Ferré & Consulting Blog (English Version)

The British government’s plan to get the nation to cut 5bn calories a day from its diet has been dismissed “worthless, regurgitated, patronising rubbish” by Jamie Oliver, the celebrity chef and food campaigner.

Faced with a mounting obesity crisis that a succession of government initiatives on exercise have failed to turn around, the government is urging individuals to eat less and eat more wisely. It has also promised to talk to the food industry about voluntary cuts in the calorie content of processed food and drinks.

The plan drew derision from food campaigners and doctors. “Simply telling people what they already know – that they need to eat less and move more – is a complete cop-out,” said Oliver. “This whole strategy is just worthless, regurgitated, patronising rubbish.

The UK government wants to ask the industry to voluntarily reduce the calories in their products. A 3-5% reduction in the calorie content in an average shopping basket would cut obesity without the consumer even noticing any change in the food they ate, claimed a government spokesman.

About 60% of UK adults and a third of children are overweight or obese. Strokes and heart problems are rising, diabetes is rocketing and overweight people run increased risks of cancers and infertility.

Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said the UK government’s approach to tackling obesity was woefully inadequate. “The government calls on people to cut down the calories they eat, but isn’t giving them the tools to do so,” he said. “It must make sure front-of-pack traffic light labelling is used on all food products and clear calorie labelling is provided in all food chains.

“Food and drink manufacturers must cut fat and sugar, and therefore calories, from their products where possible and promote healthier options. But expecting them to do this voluntarily through a vague call to action is naive. We need a proper strategy which includes ambitious targets.”

Source: Ingredientsnetwork

Health calories, diet, obesity

Hungary will introduce a fat tax as of September 1 this year -a move the food industry says is unnecessary and ineffective in achieving widespread dietary shifts.

From September 1 Hungarian food manufacturers will have to pay a tax of 10 forint (€0.37) for foods bearing fat, sugar and salt at levels over a certain threshold, something backed by some consumer groups concerned about eating habits that promote the rise of obesity and type 2 diabetes.

The Hungarian government says the tax will raise €70m per year – money which it says will offset public health costs of treating the consequences of high-fat,sugar and salt diets.

While Hungary’s obesity problem is not as big as in countries like the US where the percentage of obese adults exceeds 30%, it sits at around 20% and has been getting worse.

Discriminatory?

Fat taxes are an idea whose currency has grown in recent years as governments try to share healthcare costs, but the issue is complex as it becomes a moral battle about personal versus industry culpability for dietary intakes and their consequences.

The pan-European food industry body, Food and Drink Europe, opposes fat taxes because it views them as being “discriminatory”.

The group has emphasised that such measures unfairly target particular types of food when it is overall dietary habits that are the problem (the argument that there are no bad foods par se, just bad diets).

It also states that such taxes unfairly prejudice the lower-income sections of society that typically purchase the affected foodstuffs in the greatest numbers.

Other critics of the taxes point to examples like Denmark where obesity rates have risen, like most other developed world nations, despite in its case implementing a tax of high-sugar confectionery in the 1920s.

Denmark fat tax

Denmark introduced a saturated fat tax at the start of the year with the country’s tax ministry calculating that butter prices will rise by 14% under the new tax regime, with margarine up 21% and whipped cream 12%.

The Danish Chamber of Commerce opposed the proposal because of its potential damage to productivity and imports, and the Chamber says the tax could even promote food with more harmful additives as an unwanted consequence.

“The shift from saturated to unsaturated fats may be expected, but it is not necessarily desirable from a health perspective. Some products with unsaturated fats form more harmful substances when heated to higher temperatures,” it said in a statement.

“Similarly, the effect will be more additives, which does not necessarily increase the health and quality of products.”

Source: Bakery and Snacks

Health fat tax, Hungary, obesity problem

The Agriculture Department says “My Plate,” its new healthy eating symbol, aims to show that nutrition doesn’t have to be complicated.

“My Plate” — a simple circle divided into quadrants that contain fruits, vegetables, protein and grains — will replace USDA’s food pyramid, which has been around in various forms since 1992. It comes with an accompanying website.

USDA officials say the pyramid was tired out, overly complex and tried to communicate too many different nutrition facts at once. The new symbol, unveiled Thursday at the department with first lady Michelle Obama in attendance, is simple and gives diners an idea of what should be on their plates when they sit down at the dinner table.

“It’s grabbing the consumers’ attention that we are after this time, not making it so complicated that perhaps it is a turnoff,” said Robert Post of USDA’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. “There is something really inviting about this familiar setting for meal time.”

The department is planning to use social media as one way of grabbing attention, posting advice every day on Twitter, for example. The accompanying website, choosemyplate.gov, will be written on the chart. It will eventually feature interactive tools that help people manage their weight and track exercise.

Post, who has spent two years developing the plate and the website, said the new chart is designed to be “more artistic and attractive” and to serve as a visual cue for diners.

Gone are any references to sugars, fats or oils, and what was once a category called “meat and beans” is now simply “proteins.” Next to the plate is a blue circle for dairy, which could be a glass of milk or a food such as cheese or yogurt.

Even though the plate is divided into four sections, the servings aren’t supposed to be proportional. Every person has different nutritional needs, based on age, health and other factors. The symbol, based on a new set of dietary guidelines released in January, is a general guideline.

The dietary guidelines that provide the foundation for the symbol are released every five years. In addition to telling people to drastically reduce salt and continue limiting saturated fats, the most recent set of guidelines asked diners to enjoy food but balance calories by eating less and taking smaller portions. It also suggested making half of your plate fruits and vegetables, a message easily translated on the dinner plate.

“Our approach here is to make it very simple,” says USDA’s Post. “One icon cannot deliver everything a consumer needs to know.”

Source: AP

Health My Plate, nutritional need

A pioneering new multi-screening allergen method is more effective, accurate, quicker and cheaper than existing methods used in the food industry, said Eurofins.

The mass spectrometry (MS) technique permits multiple direct detection of proteins from allergenic compounds in a single test, Bert Popping, company director of molecular biology and immunology, told FoodProductionDaily.com.

The new technology marks a move away from industry-standard methods ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbant assays) and PCR (polymerase chain reactions), which only indirectly detect allergens one at a time, said the company.

“The new MS-based methodology enables detection of seven of the 14 groups that require labelling according to the European Commission’s allergen regulation (68/2007/EC) in one single analysis,” said Popping.

The technique also covers gluten regulation (41/2009/EC).

Popping added: “The advantages are that this technology detects more than one peptide per allergenic compound. This means that if one peptide becomes instable due to processing, you still likely to see one or two of the others, thereby making the results more reliable.”

Advantages over current techs

Eurofins said its new technique demonstrates significant advantages over commonly-used technology.

Presently, PCR is unable to detect a number of products with high protein – and therefore high allergen – content. Such limitations means it has therefore never been the perfect technique for detecting allergens, Popping explaine

ELISA has the ability to detect proteins through antibodies, but only one at time. This means that because there is the potential for the presence of several allergens on site food processors typically adopt risk-based approach.

“For economic reasons, typically only one or two of the likely allergens potentially contaminating the product are screened for, instead of looking for all possible ones,” he said.

Safer products, cost benefits

In contrast, Eurofins said its new analysis offers simple and easy identification of multiple allergens in complex foodstuffs leading to “better risk management for food manufacturers, and ultimately, safer products for the consumers”.

The direct detection of analytes significantly reduces the probability of false negative or false positive test results – limitations of the ELISA and PCR methods, said the global firm headquartered in Belgium.

It also cuts the turnaround time (TAT) and the cost of multi-screening are significantly lower than for individual ELISA based tests.

“TAT will, in routine analysis for one allergen, be roughly the same,” said Popping. “But since typically when more than one ELISA is requested on a sample, TAT is extended to say, 1-2 weeks – maybe because of rare allergens that need testing – this will not be the case for MS since it’s all in the same run.”

He added that cost-wise it would be cheaper for three or more allergen in the same sample, and become more economical with any allergen after the third, compared to ELISA.

“Calculated reduction will be approx 10 per cent after the third, 15 per cent after the fourth and so on,” he added. “Further reductions are envisaged when some of the further developments we have in the pipeline are implemented for this technology.”

Eurofins said its lab method is accredited under ISO 17027. The peer reviewed paper was published this month in the Journal of AOAC International.

Source: Bakery and Snacks

Health, packaging allergenic compounds, ELISA method, Eurofins, PCR method

A lack of scientific evidence means no clear verdict can yet be reached on the health risks posed by nanomaterials – but the carcinogenic potential of some nanoparticles should be “taken seriously”, cautioned German authorities.

The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) and the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) said that while several studies on animals indicated that some nanomaterials could cause cancer, they added there was currently insufficient data to label them as “potentially carcinogenic to humans”.

The bodies also concluded that no firm verdict could yet be reached regarding the release of nanomaterials from products nor to their exposure.

But they stressed sufficient concerns existed to warranted close scrutiny of their effects – particularly regarding daily exposure to nanomaterials.

Nano assessments

The statement is the latest in a string of opinions issued recently over the safety of nanomaterials, whose use is becoming increasingly widespread in consumer products such as packaging and food.

In January, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) issued draft guidance on nano risk assessment. Two weeks later the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) published a guide to assess the potential threat of exposure to nanomaterials in the workplace.

Last year, the BfR itself declared that nanosilver should be excluded from foods or cosmetics until the potential hazards from the substance had been fully scrutinised. The body urged companies considering use of nanosilver in consumer products to hold off until studies have fully confirmed its safety. The agency said the case had not been made.

No firm conclusions

The BfR/UBA said that research on animals had shown that some nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) may be carcinogenic when breathed in. But the scientists said a water-tight scientific case to apply these findings to humans could not yet be made.

“This mainly results from the fact that the extent to which data from animal testing applies to humans and whether these effects are specific to the nanoscale or are rather due to other properties inherent to these substances is uncertain,” said the German experts

The scientists said that no reliable conclusions could also be drawn on exposure to nanomaterials nor regarding their release from products – because of the scarcity of research and the absence of a “reliable measurement technology to detect nanomaterials in different media”.

“It is therefore not yet possible to assess the health risks of these materials for humans with reasonable certainty,” concluded the bodies.

Taken seriously

But the BfR and UBA said: “Despite existing uncertainties findings on the carcinogenic potential of some nanomaterials should be taken seriously”.

The toxicological properties of nanostructures should also be assessed through the development of valid methods on all possible routes of exposure – such as inhalation, dermal and oral pathways.

Proper evaluation of potential carcinogenic hazards of nanomaterials– in line with general scientific principles – can only be characterised for a specific substance in a specific case.

Source: Food production daily

Health health risks, Nanomaterial

In time for the chocolate-giving and chocolate-noshing fest on Valentine’s Day, scientists are reporting discovery of how this treat boosts the body’s production of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) — the “good” form of cholesterol that protects against heart disease. Just as those boxes of chocolates get hearts throbbing and mouths watering, polyphenols in chocolate rev up the activity of certain proteins, including proteins that attach to the genetic material DNA in ways that boost HDL levels. Their report appears in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, one of 39 peer-reviewed scientific journals published by the American Chemical Society.

Midori Natsume, Ph.D., and colleagues note that studies have shown that cocoa, the main ingredient in chocolate, appears to reduce the risk of heart disease by boosting levels of HDL, or “good” cholesterol, and decreasing levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or “bad” cholesterol. Credit for those heart-healthy effects goes to a cadre of antioxidant compounds in cocoa called polyphenols, which are particularly abundant in dark chocolate. Until now, however, nobody knew exactly how the polyphenols in cocoa orchestrated those beneficial effects.

The scientists analyzed the effects of cocoa polyphenols on cholesterol using cultures of human liver and intestinal cells. They focused on the production of apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1), a protein that is the major component of “good” cholesterol, and apolipoprotein B (ApoB), the main component of “bad” cholesterol. It turns out that cocoa polyphenols increased ApoA1 levels and decreased ApoB levels in both the liver and intestine. Further, the scientists discovered that the polyphenols seem to work by enhancing the activity of so-called sterol regulatory element binding proteins (SREBPs). SREBPs attach to the genetic material DNA and activate genes that boost ApoA1 levels, increasing “good” cholesterol. The scientists also found that polyphenols appear to increase the activity of LDL receptors, proteins that help lower “bad” cholesterol levels.

Source: American Chemical Society

Chocolate, Health Chocolate, Cholesterol, heart disease

EFSA will issue a scientific statement on two recent studies on the safety of artificial sweeteners by the end of February 2011, responding to a request for technical assistance from the European Commission. Guided by the statement of the Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources added to food (ANS) published today, EFSA’s scientific evaluation will be carried out in close co-operation with the French agency for food, environmental and occupational health safety, ANSES[1], and will help inform the Authority’s ongoing work on artificial sweeteners.

One of the studies published was conducted by the Ramazzini Institute and focuses on the potential carcinogenicity of aspartame in mice (Soffritti et al., 2010[2]). The other is an epidemiological study that examines the association between the consumption of sugar-sweetened and artificially-sweetened soft drinks and the risk of preterm delivery in Danish pregnant women (Halldorsson et al., 2010[3]).

At their plenary meeting on 1 – 3 February 2011, EFSA scientists on the ANS Panel had an initial discussion on these recent publications and highlighted further scientific work which could be considered. The Panel noted that the type and incidence of tumours reported by Soffriti et al (2010) appear spontaneously at high rates in male mice. The Panel also observed that the increased incidence of these tumours in mice exposed to aspartame through feed, whilst statistically significant, remained within the historical control range for these tumours in these mice[4]. EFSA will support the Panel in further analysing the results and conclusions in the Ramazzini paper and will request the complete data set from the authors for possible review.

The ANS Panel also considered the Danish epidemiological study whose findings suggest that the daily intake of artificially sweetened soft drinks may be associated with an increased risk of preterm delivery. These findings are based on a statistical association between the consumption of artificially sweetened soft drinks and preterm delivery observed in a prospective cohort study[5]. This epidemiological study cannot, in and of itself, establish a cause and effect relationship between the intake of artificial sweeteners and risk of preterm delivery. As indicated by the authors, further research (including experimental studies) would be required to confirm or reject these findings. The Panel advised on the need for specialised expertise to provide additional insights on the methodology and statistical aspects of this study, including the implications of possible confounding factors.

EFSA will provide a scientific statement on the two papers by the end of February 2011, responding to a request for technical assistance from the European Commission.

Source: EFSA

Health, Ingredients artificial sweeteners, EFSA, food safety

Functional bread has significant potential but its widespread appeal is some way off due to cost and sensory challenges, claims a Datamonitor researcher.

Consumer analyst at the market research firm, Mark Whalley, said that the more health conscious consumer will remain the dominant user of added value breads for the foreseeable future.

Meanwhile, a recent report from the Product Launch Analytics (PLA) division at Datamonitor said the functional food market could soon branch out into more everyday products, such as bread, which claims related to enhanced health, vitality and beauty.

“With many manufacturers working harder to address the trend of consumers becoming less price conscious and more value conscious post recession, we are seeing more products offering added benefits,” said PLA research manager Cesar Pereira, who notes the surge of late in functional foods.

Not mainstream yet

But Whalley maintains that the sensory aspect of the product is still “pivotal” – especially for children: “If consumers think that the taste of the bread is going to be compromised by unusual ingredients then they will be reticent to try it,” he added.

Whalley said that the price premium that functional bread can command will also be an inhibitor. He said, “With the amount of bread consumed in the UK (44.5kg per capita in 2009) consumers are definitely sensitive to price increases”.

On the other hand, Whalley predicted there would be more functional claims for bread products, as manufacturers get better at formulating without compromising taste or texture, and consumers can easily make a link between bread and health.

“A positive sign is that consumers have demonstrated a willingness to switch to wholemeal as a means of becoming healthier (the whole grain message resonates strongly),” he said.

Functional bread award

Danisco bakery ingredient system Grinsted Fiberline was recently awarded for its functional bread innovation as it scooped up the health ingredients excellence award in the digestive health category at the trade show Health Ingredients Europe (HIE) 2010.

The awards celebrate the best digestive health innovation in the ingredients community and products are reviewed by an international panel of judges.

The rye bread concept aims to target the sensory challenges referenced by Whalley: Danisco claims its ingredient system gives bakers the opportunity to “eliminate the dense, dry texture and dominant fibre taste that makes healthier bread unpopular, particularly among families with young children”.

HIE said the award recognised the technology’s unique ability to give 100 per cent rye bread an “appealing soft texture and mild taste similar to that of white wheat bread – as preferred by many of today’s consumers”.

In addition to developing Grinstead Fiberline, Danisco has also incorporated the technology into an oat bread concept containing sufficient beta-glucans to qualify for a cardiovascular health claim, according to the company.

Source: Bakery and Snacks

Bakery, Health Functional bread, Functional formulation, health

Pepperidge Farm Inc. says it will cut the sodium levels in the majority its breads, rolls and bagels by 2011, making it the latest of many food makers to respond to demands for healthier products.

The company, owned by Campbell Soup Co., said the reductions will ultimately result in sodium levels 10 to 33 percent lower in 69 of its U.S. bakery products.

Health experts say Americans eat too much salt and the vast majority is from processed food. That excess is dangerous because sodium can contribute to high blood pressure, which can lead to stroke, kidney disease, heart disease or heart failure.

The issue has become so pressing that the Institute of Medicine issued a report in April that urged the federal government to limit salt allowed in food.

Pepperidge Farm said it has already begun some of the reductions, such as cutting sodium in its original white bread from 225 milligrams per slice to 150 milligrams last year.

Based on positive response to those changes and growing consumer demand, the company said it decided to aim to lower sodium levels 80 percent of its products by February 2011.

“We would like to think we were involved in reducing sodium before it was fashionable,” said Bibi Wu, business director for Pepperidge Farm Fresh Bakery.

A number of food makers have announced recently that they are lowering sodium in their products based on consumer demand and increasing scrutiny by health groups. Bumble Bee Foods, General Mills Inc., PepsiCo Inc. and Kraft Foods Inc. all announced sodium reductions to their products in this spring alone.

Campbell has been cutting sodium for years. It makes more than 200 reduced-sodium products, an eight-fold increase compared to just five years ago, when the company offered 25.

Lowering sodium levels in canned soup, notoriously high in salt, is one thing. Doing the same in the bakery was a notable achievement, given that complex role salt plays in bread — affecting flavor, texture, shelf life and interacting with the yeast that helps it rise.

“Neither one is easy,” said David Smith, vice president of research and development and quality assurance for Pepperidge Farm. “It’s very complex.”

The company said it relied on the move to sea salt, which Campbell used in its soups, to help make the transition.

Source: The Associated Press.

Bakery, Companies, Health breads, campbells pepperidge farm, reduce salt

The human nutrition division of French yeast specialist Lesaffre has launched what it says is only the second known probiotic yeast, and the first to directly target Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).

The patent pending, proprietary strain is being marketed as Lynside Pro GI+ and joins its Lynside range of yeast products that includes the other non-proprietary, probiotic yeast strain – Boulardii.

Lesaffre Human Care commercial and marketing director Benoît Laplaize told NutraIngredients that while the strain was from the same Saccharomyces cerevisiae family as Boulardii, it differed due its ability to reduce pain in the estimated 10 per cent of people that suffer from IBS.

Boulardii has been on-market for more than 20 years as an anti-diarrhoea aid and has been the subject of more than 40 clinical trials in this area.

Lesaffre sourced the new strain after scouring its yeast varietal bank of more than 6000 strains. Functional bakery applications and supplements are the initial point of focus.

Benoît Laplaize said the strain – registered with the French National Collection of Microorganism Cultures as CNCM-3856 – had demonstrated gut health and IBS benefits in an intervention trial of 179 people conducted in 2008.

Ingredient without science is useless

“We have worked on this product for six years,” Laplaize said. “It is difficult and complex to perform these kinds of trials because you are putting a living thing (the probiotic strain) into a living thing (the human or animal). But we are confident about this study and know that an ingredient without science is useless.”

That trial, in addition to published pre-clinical trials, forms the lynchpin of an article 13.5 proprietary and emerging science application submitted to the European Union health claims regime. The dossier proposes the claim that CNCM-3856, “Noticeably reduces digestive discomfort after four weeks of consumption”.

Two further clinical trials are expected to be completed by the end of next year.

The placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomised trial was led by Professor Pierre Desreumaux at the University of Lille in France. Along with Lesaffre, Desreumaux is also the co-founder of DigestScience (www.digestscience.com), which specialises in digestive tract research.

The trial is yet to be published but will be presented at the 18th United European Gastroenterology Week beginning October in Barcelona, Spain.

It found that among 179 volunteers with symptoms of IBS who took 500mg/day of Lynside Pro GI+ per day for eight weeks:

• Intestinal pain and discomfort were greatly relieved after four weeks (significant difference between placebo and active product)

• Favourable effects on the bowel disorders caused by IBS such as abdominal/intestinal pain and discomfort, bloating, flatulence and constipation

Laplaize noted these discomfort measures were the gold standard as approved at the Third Congress of Gastroenterologists in Rome.

He said the article 13.5 health claim had been designed to strictly represent the findings of the trial.

Source: Bakery and Snacks

Health, Ingredients, Research IBS, Lesaffre, Lynside Pro GI+, probiotic yeast