Prepared Foods and its NutraSolutions brand present this annual “Ingredients for Health” reference. It offers market data and information about commercially available ingredients that assist developers and formulators with products targets various health benefits. From ingredients such as chia seed and red tomato for antioxidant supplementation, to the colors, flavors and textures that make functional foods and beverages products attractive and palatable, this section offers a comprehensive range of new offerings.

Categories include:

Antioxidants for Health

Bone & Joint Health

Cardiovascular Health

Cognitive Health

Diabetic Benefits

Digestive Health

Energy and/or Sports Performance

Eye Health

Immunity Enhancement

Weight Management

General Health

Cardiovascular health covers a number of different areas in terms of food and drinks; not only the traditional focus on fat and cholesterol reduction, but also more discussion of salt or sodium reduction. Omega 3 fatty acids, including DHA, also are now fairly widely associated with heart health, even though they have other physiological benefits as well.

Specific heart health claims are much less frequently used than all these other more general passive claims, featuring on less than 1% of global food and drinks launches in 2013. The US, with its relatively high level of interest in heart health, does outperform the global total, however, with heart health claims used on nearly 2% of launches in 2013.

Breakfast cereals and fruit-based snacks were the most popular categories for heart health claims, with more than 6% of products in this category carrying such a claim, followed by fats & spreads (including margarine) and oils. Their share of the global total stood between 4% and 5%. Other popular categories for heart health claims are dairy alternative drinks and snack nuts and seeds.

—Lu Ann Williams, Innova Market Insights, helpdesk@innovami.com, www.innovadatabase.com

Cocoa Flavanols

Nutegrity’s CocoaNol is an organic cocoa extract standardized to 10% natural cocoa polyphenols. CocoaNol harnesses the polyphenols and flavanols of chocolate in a delivery system that supports food and beverage innovation. Although many different polyphenols are present in dark chocolate, emerging research has identified epicatechin as the primary cocoa flavonol linked to the observed health benefits of dark chocolate, including cardiovascular health benefits. CocoaNol contains a higher concentration of epicatechins to total catechins versus typical cocoa. Consumer trends suggest that the interest in polyphenol antioxidants and their health benefits could help elevate quality dark chocolate beyond a pleasurable indulgence to the status of a healthy food. CocoaNol is extracted without the use of harsh solvents and is GRAS, as well as organic and kosher certified.
—Nutegrity, www.nutegrity.com

Olive Polyphenol

PLT Health Solutions used IFT to showcase Hytolive Olive Fruit Polyphenol. This 100% natural, patented ingredient is a solvent-free natural extraction of olive polyphenols from the by-product water of olive oil production. The primary constituent of Hytolive is hydroxytyrosol, an olive polyphenol that has been the subject of a significant body of research on the heart health benefits it confers. In 2012, the European Food Safety Authority approved a heart health claim for olive oil based on its content of hydroxytyrosol, concluding that “a cause and effect relationship has been established between the consumption of olive oil polyphenols (standardised by the content of hydroxytyrosol and its derivatives) and protection of LDL particles from oxidative damage”. The recommended addition rate of Hytolive of 100 milligrams to foods, beverages and supplements contains hydroxytyrosol equivalent to 10 olives or ½ liter of extra virgin olive oil.—PLT Health Solutions, www.plthealthsolutions.com
 

New Omega-3 Supplier

Frutarom Switzerland Ltd., Health BU Switzerland, has entered the omega-3 market with high quality and deodorized DHA and EPA marine-sourced omega-3 ingredients for food and beverages. “As the leading provider of specialty fine ingredients, flavors and savory solutions, Frutarom has excellent access into the food and beverage industries, enabling it to help food manufacturers fortify food with omega-3,” says Holger Riemensperger, general manager of Frutarom Health. “Thanks to Frutarom’s expertise, we can easily implement the new line into any food matrix, such as dairy, bakery, baby food, cereals, oils, confectionary, beverages etc. It is both deodorized and without any negative impact on the taste.”
—Frutarom Health, www.frutaromhealth.com

Smart Salt

Innophos Holdings’ AMT Labs subsidiary offers Smart-Salt low sodium salt substitutes to reduce sodium levels in baked goods, meat, seafood, poultry, dairy and beverage products. Innophos has a strong existing range of sodium reduction products with excellent binding qualities and fast and complete solubility, including Cal-Rise, a unique, slow acting, calcium based chemical leavening agent specifically designed to reduce overall sodium content in baked goods; and Curavis So-lo 93, a sodium reduction product for processed meat and poultry. “A unique co crystal primarily of magnesium in balance with potassium, Smart-Salt represents a proven functional and nutritional solution for sodium reduction,” says Valerie Coyne, Innophos business manager of leavening products.—Innophos, innophos.com

Salmon Oil

Roxlor’s OmeGo is a unique salmon oil with a wide spectrum of beneficial components. Standard fish oils focus only on omega 3 fatty acids and most particularly, on DHA and EPA. However, there are many other important health components found in salmon than just omega 3s. Because OmeGo is not distilled and never oxidized, the Omega 5, 6, 7, and 9 fatty acids remain intact. The astaxanthin and natural vitamins found in salmon also are present in OmeGo. This provides not only the benefits of omega 3, but also the heart, cholesterol, blood sugar, skin and antioxidant benefits of the other components as well. OmeGo has been shown in both animal and human clinical studies to reduce markers of oxidized LDL-GP. Oxidized LDL-GP has been shown to be a more accurate marker for cardiovascular disease than LDL levels alone. Studies with OmeGo also have shown it to be more effective than DHA, fish oil and krill oil in lowering oxidized LDL-GP.
—Roxlor International LLC, www.roxlor.com

Omega-3s

IngreVita, a new oil blend from Cargill, is a low-cost, easy-to-use ingredient that can help food manufacturers boost the nutritional benefits of their products. IngreVita, a blend of high oleic canola oil, fish oil and proprietary antioxidants, delivers long-chain omega-3s (EPA and DHA), essential nutrients that play an important role in heart health and brain development. Because handling of the product is similar to canola oil, it is easy to use. It offers good shelf stability and does not introduce off-flavors.—Cargill Foods, www.cargillfoods.com/ingrevita

Sustainable DHA

Lonza’s DHAid is a concentrated and purely vegetarian source of omega-3 docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).  It is produced from a proprietary strain of microalgae through a controlled fermentation process. DHAid is an environmentally friendly source of DHA as it is manufactured using renewable resources. Various scientific studies clearly demonstrate that a high intake of omega-3 fatty acids, especially DHA, correlates with heart health.  DHAid is available in liquid and powder forms, non-allergenic, free of potential contaminants, uses no chemical solvents for production and is GRAS affirmed.—Lonza Group Ltd., www.lonza.com

Reduce Sodium

Tate & Lyle’s SODA-LO Salt Microsphere is a salt-reduction ingredient that tastes, functions and may label like salt—because it is salt. It can reduce sodium by 25 to 50% in bakery foods and salty snacks without sacrificing taste. SODA-LO’s patented technology transforms standard salt crystals into free-flowing, hollow salt microspheres that efficiently deliver salty taste by maximizing surface area relative to volume.  Last year, the American Heart Association brought together more than 100 thought leaders to discuss sodium reduction. Using US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007-2010 data, the potential usage of SODA-LO in 953 foods allowing 20-30% sodium reduction was modeled assuming a 50 or 100% market penetration. Results of the dietary modelling demonstrated that sodium intakes could decrease by 4% to 9% across age, sex, and ethnic groups. This reduction is equivalent to 130 to 360 mg/day.—Tate & Lyle, www.tateandlyle.com

Dietary Fiber

There are a growing number of health-related benefits to MGP’s Fibersym RW, an RS4 resistant wheat starch. An extensive, year-long study at South Dakota State University (SDSU), shows that a diet enriched with Fibersym RW, which performs like a prebiotic fiber, can lower blood cholesterols and improve body composition. These findings—published in the June 2014 editions of Molecular Nutrition and Food Research—suggest this ingredient’s use as a plausible tool in the comprehensive management of metabolic syndrome (MetS), which is defined as a cluster of heart attack and cardiovascular disease risk factors, including diabetes/prediabetes, abdominal obesity, dyslipidemia and hypertension. Dietary fiber consumption has been associated with various perceived health benefits. Fibersym RW delivers a minimum of 85% total dietary fiber. Possessing a neutral flavor, Fibersym RW is a fine white powder that can be easily blended into multiple formulations to deliver desired taste and visually appealing qualities.—MGP Ingredients, www.mgpingredients.com

Omega-9 Oils

Omega-9 oils are the next generation in healthier oils because of their unique health profile. These oils help food manufacturers reduce “bad” fats and increase “good” (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) fats in food products, making healthier options more readily available for consumers. Omega-9 Oils have zero trans fat, lowest saturated fat among cooking oil and uniquely high heart-healthy monounsaturated fat. Saturated and trans fat both raise LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, which increases the risk of developing coronary heart disease. By switching to Omega-9 Oils, food manufacturers can reduce these bad fats by up to 80% when changing from partially hydrogenated soybean oil.—Dow Agrosciences, www.omega-9oils.com

Phytosterol Solutions

BASF Nutrition & Health is the global leader in plant sterols and sterol esters. A variety of oils and powders make formulating easy. BASF’s plant sterols meet the requirements for Novel Foods approval in Canada and the unqualified FDA approved health claim in the US for plant sterols and reduced risk of coronary heart disease. Clinical studies have demonstrated that a daily intake of 1g to 3g of plant sterols may reduce LDL cholesterol blood levels by up to 15%. BASF’s phytosterols are a safe, natural, effective, non-prescription complement / alternative for cholesterol management and overall heart health. BASF’s phytosterols are GRAS for: breads, breakfast cereals, cheese and cream cheese, confections, cookies and muffins, egg products, ice cream and frozen desserts, juices and smoothies, margarine, mayonnaise, meal replacement products, meat analogs, milk, nutrition bars, pasta, pudding, salad dressings, sauces, snacks, soups, vegetable oils, yogurts and the booming category for snacks.—BASF Nutrition & Health, www.newtrition.basf.com