Despite the hurdles posed by the European Health Claims directive, the functional foods market continues to enjoy considerable growth and is forecast to account for around 25% of the global food market by volume by 2010, according to the Future Institute in Kelkheim, Germany.
This figure is forecast to rise to as much as 50% of the market by 2050 as an ageing population takes an increasingly active interest in health, and consumers become more informed and selective.
**Fortitech** – a specialist in custom nutrient premixes – has seen no reduction in the interest in functional ingredients, yet according to Patrick Morris (communications manager), there’s been a shift towards a more holistic approach to healthy living.
“We’ve received queries about what other ingredients or nutrients are available that will give the same health benefits but with cost improvements, and also an increase in the number of consumers taking a more preventative approach to health,” said Morris, who said that there was still keen awareness across all categories in products for the ‘baby boomer’ generation such as bone and joint health, collagen and fibre etc.
Fortitech was demonstrating some of the latest consumer trends at its stand at the Fi Europe exhibition, with product concepts including a brain tonic, nutri-cosmetic liquorice and an immunity boosting ice cream.
So confident is the **Beneo Group** of the future for the functional foods sector that it launched the Beneo Institute during the Fi Europe exhibition, with the aim of ‘Connecting Nutrition & Health’ and to bring together the expertise of its three business units:
“The functional foods arena is complex,” said Yves Servotte, Beneo-Group executive board member. “Consumers are asking for healthy snacking, weight management, gut health, good kids nutrition etc. In order to succeed in functional ingredients, we have to make a big step, and we feel the Beneo Institute can help our customers make a big step. Our customers and partners will benefit from the research being carried out into functional ingredients and the knowledge about these ingredients. The transformation of this knowledge into dossiers for substantiation of claims and sound interpretation of regulatory challenges will add value and ultimately improve the efficiency of the development of new products.”
In particular, the Beneo-Institute, headed by Matthias Moser, will bring together the group’s experience in nutrition science, regulatory affairs and nutrition communication as well as its external scientific network. Drawing on the group’s knowledge of weight management, digestive health, dental health and physical and mental performance, the Institute aims to help food and drink manufacturers to develop innovations with well-substantiated nutrition and health claims.
Many other companies at Fi Europe were taking the opportunity to introduce their new initiatives in the functional foods arena. The established benefits of soy, which enjoys claims associated with reduced cholesterol in the US, were the focus of activity for several companies.
“We have proposed a number of claims for soy in Europe and hope to have a positive response soon,” said Michele Fite, vice president – global strategy & marketing & specialty business, **Solae**, which introduced its new soy protein isolate at the show.
Supro XF draws on proprietary technology, developed as part of Solae’s collaborative research with Novozymes, and enables significantly higher levels of soy protein to be included in a wide range of beverages without impacting the taste or clarity of the product.
“Whereas you would normally notice the taste of soy at levels of 15-20g per 500ml, we have formulated beverages with as much as 40g of soy protein per 500ml without any impact on the quality of the end products,” said Greg Paul, director of performance nutrition, Solae, who explained that Supro XF is created using proprietary enzymes, which specifically target proteins and therefore avoid the problems of taste and viscosity usually associated with beverages containing higher amounts of protein.
Supro XF can be used in neutral or slightly acidic pH ranges and has a low viscosity profile that’s similar to hydrolysed proteins, but without their bitter flavour. It lends itself to use in ready-to-drink and powder beverages for high-performance nutrition, clinical nutrition and weight management sectors. It can be used to replace up to 100% of the high-value dairy proteins such as caseinates and milk protein isolates.
**Solbar** introduced its ready-to-use, stabilised, calcium-fortified soy protein isolate solution for pH neutral beverages, and its new series of Solpro isolated soy proteins designed for nutritional bars and crisps, which also exhibit the functional properties required for extrusion systems or for use as a binder.
Solpro 958QS was developed in conjunction with **Purac** of the Netherlands, and combines the synergistic properties of soy protein isolates, a calcium source and natural stabilisers in one easy-to-use powder.
This formulation solves all the typical issues associated with soy and calcium inclusion in ready-to-drink beverages, according to David Kraus, Solbar’s global applications manager: “It eliminates precipitation, chalkiness and the gritty mouth feel, protein coagulation and non-homogenous calcium distribution.”
Solpro 958QS contains levels of calcium similar to that of milk and has been tested in a number of UHT preparations.
The benefits of whole grains were the topic of conversation on the **National Starch** stand, where the company was just drying the ink on its new agreement with **ConAgra Mills** to sell ConAgra’s Sustagrain high-fibre whole grain flour and flakes in Europe.
“Sustagrain ingredients are nutrient-dense, whole grain products that provide unmatched levels of fibre, plus antioxidants and B vitamins,” said Mike Veal, vice president of marketing, ConAgra Mills, which claims that Sustagrain offers the highest fibre content of any commercially available whole grain.
Sustagrain is derived from a proprietary, identity preserved barley variety, which contains more than 30% total dietary fibre. This is three times the level of total dietary fibre and soluble fibre found in whole oats, and up to eight times more fibre than other whole grains, according to ConAgra Mills.
“As a natural, sustainable, high-fibre whole grain, Sustagrain complements our established range of high-performance nutritional ingredients, which includes Hi-maize, resistant starch,” said Pauline Taggart, business manager for nutrition, National Starch Food Innovations, which highlighted the launch of two Sustagrain products at the show.
Sustagrain flakes are high-fibre, whole barley flakes designed to impart thickness and granulation in nutrition bars, hot and cold cereals and baked goods. Sustagrain flour is a high-fibre, whole grain barely flour that’s milled to a micro-fine particle size and can be used in cold cereals, baked goods, snacks, pasta and beverages.
About 40% of the fibre in Sustagrain is present as beta-glucan, which will help manufacturers to tap into the EFSA-approved claim regarding beta-glucan and cholesterol maintenance.
“If they want to, manufacturers can take the claims route, or they can tap into the mainstream whole grain/fibre platform,” said Joni J Huffman, director of business development ConAgra Food Ingredients, who pointed out that Sustagrain is better at keeping consistent blood glucose levels compared to oats and wheat.
Other grains also vied for attention throughout the show. **Mefita** highlighted the natural, nutritional benefits of its grain ingredients derived from the primitive grain, Teff. Said to be about 150 times smaller than wheat grains, Teff grains are always processed whole rather than being husked and are high in carbohydrate, fibre and minerals, low in phytic acid and gluten-free. They contain trace elements of various proteins including the trace elements of cysteine and methionine; are high in calcium and iron, and are said to contain less than half the phytic acid (which inhibits the absorption of calcium and iron in the body) than whole wheat.
At the show, cereal specialist **Limagrain Céréales Ingrédients** (LCI) discussed the functional benefits of its LimaLin ingredient derived from wheat flour and linseed flour, which is rich in omega-3.
“LimaLin is the ideal partner for bakery, pastry and extruded applications such as breakfast cereals and snacks, and an easy way to increase the omega-3 content in formulations without modifying the taste, smell and texture of the finished product,” said Walter Lopez, marketing manager for nutrition at LCI. “With an incorporation of only 5g of LimaLin, bread, cookies or breakfast cereals can become a source of omega-3.”
Developed to give a 12-month shelf-life, LimaLin is also said to increase the softness in muffins or madelines, for example, and to help reduce the fat and improve the crunchiness of cookies or biscuits.
The prevailing baby boomer demand for health, beauty, mental agility and joint health are the focus of new functional ingredient solutions from **Glanbia Nutritional** with its beauty-from-within enriched flax ingredient; **Barry Callebaut’s** recent cocoa studies; **Enzymotec** Sharp GPC 45F; and **TandemRain Innovations’** ActivMSM for joint health.
Glanbia Nutritional’s enriched flax ingredient has been found to increase the lustre, shine and overall condition of human hair in a recent IRB-approved study on females between the ages of 45 and 55, who ate a 16g flax-enriched nutrition bar every day for four weeks. The softness, smoothness, lustre and shine of the participants’ hair were all noted to have improved.
Barry Callebaut unveiled the results of its latest scientific studies into the anti-ageing effects of Acticoa cocoa and chocolate products, which were found to help maintain a healthy skin.
Enzymotec’s new Sharp GPC 45F is said to improve mental function and impede memory related cognitive decline. A sweet, crystal-clear liquid that can be easily formulated in beverages or liquid products, Sharp GPC contains Alpha-GPC, which is an essential naturally occurring brain nutrient that’s capable of boosting the AcethlCholine levels in the brain and provides essential nutrients to the brain.
Sport Rejuvenation – a newly launched brand of sports drinks and foods – is the first to use TandemRain Innovations’ ActivMSM, which promotes joint health. A recognised joint health nutrient, MSM has been shown to reduce inflammation and protect articular cartilage, according to TandemRain.
These and other solutions attracted great interest at Fi Europe and are continuing to support new food and beverage product launches in the functional foods arena. General health and well-being are also fuelling new product development, and a dedicated article on Meeting the Demand for Healthy Products will be published in the February issue of *Food & Beverage International.*
**Claire Rowan is managing editor of Food and Beverage International.**
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