Low-sodium, Potassium-enhanced Beverages

Two new products showcased at IFT, Benophos™ and Levona™ from ICL Performance Products, are “better- for-you” ingredients for consumers concerned about sodium and cardiovascular health. Benephos is a reduced-sodium phosphate technology that functions as a preservative synergist, allowing beverage formulators to market shelf-stable, potassium-enhanced beverages that are lower in sodium. Levona is a leavening agent rich in calcium and sodium-free. It is a healthier alternative for foods that usually contain sodium-based leavening agents. ICL Performance Products LP, Barbara B. Heidolph, 314-983-7940, Barbara.heidolph@icl-pplp.com

Building Healthy Kids

As parents get their kids ready to go back to school, GTC Nutrition reminds them that kids need to build more than their mind to lead a healthy life. Parents should offer snacks that are rich in calcium and contain prebiotics. Many bone-healthy foods enhanced with NutraFlora prebiotic fiber, such as Horizon Organic yogurts and smoothies, can be served as a snack on their own or incorporated into easy and fun after-school snack recipes that will help kids build strong bones. See nutraflora.com for recipes. GTC Nutrition, Trina O’Brien, 303-468-5077, tobrien@gtcnutrition.com

Fat Loss Not Weight Loss

A press briefing was held during the 2007 IFT Expo in which Georgetown University physician and scientist Harry Preuss, M.D., discussed the various aspects in the evaluation of clinical studies on compounds for weight management. One should ask, for example, whether the right amount and right form of a substance under consideration was used. Secondly, was overall weight or fat lost? Compliance is another consideration; how many actually took the compound as instructed? Several studies support the weight management benefits of Super CitriMax®, a highly soluble form of (-)-hydroxycitric acid bound to calcium and potassium provided by InterHealth Nutraceuticals Inc. 707-751-2800, www.InterHealthUSA.com

Enabling Nanotechnology

NutraLease™, marketed by P.L. Thomas, is a patented delivery system for food and beverage applications based on nano-sized, self-assembled structured liquids. NutraLease systems may offer the following benefits: enhance the solubilization capacity of different compounds in either water- or oil-based environments; improve the bioavailability of some healthy compounds that are otherwise not functional in the human body; and provide exceptional stability (thermodynamic stability) in a wide pH range, enabling the development of new functional foods and beverages. P.L. Thomas, Paula Nürnberger, 973-984-0900, ext. 214, paulan@plthomas.com, www.plthomas.com

Dried Cherry Tomatoes for Fortification

Self-dried cherry tomatoes, the newest addition to the Lyc-O-Mato® line from LycoRed Ltd., were developed especially for food fortification. While ordinary cherry tomatoes contain a fraction of a milligram of lycopene, each Lyc-O-Mato self-dried cherry tomato provides more than 1mg of lycopene, a powerful antioxidant. Self-dried cherry tomatoes provide a nutritious and tasty addition to a wide variety of foods that will benefit from the savory flavor and added tomato phytonutrients, including beta-carotene, tocopherols and phytosterols. LycoRed Corp, 877-592-6733, info@us.lycored.com, www.lycored.com

Proprietary Processed Omega-3s

Although omega-3 fish oils have been around for some time, Hormel Health Technology announced the launch of the Eterna brand of pure, tasteless and odorless omega-3 fish oils. Through a proprietary process, almost all of the fishy odors and flavors are removed. This new brand of fish oil is also expected to provide the best possible oxidative stability. This product line may be used in a wide range of foods— from cookies to hot dogs and beverages. Hormel Specialty Products, Mike Buttshaw, 800-956-0399, www.hormel ingredients.com, www.hormel.com

New Berry Extract Line

A new line of berry extracts—EXTRACYAN® from Charles Bowman Co. and produced by Ferlux-Mediolanum—is comprised of three products. There is a Cranberry extract for the prevention of urinary tract infections, a Blackberry extract for anti-aging and a Blackcurrant extract for vascular protection. EXTRACYAN Cranberry is the only Vaccinium macrocarpon extract available today to contain more than 18% proanthocyanidins, while the Blackcurrant is currently the only blackcurrant extract standardized to contain more than 40% anthocyanins. Charles Bowman Co., 616-786-4000, www.charlesbowman.com

Winning Women with Almonds

A passion for almonds unifies more than 40 million American women. In the Almond Board of California’s new report on food attitudes and behaviors of these women, it was found that nearly 80% said lowering the risk of heart disease is a very important benefit when choosing foods to eat. They are health-oriented, food-involved, convenience-seeking consumers, with 62% agreeing that almonds blend together great taste and nutrition in a wonderful way. Almond Board of California, Harbinder Maan, 209-549-8262, info@almondboard.com, www.almondsarein.com

Coffee May Help Women's Memories

Bloomberg News reports that a study in Neurology found that daily consumption of four or more cups of coffee by women 65 and over resulted in 30% of them less likely to fail recalling words from memory—when compared with those who had lower consumption levels. For those 80 and over, heavy coffee drinkers were 70% less likely to show memory loss on tests. Drinking fewer than two cups per day offered "no significant protective effect at all," according to the researchers. —From the August 13, 2007, Prepared Foods e-Flash; scroll down the right hand side of www.PreparedFoods.com to sign up.