Food & Beverage Reporter

Food & Beverage Reporter (FBR) is one of South Africa’s leading B2B magazines, with a track record of more than 25 years in the industry. With thought leadership and in-depth coverage of technical topics, news, and local and international developments across the foodbev and allied industries, the magazine caters for South Africa and neighbouring countries. FBR also carries a specialist Packaging& Processing Reporter section in each issue, exploring technology, ideas, and trends in these key segments of the food chain. In response to changing readership trends we offer a fully digitized publication, with both Apple and Android apps In March each year, FBR’s annual Supplier Directory is distributed both in print and online versions providing you with a handy guide to local suppliers and service providers on the continent.

From the editor

Food & Beverage Reporter

Tongaat Hulett Preferred Bidder Selected

Finding our way through the aspartame confusion • The recent publications on aspartame safety have re-ignited a subject that has been on the table for many years. Aspartame is a very well-established non-nutritive sweetener or NNS and has been around for many years with the FDA first authorizing its use in 1974.

WHO and IARC Aspartame Report • The report released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Guidelines on Sweeteners released by the WHO in May this year has cast doubt on the efficacy of low or no-calorie sweeteners as a replacement for sugar in food production. The report adds to the body of evidence that consumers should be informed, using a front-of-pack labelling system, about which of the products they intend to purchase contain non-nutritive sweeteners.

dsm-firmenich – trailblazing innovation in South Africa • When two of the major internationally recognised ingredient players, DSM and Firmenich announced plans to create a category of one industry leader via a merger of equals in 2022, the aim was to combine their respective strengths across the flavours, fragrances, and nutritional ingredients segments.

EnviroServ helps reduce organic waste to landfill • While the number of people around the world living in poverty without access to basic food rises each year, so too does the amount of food that goes to waste.

Woolworths and WWF South Africa A continued sustainability partnership • WWF South Africa and Woolworths have announced Phase III of their broad-based, multi-year, multifaceted partnership, which aims to drive greater sustainability and build resilience through Woolworths’ business operations and value chains..

Less waste in food supply chains will improve food security and carbon intensity • As we head toward an imminent food and organic waste landfill ban, a few mechanisms have allowed the agricultural, retail, and hospitality sectors to make progress on reducing food waste and closing the loop entirely on the waste stream.

Leverage your supply chain advantage and turn challenges to profit • Supply chain processes within the food and beverage sectors are constantly evolving. Increasingly, the ability to stay one step ahead of potential threats rests on becoming more flexible and adaptive - meeting these challenges head-on.

IoT technology is transforming FoodBev production and supply chain management • The FoodBev industry has witnessed significant advancements in production processes, driven by technological innovations and a growing emphasis on sustainability. Food processing companies are increasing their use of automated systems to streamline production, improve efficiency, reduce labour costs, and safety and hygiene of food products.

AI is improving supply chains, but human skills are still critical, experts agree • Artificial intelligence (AI) is being used successfully in a range of practical applications in the supply...