Greetings! This week, the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) held its annual meeting and food expo in Anaheim California. IFT is a nonprofit scientific society with 22,000 members working in food science, food technology, and related professions in industry, academia, and government. In short, this is the event of the food industry where you can learn about the latest trends, products, technologies and policy directions. I did not go, but I gleaned together a few interesting items from the news media. If you are interested in more, check out Food navigator-usa or the IFT09 Live website.

Top trends – functional foods, naturally sourced, flavor and color innovation

Consumer lifestyle and attitudes are changing, and the food industry is paying attention. Many more new products marketed as functional foods, which promise nutrition-on-the-go, will soon show up on the supermarket shelves. Whether it is functional flax with omega-3 or  “rejuvenating” beverages with antioxidants and other exotic ingredients, there is a clear trend to package nutrition in a box (or a bottle) by mixing up a bunch of ingredients and market it with wonderful claims! Even meat is being positioned as functional food…go figure!

Naturally sourced is very much an oxymoron in my opinion. The idea surely is to give a sense of “naturalness” to food processed by a totally unnatural process. Nevertheless, this is a trend and you will see more claims about naturally sourced ingredients – sweeteners, beta-carotene, omega-3 acids, whey protein concentrates, stevia extract, dried veggies etc.

Flavor and color innovation is also big – the logic seems to be that if you cannot fool the mind (due to regulations about nutritional facts and ingredients) just fool the tongue by adding flavors to hide the true identity of food. I must admit that the science of flavors is very challenging and the research may actually lead to a better understanding of the food-brain connection someday. For now, the research is offering the food industry a great way to continue launching new products – cha ching!

Four award-winning technologies

I am a techie, so I found these award winning technologies quite interesting. Now more than ever, I am convinced that innovation is driven by market demand, and that if consumers demand that food be food and not processed ingesitble stuff packaged in a box, the industry will find a way to deliver. But I digress – here are the 4 worthy of our attention:

1. EnWave has developed a new dehydration technology nutraRev, which uses a combination of vacuum and microwave to dry fruits, veggies, meats and seafood. The advantage compared to the traditional freeze drying technology is that it fast, cheap and consumes much less energy. They claim improved retention of color and flavor. The first use of this technology is for drying blueberries which they say are “puffy” after drying and look very much like fresh blueberries!
2. A high pressure sterilization technology from the National Center for Food Safety and Technology (NCFST) is making it possible for our soldiers to enjoy shelf-stable mashed potatoes while on duty out there! Because of high pressure, it is possible to use low temperatures during sterilization, which does not compromise the taste and texture of food.
3. Ecolab Inc. has developed an sterilization additive for plastic bottles,which sterilizes these bottles at lower temperatures than hydrogen peroxide, thereby reducing energy. These bottles can be used for beverages to make them shelf-stable without the use of refrigeration or preservatives.
4. NOVATION starches from the National Starch company also received an award.  These starches can be used to manufacture products such as salad dressings with texture attributes and process tolerance that were only possible with modified food starches. NOVATION starches, which include certified organic versions, are derived from waxy maize, tapioca, potato and other sources.

Free samples of future foods tell where industry is headed

Want to know where the food industry is headed in the near future? Just take a look at some of the free samples that were on display at the expo – the full list is posted on the IFT09 Live website:

• Healthier brownie for kids – fortified with omega-3 (who cares about sugar?)
• Omega-3 in OJ
• Beauty foods – whey protein based ingredient claiming to support skin health for drinks like OJ and other foods
• Nutricosmetic licorice – custom nutrient pre-mixes for skin care, ice-cream for boosting immunity, tonic for cognitive function
• Fiber in baked goods – beta-glucan concentrate with dietary fiber

Seems like there is virtually no limit to  combining a few nutrients with otherwise not-so-healthy foods and marketing them with glorious claims. I hope the consumers do not fall for this game for too long.

High oleic acid soybean claims the high ground

I wrote about these genetically modified soybeans from DuPont in a recent Five for Fridays – they are designed to have a high concentration of oleic acid, which does not require hydrogenation. Hydrogenation improves the stability of the soybean oil, but it also results in trans fats. Now the everybody in the soybean oil industry is jumping on the bandwagon because soybean oil is big business. This type of high oleic acid soybean oil will reach 1.6 billion pounds by 2013!

Other new soybean oil products on the horizon include high stearic, mid oleic/low saturate, and increased omega-3 fatty acid content. High stearic oil delivers a creamy texture, which is a plus for bakery products that require “hard stock” fats.

Who thought there will soon be an end to fried foods?

Fortified foods – could this be a solution to the world’s malnutrition problem?

Fortitech, Inc., a company specializing in custom nutrient pre-mixes for all kinds of food products thinks so. They have launched a World Initiative for Nutrition (WIN) through which they plan to distribute these formulations of vitamins, minerals and amino acids for use by local food processors in various countries. In partnership with NGO’s (non-governmental organizations), UN and Governmental agencies, they plan to provide fortified foods that are consistent with local cuisine and tastes. One of their focus groups is pregnant women and infants and young children at risk of malnutrition in low-income countries. I think this is a good initiative because malnutrition remains a major problem in many countries in the world. Whether this will be done for profit is not clear from their publicity material. Still, I hope it will allow the world’s children to grow up healthy and realize their full potential.

Enjoy your weekend! And let me know what you think.

Photo source – tanakawho on Flickr
©2009 Littlestomaks.com

Happy Friday! Here is another set of 5 nutrition related news and articles from this week that I found interesting. Feel free to share your opinions in the comments section.

New salt reduction targets in UK

The Food Standards Agency of UK (FSA) created quite a stir this week by announcing revised salt reduction targets for the industry to be implemented by 2012. Some 80 categories of foods are being targeted such as bread, meat products, pizza, ready meals and snacks. The goal is to get down to a level of 6 g per day for adults and children over 11 years old, which comes to about 2400 mg of sodium per day. This also happens to be the daily recommended level set by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Most people these days end up consuming far more salt than the maximum daily amount since processed foods and restaurant meals are loaded with salt which I wrote about in last week’s Five for Fridays. Already, the industry is challenging these targets claiming that consumers will not like the taste of many products. Go figure!

Although it is a step in the right direction, I see two problems with this move. First, even if the food industry innovates to deliver great-tasting products with low salt per serving, there is no way to control how many servings of these products people will consume in a day. The best way to control salt intake is to limit, or eliminate, the consumption of processed foods, which is not very practical. I also feel that this will lead to more confusing front-of-the box advertising. The second problem is that this does not address the high salt content of restaurant meals. Finally, I believe that simply regulating the food industry is not enough, there should also be an effort to affect the demand of such products in the first place. It is only when people reject salty products out of a true concern for their long term health that we will see real progress. What do you think?

Genetically modified soybeans with high oleic acid get approval in Canada

Soybean oil is used in large quantities worldwide to prepare food products. One problem is that traditional soybeans contain a lot of unsaturated fat which needs to be hydrogenated to improve its shelf life. Hydorgenation increases the amount of trans fats which is known to increase the risk of heart disease. A new geneticaly modified soybean variety called Hi-bred developed by the DuPont company solves this problem. It contains a lot more oleic acid compared to traditional soybean and as a result, does not require hydrogenation. This week Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspetion Agency have approved this high oleic acid soybean for cultivation and foods containing this soybean oil will hit the market by 2010.

There is a lot of sensitivity around genetically modified crops (GM) especially in Europe and Japan. In North America, the attitude towards GM crops appears to be more pragmatic. So I am not surprised by this news – what is surprising is that the US has not yet approved it even though the FDA reviewed DuPont’s data on GM soybeans way back in 1996. I Soybeans is one of the most important crops worldwide, in US alone the 2006 production was about 90 million metric tons. As a result, the cost of soybean oil is quite low. I am not particularly a big proponent of GM crops, but between trans fats and a GM version deemed safe in a regulatory review, it’s a no-brainer to me.

Link between food allergies and vitamin D deficiency?

The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) seems to think so because a portion of the $1.1 million it is committing to food allergy research is going to fund a project to investigate this link. The rationale behind this is recent work done at the Massachusetts General Hospital that found a link between low levels of vitamin D and increased risk of anaphylaxis (very severe, life threatening allergic response). Another paper by these researchers reported a link between vitamin D and upper respiratory tract infections. How low levels of vitamin D would trigger an allergic response is not well known, so this research could be interesting. I am a little skeptical since I keep hearing about the involvement of vitamin D in a large number of health conditions. The question is if lack of vitamin D is a cause or simply a coincidence that happens to occur with these conditions. My feeling is that there may be other factors and it may not be prudent to focus so much on only vitamin D. In any case, if your child has food allergies, it probably will not hurt to ask your doctor about vitamin D. I would be curious to learn about what you hear as an answer.

Recession has changed consumer shopping behavior at the supermarket

Interesting data from the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) in a recent report on Grocery Shopping Trends in 2009 shows that more people are cutting back on eating out, and those who do eat out, are going for fast food instead of upscale dining. At the supermarket , they are selecting private label or store brands instead of branded products. Use of discount coupons is on the rise along with more food shopping at warehouse clubs (Sams, Costco, BJs). More people are cooking at home compared to last year, although this number is still too low in my opinion (only 55%).  Price is very important, but so is nutritional value, freshness and locally grown food. I think that this is one good effect of the otherwise horrible recession becuase this change in consumer behavior and attitude will force food producers to think differently and focus on finding the right balance of price and nutritional value. Innovation is bound to happen in such a challenging environment. I am a strong believer of consumer-driven innovation, and I hope that this shift in consumer attitude does not disappear when the economy turns around. How has your food buying behavior changed due to the recession?

What you can do to fight childhood obesity

The problem of childhood obesity is real and we can no longer keep our head buried in the sand. 1 in every 5 child is now considered obese, which means that we have a big healthcare nightmare waiting to unfold if we don’t do anything about it. Here is a post that really got my attention, not only because it provides all the facts, but also because it offers several good ideas on how you can get encourage your kids to get a healthy life and stay on track to fight childhood obesity. My favorite tip – Replace “trash ‘em foods”; get your kids to throw sugary, salty, fatty junk foods and beverages in the trash and replace them with healthy options like fruits, nuts, yogurt and low fat milk. Snacks and sugary drinks are a big problem, but there is a way to let your kids enjoy snacks the smart way. What are your favorite tips?

Enjoy your weekend!

Photo source – tanakawho on Flickr
©2009 Littlestomaks.com