We are honored to be featured by foodbeverageinsider.com in their 2023 in 10 Top Stories, by Audarshia Townsend.
Let's read the article:
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 Glance
- How one company makes the world’s most expensive spice accessible for all. Farmer-owned co-op Heray Spice sources most of its single-origin ingredients, particularly saffron, in Afghanistan.
- California to ban 5 ingredients: Red dye, BVO, and others got the boot, sending shockwaves through the industry.
- From "tuna" rolls to salmon fillets, plant-based alternatives were no longer just sideshows, but main course contenders.
- Sustainability ruled the roost: From regenerative farms to reducing waste, eco-consciousness was one of the hottest trends.
The Food & Beverage Insider team was there to document as much as possible, keeping our ears to the ground, meeting as many experts in person at various shows and just generally being in the mix of everything coming down the pipeline.
Here, we’ve outlined our Top 10 stories of the year.
Alt-sweeteners were a controversial subject in 2023.
It all started back in February with a polarizing Cleveland Clinic study that linked erythritol to heart attack and stroke. “Our study shows that when participants consumed an artificially sweetened beverage with an amount of erythritol found in many processed foods, markedly elevated levels in the blood are observed for days—levels well above those observed to enhance clotting risks,” said Dr. Stanley Hazen, chairman for the Department of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences in Lerner Research Institute and co-section head of Preventive Cardiology at Cleveland Clinic. While Hazen admitted that the study required “more in-depth research” to be accurate, aspartame was soon in the hot seat. In its case, the long-time alt-sweetener had some experts in its corner, such as the Calorie Control Council. “The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) ruling not only confirms the four decades of science concluding aspartame is safe but also provides real-life context around the safe consumption of this ingredient,” Robert Rankin, president of Calorie Control Council, said.
Creating a more inclusive food system key in 2023.
No doubt it’s refreshing seeing more diversity at every level throughout the food system. And one group who made it their mission to be at the forefront of this revolution was Dine Diaspora, comprised of Nina Oduro and Maame Boakye, with their first-ever Black Women in Food Summit in Washington, D.C. “… the industry is vast and encompasses labor across the food value chain, from production to processing and waste disposal,” explained Oduro, co-founder of Dine Diaspora. “Black women play critical roles across the value chain, and our awards are intentionally designed to be expansive in recognizing the variety of ways that Black women participate. This provides people the opportunity to access examples of Black women’s contributions across the industry and ensures that the contributions of Black women are celebrated in a space where their work can sometimes be diminished or even erased.”
How one company makes the world’s most expensive spice accessible for all.
Farmer-owned co-op Heray Spice sources most of its single-origin ingredients, particularly saffron, in Afghanistan. As the company continues growth, its founders are finding fresh and innovative ways of developing new products with the luxury spice, from saffron oil and saffron liquid to upcycling the flower’s typically unused parts. “The idea of saffron oil and liquid came up during conversations with several chefs who were looking for a cost-effective and easy-to-measure saffron product,” said Mohammad Salehi, CEO/co-founder of Heray Spice. “Liquids are a more reliable form of measurement compared to a pinch, which can vary in size depending on the individual.”
