Sqeez Fusion

♫ Happy birthday to you ♫ Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Love irish food……….

A celebration to mark the 1st birthday of the Love Irish Food campaign attended by Jim Power (Chairman LIF), Brendan Smith (Minister for Agriculture) & Ryan Tubridy happened on the 28th Sept in Bewleys on Grafton Street.

Pictured is our youngest fan who celebrated her 1st birthday on the same day as Love Irish Food celebrated their 1st birthday. Ryan Turbridy helped celebrate & enjoyed some yummy Love Irish Food birthday cake:)

According to Love Irish Food Chairman, Jim Power, much has been achieved in the past year as a result of the positive momentum behind the campaign but a number of systematic challenges remain in the grocery sector. “Love Irish Food gives our members the scale to stand together and use their collective creativity and passion to encourage consumers to support locally manufactured Irish food and drink products. The majority of consumers recognise the importance of buying Irish and we are grateful to the loyal Irish customers who supported us this past year. Our focus is, and will remain, on making it as easy as possible for consumers to identify Irish manufactured food and drink products at the point of purchase.”

“We are proud of our diverse membership base that reaches into every crevice of the food and drink industry from small producers with annual revenues of c. €630,000 to key players in the national consumer foods market with turnover in the region of €230 million. What unites each one is that, as part of Ireland’s largest indigenous industry, they make a significant contribution to our economy and every effort must be made to protect the future of this valuable sector.”

Sqeez is delighted to be a member of the Love Irish Food & Drinks initative & warmly wishes it many more happy returns.

Last night on “The Consumer Show” RTE 1 Eddie Hobbs asked the question of manufacturers & food labelling standards for childrens products.

The programme focussed on the amount of sugar in a number of popular childrens drinks. Ranked alongside Innocent smoothies, Liga juice, Danone Actimel & Coca-Cola, Sqeez apple ranked best with the lowest sugar content per 100ml of the 5 examined. 

Unfortunately the issue of food labelling was confused even more by the show than ever before. When examining food labels people should not look at one measurement (ie Sugar)  in isolation, plus they should be aware of the difference between natural sugars (ie those derived naturally from the fruit used to produce the product) & added sugars.

We were proud that there was no reason for the show to put Sqeez under the spotlight in any kind of a negative light, in fact the show highlighted that Sqeez is indeed the most suitable option of the 5 to offer to children. As is referenced in our current television advert, Sqeez juices contain nothing but pure orange or pure apple juice – there are no artificial or added sugars whatsoever contained in the product.

For parents who are interested in GDA labelling the sugar content is clearly highlighted on pack in the GDA panel, indicating the presence of only naturally occurring sugars in the juice – i.e. any sugar content present is that which is naturally found in the oranges or apples used to produce our juice.

Taken as part of a balanced diet, a 200ml glass of Sqeez Pure Orange or Apple juice each day provides one of the recommended 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day, and every pack carries our widely recognised 5 a day symbol.

In 2008 Sqeez  introduced avoluntary GDA labelling on each of our 1 litre Orange Apple and 200ml packs, in a move to provide adequate food labelling for our consumers. Our packs also clearly outline full nutritional information and ingredients on the side of the pack, which help guide consumers to the calories, sugar, fat, saturates & salt contained in our products.

We continue to invest in, use, and share consumer research and expertise to help improve our understanding of sugar content and labelling concerns, both within and outside the business, and we welcome moves to review food labelling rules in Europe, which would mean that the provision of information that we are already providing on pack, would become mandatory.
We would also welcome initatives that actually help consumers to understand food labelling & GDA’s & how to utilise GDA’s when planning a balanced healthy diet for their children.

To celebrate all things summer & summer drinks & cocktails, we will be posting a new cocktail idea every week. Each cocktail will be dedicated to one of our favourite celebs.

This weeks cocktail is one for the boys:) & we’re dedicating it to the one & only Padraig Harrington.

The Garden Guzzle

• 1 measure Cranberry Juice
• 1 measure Orange Juice
• 1 measure Pineapple Juice
• Loads of Ice & a very big cocktail umbrella

Its Friday at last…. & even better the weather this weekend is supposed to be glorious:)

Sqeez is delighted to have a new limited edition carton of Pineapple Juice in stores as of this week, promoting  delicious summer drinks & fabulous cocktail recipes. I particualry love this non alcoholic drink as its really refreshing & is sure to quench your thirst.

For anyone who likes a decent Pina Colada -check out this recipe. Its delicious & very simple to make:
Pina Colada

Check out the “Summer” section or “Just for Parents” section on our site for loads more drinks & cocktail recipes plus interesting facts & myths about the origins of the cocktail!

We here at Sqeez like to tackle the seriously pressing issues & questions like………………Why use cocktail umbrellas? We must go back to the original use for umbrellas, to protect from the sun´s rays and heat. A cocktail will lose more than just its perfect cold temperature by sitting in the sun. Melting ice rapidly dilutes flavour and colour to leave an insipid and altogether disappointing drink. Sheltering your cocktail from the sunshine suddenly doesn’t seem like such a bad idea.

Juice is not only refreshing but may help in overcoming fatigue, boosting energy levels & they help you feel cool from the inside out.

A chilled juice can be just the tonic in the afternoon sun or even just use it as a base for a tasty smoothie or a delicious cocktail.

Explore the range of juices available & try things like Wild Blueberry, Tasty Tropical or scrummy Cranberry.

New research shows children and teens who drink 100 percent juice have higher intakes of key nutrients compared to non-consumers

ANAHEIM, CA (April 26, 2010) – Consumption of 100 percent fruit juice is closely linked to improved nutrient intake and overall diet quality in children and teens, according to new research presented yesterday at the Experimental Biology (EB) 2010 meeting.

Two new studies  clearly highlight the benefits of drinking 100 percent fruit juice. Researchers used data from the 2003-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to compare the diets of juice drinkers to non-consumers.

According to the findings, children 2-5 years of age who consumed fruit juice had significantly higher intakes of vitamin C, potassium, and magnesium and significantly lower intakes of added sugars compared to non-fruit juice consumers. In addition, higher intake of fruit juice was directly correlated with increased consumption of whole fruits and whole grains.

Children 6-12 years of age showed a similar positive association between intake of 100 percent juice and higher intakes of the key nutrients, as well as dietary fiber. Overall diet quality, as assessed by the Healthy Eating Index (a measure that evaluates conformance to federal dietary guidance) was higher in all fruit juice consumers assessed.

The researchers reported that a significantly higher percentage of non-fruit juice consumers 2-18 years of age failed to meet the recommended levels for several key nutrients, including vitamins A and C and folate, compared to those who drank 100 percent juice. Comparatively, a greater percentage of those in the fruit juice group exceeded Adequate Intake levels for calcium versus non-consumers.

“One hundred percent fruit juice plays an important role in the diets of children and teens, supplying important nutrients during a key period of growth and development,” notes lead researcher Dr. Carol O’Neil. “Drinking 100 percent juice should be encouraged as part of an overall balanced diet.”

The analyses also revealed that mean consumption of fruit juice was well within the American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommended intake levels of 4 to 6 ounces per day for children age 1 to 6 years and 8 to 12 ounces per day for children age 7 to 18 years.

For more information about the research on 100% fruit juice presented at Experimental Biology 2010, please view the summary abstracts below:

• Improved nutrient intake and diet quality with 100% fruit juice consumption in children: NHANES 2003–2006
• Fruit juice consumption decreases the proportion of children with inadequate intakes of key nutrients: NHANES 2003–2006

  Caribbean Breeze •

This pineapple based drink conjures up the flavour of tropical islands amid azure seas.

•3 measures of pineapple juice • (use Sqeez pure pineapple juice for a great tasting base)

•3 measures of dry ginger ale

 •1/2 measure of grenadine

 •1 teaspoon lime juice

•1 slice of lime

•Ice cubes

Pour the pineapple juice, grenadine and lime juice into a cocktail shaker half filled with ice cubes. Shake well and strain into an ice filled glass. Top up with the dry ginger ale and garnish with the slice of lime.

Since its launch last autumn the Love Irish Food advertising campaign has generated a high level of positive publicity and feedback from the general public. Its back in the public eye again through the month of March with Super promotions in stores, massive radio & TV coverage & great recipes & competitions on the website.(www.loveirishfood.ie) You can also log on to download discount coupons of certain products from the fantastic brands invloved in the Love irish Foods Initative.