LFR asks industry: Bioavailability or fortification?
The UK-based group directs its research efforts to match areas of industry need and interest: “Our research is an extension of your R&D – you vote on what we should focus on,” said Roberta Re, the group’s nutrition research manager.
“The two ideas we’re putting forward for 2011 research are: the effect of consuming fortified foods on micronutrient status; and enhancing the bioavailability of functional nutrients,” she told members at a recent nutrition forum day.
Food fortification
The first project would investigate whether the nutritional state of individuals can be improved through the consumption of foods fortified with key micronutrients.
It would involve a review of the literature on micronutrient status to identify where deficiencies exist that may respond to increased intakes, said Dr Re.
The research phase would then involve screening human volunteers to identify those with “marginal status” of the identified nutrients. This would be followed by intervention to provide fortified food products containing one of the selected nutrients.
“The primary outcome measure will be the effect of dose on nutrient status, and the secondary outcome measure will be the effect of time,” said Dr Re.
“This project will be of benefit to member companies who produce fortified food products, or wish to develop products to address specific nutritional needs.”
Enhancing bioavailability
The second proposed research project will look at how processing alters the bioavailability of nutrients and food matrix/structure can behave differently within the gut. It would measure the effects of the matrix/structure on nutrient bioavailability when nutrients are added to foods.
“This project would provide valuable information for members with an interest in the inclusion of functional nutrients in food products, and provide important data for the substantiation of claims,” said Dr Re.
Model nutrients would be selected for investigation based on available literature and published health claim opinions from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
Leatherhead’s research team would then conduct a human intervention study to test several different matrices in an acute crossover study, also measuring plasma response.
