“There’s comfort in familiar foods for sure. Having said that, I think there is greater awareness now, maybe more than ever, that the health of the planet and the health of [one’s] body are not completely separate…”

Dr. Rachel Cheatham, founder of food and nutrition consultancy [Fooscape Group] told Food Navigator that this guideline is not a condemnation of sugar substitutes. Instead, individuals should understand that these sweeteners may not be as beneficial for a healthy diet as previously perceived.

“What is most striking is that even after a systematic review and meta-analysis covering 283 studies, there is a lack of scientific consensus on the benefits of non-sugar sweeteners.”

“Why start my own consultancy? I wanted to bring clarity and expertise to that sometimes-murky area where food and nutrition science meet marketing.”

“By focusing squarely on the protein component, the full nutritional value found in the naturally-occurring dairy milk matrix is essentially lost in translation. Meanwhile, gums, starches, flavoring agents, and various additives are necessary for taste and texture, which clean label-focused consumers are not always fond of seeing."

“This online situation afforded me the opportunity to be on the faculty, stay tied in with Tufts, and teach content I was qualified and interested in teaching, even though I resided in Chicago.”

“By focusing mental energy on ways to include more whole, plant-based foods, there’s no wasted time or effort "fixating on what is ‘wrong’ or what needs to be cut out.”

“…if you look carefully at the product, it goes counter to what a ‘clean label-minded’ consumer would want in keto.”

“So many foods—even savory ones like bread and salad dressing—contain added sugars, and that’s trained our taste buds to expect that sweetness in nearly everything we eat.”

“Keto friendly is really, I believe, just a way of reaching a consumer who is eating maybe a higher fat diet than your average diet and looking to limit carbohydrates and especially looking to limit simple carbohydrates like sugars and even starch.”

“There is really arguably a consumer for every product,” she said, “So it becomes important to really understand what your target consumer cares about most.”

“The big issue for natural flavors is definitely their ‘black box’ nature,” said Rachel Cheatham, PhD, founder of Foodscape Group, Chicago.

“They don’t always make sense, and sometimes there are some internal consistency challenges. It’s always evolving, but take the time to investigate those lists.”

“What stood out to me is that Lightlife and Beyond Meat are not that dramatically different in ingredient profiles,” said Rachel Cheatham, PhD, founder and chief executive officer of Foodscape Group, LLC, a nutrition strategy consultancy based in Chicago, in the “Trends and Innovation Seminar.”

Because Lightlife's offering still contains ingredients that staunch clean label advocates have issues with such as modified cellulose and natural flavors, this messaging speaks to a narrow audience at best and will do little to broadly boost trust among consumers.

During the pandemic, many restaurants are tweaking menus. Any change to a recipe’s ingredients may introduce or eliminate an allergen. Allergies and allergy avoidance are more prevalent than before,” says Dr. Rachel Cheatham