Ingredion banner reading “Unlock texture that elevates every bite” with layered yogurt parfait and “Learn more” button.
Shipping.

Tehran’s “toll booth” in Hormuz cuts Western buyers out of fertilizer supply chain

The Strait of Hormuz crisis has entered a new phase. Four weeks after Iran effectively closed the waterway to commercial shipping, the disruption is no longer a temporary blockade — Tehran is threatening to build a permanent transit fee and vetting system that could reshape how fertilizer reaches global markets, with significant implications for food ingredient input costs. Fertilizer prices have already moved sharply. The benchmark urea contract price for May 2026 has surged 68% since the conflict began, closing at US$681 per metric ton on March 19, according to the National Corn Growers Association’s market analysis. Fitch Ratings has raised its 2026 ammonia and urea price forecasts by approximately 25%, signaling that markets expect the disruption to persist well beyond the current planting season. 
food factory with equipment
Future food processing: How transparency, sustainability & personalization drive industry innovation
Food processing technologies are evolving beyond the F&B industry’s efficiency and output focus to meet rising consumer demands for transparency and sustainability. As interest in ingredient sourcing grows, the future of food processing is shifting toward “multi-objective performance,” aligning with health goals and personalized diets, like those supporting GLP-1 medications.
Tate & Lyle food scientists combining ingredients.
Future Food-Tech San Francisco 2026: How Tate & Lyle leverages AI for healthy ingredient innovation
Following its acquisition of CP Kelco, Tate & Lyle has expanded its ability to tackle complex reformulation challenges across beverages and a wide range of food categories, including dairy, soups, sauces, dressings, bakery, and snacks. In 2024, Tate & Lyle acquired CP Kelco, a leading provider of pectin, specialty gums, and other nature-based ingredients, to create a leader in mouthfeel, and significantly enhance its solutions capabilities.
Promotional image featuring a group of four people, dmk industry company logo in the right upper corner and a wheyco trademark product name in the lower left corner
wheyco™ W80 I LAF: Unlock the Power of Lactose Free Whey Protein Concentrate
Lactose intolerance affects consumers worldwide, driving demand for high quality, lactose free protein solutions. wheyco™ W80 I LAF delivers a premium lactose free WPC80 with excellent solubility, clean taste and reliable performance. It enables manufacturers to create high protein, easily digestible products and offers versatile functionality for a wide range of applications.This Technical Paper is brought to you by DMK.
Image
Operating Through Uncertainty: Building Scalable Advantage in the Age of Ultra-Processed Foods
In this session, Innova Market Insights will share exclusive insights into consumer behavior, perceptions, and preferences around UPFs, as well as market insights and innovation opportunities within processed foods.      Frame & Flight will explore how leading manufacturers are responding by modernizing how product data flows across formulation, specifications, labeling, and compliance. Using connected digital workflows, teams can evaluate reformulation scenarios earlier, manage supplier change with confidence, and stay launch-ready — even as definitions, guidance, and expectations continue to evolve.      The result: less rework, faster decisions, and the ability to turn regulatory and nutritional uncertainty into a competitive advantage.    
Lauren Bresnahan, Cargill
Cargill: New index exposes global food system vulnerabilities

We speak with Lauren Bresnahan, chief economist at Cargill, about the inaugural Resilient Food Systems Index — a new benchmark from Economist Impact, supported by Cargill, that scores 60 countries on how well their food systems hold up under stress. We discuss the index’s findings, and their implications for the global F&B system.

Latest headlines

View more
AI-powered ingredient discovery gains ground as Ingredion and Shiru target...
Lab research.
Ingredion and AI-enabled protein discovery company Shiru have announced a global R&D collaboration aimed at accelerating the discovery and commercialization of novel functional proteins for food, beverage, supplements, and specialized nutrition. The partnership pairs Shiru’s Flourish platform — which maps more than 77 million natural protein sequences — with Ingredion’s formulation expertise, regulatory know-how, and customer network spanning 120 countries.  
Pernod Ricard and Brown-Forman explore merger to strengthen global spirits...
Jack Daniel’s bottle in supermarket.
Pernod Ricard has confirmed that it is in discussions to merge with whiskey rival Brown-Forman. If agreed, and subject to customary approvals, the combined company would create a global spirits leader with enhanced global scale, amid a mix of structural and economic pressures affecting the global alcohol market. The downturn in spirits companies’ revenue is not driven by a single factor but by a convergence of behavioral, economic, and structural trends. These include falling consumption, shifting tastes, rising costs, oversupply, and market headwinds — creating one of the most challenging periods in recent alcohol industry history.
Schouten harnesses fiber tech for high-protein, plant-based chicken fillet
plant based chicken fillet on black pan
Schouten Europe has launched a plant-based fillet using its fiber technology, offering a “firm, meat-like texture” to chicken alternatives with lower processing. The innovation allows manufacturers to create recognizable shapes that mimic traditional meat cuts, using a 3D-shaping process, boosting consumer appeal.
Döhler expands culinary ingredients footprint in Australia with Ezy Chef...
chefs working in professional kitchen
Döhler Australia has agreed to acquire culinary ingredients firm Ezy Chef, significantly expanding Döhler’s capabilities in savory applications and ready-to-eat formats and strengthening its manufacturing footprint in Australia.
Chocolate alternative innovation accelerates as food innovators tackle cocoa...
Chef grating chocolate shavings onto chocolate-based desserts.
Italian foodtech company Foreverland has secured another €6 million (US$7 million) in funding to boost its organic cocoa-free alternative, which helps confectionery manufacturers reduce exposure to cocoa price volatility and supply disruption, and future-proof ingredients.
“Needs nuance”: EUFIC re-evaluates veganism’s impact on colorectal cancer risk
Man and woman in gym gear drinking juice in kitchen

Nutrition Insight

Based on the recent, largest study on non-meat eaters, which controversially suggested dietary health risks for vegans, Nutrition Insight speaks with the European Food Information Council (EUFIC) to explore why the study findings should not be simplified.Its content manager and in-house nutrition expert, Laura Bosman, argues that several media headlines have simplified the findings to suggest “vegan diets raise colon cancer risk.” She asserts that the “biggest flaw” among these headlines is that presenting a single, uncertain association as a causal effect. She also believes these headlines do not adequately address key limitations of the research.
Highlighted features
Huel Iced Coffee in supermarket.
Business News
Danone’s €1B Huel acquisition: What does it signal for...
Danone’s move to acquire vegan British meal replacement brand Huel in a €1 billion (US$1.2 billion) deal signals that the French F&B multinational is cementing its place in the protein movement and betting on “complete nutrition” going mainstream. Food Ingredients First explores why Huel is an attractive prospect for Danone, and how the acquisition of an omnichannel business with a strong direct-to-consumer foundation, an expanding international footprint, and a fast scaling retail business, reinforces its mission to develop health-focused, everyday nutrition.
Food plantation.
Regulatory News
Cargill chief economist warns “food security is global...
Global food systems are far more vulnerable than policymakers assume, a new 60-country resilience benchmark warns, with no nation scoring above 80 out of 100 and climate risk emerging as a universal weak spot. The findings have emerged as the Strait of Hormuz crisis disrupts a third of globally traded fertilizer, threatening major knock on effects for the F&B industry worldwide. The inaugural Resilient Food Systems Index (RFSI), published by Economist Impact and supported by Cargill, evaluates resilience across four pillars — affordability, availability, quality and safety, and climate risk responsiveness — using 71 indicators, and identifies a 42-point gap between the most resilient system (Portugal, 76.83) and the least (Democratic Republic of Congo, 34.86). 
woman in supermarket choosing dairy products
Key interview
Breaking the taste barrier: How alt-dairy can capture...
Alt-dairy manufacturers can already achieve taste parity in some dairy categories — especially barista milk and creamers — but an R&D push is needed to close the taste gap in dairy-free ice cream and mozzarella, a sensory analysis of established and emerging alternative dairy companies by Nectar has revealed.

Ingredient focus

View more
Image

Fats & oils: New frontiersMar2026

Innova Market Insights data reveals that consumers increasingly link lighter textures with healthier indulgence, favoring smooth and crunchy formats that balance pleasure with perceived wellness. Thes...

Brought to you by:

Uelzena

Product innovation

View more
Image

Future of food processing Mar 2026

According to Innova Market Insights, attitudes toward ultra-processed foods are changing. Consumers increasingly associate ultra-processed foods with unhealthy indulgence, but their habits are shifting, particularly with a rise in cooking from scratch. This shift means many products require reformulation to deliver the fresh, authentic characteristics consumers seek.

Trend analysis

View more
Image

Vanilla’s adaptive edge spurs NPDMar 2026

Vanilla is proving its adaptive edge in global F&B innovation. New product launches featuring vanilla ingredients witnessed a large annual growth rate globally between 2023 and 2025, signaling sustained cross-category demand. More than a third of global launches were from Europe.

Multimedia

View more
Lauren Bresnahan, Cargill
Video07:50
Cargill: New index exposes global food system vulnerabilities

We speak with Lauren Bresnahan, chief economist at Cargill, about the inaugural Resilient Food Systems Index — a new benchmark from Economist Impact, supported by Cargill, that scores 60 countries on how well their food systems hold up under stress. We discuss the index’s findings, and their...

Image
Webinars53:50
Operating Through Uncertainty: Building Scalable Advantage in the Age of Ultra-Processed Foods
Expo West 2026: Kerry reveals flavor strategies for functional food innovation
Video09:30
Expo West 2026: Kerry reveals flavor strategies for functional food innovation
Expo West 2026 GNT Video Thumbnail: Woman wearing glasses at a trade show booth for plant-based color solutions, with colorful ingredient samples, certification icons, and textured wall displays.
Video04:48
Expo West 2026: GNT explores technical challenges behind plant-based color performance
Subscribe to our newsletters
PlatformsFood Ingredients FirstNutrition InsightPackaging InsightsPersonal Care InsightsThe World of Food Ingredients
About usContact usAdvertisingPrivacy statementSitemapArchive
Follow us
linkedinrss_headergoogle_news
Image