44
SEP 2017
FOOD FOCUSTHAILAND
SPECIAL
FOCUS
ingredients. Unwanted synthetic chemicals and ingredients for American
consumers are shown inTable 1 (page40).
AdjustmentsMadeByLeadingFoodEnterprises
Major foodenterprises in theUShaveannounced theiradjustmentplans to revise
formula and ingredients, as well as label, to provide clear and comprehensive
informationaccording to the demand of consumers.
NestleUSA Inc. announced that thecompanywill useonlycage-freechicken
eggs inall kindof itsproductssales in theUSAwithin5years, including itsDreyer’s
icecream.Thecompanyalsoannounced toaddmoreproducts to itsbrandSimple
Recipes, whichwill reduce list of ingredients from average 22 items to only 7-8
items.Thecompanyalsoplanned toabolish theuseof carrageenanandxanthan
gum inproductionprocessand replace themwithpectin - a substanceextracted
from natural orangepeel.
• Hormel Foods Corporation announced that the company will use ‘Clean
Label’ campaign to improve its label to be understanding by all consumers. The
campaignhasalready launched insomeof itssubsidiariessuchas “ValleyFresh”,
“HormelCompleats”, and “HormelAlwaysTenders”, tonamea few.Not only that,
thecompany isalsoplanning to revise its recipe tocutsomeunwanted ingredients
such as preservatives, synthetic colouringagent, and nitrite, for instances.
• Campbell Soup Company declared that the company will add information
aboutGeneticallyModifiedOrganisms (GMO) ingredientson itsprocessed foods’
label across theStates.Thismeasurewill create transparencyandanswer tocall
from the customers.Moreover, the company is planning
to replace its current can packaging with non-Bisphenol A
or non-BPA can by 2017, as BPA is dangerous to the
health of its consumers.
• Kellogg’ssaid that thecompanywilladd2 low-sugar
cereal brands “Froot Loops” and “Apple Jacks” and will
sell them along with crispy cereal products likeMueslis
and Granolas, whose main ingredients are natural.
Moreover, thecompanyhasdeclared that itwill stopusing
syntheticcolouringagentandflavouringagent in itssnack
bar and its frozen foodunder “Eggo” brand.
• InThailand, thereareproducts thatqualify forclean
label, too,suchasTeng-HaiPremiumFishBall.Teng-Hai
fish balls aremade of the best quality and freshest fish
selected daily from the fish market, which is why the
product possesses pure, fresh taste, and firm, yet, has
tender texture. The fish balls are also rich inOmega-3,
protein and low in calories, with no-preservatives and
noMSG added.
Suggestions
1. Enterprise should study the trends of its trading
partner to improve its products tomeet the demand, for
example, set short-term and long-term goals to reduce
or eliminate synthetic chemicals that can be harmful to
consumers’ health such as synthetic colouring agents,
flavouring agents, and preservatives.
2.Enterpriseshouldstudy, research,anddevelop raw
materials, ingredientsorfindnaturalsubstitutes to replace
synthetic chemicals in food production by focusing on
maintainingthesameorcloselysimilarquality,appearance,
and taste of food.
3. Enterprise should keep itself up-to-datewith new
regulationson food labelling issuedby theFoodandDrug
Administration in various countries. For example, the
USFDAbans on trans-fat usage in food produced in the
US, whichwill come into effect in June 2018.
4. In addition to taste and quality, consumers also
value the source of rawmaterials. The ingredient must
have a trustworthy origin, and foodmanufacturersmust
ensure proper, equitable, and justify/fair treatment for
labor, animal and environment.
5. Food label design should use simple words to
describe components, nutrition facts, ingredients, and
other information.
6.Thepublicsectorshouldsupport theprivatesector
in researching for environmentally friendly packaging to
replace original packaging. Moreover, it should also
focuses on designing a packaging that matches the
demand of target consumers.
Theorganic&natural-boom,aconsumptionprofile
“proenjoyment”and thedesireof consumers for
authenticityand trustworthiness reinforce theclean
label trendcontinues.Going further than
“CleanLabel”
is the term
“Transparent Label”
, inwhich it is about
factors suchas sustainability, fair trade,etc. to integrate.
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