Ginseng camel milk, 'vegan' tuna on offer at Cologne food fair
The world's largest trade fair for the food and beverage industry kicked off in the German city of Cologne on Saturday, with 7,400 representatives from 107 countries showing off thousands of new products.
Oatmeal biscuits with seaweed, acorn-based noodles, camel milk with ginseng or mint-flavoured chips are just some of the novelties on display at the 2017 edition of Anuga, which runs until October 11.
Industry experts say protein-based products, whether vegetarian, vegan or with meat, are a rapid growth segment, and are one of the main focuses of the convention.
Plenty of new products are in the "free-from" category, which do without gluten, sugar or lactose, while "superfoods" such as chia seeds, ginger, green tea or exotic plant extracts are also increasingly popular, the organizers said.
Some of the foods making their debut at Anuga include carrot and beet slices for toasters, vegan imitation tuna, whiskey gherkins and acai berry muesli.
Snacks made from crickets, as well as drinks from northern European birch tree sap, also share the stage.
According to the German Food Industry Federation (BVE), consumers are increasingly looking for a balanced diet. Of 40,000 new products made every year in Germany, only around 13,000 stay in production for longer than two years.
German food retailers and wholesalers have reported healthy sales growth in the six months leading up to Anuga 2017. (dpa)
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