Click here to watch the video in six different languages.

Mucha Vida focuses on responsible consumption, the environment and natural wellbeing. The recent poll is a novelty: it is the first time the magazine asks its readers to vote for their favourite product.

The results are especially gratifying for the BENEO-Orafti products. In the Healthy Foods category, the Spanish leading biscuit producer Gullón won the poll with its Active Soja biscuits. The biscuits are enriched with soya bean seeds and soy protein, and include Orafti® ingredients for optimum gut health.

In the healthy drinks category, the first place went to Clesa’s Activ Bifidus range of fermented, skimmed milk drinks. This product, too, contains Orafti® ingredients. Congratulations to both winners!

It is the first time that oligofructose shows to decrease body weight, though earlier findings did point in that direction. Thus, a previous study has shown that adolescents in their growing phase developed a lower body fat mass when receiving Orafti®Synergy1.

The new study, conducted by Dr. Reimer from the University of Calgary in Canada, reviewed 48 overweight or obese healthy adults in a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. After 12 weeks, volunteers in the oligofructose group experienced a significant reduction in body weight of 1.03 kg, whereas the control subjects gained 0.45 kg weight. The weight loss affected mainly body fat mass, in particular trunk fat mass.

The weight loss could be explained by the lower energy intake observed in subjects in the oligofructose group. The authors also found effects of the intake of oligofructose on postprandial blood glucose and insulin responses before and after the intervention period, indicating an improvement of glucose regulation.

Parnell JA & Reimer RA (2009). Weight loss during oligofructose supplementation is associated with decreased ghrelin and increased PYY in overweight and obese adults. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 89(6): 1751-1759.

Digestive health is big in the US, just like in other parts of the world. Research has shown that American consumers put more trust in digestive health claims than in other nutritional claims, and the market is growing strong. In 2007, digestive health provided for a turnover of 68.9 million dollars. In 2014, a turnover of 198.3 million dollars is predicted.

Health claims such as ‘high fiber/whole grain’ are the second most important pacesetter for health & wellness benefits. The claim ‘added nutritients’ is still on top, but ‘high fiber’ is a good contender, with other health claims, such as ‘reduced calories’ or ‘natural/organic’, lagging far behind.

The new fruit juice is a product in the ever-growing range of products with the BENEO-label, which today includes 350 products in over 30 countries. The label guarantees a sufficient presence of Orafti inulin and oligofructose to provide scientifically proven, nutritional health benefits.

The new juice is part of an extended range of healthy fruit drinks. Apart from the BENEO Prebiotic fibre, it also contains BENEO-Remy rice derivatives to enhance the fruit juice’s mouth feel and to give it more body.

Together with dairy, fruit drinks will be the key driver of the future of functional foods. Fruit juices with a health benefit that can be substantiated by science, are expected to be especially successful.

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.