1.Common Black Food Additives

Black Food Additives

Currently, only two types of black additives are approved for use in food: "Iron Oxide Black" and "Plant Carbon Black."

Natural Black Additives

The black color in cuttlefish dumplings comes from the ink of the cuttlefish, while the black color in black rice is a product of the leaves of plants such as the Chinese gall tree and maple trees. The mechanisms for producing these two blacks are essentially the same, both being the result of enzymatic catalysis producing melanin.

(Source: FIEU Food Ingredients Union)

2.Can "Honey Instead of Sugar" Become the Future Trend of "Sugar Substitutes"?

With the trend of "youthful health consciousness," consumers are looking forward to reducing the intake of sucrose in their daily diet while ensuring that their bodies get enough sugar. "Honey instead of sugar" has become mainstream. Unlike sucrose, honey does not need to be broken down into monosaccharides by digestive enzymes; its composition is glucose and fructose, which can be directly absorbed by the human body, thus reducing the burden on the body. This makes honey stand out among sweeteners and has become the first choice for health-conscious consumers.

As early as ancient times, honey was discovered and used as a source of sweetness; in the "Shennong Ben Cao Jing," the medicinal effects of honey were found, calling it the best of medicines; the Egyptians believed that honey was the tears of the sun god and often made honey biscuits for worship; the Greeks believed that honey was given to humans by Dionysus and was one of the foods of the Olympians.

Today, honey still meets the public's demand for natural and healthy products. According to incomplete statistics, the global honey food market size reached 511.26 million US dollars in 2015 and is expected to increase to 788.96 million US dollars by 2025. From this, it can be seen that the demand for honey in the international market will show an increasing trend.

(Source: New Nutrition)

3.VA500 Price Recovery

According to market feedback, starting from November 21st, KinDawei feed-grade VA500 has resumed quoting, with a delivery price of 255 yuan/KG.

(Source: Hangzhou Wei Gao)

4.Research Progress of Antifreeze Peptides and Their Prospects in the Food Industry

Organisms in high-cold and high-altitude areas have evolved to produce a class of active proteins—antifreeze proteins—to combat the harsh cold environment.

The main feature of antifreeze proteins is that they can adsorb on the surface of ice crystals, thereby restricting the growth of ice crystals, inhibiting ice crystal recrystallization, and changing the morphology of ice crystals.

Adding antifreeze agents is an effective way to reduce the decline in quality of frozen foods, and replacing traditional high-sugar, high-salt commercial antifreeze agents with new antifreeze agents such as antifreeze peptides is an inevitable trend as consumers demand a higher quality of life and healthier food. Food-derived antifreeze peptides with specific peptide chain lengths and structural domains are an effective way to solve the problems of limited research and application of natural antifreeze proteins.

(Source: FIEU Food Ingredients Union)

5.Wei Gao Daily - Ammonia Hides Secrets

Recently, the domestic manufacturers' quotes for 98% lysine have been firm, with quotes rising to 11,000-11,500 yuan/ton, and signing has slowed down. The spot market for lysine is still tight, with high quotes and average transactions. According to customs data, 100,000 tons of lysine esters and salts were exported in October, a 2.4% increase month-on-month and a 15.7% increase year-on-year; from January to October 2024, a total of 914,000 tons were exported, a 17.0% increase year-on-year.

(Source: Wei Gao Daily)

6.Gatorade Breaks Scenery Boundaries, "Daily Hydration" May Become a New Category Increment?

Gatorade, as a professional sports drink brand, has gone deep into the field of scientific hydration, drilling the pain points of the lack of scientific hydration awareness in the daily life of the Chinese people and the relatively blank market.This year, it launched a "daily hydration" series of products to provide customized solutions for daily hydration scenarios. Due to the new positioning of "daily hydration" and the refreshing taste and appearance, the product has been warmly received in the Chinese young consumer market since its launch, with a strong momentum. Some netizens said, "I like this kind of refreshing drink, and I won't be thirsty after drinking it" and "It's very suitable to be a street match."

(Source: Foodaily Daily Food)