The UK’s Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) has proposed that labels be changed on prepared snack foods to detail how much exercise would be required to “burn off” the equivalent calories consumed. In a recent commentary for the British Medical Journal, RSPH chief executive Shirley Cramer noted that current label information listing the amount of calories has not been a deterrent to the overconsumption of high calorie processed foods and snacks which cause obesity and a host of related health problems for kids and adults. “We need to be creative… in your face… so this is a tactic, or a strategy, in the war on obesity,” she said.

Cramer believes that using icons instead of words may be more effective. “People find symbols much easier to understand than numerical information, and activity equivalent calorie labels are easy to understand, particularly for lower socioeconomic groups who often lack nutritional knowledge and health literacy,” Cramer wrote in her commentary. “For example, the calories in a can of fizzy drink take a person of average age and weight about 26 minutes to walk off.”

The RSPH has stated that changing the labels may help change people’s eating behaviour when they see how much exercise is required for consuming just one snack. In theory, it sounds workable but critics of this idea don’t like that it is a calorie-centric approach that ignores the many benefits of exercise beyond burning calories. Others feel that it could lead some to choose nutritionally deficient snack foods over healthier foods with the same amount of calories and miss out on potential benefits of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants the healthier foods would contain.

The UK’s Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) has proposed that labels be changed on prepared snack foods to detail how much exercise would be required to “burn off” the equivalent calories consumed. In a recent commentary for the British Medical Journal, RSPH chief executive Shirley Cramer noted that current label information listing the amount of calories has not been a deterrent to the overconsumption of high calorie processed foods and snacks which cause obesity and a host of related health problems for kids and adults. “We need to be creative… in your face… so this is a tactic, or a strategy, in the war on obesity,” she said.

Cramer believes that using icons instead of words may be more effective. “People find symbols much easier to understand than numerical information, and activity equivalent calorie labels are easy to understand, particularly for lower socioeconomic groups who often lack nutritional knowledge and health literacy,” Cramer wrote in her commentary. “For example, the calories in a can of fizzy drink take a person of average age and weight about 26 minutes to walk off.”

The RSPH has stated that changing the labels may help change people’s eating behaviour when they see how much exercise is required for consuming just one snack. In theory, it sounds workable but critics of this idea don’t like that it is a calorie-centric approach that ignores the many benefits of exercise beyond burning calories. Others feel that it could lead some to choose nutritionally deficient snack foods over healthier foods with the same amount of calories and miss out on potential benefits of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants the healthier foods would contain.

France is expected to join a growing list of countries and territories banning the sale of glyphosate, a chemical herbicide first sold as a product called Roundup by Monsanto in the 1970s. According to a news release by Reuters, France’s health and safety agency ANSES is going to withdraw authorization for it, which, most believe, means an outright ban is coming soon.

Glyphosate has been in widespread use since it was first introduced into agriculture, and health regulators generally agreed it had no serious adverse effects for human contact, that is until The World Health Organization (WHO) announced it was a probable carcinogen last year. The WHO made the declaration in March 2015 causing uproar in the media and perhaps amongst health agencies that immediately banned glyphosate in countries such as El Salvador, Sri Lanka, Bermuda and Columbia.

The herbicide remains in general use across the globe although many countries are now taking a closer look due to reports on glyphosate’s impact on the environment. More disturbing are recent reports that a 2014 meta-analysis of the previous reviews of scientific data found a correlation between occupational exposure to glyphosate formulations and increased risk of B cell lymphoma, the most prevalent form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Workers exposed to glyphosate were found to be almost twice as likely to get B cell lymphoma.

Further studies are already in process as health agencies worldwide again review the scientific data for human, animal and environmental safety.

In a document, released by Price Waterhouse Coopers, millennial shoppers are helping shape the future of retail, while Chinese consumers are way ahead of North Americans in using mobile phones for online shopping.

The professional services giant undertook a survey in 25 countries and territories with nearly 23,000 online shoppers to explore the global consumer shopping experience. Their report promises “nothing short of a revolution” and their eight primary insights are very interesting.

Here are IHR’s picks for the information from the PWC Total Retail 2016 Global Report we think are most helpful to our health retailers:

1. Price is still king. Consumers in most countries will buy from out-of-country online retailers for a lower price.
2. The mobile phone is increasingly being used for purchases, researching products and competitive pricing. China leads in purchases over mobile phones at 69 per cent compared to just 22 per cent of North Americans.
3. Consumers believe what would improve their store experience the most is more knowledgeable sales associates.
4. Millennial shoppers like to feel part of a community, so loyalty-based membership discounts or perks are what they’re looking for.
5. Social media still has a large influence on consumers’ buying decisions by providing consumers with reviews, comments and interactive feedback before they buy.

So, all you have to do is have your newly educated staff hold an event tied to social media and give discounts only to loyalty shoppers they access by wireless app on their smart phones upon entering your store, or through traditional online store purchase.

If you do, please let IHR know if this helped you increase customers or sales in your store. We’d also like to hear how any online, mobile or social media marketing idea or event worked for you.

Anil Arora and Anne Lamar, assistant deputy ministers of the Health Products and Food Branch (HPFB), recently announced the opening of a new branch office on April 4, 2016. This office is the first that unites the existing front-line food and drug inspectors with inspectorate staff for natural products under a new cooperative called RORB, the Regulatory Operations and Regions Branch. Health Canada says this merger will strengthen the delivery of compliance and enforcement programs across the country.

This change utilizes existing structures and a team of inspectors already working from the food and drug division into the team of inspectors responsible for natural products, drugs, medical devices, and donor blood and semen among other things, like pesticides.

It is expected the Regulatory Operations and Regions Branch will also maintain several laboratories, the Environmental Health Program, and the recently created Office of Regulatory Initiatives newly responsible for key regulatory programs for openness and transparency.

Time will tell what impact these changes will have on natural health retailers after the reorganized office and its larger team of compliance and enforcement inspectors merge operations.

Several news outlets have reported that due to poor harvests of vanilla beans, currently in high demand as a natural flavouring, prices on common desserts such as ice cream will increase. Vanilla is often used in health foods as it is one of the few all-natural flavourings we prefer.

Bloomberg reported the price of vanilla beans has more than tripled, according to their data cited from the Cook Flavoring Company and other sources. Cook stated that high-end vanilla now sells for $250 a kilogram versus $80 just a year ago and that some manufacturers are looking for substitutes to the more expensive vanilla.

The Guardian also reported on the price increase having a serious impact on ice cream manufacturers, noting that vanilla is already the second most expensive flavouring after saffron. According to industry insiders, vanilla beans harvested in Madagascar produce the best tasting vanilla but the island nation’s growers harvested too early in 2015 before the pods were fully ripe amid fears of theft. Vanilla beans are targeted by local criminals due to their high value.

Lovers of vanilla flavoured ice cream, yogurt and other health foods may have to pay a higher price for their favourite dietary sin this summer, or switch to another flavour until the price comes back down within a year as some have forecast.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of Cold-FX is not the only company beleaguered by lawsuits. In just one week cosmeticsdesign.com has reported on three other large corporations now required to defend themselves in court.

Procter & Gamble’s Old Spice deodorant brand has been hit with a lawsuit seeking compensation of up to $25 million for consumers who claim an allergic skin reaction to the deodorant. Due to the media attention, it is expected that this could grow into a very large class action suit.

In 2014, Unilever faced several lawsuits over their Suave brand Keratin Infusion 30 Day Smoothing Kit. Recalled in 2012 due to some consumers reporting the product dissolved hair and burned the scalp, just last week a circuit court upheld the original settlement compensating injured parties to the tune of $10,250,000.

It was widely reported last week that Johnson & Johnson and their talcum powder supplier Imerys Talc America are now subject to over 1000 lawsuits for not disclosing health risks that could cause cancer. Last month, the family of a woman who lost her life due to ovarian cancer was awarded $72 million and next week other court cases will begin.

The correct answer may be “which version?” Also known as mobile money or a mobile money transfer, a mobile wallet is basically any payment service conducted via mobile device and through a financial regulating authority. The usual methods of mobile payments currently available include SMS (Short Message Service), WAP (Wireless Application Protocol), NFC (Near Field Communication) and direct mobile payments.

SMS is commonly used for purchasing digital products such as music or ringtones. MMS versions may also be used to deliver QR codes or barcodes that can be scanned and used as a ticket to see a film or other event. WAP is similar to making a payment on your desktop. Additional web pages or applications may be downloaded to the device to facilitate payment (think eBay) but commonly one would also use PayPal or a debit/credit card to provide payment.

Direct mobile payments are most popular in Asia where most of the digital content is paid for using this method. An e-commerce site merely has to provide a mobile billing option, a two-factor authentication process (often a PIN and a one-time password or OTP) and the consumer’s mobile account is charged without the need for banks, credit card or alternate payments such as PayPal.

NFC appears to be the most favoured by banks and businesses due to the speed and ease of processing payments, especially at POS. Similar to the microchip-embedded credit card “tap,” NFC allows two devices to communicate wirelessly through radio waves. NFC-enabled devices have three different capabilities, which is probably why this method is being increasingly embraced: NFC can behave like a “smart card” and process payments and ticket transactions; NFC can be peer-to-peer, allowing two NFC-enabled devices to communicate freely; and it acts as a reader/writer program whereby NFC devices can read (and occasionally rewrite) information stored on NFC tags. NFC tags may contain nearly any kind of information including credit/debit card information, loyalty program data and PINs.

Mobile wallets have certain advantages for retailers: they may help reduce fraud as mobile wallets are more difficult to steal or duplicate than cards or cash; payments are faster (perfect during busy store hours) and lower processing fees may be offered by financial institutions. One of the best advantages is the ability to encourage better customer loyalty through sales promotions and incentives sent directly to customers’ smartphones.

As the millennial and Gen X generations grow into being the leading demographic, natural health retailers need to be open to accepting payments however their customers would prefer to pay.

Some Whole Food Stores in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut will soon be powered by the sun. The natural health mega-retailer recently announced their partnership with San Mateo, CA based SolarCity, a leader in providing solar powered energy services.

According to their press release, “The plan aims to increase the production of solar power and offset some need for traditional grid power while helping Whole Foods Market (WFM) save money.” Installations in some stores are expected to be ready by spring with up to 100 stores planned for retrofit by SolarCity. Each store will have its own custom designed rooftop solar panels and system for harnessing power.

Although this is welcome news by anyone friendly to the environment and the quickly growing renewable energy sector, the move is smart business on Whole Food’s part. The solar energy retrofit will diminish their need for more expensive traditional power sources as they will purchase energy from SolarCity at a reduced cost.

Interest in plant-based sources of protein and other nutrients is on the rise. Just in time for spring, a new association to support manufacturers of alternatives to meat and animal by-products has sprouted. With offices in Washington and San Francisco, PlantBasedFoods.org was created by several leading company executives of manufacturers of plant-based foods.

Sales of plant-based varieties of meat and dairy (milk, yogurt, cheese and cream) has grown more than 8.7 per cent over the last two years according to data released by SPINS, a retail sales data company for the natural and specialty products industry. In this same period, general food and beverage sector growth was just 3.7 per cent with plant-based milks in particular showing 14.4 per cent growth.

According to a press release from the new association, plant-based foods are a 3.5 billion dollar industry and the first executive director of the trade association Michele Simon noted, “Every other sector of the food industry—from sugar to organics—is represented in the policy arena. The time has come for the plant-based food industry to also have a collective voice.”

As the association has pointed out, the power held by other food industry associations such as the various dairy or meat marketing boards outweighs alternative food companies. With this new association, these companies believe they will have better representation at government board tables.