The Council for Healthy Food Promotion (RPŻP) of the Polish Science and Technical Association of Food Industry Engineers and Technicians (Sitspoż) has launched a new programme, which will aim to reduce the prevalence of obesity among Polish children.
One in five Polish children is overweight, with the country’s Food and Nutrition Institute saying that children in Poland are gaining weight faster than in any other European country. Poland’s Ministry of Health has introduced legislation restricting the types of product that can be sold in school shops in order to address the problem.
Now the RPŻP and Sitspoż, led by president Bronisław Wesołowski, have created a recipe for a sweet bun – called ‘Radziwiłłówka’ – that can be served in schools across Poland. The Radziwiłłówka contains less than 15g of sugar, 10g of fat and 1.2g of salt in every 100g.
The bun is produced from two constituent parts: a concentrate manufactured by Bydgoszcz-based ingredients company AKO; and a filling called Frużelada, manufactured by fruit preparations company Zentis Polska, which is available in flavours such as bilberry-grape and apple-grape.
The ingredients for the production of Radziwiłłówka buns are distributed by AKO, which works with 6,000 bakeries across Poland. The first bakery to produce Radziwiłłówka buns was Raj-Plus, a Warsaw bakery that supplies the buns to school canteens and school shops in central Poland and has plans to market the new bakery item at diabetics and the elderly.
The initiative has been supported by Konstanty Radziwiłł, Poland’s minister of health, as well as the country’s ministry of agriculture.
Sitspoż president Wesołowski said: “The Radziwiłłówka bun is the beginning of change in the system of school food in Poland. We are planning other products, which can also be launched. These are, for instance, cured meat with probiotics. It took us a whole year to develop the Radziwiłłówka bun.”
AKO president Jan Maciuba said: “The Radziwiłłówka project is a reflection of market trends and needs that AKO has been observing for 25 years now. The product is an effect of a long-term strategy – being the leader in the industry in Poland, we reach bakers and pastry cooks and offer them healthy solutions. We operate all over Poland by serving over 6,000 bakeries, so the introduction of the new product will surely be effective. The form of the product we suggested stands out from others from the category and let’s hope that it will become a symbol of healthy food not only for our children.”
And Ireneusz Lichota, president of Zentis Polska, added: “Zentis Polska has long experience in the production of fillings for the baking and dairy industries. We develop new types of fillings every year. Our fillings for the Radziwiłłówka project have won recognition thanks to their high quality and great taste, and at the same time reduced the calorie value and meet the requirements set out in the order by the minister of health.”
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