NEWS

DAVID RUSSELL ON

PEROS CELEBRATE FOOD FORTNIGHT

Excitement is mounting for British Food Fortnight, starting on 18 September, and to mark the occasion, Peros is running a special offer on their awardwinning Pipers Crisps. For those two weeks, order any four cases of Pipers Crisps and theyll throw in a fth box for free.

Food Labelling Under The Spotlight

Are you an avid label reader or do you ignore ingredients lists and nutrient analyses? Recent reports in the States have been examining just how many people do make use of food labelling, and how effective such information is. With obesity looking set to knock smoking off the number one spot as the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, it is unsurprising that they, just like we have, have been prompted to examine consumer behaviour surrounding food shopping. The research was published in the August issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, and sheds light on how nutritional labelling and point-of-purchase signs inuence our choices. One of the studies revealed that whilst 62% of participants do read the nutrition facts panel, just 52% use the list of ingredients, 47% look at the serving size and only 44% review health claims at least sometimes in choosing food products. Average intakes of calories, saturated fat, salt, bre and sugar of food label readers and non-readers also differed considerably. Unsurprisingly, those people who read labels ate a healthier diet. Mindful of the confusion and mistrust of labels among consumers, in 2002 the Food Standards Agency issued guidance on the use of eight key terms on British food labels: fresh, pure, natural, traditional, original, authentic, home-made and farmhouse. In 2004, however, an investigation carried out on behalf of the FSA revealed that actually 40% of the 220 food samples reviewed were either misleading or ambiguous. Common examples were farmyard images on the packaging of factory-produced items, or incorrect usage of the term traditional, which according to the FSA guidelines should only be used to describe a recipe that has been in existence for a signicant length of time (generally accepted to be 50 years), and which does not employ modern, technological ingredients. Although the food industry has worked hard more recently to clean up its act, confusion still remains. My advice for bafed shoppers is to simply look at the ingredients list: if you would nd them in a domestic kitchen, then it is likely to be a decent product. If they sound more at home in the chemistry lab, leave well alone.
10 www.universitycaterer.co.uk

TIME FOR TEA WITH PG TIPS

We all know a good cup of tea can solve just about anything, MASTERCLA but is your brew the best that S TICKETS AN S D it can be? PG Tips is giving GOODIES away tickets to an exclusive afternoon tea Masterclass, with demonstrations and advice from International Tea Expert, Nick Bunston, and Head Chef Patissier at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, Graham Hornigold. Winners will also receive free merchandising for their outlet, as well as lots of other goodies on the day. Go to www.ufs.teatips.co.uk/competition to enter.

WIN

SALES BOOST FOR COFFEE NATION

Coffee Nation has announced record sales for the year ending 31 March 2010. Keen to maintain the success of recent years, even in tough trading conditions, Coffee Nation continued investing in sales and marketing, customer service and development. Chief executive of Coffee Nation, Scott Martin attributes this years success to innovative new systems and the development of our speciality product range. The 9.2% sales increase to 23.56m proves that their approach has paid off, and will hopefully encourage other companies to invest in innovation.

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