe towards the end of the Roman Empire. Walnuts were also mentioned in the principal Roman treatises on agriculture: De Re Rustica Varro, De Re Rustica Columella and Naturalis Historia (17).

Nuts were spread throughout northern Africa by the Arab cultures. In the Al-Andalus culture, for example, almonds were used in many recipes such as Alajú, a roasted honey dish based on an almond paste, nuts and sometimes pine nuts, toasted bread and spices. In fact, many of today’s desserts made with almonds and honey in Spain and North Africa are likely to have an Arab origin. Almond milk was used extensively in Al-Andalus on festive occasions. It’s white colour was a sign of purity, and it was used to

cure diseases. Indeed, almond milk was also consumed by children (18).

Pine nuts and pistachios were used in the Al-Andalus culture as food, but also as a drug. Averroes, a renowned Andalusian jurist, philosopher and scholar, also believed that pine nuts increased male fertility and recommended using their oil as a remedy for stroke and weakness.

This author also mentioned that pistachio oil was very useful as medicine (19).

In contrast, it is known that in the Middle Ages, consumption of both fresh fruit and nuts was scarce.

Due to the influence of Galen’s doctrines, they were considered poor foodstuff and were often seen as the cause of some illnesses. In his book Regimen Sanitatis, the Catalan doctor Arnau de Vilanova tells us that “Hazelnuts, due to their nature provide some comfort to the liver, but harm the stomach and the head” (20). Hazelnuts were eaten alone and with other nuts, but were not considered worth to mention in cooking documents or agricultural treatises in that period.

This author also stated that pistachios were good for the liver and colds.

During the Renaissance, cuisine combined the flavours introduced by the Arabs with classical tastes. Nuts were therefore used in the same way as in previous centuries. For instance, hazelnuts are mentioned in the Libre de Coch or “Book of Stews” by the Catalan cook Ruperto de Nola (21).

Almonds were also used in the preparation of many desserts, and were also used as oil and milk.

In conclusion, we could say that nuts have been diversely considered important through history for their nutritional or medicinal properties.

Nuts have been used by different civilizations as drugs in the prevention and treatment of several diseases because of their antithermic, antialgic, digestive, aphrodisiac and other properties. This food group has been used extensively in many classical recipes throughout history.

REFERENCES 1. Goren-Inbar N, Sharon G, Melamed Y, Kislev M. Nuts, nut cracking, and pitted stones at Gesher Benot Ya’aqov. Proc Natl Acad Sci 2002;99:2455-60ç 2. Gil L. Las transformaciones históricas del paisaje: la permanencia y la extinción local del pino piñonero. Los montes y su historia: Una perspectiva política, económica y social. Huelva: Universidad de Huelva; 1999 3. Mithen S, Nyree F, Carruthers W, Carter S, Ashmore P. Plant use in the Mesolithic: Evidence from Staosnaig, Isle of Colonsay, Scotland. Journal of Archaeological Science 2001;28:223-34 4. Whitehouse WE. The pistachio nut: A new crop for the western United States. Econ Bot 1957;11:281-321 5. Draine B, Hiden M. The Walnut Cookbook. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press; 1998 6. Zohary D, Hopf M. Domestication of plants in the old world: the origin and spread of cultivated plants in West Asia, Europe, and the Nile Valley. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2000 7. Ghalioungui P. La Médecine des pharaons: Magie et science médicale dans l’Egypte ancienne. Les Enigmes de l’univers.

Paris: Robert Laffont; 1983 8. García Soler MJ. El arte de comer en la Antigua Grecia.

Madrid: Editorial Biblioteca Nueva; 2001 9. Hippocrates. The sacred disease. Jones WHS, translation Hippocrates works (vol II), p. 337. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; 1967 10. Diocles, fr. 126 Wellman, Filotimo, Dífilo y Mnesíteo, fr. 30 Bertier, en Ath. II 53e-f y 54b 11. Pedacio DA. Acerca de la materia medicinal y de los venenos mortífero. Translation Ade Laguna. Madrid: Comunidad de Madrid, Secretaría General Técnica; 1991 12. Bonifacio P. Il pistaccio; coltivacione, commercio, uso. Rome: Ramo editoriale degri agricoltori; 1942 13. Plutarch. De Isid.; Tibull. lib. i. eleg. vii. 29 14. Strutt, Manners and Customs, &c., vol. i. p.32, fig. vii 15. Van der Veen M. High living in Rome’s distant quarries. British Archaeology 1997;28:6-7

Fundació Bernat Metge; 1990 17. Pliny the Elder, John B, Riley HT. The Natural History, pp.

23-75 [GR Crane, chief editor]. London: Taylor and Francis; 1855 18. Ibn Wafid. Kitab al-adwiya al-mufrada (Libro de los medicamentos simples). Edition and translation LFA de Cárcer. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas y Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional; 1995 19. Averroes. El libro de las generalidades de la medicina. Edition and translation MCVde Benito, CA Morales. Madrid: Editorial Trotta; 2003 20. Cruz J. Dietética medieval: Apéndice con la versión castellana del “Régimen de salud” de Arnaldo de Vilanova. Huesca: La Val de Onsera; 1997 21. Cruz J. La cocina mediterránea en el inicio del Renacimiento Martino da Como “Libro de arte culinaria”. Ruperto de Nola “Libro de guisados”. Huesca: La Val de Onsera; 1997

16. Apici. L’art de la cuina. Traduction JG Pallarés. Barcelona:

Month The Cracker Cracker March Year 2011 || The

3 79

NutritioN review from the iNC SCieNtifiC Committee

aN uNdervalued super food

dried fruitS

By Jennette Higgs, BSc (Hons.) Nut. RD RPHNutr., Registered Public Health Nutritionist & Dietitian, www.foodtofit.com, Member of the INC Scientific and Government Affairs Committee.

It is now becoming more widely accepted that the food we eat can play a significant role on our health, although consumers continue to be bombarded by so many mixed messages (and so many new processed products) that the role of age-old natural snacks like dried fruit are, more often than not, overlooked or unappreciated. The recently published review on the health benefits of raisins (1), provides an informative overview of raisins and their health benefits. Raisins are the best researched of all dried fruits, in relation to their human health attributes and yet, unlike their fresh counterpart grapes, the full extent of their protective properties is little appreciated by consumers.

In some countries dried fruit is perceived as being less ‘healthy’ than fresh fruit, given that the advice on dried fruit is to eat in limited quantities, yet we can ‘fill up’ on fresh fruit. A quick overview of the advice (see table 1) given in different countries around the world indicates that this may be a common factor which may be due to the apparent higher sugar content of dried fruit (compared on a weight for weight basis). What tends to be overlooked is the fact that a dried fruit is the same as its fresh counterpart with simply the water removed. It is a pity that healthy eating advice around reduction of added sugar has all too often spilled over to dried fruit – a natural source of sugars, low in sucrose.

“The full exTenT of raisins proTecTive properTies is liTTle appreciaTed by consumers” 80 4

The Cracker | March Month2011 Year

In a long distance interview with Dr Arianna Carughi (Health & Nutrition Research Coordinator, Sun-Maid), she agreed that raisins’ role as a healthy, natural snack food is underplayed from a nutritional health point of view. She explained: “The scientific basis for recommending diets high in fruits is the epidemiological evidence that individuals who regularly eat generous amounts of these foods have lower rates of cardiovascular disease, obesity, several cancers, diabetes and other chronic diseases.

Yet today the vast majority of children and adults (eg 85% of children & 60% of adults in the USA) do not meet recommendations by health agencies. Raisins retain the nutritional benefits of grapes. Being easy to store, distribute, cook with and relatively low cost, they present a healthy alternative to sugary snacks.”

Raisins have since early Phoenician times been appreciated for their easy storage and transport qualities and have long been an integral ingredient in traditional diets the world over. Grapes and wine are widely recognised for their antioxidant properties, yet interestingly, the drying process results in a higher total antioxidant capacity and ORAC scores for raisins, compared to grapes. The final phytochemical profile for raisins is partly due to the concentration of naturally present phenolics on drying, plus the development of additional products which outweigh any losses occurring as a consequence of the drying process. If this were true for all other dried fruits, given the potential importance of antioxidants for health, it may become a beneficial attribute that could help to set dried fruit apart from their fresh counterparts (table 2).

Despite antioxidant credentials being widely used around the world to indicate health protective properties for the food in question, the exact relevance of the various antioxidant assays in terms of human health benefit is controversial among scientists. As Dr Carughi explains: “Nutrition studies attempt to link intake of a nutrient or food to the risk of

NutritioN review from the iNC SCieNtifiC Committee

developing a disease such as cancer or CVD. Because this is not practical or possible in many cases, researchers look at effects on biomarkers that are predictive of the disease. Oxidation of cellular constituents and oxidative stress have been implicated in the etiology of many chronic diseases. Antioxidant nutrients and plant constituents like polyphenols may be protective by preventing these reactions.

Today we have a battery of biomarkers for oxidation and oxidation products. The challenge is that these have not been validated as being causally related to the development or prevention of chronic disease. Carefully conducted clinical intervention studies using accepted biomarkers of risk reduction such as cholesterol and lipoprotein levels would be a first step in gathering evidence to support health claims. However, this is more difficult than it seems since a number of methodological issues have to be taken into account, for examples: studies are not blind; there is no placebo; and caloric substitution can influence final results.â&#x20AC;?

regulation and DNA damage (1,5,6). These all impact on the major health concerns today- namely CVD, diabetes, obesity and cancers. As such confirmation of these potentially beneficial health associations will be of great interest to consumers.

Regulations around the use of health claims for food promotions vary internationally and the new European legislation (7) is particularly rigorous and exacting. In considering the opportunities for promoting the potential health benefits of dried fruit in Europe at least therefore, it will be essential to conduct carefully planned, high quality human intervention studies that meet the EFSA research criteria to confirm these early findings for dried fruit health attributes. It will no longer be possible to simply rely on animal and laboratory studies to support health claims. A benefit of considering the research requirements for European health claims is that it is likely that these will more than satisfy health claim regulatory requirements internationally, although the same is no longer the case in reverse.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;It makes good sense to consIder research needs collectIvely as an Industry sectorâ&#x20AC;?

We still do not have a complete picture of the full range of phytochemicals present in different raisin varieties, let alone those biologically active metabolites that are produced when raisins are digested and metabolised by the body. It is the end products that remain following digestion that perhaps offer the most interest in terms of their potential to beneficially influence health outcome. Although individual studies on the main polyphenols found in raisins have been conducted in humans to assess their absorption and bioavailability, these have not been carried out using raisins themselves and hence using the exact cocktail of polyphenols that raisins provide. Measuring antioxidant potential, even in humans cannot be directly extrapolated to disease outcome. Indeed, much to the frustration of the food industry, recent European Foods Safety Authority (EFSA) Opinions on antioxidant based health claims have been negative on this basis (2).

Given the costs associated with research , especially human studies, it makes good sense to consider research needs collectively as an industry sector, in much the same way as the INC has and continues to do very effectively for the nuts sector. As a combined food group, dried fruit and nuts have an incredible nutritional profile and offer significant potential as regards health benefits. Based on the extensive research to explore the health potential of nuts, several respected groups have already recommended daily snacking on nuts as a health protection strategy (8, 9). It is too early to predict such a position for dried fruit because of the absence to date of sufficient quality research. As a natural snack food with such a long pedigree, it makes good sense to start to change this situation.

There are now a few studies that have looked directly at the health relationship of dried fruits- mainly raisins and prunes and the results are encouraging. Studies feeding daily raisin snacks ranging from 84g160g/day, have shown beneficial results on blood lipids (1,3). Similarly, prunes have been shown to lower LDL cholesterol in one study in hypercholesterolemia men (4). There is also growing evidence at least to indicate that dried fruits, such as raisins and prunes may have a positive contribution to make in relation to glucose/insulin control, appetite March Year 2011 | The Cracker Month

81 5

NutritioN review from the iNC SCieNtifiC Committee

Table 1: Comparison of National fruit & vegetable schemes, including restrictions on dried fruit: Fruit & veg scheme

Portion size of fruit & veg

Portion size of dried fruit

Any restrictions on dried fruit?

Website

UK

5 a day

80g

30g e.g. 3 dried apricots 1 tbs raisins

Yes, only count as one ptn, but this information is not available on website

www.nhs.uk/livewell/5aday/ pages/5adayhome.aspx/

Australia

2 fruit & 5 veg

150g fruit (e.g. 2 small apricots); 75g veg

1 ½ tbs dried fruit e.g. 4 dried apricot halves

Yes, suggestion to choose fresh instead of dried fruit due to sugar content & energy density

www.gofor2and5.com.au/

South Africa

5 a day – 3 of which should be fresh or frozen

80g

2tbp (30g) dried fruit

Yes, can only count as one portion

www.5aday.co.za/C_HOP_Art_ LStyle_003.asp

US – my pyramid

2½-3 cups veg; and 1½ -2 cups fruit

1 cup = 1 sm apple, 32 grapes

½ cup dried fruit = 1 cup of fresh fruit

No official restrictions although www.mypyramid.gov/index.html general advice tends to focus on the higher calories and sugar conwww.eatright.org/Public/content. tent of dried fruit, hence portion aspx?id=3765 control is stressed

Table 2: Comparison of the polyphenol content of dried vs fresh fruit: L-ORAC (umol of TE/g) 10

H-ORAC (umol of TE/g) 10

TAC (umol of TE/g) 10

TP (mg of GAE/g) 10

ORACFL, mmol TE3

Total phenolics per 100g12

Antioxidant content (mmol/100g) 13

Grapes (white or green)

-

1118

1118

145

4.2

-

0.133

Grapes (red)

-

1260

1260

145

-

-

0.316

35

3002

3037

1065

-

4188

4188

372

-

-

-

Plums

17

6241

6259

367

-

111

0.834

Prunes

179

6463

6552

745

10.8

184

2.018

6.7

44

Raisins seedless Raisins, white dried to 40% Italy

Prune juice Apricots Dried apricots

0.780

32

1108

1115

79

-

-

-

-

3234

3234

248

-

-

-

Key: H-ORAC = hydrophilic-ORAC ; L-ORAC = lipophilic-ORAC; TAC = L-ORAC + H-ORAC; TP = total phenolics data expressed as milligrams of gallic acid equivalents per gram

REFERENCES 1. Williamson G, Carughi A (2010) Polyphenol content and health benefits of raisins. Nutrition Research. 30; 511-519.

2. EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA) (2010) Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to various food(s)/food constituent(s) and protection of cells from premature aging, antioxidant activity, antioxidant content and antioxidant properties, and protection of DNA, proteins and lipids from oxidative damage pursuant to Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006.

EFSA Journal. 8; 1489.

3. Puglisi MJ, Vaishnav U, Shrestha S, Torres-Gonzalez M, Wood RJ, Volek JS, Fernandez ML (2008) Raisins and additional walking have distinct effects on plasma lipids and inflammatory cytokines. Lipids in Health and Disease. 7; 14.

4. Tinker LF, Davis PA, Schneeman BO, Gallaher DD, Waggoner CR (1991) Consumption of prunes as a souce of dietary fiber in men with mild hypercholesterolemia. American Journal Clinical Nutrition. 53; 1259–1265.

82 6

The Cracker | March Month2011 Year

5. Puglisi MJ, Mutungi G, Brun PJ, McGrane MM, Labonte C, Volek JS, Fernandez M (2009) Raisins and walking alter appetite hormones and plasma lipids by modifications in lipoprotein metabolism and up-regulation of the low-density lipoprotein receptor. Metabolism Clinical and Experimental.

58; 120–128.

6. Furchner-Evanson A, Petrisko Y, Howarth LS, Nemoseck T, Kern M (2010) Type of snack influences satiety responses in adult women. Appetite. 54; 564-69.

7. Regulation (EC) 1924/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Union on nutrition and health claims made on food.

8. “Nuts and Cardiovascular Health” symposium and consequent “Declaration of Barcelona”, 2nd Congress of the Federation of Societies of Nutrition, Food and Dietetics (FESNAD), Spain 4th March, 2010, http://www.nutfruit.org/declaration.

9. King J, Rechkemmer G, Geiger CJ (2008) Second International

Nuts and Health Symposium, 2007. The Journal of Nutrition.

138; 1734S-1765S. 10. Nutrient Data Laboratory et al (2007) Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) of Selected Foods. USDA. 11. Prior R, Gu L, Wu X, Jacob R, Soroudeh G, Kader A, Cook R (2007) Plasma antioxidant capacity changes following a meal as a measure of the ability of a food to alter in vivo antioxidant status. Journal of the American college of nutrition. 26; 170181.

12. Stacewicz-Sapuntzakis M, Bowen P, Hussain E, DamayantiWood B, Farnsworth N (2001) Chemical Composition and Potential Health Effects of Prunes: A Functional Food?. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition. 41; 251-286.

13. Halvorsen B, Carlsen M, Phillips K, Bøhn s, Holte K, Jacobs D, Blomhoff R (2006) Content of redox-active compounds (ie, antioxidants) in foods consumed in the United States. Am J Clin Nutr. 84; 95-135.

March 2011 | The Cracker

83

Fresh from Our Farm to Your Table

The Green Valley Pecan Company treats every customer like a relationship to be treasured, not simply an order to be filled. From planting to processing, each employee takes pride in producing and delivering a premium product to our customers by adhering to the highest standards in the world for food safety.

Green Valley Pecan Company is the largest supplier to Europe and the first pecan processor in the world certified by the BRC. Each pecan passes the industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strictest quality control standards, kept frozen in the shell until state-of-the-art pasteurization, electronic shelling and sorting process. Your specifications are carefully monitored, from continuous online inspections to use of modern storage facilities, and we ensure efficient delivery through unitized bulk package shipping and container-sized export quantities.

GreenValleyPecan.com 84

The Cracker | March 2011

Telephone: (520) 791-2852 Fax: (520) 791-2853

Cracker The

For more information on Green Valley Pecans please contact your representative: Keith Roberts Partnership United Kingdom p: 44-1702-589958 f: 44-1702-587075

Quality Marketing Belgium p: 32-3-711-0895 f: 32-3-711-0879

Gemperli Zurich, Switzerland p: 41-44-368-2020 f: 41-44-361-4511 Jas Trading The Netherlands p: 31-20-643-6412 f: 31-20-643-2127 Max Kiene Germany p: 49-40-309-6550 f: 49-40-309-65520

adVertisers in this issue

Voice Vale France, S.A.R.L. p: 33-140502-480 f: 33-140502-488 Tanto Corporation Japan p: 81-3-4360-5336 f: 81-3-4360-5794 Palm Trading Denmark p: 45-45-82-1610 f: 45-45-82-1613

Phone: (520) 791-2852 Fax: (520) 791-2853 P.O. Box 7 • Sahuarita, Arizona 85629 U.S.A. e-mail: sales@greenvalleypecan.com www.greenvalleypecan.com

GVPC00265.indd 1

BelGium

Page

the neXt PUBLICATIONS SCHEDULE FOR THE CRACKER for 2011 Will Be...

JULY 2011 • NOVEMBER 2011

Page

Best N.V. ..........................................49

Borges.............................................67

Visys NV Sorting Systems ...............21

Joan Escoda....................................26

Chile

Jose Borrell ...........Front Inside Cover

Exportadora Anakena ...................10

sWitZerland

Exportadora Dryfrut .....................73

Café Gourmet Ltd./Swiss Gourmet..... 13

Valbifrut S.A. ..................................47

turKey

China

Hazelnut Promotion Group.............4

Sino Jet International .....................3

uK

franCe

Bühler Sortex Ltd...........................37

Eurobroker .....................................75

Kenkko ...........................................39

10/18/10 5:13 PM

to all inC memBers, adVertisers and suBsCriBers:

sPain

Somercom ......................................75

usa

Germany

Blue Diamond Growers ...................7

Eurofins .........................................71

Cablevey Conveyors .......................74

Palm Nuts & More KG....................75

Campos Brothers ...........................17

italy

Chico Nut Company.......................83

Connect ..........................................76 V. Besana S.P.A................................50

JaPan

Crain Walnut Shelling, Inc. ..........27 Fisher Nut Company ......................11 Green Valley Pecans ................. 84-85 Hilltop Ranch, Inc. ........................14

Delta International Co., Ltd...........88

Hughson Nut ..................................33

Tanto Corporation .........................16

Primex................ Back Outside Cover

moroCCo

Satake USA, Inc. .............................77

Santis S.A.R.L. ...............................13

Setton Intl. Foods ....... Back Inside Cover Vicam .............................................70

netherlands Catz International B.V.. ................29

Young Pecan Company..................30

Detailed information will be sent and posted to our website: www.nutfruit.org

March 2011 | The Cracker

85

nUTs HeadlIne neW Global ProdUCTs Chocolates go for nutty texture

Chocolate continues to be the top application area for nut ingredients.

An Innova Market Insights analysis of the top markets for tracked featuring nut ingredients (global, Jan-Dec 2010) was dominated by chocolate, with over 18% of products containing nut/seed ingredients falling into this category. Further down the list were Snack Nuts & Seeds (10%), Sweet Biscuits/Cookies (9.1%), Cereal & Energy Bars (4.7%) and Bread & Bread products (4.6%).

In March 2011 Stollwerck will launch SAROTTI Minis Whole Nut Full Milk Chocolate and Whole Nut Fine Bitter Chocolate. SAROTTI Minis are practical pieces of chocolate for those on the move. They are individually wrapped – and thus ideal as a portioned treat or snack between meals.

In Taiwan, Always Handmade Chocolate Cup with Hazelnut is made with 50% cocoa dark chocolate and features an individual hazelnut on top of each piece.

Looking more closely into the exact nuts being used in new products found a dominance for hazelnut (1,651 new products tracked in 2010) and almond (1,291). Both nut varieties featured in over double the number of tracked product launches featuring peanuts, which in turn was far ahead of pistachio (105), cashew (103) and walnut (95).

But innovative incorporations of nuts are of course being seen in diverse product application areas. In breakfast cereals, Target has launched Archer Farms Blueberry Almond with Flax Instant Oatmeal (US) in packs containing 8 individual sachets. The product is positioned on a natural platform, but is also marketed for its low calorie content (160 calories per serving). In Australia, Woolworths goes for flavor innovation with Woolworths Select Balsamic Vinegar Peanuts. The peanuts are flavored with a balsamic vinegar seasoning and offered in a resealable stand-up pouch.

Chocolate manufacturers are adopting nuts into new products to provide extra texture to products and thereby give a product a sensory lift. Bulk chocolate supplier Barry Callebaut note a growing trend to using more textures to stimulate the taste experience. With 16%, chocolate is the top market category using the wording “texture” in its products.

Top Market Categories for Nut Ingredients (Global, Jan-Dec 10) Market Category 18.2%

Chocolate

18.2%

Snack Nuts & Seeds Sweet Biscuits/Cookies

9.1%

10.0%

Cereal & Energy Bars

9.1%

4.6%

od Br & d ea Br

C

er

ea

l&

ea

En

d

er

Pr

gy

tG ee Sw & es tri as

C

ak

es

-P

4.6%

uc

rs Ba

ds

ki oo /C its cu is tB ee Sw

5.1%

4.7%

ts

4.7%

5.1%

Bread & Bread Products

oo

es

s Se & s ut N k ac Sn

10.0%

Cakes - Pastries & Sweet Goods

ed

te la co ho C

Focusing on new and exciting textures, Barry Callebaut announced several new products at ISM 2011 to complement its range, including a variety of caramelized nuts and crunchy biscuit textures being: Caramelized hazelnuts, Caramelized almond slices, Caramelized nibs, Cocoamaretti and Almond bresilienne. Meanwhile Barry Callebaut’s Sarotti consumer brand note that whole nut tablets in the German 100 gram segment are set for growth, with sales increasing by some 5 percent .

Market Category Innova Market Insights

86

The Cracker | March 2011

sPeCial rePort In Denmark, Lactalis’ President brand now includes Rondele Noix de Dordogne Walnuts (Soft Spreadable Cream Cheese with Walnuts). The spreadable cheese is coated with Dordogne walnuts for an added texture and flavor experience. Dutch retailer Albert Heijn opts for the innovative inclusion of pistachios, pumpkin seeds and almonds in a salad mix. The Italian snacks feature pistachio nuts (25%), roasted pumpkin seeds (23%), croutons (20%) and roasted almonds (15%).

Global Product Launches with Top-10 Nut Ingredients (2009 vs. 2010) 24

12

3.6%

3.1%

2.1%

2.0%

1.4%

1.2%

2.5%

2.4% 1.0%

0.8%

1.5%

1.2%

2.5%

3.0%

8

4

2009

58.3%

2010

65.3%

ToP nUTs Used In neW ConfeCTIonery ITeMs (Global, Jan 10-deC 10)

11.9%

Ingredients Vs Event Date

16

14.6%

15.8%

17.4%

20

15.7%

20.0%

Event Date

NUT

PRODUCTS TRACKED

Hazelnut

1,651

Almond

1,291

Peanut

610

Pistachio

105

Cashew

103

Walnut

95

t nu W al

o

M

ac

ad

Pi

st

ac

hi

ne Pi

n

ut

ca Pe

am

Pe

N ia

el az H

an

ut

t nu

t nu st he C

N w he C

as

A

lm

on

ut

d

0

Ingredients

Innova Market Insights

HEALTHY SNACKS RIDE THE FRUIT & VEG REVIVAL Incorporating fruit ingredients into a product can help a manufacturer create both a flavorful and healthy taste experience.

While the trend is of course present in the sweet segments of Bakery and Confectionery, there is a high level of incorporation of fruit ingredients into savory products like Sauces & Seasonings and Ready Meals.

Innova Market Insights selected Fruit & Veg Revival as one of its top 10 key trends for 2011. The researcher reported that a new breath of life is being felt for fruit as manufacturers look to the inherent potential of fruit and go back to basics. Del Monte’s new launch of fruit snack products illustrates the vast potential that conveniently packaged fruit can offer both consumers [“on-the go” consumption] and manufacturers [high profit for value-added products]. An analysis of the top 15 market categories featuring “natural goodness” claims (Jan 07-Oct 10), found high occurrences for Juice & Juice Drinks (5.9%), Fruit (4.9%) and Vegetables (4.3%).

Fruit ingredients can form the basis of an innovatie snack in themselves.

The N.A! (Nature Addicts) brand has just been launched in Germany, including a Raspberry Bites variety. The soft raspberry bites with apple base are offered in a resealable plastic pouch. In the US, the Buddy Fruits line is emerging as an innovative option for fruit on the go to help kids increase their fruit consumption. Products include a pure blended fruit to go based on apple and multifruit (banana, passion fruit, mango, strawberry) in a

pouch packaging. Newly demonstrated at this year’s ISM in Cologne was an innovative confectionery style fruit snack product under the Buddy Fruit label, which became listed at Wal-Mart at the end of January.

In the US, BetterOats Oat Revolution! Instant Oatmeal: Apples & Cinnamon is offered in packs containing five pouches. The product, which contains flaxseed features a “good source of omega 3” claim, stands out visually through the incorporation of dried apple pieces.

In Germany, Tegut Erdbeer-Joghurt Musli: Strawberry-Yoghurt Muesli is a muesli with strawberry pieces and fine yogurt flavored chocolate, in a 600g cardboard box. The sensory experience of combining white chocolate and strawberry pieces is strongly communicated on the front of the pack. The only missing ingredient in both cases is nuts!

But nuts can of course also be combined with fruits in the creation of a clever product. In the UK, Marks & Spencer Super Luxury Fruit, Nut and Seed Muesli cleverly communicates the exact breakdown of the mix on the front of pack. It focuses on the fact that the product (a mixture of dried fruit, berries, nuts and seeds with toasted and malted wheat and oat flakes) contains 44% fruits, 11% seeds and 8% nuts. The product, which includes whole almonds and pecans features a high fiber claim.

In Macedonia Nestle Negro Frutos Secos Enteros: Dark Chocolate with Almonds, Hazelnuts and Raisins goes for a crunchy and flavorful experience by featuring almonds (16.5%), hazelnuts (2%), and raisins (6.5%).

March 2011 | The Cracker

87

Nutrient databank values for the phytochemical and antioxidant content of tree nuts.

Authors: Bradley W. Bolling, PhD; Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT; C-Y,Oliver Chen, PhD; Antioxidants Research Laboratory, Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Boston, MA; Diane McKay, PhD, FACN; Antioxidants Research Laboratory; Jeffrey Blumberg, PhD, FACN, CNS; Background: Tree nuts are sources of a wide variety of phytochemicals that are incompletely indexed in nutrient databanks.

Objective: To assess nutrient databank values for tree nut phytochemicals and antioxidants.

Description: In addition to being a source of several essential nutrients, fatty acids, and fiber, tree nuts contain an array of phytochemicals. The content of flavonoids, isoflavones, proanthocyanidins, and total phenols in tree nuts are included in Phenol-Explorer (PE) and USDA databases.

PE also reports ellagitannins, phenolic acids, naphthoquinones, and stilbenes. The USDA National Nutrient Database (SR-22) provides carotenoid and sterol content. The â&#x20AC;&#x153;antioxidant capacityâ&#x20AC;? of tree nuts is

88

The Cracker | March 2011

indexed by the USDA ORAC and University of Oslo FRAP databases. The antioxidant content of tree nuts varies considerably by nut, especially when the pellicle or skin is included in analysis. Total phenols range from 58-1816 mg gallic acid equivalents/100 g. A wide range (in mg/100 g) of polyphenols is also found in oligomeric proanthocyanidins (2-491), flavonoids (0-34), isoflavones (0-4), phenolic acids (0-36), naphtoquinones (0-12), ellagitannins (0-29), and stillbenes (0-0.80).

Tree nuts also have significant quantities of phytates (200-2542), sphingolipids (0-613), alkylphenols (0-144), and lignans (0-0.97) that are not presently indexed in databanks. The EuroFir: eBASIS database is under development and is expected to provide a broader array of bioactives for tree nuts.

Conclusion: Tree nuts are rich sources of many phytochemicals. More phytochemical classes need to be included in nutrient databases and the values need to be updated on a more frequent basis.

Funding Disclosure: Supported by the International Tree Nut Council Nutrition Research & Education Foundation

nutrition researCh uPdate

anTIoXIdanTs In PeCans May ProTeCT HearT A new research study from Loma Linda University (LLU) demonstrates that naturally occurring antioxidants in pecans may help contribute to heart health and disease prevention; the results are published in the January 2011 issue of The Journal of Nutrition. Pecans contain different forms of the antioxidant vitamin E—known as tocopherols, plus numerous phenolic substances, many of them with antioxidant abilities. The nuts are especially rich in one form of vitamin E called gamma-tocopherols. The findings illustrate that after eating pecans, gamma-tocopherol levels in the body doubled and unhealthy oxidation of LDL (bad) cholesterol in the blood decreased by as much as 33 percent. Oxidized LDLs may further contribute to inflammation in the arteries and place people at greater risk of cardiovascular problems.

“Our tests show that eating pecans increases the amount of healthy antioxidants in the body,” says LLU researcher Ella Haddad, DrPH, associate professor in the School of Public Health department of nutrition. “This protective effect is important in helping to prevent development of various diseases such as cancer and heart disease.”

These findings are from a research project designed to further evaluate the health benefits of pecans, according to Dr. Haddad. She analyzed biomarkers in blood and urine samples from study participants (a total of 16 men and women between the ages 23 and 44) who ate a sequence of three diets composed of whole pecans, pecans blended with water, or a control meal of equivalent nutrient composition. The pecan meals contained about three ounces of the nut. Samples were taken prior to meals and at intervals up to 24 hours after eating.

Following the test meals composed of whole pecans and blended pecans, researchers found that amounts of gamma-tocopherols (vitamin E) in the body doubled eight hours after both meals, and oxygen radical absorbance capabilities (ORAC—a scientific method for measuring

antioxidant power in the blood) increased 12 and 10 percent respectively two hours after the meals. In addition, following the whole-pecan meal, oxidized LDL cholesterol decreased by 30 percent (after 2 hours), 33 percent (after 3 hours), and 26 percent (after 8 hours).

“This study is another piece of evidence that pecans are a healthy food,” says Dr. Haddad. “Previous research has shown that pecans contain antioxidant factors. Our study shows these antioxidants are indeed absorbed in the body and provide a protective effect against diseases.”

Research from Loma Linda University published earlier in the Journal of Nutrition showed that a pecan-enriched diet lowered levels of LDL cholesterol by 16.5 percent—more than twice the American Heart Association’s Step I diet, which was used as the control diet in that study.

Similarly, the pecan-enriched diet lowered total cholesterol levels by 11.3 percent (also twice as much as the Step I diet).

Loma Linda University is a health science university with more than 4,000 students in eight schools: Allied Health, Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Public Health, Religion, and Science & Technology. The campus is located about 60 miles east of Los Angeles. The School of Public Health’s department of nutrition has conducted many controlled studies on the health effects of nut consumption since the early 1990s. In 1993, the New England Journal of Medicine published Loma Linda University’s groundbreaking study establishing for the first time the link between nut consumption and favorable blood lipid changes.

For more information about the department’s current and previous studies on nuts, visit www.nutstudies.org. In addition to conducting research, the department offers coursework leading to a master’s degree and a doctoral degree in public health nutrition.

new study shows link to cocoa heart benefits The potential heart health benefits of polyphenol-rich cocoa powder may be related to a ‘novel mechanism’ of boosting HDL (good) cholesterol, says a new study from Japan.

Researchers from the Food and Health R&D Laboratories at Japanese company Meiji Seika Kaisha report that cocoa’s potential ability to boost HDL levels is related to a proteins which boost levels of a compound called apolipoprotein A1 (Apo-A1), which is required by the body to produce HDL-cholesterol. “As cholesterol metabolism is known to be regulated by several different mechanisms, it is possible that cacao polyphenols may act on multiple pathways as a regulatory receptor agonist or ligand, similar to other plant polyphenols,” wrote the researchers in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

known as flavan-3-ols or catechins), and particularly the monomeric flavanol (-)epicatechin.

Recently, however, scientists from the University of Reading in England and Mars reported that cocoa may also affect gut microflora and possess prebiotic potential. The new study takes us back to the health benefit with the strongest supporting science: Cardiovascular health. While it is known that consumption of cocoa polyphenols may boost HDL cholesterol levels, and decrease LDL cholesterol levels, the Japanese researchers state that “the mechanisms responsible for these effects of cocoa on cholesterol metabolism have yet to be fully elucidated”.

The health benefits of polyphenols from cocoa have been gathering increasing column inches in the national media. To date studies have reported potential benefits for cardiovascular health, skin health, and even brain health. The majority of science into the potential benefits of cocoa have revolved around cardiovascular benefits of the flavanols (also March 2011 | The Cracker

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magnesium reduces sudden heart failure risk Increased intakes of magnesium-rich foods are associated with a reduced risk of sudden cardiac death, says new research from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

The highest dietary intakes of the mineral were associated with a 37 percent reduction in the risk of sudden cardiac death, compared with the lowest average intakes, according to new findings published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The apparent protective effects of magnesium were strongest when the researchers focused their attention on blood levels, with every 0.25 milligram per deciliter increase associated with a 41 percent reduction in the risk of sudden cardiac death. Sudden cardiac death, according to the British Journal of Sports Medicine (1997, Vol.), is defined as: “An event that is non-traumatic, non-violent, unexpected, and resulting from sudden cardiac arrest within six hours of previously witnessed normal health”.

Dietary sources of magnesium include green, leafy vegetables, meats, starches, grains and nuts, and milk. Earlier dietary surveys show that a large portion of adults does not meet the RDA for magnesium (320 mg per day for women and 420 mg per day for men). Interest in magnesium and its potential health benefits have increased recently. Indeed, a report from The Freedonia Group reported that global demand for nutrients and minerals will reach $12.6bn by 2013; a 6.4 per cent increase over 2009 levels.

The report, World Nutraceutical Ingredients, highlighted magnesium as one of the minerals with fastest growth, along with calcium. Other fact growing ingredients included soy proteins and isoflavones, psyllium and resistant maltodextrin fibres, omega-3 fatty acids, probiotics, and carotenoids. Potential cardiovascular benefits of the mineral were highlighted in a review in the Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (2009, Vol. 21, pp. 651-657), which found that increased intakes of magnesium may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) in men, but the evidence is lacking for women.

“Dietary sources of magnesium include green, leafy vegetables, meats, starches, grains and nuts, and milk. ”

almond research results Good for heart health The following is an abstract of research conducted by Beman-Ali Jalali-Khanabadi, PhD, Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran; and Hassan MozaffariKhosravi, PhD,2 and Nayereh Parsaeyan, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran. It was printed in THE JOURNAL OF ALTERNATIVE AND COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE Volume 16, Number 12, 2010, pp. 1–5. objectives: Oxidation and level of plasma lipids are closely implicated in the development of coronary heart disease (CHD). Dietary almond supplementation may participate in beneficial effects on CHD lipid risk factor levels and their susceptibility to oxidative modification. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation with almond on serum lipid levels and their relation to lipid oxidation parameters in men with mild hyperlipidemia. design: Thirty (30) healthy volunteer men (age 45.577.14 years and body–mass index 24.292.15 kg/m2) with mild hyperlipidemia received 60 g almond daily for 4 weeks. outcome measures: Overnight fasting blood samples were obtained before and after supplementation. Serum levels of lipids, lipoproteins, and apolipoproteins and copper-induced serum lipid oxidation were determined. Lipid oxidation was followed by monitoring of the change of conjugated dienes in diluted serum after addition of Cu2þ. A number of quantitative parameters including lag-time, maximal rate of oxidation

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(V-max), and maximal amount of lipid peroxide products (OD-max) were evaluated. results: After 4 weeks, almond supplementation significantly decreased low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol , and apolipoprotein B100. At baseline, there was little correlation between lipid risk factors and lipid oxidation parameters, but a positive correlation was observed between TC and lag-time negative correlation between TC with V-max and OD-max, and also positive correlation between apo-B100 with V-max and OD-max after almond supplementation.

Conclusions: These results demonstrated that almond supplementation, in addition to lowering effects on serum levels of CHD lipid risk factors, may contribute to a dramatic change in the relation of lipid risk factors and susceptibility of serum lipids to oxidative modification. This may be due to the distribution of different almond phenolic antioxidants in different components of serum including nonlipoprotein molecules such as serum albumin.the editor in the latest issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Dr. Robert Wood, director of pediatric allergy at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, said the study provided “very useful information” for both doctors and patients. “While we would never say no one’s going to be allergic to shea nut butter, it appears that people with other nut allergies should not be at higher risk from shea nuts,” Dr. Wood said.

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