Danisco stresses science-backed approach to health through diet
science-based functional foods; at the start of this month it held
a symposium to present an insight into opportunities for improving
consumer health through diet.
The symposium, held in Copenhagen, Denmark, on October 3, attracted 150 participants from 50 major food companies, said the company. The majority of delegates came from companies that are already employing its healthy ingredient solutions.
The healthy foods sector has been identifies as one of the top trends in today's food industry, together with taste. And healthy food choices are increasingly seen as key to alleviating lifestyle-related diseases like obesity, heart disease and diabetes, not only by the industry but also by governments, health care practitioners and, as a result of communications efforts, consumers themselves.
Rather than preaching to the converted, Danisco said: "For [existing customers] scientifically and clinically substantiated benefits are a particular interest area."
In a field that is becoming ever more competitive, being swift to utilise the latest technology developments or to market around new research can give manufacturers a major advantage.
The conference covered several of the hot topics in health and nutrition at the moment, including functional foods in Asia, nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics, weight management strategies and cardiovascular and digestive health.
But it was also a platform for Danisco to communicate the results of studies it has conducted into the effects of some of its ingredients, including use of its Litesse polydextrose as a prebiotic dietary fibre, probiotics and beteine, and the combination of probiotic L. acidophilis with prebiotic lactitol.
Litesse is one of the flagship ingredients in Danisco's healthy line-up, marketed as low-calorie and sugar-free, low-glycaemic, a soluble dietary fibre and prebiotic, and a satiety enhancer.
It is also the company behind sugar-replacer Xylitol, studied for prevention of dental caries, and just this week it announced the introduction of a flavour ingredient called SALboosT said to enable formulators to reduce the salt content in processed foods by 25 to 35 per cent without impacting on taste.
Other solutions include probiotics and dietary supplement excipients. But Danisco does not just present itself as an ingredient supplier.
"We can not only offer a key active ingredient," said Julian Stowell, chair of the company's health and nutrition network. "We can reformulate the whole product from a taste and texture perspective".
