NEW SKUs

Lunch for Less Than 400 Calories
A lot of folks these days are bringing brown-bag lunches to work to save money. But that can get pretty boring after a while. Also, who has a lot of time in the morning to put together an appetizing and nutritious lunch? Kraft Foods, Northfield, Ill., is bringing innovation to the lunch hour with its recent introduction of Oscar Mayer Sandwich Combos. The three-item line includes a sandwich, crunchy side snack, and sweet treat or dessert—all for less the 400 calories. Varieties include Oven Roasted Turkey & Sharp Cheddar, Southwestern Style Chicken & Sharp Cheddar, and Honey Ham & Swiss Cheese.

Each package includes Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh meat, Kraft 2% reduced-fat cheese, multi-grain thin bun (8 g of whole grain), and a condiment to make a sandwich; a treat like smooth Jell-O Sugar Free Mousse Temptation or Strawberry Gelatin; and a side like Wheat Thins Crackers, Nabisco 100 calorie pack of Ritz Baked Snack Mix, or Mr. Salty Milk Chocolate Covered Pretzels.

A ‘Greener’ Milk Carton
Nestlé Brazil and Tetra Pak have joined forces to launch several popular UHT and ready-to-drink milk products in aseptic carton packaging featuring bioplastic caps made with green polyethylene (PE). The green polyethylene has been developed by Braskem, Brazil’s largest petrochemical company, and is made from sugar cane derivatives, which are polymerized in plastics for cap production. Currently, Nestlé is involved in over 30 projects to  introduce bioplastics in its product packaging portfolio worldwide. Ivan Zurita, President of Nestlé Brazil, emphasized that using conventional plastics made from renewable resources for its products marks a significant landmark, not only for the company, but the food and beverage packaging industry as a whole. In partnership with Tetra Pak and Braskem, Nestlé’s milk products which will use the new bioplastic caps and Tetra Brik® aseptic packaging include Ninho, Ninho Levinho, Ninho Low Lactose, and Molico.

Milk with Twice the Calcium
In Israel, Tnuva has launched Milk V for children. With double the calcium content of regular milk and increased levels of vitamin D, Milk V relies on CapsuDar® vitamin D solution provided by LycoRed, Israel, which was involved in the development of the product. A single serving of the product contains 400 mg of calcium and 1.5 μg of vitamin D. Vitamin D is highly susceptible to oxidation. CapsuDar vitamin D formulation is micro encapsulated food-grade, cold water dispersible, protecting it from oxidation. “The technology to enrich milk products with high levels of vitamin D and calcium enabled us to offer our consumers a unique value-added nutritious product,” said Noga Schwartz, Health & Wellness Dept. Manager at Tnuva Dairy Division. Tnuva leads the milk category in Israel with a 72.4% market share (2010). In the premium milk category, Tnuva holds a 43% market share (2010).