Rachel Adams

Dec 21, 2023 | foodbeverageinsider.com | Rachel Adams |Audarshia Townsend |Kimberly Decker |Nick Collias

Konjac (Amorphophallus konjac) has been used as a food source for more than two millennia. Its corm—an underground stem that stores nutrients and food in certain plants and vegetables—is used to create konjac flour, utilized in a variety of plant-based foods, from noodles to baked goods to alt-seafood and alt-meat. Over the last two decades, purified konjac flour, commonly known as konjac glucomannan, has been used as a food additive and dietary supplement in the United States and Europe.

Dec 21, 2023 | foodbeverageinsider.com | Rachel Adams |Audarshia Townsend |Kimberly Decker |Nick Collias

In a webinar held Dec. 14, Kristi Muldoon Jacobs, acting director of FDA’s Office of Food Additive Safety, shed light on consumer and agency concerns. While consumers are focusing on ingredients already on the market, her office is looking at existing additives, and at the same time, evaluating an ingredient base that is rapidly evolving. Technology is creating brand new ingredients. Previously unused substances are coming into the market.

Dec 20, 2023 | foodbeverageinsider.com | Rachel Adams |Audarshia Townsend |Kimberly Decker |Nick Collias

Lion’s mane (Hericium erinaceus) mushrooms spicing up coffee, molecular filters extracting unwanted flavors and fermented drinks reshaping the cultural landscape. These are just a few of the trends and technologies currently being explored in the beverage industry. At a GlanceMushrooms and other functional ingredients will continue to bloom, but not without safety concerns. Kombucha will keep leading the charge among fermented beverages.

Dec 19, 2023 | foodbeverageinsider.com | Rachel Adams |Audarshia Townsend |Kimberly Decker |Nick Collias

The food and beverage industry is constantly evolving. Here are some ingredients, flavors and colors set to explode in 2024. The next big plant-based oil: AhiflowerFour in 10 consumers said they are actively trying to reduce their consumption of animal-based products. Many, however, have had no choice but to reach for fish or fish-derived supplements to get adequate amounts of certain important nutrients, like the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA.

Dec 19, 2023 | foodbeverageinsider.com | Rachel Adams |Audarshia Townsend |Kimberly Decker |Nick Collias

It was a year full of twists and turns, but always something to savor. Sustainability ruled the roost, alt-sweeteners got swept into a whirlwind, California decided to ban 5 food ingredients. As always, there's so much more to devour as we list our Top 10 stories of 2023. At a GlanceCalifornia to ban 5 ingredients: Red dye, BVO, and others got the boot, sending shockwaves through the industry.