Watch your mailbox for information on the upcoming NAFFS Convention to be held October 23-26 at The Resort at Longboat Key Club, Longboat Key, Fla. The convention is also being promoted to non-members and press releases have been sent to industry magazines and web sites. Word is already getting out about the outstanding program featuring “Beverage Development – Thinking Outside the Can” and “Ingredient Challenges: Now the Rest of the Story.” The excellent lineup of speakers will focus on the challenges and opportunities presented by the increase in consumer demand for quality ingredients and the ever-growing interest in healthy, natural and fortified products.

Register now on www.naffs.org and find out why attendees say the NAFFS Convention offers the right balance of education and networking in an exceptional environment.

FDA SAYS HFCS CAN
BE LABELED NATURAL

In a letter to the Corn Refiners Association, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) clarified the use of the term “natural” for products containing high fructose corn syrup. The July 3rd letter stated the agency “would not object to the use of the term ‘natural’ on a product containing the HFCS produced by the manufacturing process…” commonly employed in the corn refining industry. The letter was issued in response to a meeting between the Corn Refiners Association and FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

“Upon careful review of the manufacturing process for high fructose corn syrup, the FDA found that HFCS can be labeled natural,” stated Audrae Erickson, president of the Corn Refiners Association. “HFCS contains no artificial or synthetic ingredients or color additives and meets FDA’s requirements for the use of the term ‘natural.’ HFCS, like table sugar and honey, is natural. It is made from corn, a natural grain product.”

NAFFS NOMINATING
COMMITTEE TO MEET

The NAFFS Nominating Committee will be meeting soon to select new candidates for nomination to the Board of Directors. If you would like to recommend someone, please submit your suggestion to NAFFS by Monday, July 28.

USDA SEEKS COMMENTS ON
NATIONAL LIST

USDA’S Agricultural Marketing Service issued a proposed rule that would amend the USDA National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances (National List) regulations to reflect recommendations submitted by the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). The recommendations pertain to the continued exemption (use) and prohibition of 12 substances in organic production and handling. The proposed rule would renew the 11 exemptions and one prohibition on the National List (along with any restrictive annotations) and correct the tartaric acid listings by adding annotations originally recommended to USDA on November 1, 1995.

The proposed rule is available at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/E8-15389.htm. Comments are due by August 13.

STUDY RANKS TOP 10
HEALTHY BEVERAGES

A new study, which ranked 10 beverages by their levels of disease-fighting antioxidants, put pomegranate juice at the top of the list, reported eating.health.com. The study conducted by the University of California in Los Angeles, listed the following healthiest beverage powerhouses:

1. Pomegranate juice
2. Red wine
3. Concord grape juice
4. Blueberry juice
5. Black cherry juice
6. Acai juice
7. Cranberry juice
8. Orange juice
9. Tea
10. Apple Juice

STUDY REVEALS HEART BENEFITS
FROM BLACK TEA EXTRACT

A study from Japan revealed extracts from black tea may reduce total cholesterol levels by nine percent and LDL cholesterol levels by 12 percent, reported Beveragedaily.com.

Consumption of the black tea extract was also associated with beneficial changes in blood levels of triglycerides and body weight.

The health benefits of tea have been linked to the polyphenol content of the tea. Green tea contains between 30 and 40 percent of water-extractable polyphenols, while black tea (green tea that has been oxidized by fermentation) contains between 3 and 10 percent.

The subjects were randomly assigned to receive the black tea extract or placebo for three months. After three months, a nine percent reduction in total cholesterol was observed in the tea extract group. LDL cholesterol levels fell by 12 percent. Similar reductions in triglyceride levels were observed, but no significant changes in any blood lipid levels were recorded in the placebo group.

The tea extract may function by inhibiting the reabsorption of bile acids, according to authors Hiroyuki Fujita and Tomohide Yamagami from the R&D Department of Nippon Supplement in Osaka. By binding to the bile acids the extracts increase the excretion of cholesterol – the liver compensates by producing more bile from cholesterol, thereby promoting cholesterol lowering, according to the authors. “Because the black tea extract induces the precipitation of mixed bile salt micelles and lowers blood cholesterol levels, it might have contributed to body weight loss in this study,” they wrote. “In this regard, further investigation of black tea extract effects on body weight loss is warranted,” they concluded.

NAFFS E-MAIL
COMMUNICATIONS

NAFFS strives to be an environmentally conscious and responsible organization. As such, NAFFS issues much of its correspondence via e-mail.

In today’s spam-ridden e-society, some e-mails may not reach their intended target due to overzealous spam protection software. To ensure our members receive our communications, NAFFS is now using Constant Contact – a permission-based e-mail tool that follows the strictest permission-based philosophies.

Because we respect our members’ privacy, NAFFS does not sell or rent its member list. Our e-mail communications include an “unsubscribe” link which allows individuals to opt-out of future e-mails. Please be advised that if you opt-out, that will stop all NAFFS e-mails from reaching you. We hope you support our efforts to “go green” and continue to receive our communications via e-mail. If you prefer to receive communications via an alternate delivery vehicle, please let us know.

NAFFS CALENDAR

October 23-26 - The 91st Annual NAFFS Convention, The Resort at Longboat Key Club, Longboat Key, Fla.