The UK’s soft drinks industry has welcomed a parliamentary committee finding that there is not enough evidence to ban the sale of energy drinks to children.

In August last year, the UK government proposed prohibiting the sale of energy drinks to the under 16s in England as a means of tackling obesity.

The Science and Technology Committee has since found that “societal concerns could justify a ban on the sale of energy drinks to children”. However, the committee said “current quantitative evidence alone is not sufficient to warrant a statutory ban”.

Gavin Partington, director general of the British Soft Drinks Association (BSDA), said: “The BSDA supported the voluntary ban on the sale of energy drinks to under-16s by retailers as it is in line with our longstanding code of practice, so naturally we welcome the committee’s endorsement of this approach.

“Our members do not market or promote energy drinks to under-16s, nor do they sample products with this age group. In addition, energy drinks carry an advisory note stating ‘Not recommended for children’.

BSDA members include Red Bull UK, Coca-Cola European Partners, Danone Waters UK and Ireland, and Mars Drinks UK.

foodbev.com

Why is this year looking so different? Writes leading markets analyst Jack Scoville in his March update 

FCOJ futures have entered a dull period. The weather is changing from Winter to Summer.  The threat of a freeze is disappearing for another year, and it is too soon for the hurricane season to get underway.  Prices have remained stable to weak with the change of the seasons, and this is not what normally happens.

History shows that prices usually rally at least a little bit at this time of year. This seems a little counter intuitive as this is usually a tranquil weather period in Florida with warm and dry weather.  What usually happens is this:  Speculators buy the market in the late fall in anticipation of a freeze even in Florida that could kill the fruit.  Futures usually rally into the start of the Winter season due to all of the speculative buying.  The calendar turns to the new year and no freeze appears.  The producers start to sell futures to fix prices and speculators start to reduce their long position exposure as they start to lose money.  Most of the prices are fixed and the speculative positions are liquidated by the end of the Winter.  So, a short covering rally becomes possible and some of the processors also fix prices once the lows have been made.  The market goes higher even though there is no apparent reason for this to happen.

This year has been different. Futures markets have traded sideways to down at a time when you might normally look for a rally.  Why is this year so different?  There are a couple of reasons.  First, USDA shocked the market by estimating Oranges production in Florida at about 72 million boxes.  This is an incredible recovery from last year when the state only produced about 35 million boxes.  Production last year was hurt by bad weather and the Greening Disease that really cut production potential.  The weather has been dry this year, but there has been enough rain and irrigation has been used to help production prospects.

The Greening Disease seems to be an afterthought now after the market saw its devastating impacts last year. No one is talking about the disease now even though there is no known cure for it and it should still be prevalent in Florida.  The disease is not affecting production if it is still around!  Production levels in the state are back close to normal levels after the big problems last year.  The disease came from Brazil when one of the most powerful hurricanes ever hit both South and North America several years ago, and it has affected Brazil production for years.  But, the US production has been less affected and seems to be recovering

Demand remains a problem for the market. Many people have switched away from juice due to ideas of too much sugar in the juice and other bad health effects they perceive.  They are popping pills for  Vitamin C and only drinking juice on occasion.   This trend has been going on for years and has been a very detrimental one for the producers in Florida, where the vast majority of the juice in the US is produced.  The US has hurt itself in the world market.  The largest importer of FCOJ in the world is Europe, and we have a trade and tariff war going on with the Europeans.  FCOJ exports to Europe have really suffered, and the EU is sourcing more and more juice from Brazil.  Florida producers hope that the US comes to an agreement with the EU sooner rather than later so this important market opens up again.  Right now, however, the US government is focused on coming to terms with China and a deal with the EU is on the back burner.

Cruzani will be entering the functional beverage market with the acquisition of a popular vitamin enhanced water beverage. This will be the 1^st stage of their entry into the infused products market. The company is also exploring the feasibility of adding a reformulated version of the current beverage line, to include infused CBD which could be launched into various jurisdictions that require non-psychoactive CBD permitting and licensing to legally do so. Cannabidiol (CBD) is the part of the cannabis plant that doesn’t get you ‘high’ like the THC side of the plant. It is typically used for health reasons instead of for recreational purposes. The CBD products are either derived from industrial hemp plants or marijuana plants. Hemp-derived CBD is currently legal in 46 states in the US and The Hemp Business Journal has estimated hemp and CBD food, beverage, and cosmetics will grow to a $1.8 billion market by 2020.

globalnewswire

As the globe marks World Diabetes Day, the founder of a juice company claims he has found a successful way to remove 87% of sugar from fruit juice.

Eran Blachinsky, founder and CEO of Better Juice, has come up with innovative technology that provides new options for people wanting to drink healthier beverages.

In the current food environment, it is very easy for consumers to take in too much sugar, especially from sugary drinks. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) the over-consumption of sugar is a major contributor to obesity, diabetes and tooth decay.

WHO guidelines recommend that, to prevent obesity and tooth decay, adults and children should reduce their consumption of free sugars to less than 10% of their daily energy intake (equivalent to around 12 teaspoons of table sugar for adults). The guidelines further suggest reducing sugar intake to below six teaspoons of table sugar for adults for additional health benefits.

In curbing the sugar intake and fighting diabetes and other related diseases caused by sugary drinks and juices, food-tech start-up company Better Juice has developed a way to reduce sugar in naturally occurring products like fruit juice.

Health-E News