Restaruant And Technology Portion For Policy

Restaurants and Technology

With the health conscience society on the rise, new technology is being formulated to help restaurants and other food companies stay ahead of the game. Listed is a few of the technologies being formulated.

I. Government initiatives and changes in the way food is formulated, packaged, and marketed may help to prevent obesity. (http://members.ift.org/NR/rdonlyres/1BAF932C-E1E2-4A52-99D4-8E1811048AB3/0/0208obesity.pdf)

II. High-fiber diets are linked to lower body weight, but not all fibers are equally effective at enhancing satiety and decreasing food intake. (http://members.ift.org/NR/rdonlyres/E4378363-6C76-4CDE-A1BE-62B172F1BDD8/0/0208featfiber.pdf)

III. Safety of Genetically Engineered Foods: Approaches to Assessing Unintended Health Effects (http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10977)

IV. New Technology Turns Food Leftovers Into Electricity, Vehicle Fuels - Starting today, tons of table scraps from the Bay Area's finest restaurants will be turned into clean, renewable energy at a new UC Davis research and technology demonstration facility. (http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=7915)

V. Electroimmunoassay technology for food-borne-pathogen detection - A technology for the detection of pathogens in many types of food products may also show promise for use in other IVD tests. (http://www.devicelink.com/ivdt/archive/01/06/003.html)

Restaurants and Cultural

Americans are becoming more health conscience, and developing the sense of weight watching. With this trend of the culture, it is very important for restaurants to follow the culture trends. Throughout American there is has been several studies done to indicate this trend in the culture.

I. Study: U.S. work force unpleasantly plump: Atlanta Business Chronicle (Thursday, February 28, 2008 - 10:33 AM EST)

A. More than 77 percent of men and 65 percent of women age 40 and older are overweight or obese. For those employees younger than 40, nearly 68 percent of men and 52 percent of women are in the overweight or obese range.

From this data, it shows the younger generation is becoming more health conscience, and watching their weight closer.

II. America's 10 Hottest Food Trends: Food Shoppers Seek Healthy Fare, With Some Indulgences (http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20060419/americas-10-hottest-food-trends)

April 19, 2006 -- U.S. food experts have peeked in the nation's grocery carts and spotted 10 food trends.

1. Foods for at-risk kids. Extra weight, diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol aren't just for grown-ups anymore.

2. Smaller servings, limited calories.

3. Focus on phytochemicals

4. Foods with multiple health perks.

5. Fat facts.

6. Foods for older shoppers.

7. Glycemic, gluten, and grains.

8. Natural solutions.

9. Performance boosters

10. Fun favorites.

III. Survey: Eating Out Is Up, Atkins Diet Is Down- Other U.S. food trends include limiting intake of trans fats (http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=56336)

1. Findings from the online survey of more than 5,200 U.S. adults include:

a) A drop in the percentage of people on the Atkins diet.

b) An increase in the frequency of breakfasts and dinners bought away from home.

c) A slight rise in the number of people who noted working out twice a week.

d) More people limiting trans fats than carbohydrates or artificial sweeteners.

2. The six "dining styles" noted in last year's survey are still going on, write the researchers. Those six dining styles are:

a) "Health-focused" women who exercise frequently and favor nutritious foods.

b) "Nutritionally curious" women who aren't on a diet but express strong interest in healthier choices if they were easier and more convenient to find.

c) "Menu-indifferent" men who don't put much care into what they eat, rarely order healthy items, and don't exercise regularly.

d) "Upscale carb counters" who have higher incomes, are actively watching their weight, and are heavy users of low-carb diets. These are usually about half women and half men.

e) "Indulgent supersize guys" who eat indulgently at every meal, don't exercise; eat fried foods, and frequently supersize value meals.

f) "Downscale health riskers" who are motivated by convenience, tend to have lower incomes and weight problems, and are dealing with specific health risks like diabetes or heart disease.

IV. In the United States, consumers' efforts to manage weight, chronic conditions, and general well-being through diet drove sizeable food, drug, and mass merchandiser (FDMx) dollar sales gains--low-carb 144%, low-calorie/light 7.1%, and low-fat/lean 3.2% (IRI, 2005a). With 94% household penetration, the natural/organic segment has become mainstream and is enjoying continued strong dollar growth at 9.5%. The more-specialized organic products subsegment grew 15.9% in dollar sales. While repeat rates for the segment as a whole were very high, repeat buying rates for organic products (65%) have room for improvement. (http://www.dietamediterranea.it/toptentrends.pdf)

Beverages and Cultural

I. Health, convenience, and private label--in that order--were the three major drivers of the global food industry in 2004. ACNielsen (2004a) which monitored 89 food categories in 59 countries reported that soy beverages and drinkable yogurts were the top two growth categories last year; they were also among the fastest-growing categories in a similar study in 2002.

Six of the seven categories that enjoyed double-digit growth offered health or weight-loss benefits. (http://www.dietamediterranea.it/toptentrends.pdf)

II. Consumers' soft drink occasions across Europe