Julian Mellentin is a director of the Centre for Food & Health studies, a London think tank. Every year since 1995, he has published a forecast of trends in food, nutrition and health. This year, he foresees a strong trend towards food products of which consumers can immediately see or feel the benefits. Products that improve our gut health, for example, or that give a satiety feeling.

In weight management, Mellentin predicts a bright future for products that make you want to eat less. Other strong trends are energy drinks with an added value and food products that are all natural and free from added preservatives or artificial flavours.

But the biggest trend of them all, encompassing the top-10 trends mentioned above, is digestive health. As numerous cases have shown, it is a booming market even in times of crisis. Consumers are willing to pay good money for products improving their digestive health, even while spending less money on other products.

More details about the 10 key trends in food, nutrition and health can be found at www.new-nutrition.com.

Several studies have proven that Orafti® Synergy1 increases our bone mineral density and bone mineral content. Moreover, Orafti® Synergy1 is already effective at a dosage of just 8g per day - a very acceptable amount in food formulation.

However, until recently, oligofructose based prebiotics and bread did not match. The enzymatic action of the bread yeast counteracted the low molecular fructans, thereby undoing their beneficial effects.

Now, BENEO-Orafti researchers have found a way to retain the Orafti® Synergy1 molecular structure when applied in bread. By using Orafti® Synergy1 and an instant yeast with low invertase activity, the typical structure of Orafti® Synergy1 and its beneficial effects are retained.

From now on, food manufacturers will have the opportunity to incorporate Orafti® Synergy1 into bread, as long as they use a yeast with low invertase activity. In this way, they can confidently make health claims s.a. ‘increasing bone mineral density’ and ‘increasing calcium absorption’.

For more information, please contact: rudy.wouters@BENEO-Orafti.com

In February 2008, Sant Dalmai has launched the new Pechugas de Pavo GRILL (turkey) with added fibres. In April 2008, the EQUILIBRA range was launched. Both ranges of products are sold in traditional meat shops throughout Spain.

The Pechugas de Pavo GRILL product only needs to be heated for one minute in the hotplate and can be obtained in 3 different flavours: marinated, with fine herbs, and with honey. It consists of 100 % turkey meat, low in fat and gluten-free, and enriched with BENEO-Orafti ingredients in order to improve the health of the digestive system. In the EQUILIBRA range, there is cooked ham, turkey breast and chicken breast, all with added fibres claims.

‘In Spain, Sant Dalmai has been the very first to develop meat products with an inulin/oligofructose application and with the BENEO™ label’, Elena Beltran (R&D) says. ‘Consumers are increasingly interested in functional food and Sant Dalmai has decided to be a pioneer in this segment. By now, an increasing number of consumers recognise the BENEO™ label on a product and know the health benefits it guarantees.’

‘We also learned that consumers actively look for products with the BENEO™ logo. Therefore, we are planning to launch a whole range of new products enriched with oligofructose. In fact, only this month we have launched our Pernil Al Horno, a ham with less salt and enriched with BENEO-Orafti ingredients’

The research established the effect of Orafti® ingredients on the perception of leading food brands. It yielded some striking results:

• Up to 90 % of the respondents are willing to pay more for their usual fruit juice or dairy drink if it has an added health benefit based on Orafti® ingredients.
• Consumers do not necessarily equate ingredients s.a. vitamin C with the corresponding health benefits. By highlighting the health benefits rather than the ingredient, manufacturers can add significant value to their brands.
• Especially for women above 55, calcium absorption proves to be significantly more appealing than other benefits.
• Heart health, strong bones and a healthy digestive system are the three most valued benefits. These are all benefits closely associated with Orafti® ingredients.

Says Dominic Speleers, Managing Director of BENEO-Orafti: ‘This study shows that there is no one-size-fits-all solution and that a brand’s potential depends on many factors. With this new consumer research, our business partners have an interesting tool for developing attractive food concepts that really strike a chord with consumers.’

Prebiotics such as Orafti® inulin and oligofructose play an ever increasing role in this product differentiation. They provide food products with extra fibres, promoting digestive health and therefore contributing to one’s overall sense of well-being. Other health claims include the selective stimulation of healthy bacteria, an increased calcium absorption and improved bone health, reduced sugar content potential, and caloric value reduction.

Today, digestive health is one of the major areas for health claims. Will the new EU legislation have an impact on this area?

BENEO-Orafti has always dedicated a vast amount of time and resources to scientifically substantiate its proposed health claims - undertaking in excess of 300 studies, including about 100 human intervention studies, on chicory inulin, oligofructose, therefore the new EU legislation will not dramatically impact upon the way in which it operates.

In all probability, the introduction of the European Nutrition and Health Claims legislation will intensify this evolution.

Functional water can be described as bottled water with (substantiated) health claims. Many food & drinks companies regard it as a dynamic area with clear opportunities to innovate and create unique products. Following the trend towards healthy living, the total volume for functional bottled water has increased with 74% in two years’ time.

Balanceline, with the BENEO label on the packaging, contains the prebiotic fibre inulin. Says Robert Schmidlin, Knutwiler owner: ‘It is proven that Inulin, a plant extract of the chicory root, stimulates the growth of beneficial colon bacteria. Thus, it helps keeping our digestive system in balance. In other words: Balanceline really is healthier than your average bottled water. Drink it, taste it and improve your health!’

Last year we announced the newly created Functional Food Group, BENEO, formed out of leading food ingredients companies Orafti, Palatinit and Remy. Since then these companies are known individually as BENEO-Orafti, BENEO-Remy and BENEO-Palatinit. ‘Connecting nutrition and health’ is the group’s united mission and with the combination of three major players into one group it will
ensure BENEO becomes one of the industry’s preferred innovative partners.

What’s new on www.beneo-orafti.com, apart from the lay-out?

• Even more information on our products, which are now identified as e.g. Orafti® P95 (instead of the former Beneo™ P95).
• Lots of information on our products’ applications.
• Various marketing tools, scientific research data and support programs that BENEO-Orafti provides its customers with.
• More facts about the proven health benefits of the BENEO-Orafti products.

Please update your bookmarks, and do pay us a virtual visit on www.BENEO-orafti.com!

Information obtained from Innova’s Food & Beverage Database leaves no doubt about it: prebiotics are here to stay. In 2007, more than 1400 products containing inulin and/or oligofructose were launched, and the number is ever increasing. Between 2003 and 2007, there was an increase of 223 % worldwide. In the US, the numbers are even more impressive: in three years’ time, product launches with gut health claims increased with no less than 250 %.

Recently launched products with inulin and/or oligofructose include:

• Fiber One bars (General Mills) (1)
• Yoplait Fiber One yogurts (Yoplait) (2)
• Fiber One bread (General Mills) (3)
• Kellogg’s All-Bran Fiber bars (Kellogg’s) (4)
• Kraft Live Active: cottage cheese, cereals, nutrition bars and Crystal Light dry mix beverage (5)
• Dannon Activia Light (Dannon) (6)
• Quaker Simple Harvest Bars (7)

With 29 % of the launches, cereals and energy bars remain the most popular applications for inulin and oligofructose, followed by dairy and soy drinks, chocolate and yoghurt.

In contrast, our modern-day diet very much lacks the necessary fibres. Our food supply is dominated by highly processed grains, added sugars and fats. Hence today’s increase of colo-rectal cancer, auto-immune conditions, obesity and metabolic syndrome.

Obviously, we cannot return to our ancestors’ way of life. But prebiotics such as inulin and oligofructose provide an interesting and healthy alternative. They are a proven method of introducing more fibres in our daily food intake, helping to stimulate our natural defences, improving digestive health and enhancing bone health.

Supplementing current and new food products with inulin and oligofructose is a modern way of obtaining a diet that is closer to our ancestoral roots. Or, as Jeff Leach puts it: ‘It’s time to close the pathogenic door and reclaim our health.’

A new study has investigated the effects of Orafti®Synergy1 on morphological and biological markers and the lifespan of rats (Rozan et al. in press). The study shows that life-long supplementation with Orafti®Synergy1 delays the onset of age-related physiological and morphological changes in rats and prolongs life.

This is the first time that increased survival rates of both male and female rats have been demonstrated after life-long supplementation with a prebiotic. The underlying mechanisms remain unclear. It can be hypothesised, however, that the effect is linked to the beneficial changes in biomarkers observed in the study. Inulin-type fructans stimulate health-promoting bacteria in the large intestine, thereby improving digestive health, which is vital to maintain overall health and well-being throughout life.

Source: Rozan P, Nejdi A, Hidalgo S, Bisson J-F, Desor D, Messaoudi M (2008): Effects of life-long intervention with an oligofructose-enriched inulin in rats on general health and lifespan. Brit. J. Nutr. (in press).

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