Features

Reb A 97 GT the first class safe natural pure molecule of sweetness

The sweetness of Stevia’s leaves was well known for century and used by amerindians Guarinis which is called Kaâ-hè-é.

In 1899, the first detailled botanic ( and also sweetness) description was made by the swiss botanist Moisés Santiago Bertoni during his research in Eastern Paraguay.

The species Stevia rebaudiana, commonly known as sweetleaf, sweet leaf, sugarleaf, or simply stevia, is widely grown for its sweet leaves. As a sweetener and sugar substitute, stevia’s taste has a slower onset and longer duration than that of sugar, although some of its extracts may have a bitter or licorice-like aftertaste at high concentrations.

In 1931, the two french scientists Bridel and Lavielle have isolated and cristallised the compounds which were responsible of the sweet taste of Stevia rebaudiana, Bertoni. The exact chemical formula of steviolglycoside ( aglycone and glycoside) were publised in 1955. Now, more than 12 differents molecules, with the steviol aglycone, was isolated form differents variants of Stevia rebaudiana, B.

In 2008, the Coca-Cola Company with the giant agricultural processing Cargill have obtained the GRAS approval from the FDA for the Rebaudioside A with a purity > 97%.

In September 2009, the French government has followed the same way with a temporary autorisation as food additive for 2 years for the Rebaudioside A more than 97% of purity in order to wait the European Commission Directive.

In 2010, The NDA panel experts of .EFSA ( European Food Safety Agency) gave a positive opinion on the safety of Steviolglycosides ( a mixture of Rebaudioside A and Stevioside mainly) with a minimum purity of 95% expressed in dry basis.

This article is available in full in the Spring 2011 issue of Nutraceuticals Now

BENEO, one of the leading manufacturers of functional ingredients, offers a range of solutions to enable sugar reduction in food products and prides itself on producing innovative ingredient solutions for food manufacturers. By concentrating on the taste, functionality and qualitative elements of a product, BENEO has developed its agglomerated sweeteners which are simple to integrate and provide a multitude of benefits. Here, Dr Thomas Walter, Head of Business Development at BENEO, provides insight into how its agglomerated sweeteners can be incorporated into products to provide sweetening solutions that are healthy and easy to use.

A review of the Mintel trend forecasts for 2011 shows that manufacturers are concentrating their efforts on product reformulations to ensure they meet the growing consumer demand for healthier nutrition. One of the major topics, sugar reduction, is still very high up on the food industry’s agenda. This issue is particularly pertinent as the entire sector prepares for the upcoming approval of Stevia, which claims to have mastered the delicate balancing act between calorie reduction and naturalness like no other intensive sweetener. The successful switch from saccharine, HFCS, fructose and glucose will allow food producers to make use of these ingredients in order to optimize their product offering with ease.

The use of agglomerated sweeteners is mainly for technological reasons. Agglomerates do not tend to dust or build up electrostatic energy and have a distinct flowability. This provides the producer with additional benefits, such as ease of transportation and use when measuring or filling. As they don’t absorb moisture, agglomerates can also be stored more easily. They dissolve quickly in fluids without forming lumps and, when consumed on their own, have a non-sandy texture in the mouth. The versatility of these agglomerates make them an excellent choice for use within ready-to-use instant drinks, compressed tablets, chewing gum and granulates, which are consumed with no water.

When several active and functional ingredients are used for the agglomeration, further advantages can be found. During the course of the agglomeration process, all of the elements are distributed evenly in the mixture, no matter how much or how little is used. An even distribution of the ingredient is therefore guaranteed, whether this is the sweet characteristic of an intensive sweetener such as Stevia, or the nutritionally enhanced profile of vitamins, or prebiotic fibres, such as inulin.

This article is available in full in the Spring 2011 issue of Nutraceuticals Now

The new product range from the Aenova Group offers a selection of high-quality and exclusive effervescent products, thus extending the company’s range and offering its customers the opportunity to stand out from the established mass market.

The new high-quality effervescent product range from the Aenova Group expands its portfolio and emphasises its position as one of the world’s largest suppliers of solid oral administration forms for the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry. The Aenova Group is one of the few companies in the branch to offer a full-service portfolio encompassing the purchasing of raw materials, analytics, packaging and logistics, alongside manufacturing and production. The ongoing objective of the company is the continual development of new product concepts and products which are tailored to the needs of customers and markets. Thus, since May 2010, Aenova has been offering a standard range of a variety of dietary supplements which cover different indication ranges. This standard product range has enabled the company to expand its customer services and create time-saving and cost-effective solutions for the international dietary supplements market.

With the new effervescent product range, Aenova has provided a diverse selection of high-quality and unique effervescent products. High-quality products which demonstrate particularly good market potential and correspond to current trends are developed on the basis of detailed market analyses, coupled with longstanding know-how and in-depth market knowledge.

This article is available in full in the Spring 2011 issue of Nutraceuticals Now

Nutraceuticals are food or components of food which provide health benefits beyond basic nutrition including the prevention and treatment of diseases. There has been an increase in life expectancy of individuals and this trend is likely to continue globally. In parallel to this modern day life styles are associated with growing levels of stress, poor eating habits, lack of exercise and these have contributed to an increase in chronic disorders such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, digestive disorders etc.

Obesity is directly related to an accelerated onset of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The World Health Organisation (WHO) predicts that there will be more than 1.5 billion obese people globally by 2015. The UK has the highest percentage of obese adults (62.2%), followed by Germany and Spain where over 50% of the population is overweight. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) which includes myocardial infarction (heart attack), hypertension (high blood pressure), hypercholesterolaemia (high cholesterol) and cerebrovascular disease (stroke) is the number one cause of death in developed countries. Many factors pre-dispose to CVD including poor diet. The European population is aging fast and will challenge the resources of health care providers. The WHO estimates that about 16.6 million people around the globe die of CVD each year and the prediction is that this may rise to 11.1 million by 2020. As far as digestive health is concerned it is estimated that currently 1.0 million people in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and UK are suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Another issue linked to this is the growing prevalence of food allergies.

This is also placing a huge financial burden on health care providers and many governments are urging the public to take care of their individual health and improve their life style especially by changing their diet.

Nutraceuticals should be able to contribute to the prevention of the chronic diseases mentioned above and there are many players emerging in this area and they all contribute to the health and wellness market. All these organisations have to address three key issues of technology (1) establishment of scientific assessment standard for prevention of diseases (2) establishment of assessment system for disease prevention by human trials and (3) establishment of seamless system to transfer stage from basic research to industrialisation. Consumers are seeking novel food products which can enhance their health and factors currently influencing the growth of the nutraceutical sector include regulatory issues, consumer opinions, and the need for more conclusive research into new and novel ingredients.

The issue of regulation is an important one for all concerned. Within the European Union there are two categories of claims on foods: nutrition claims and health claims. The nutrition claims deal with content claims and comparative claims whilst the health claims deal with functional claims based on generally accepted scientific data and on newly developed scientific data. It’s likely that regulatory issues have put financial pressures on some nutraceutical companies and this may have led to a slowing down of the introduction of novel products. However, the regulatory issues also provide a new window for marketing and promoting nutraceuticals especially those directed at chronic diseases associated with age. The companies need to comply with the legislation and have a unique opportunity to work with government agencies and health providing organisations such that the nutraceuticals can be effectively marketed and directed at those who will benefit the most. To achieve this the companies need to significantly invest in research and development, advertising and promotional activities and effectively communicate the benefits of nutraceuticals to the consumers staying within the legislative boundaries and this will be linked to ethical marketing which the consumers are also seeking. In times of hard economic realities nutraceuticals have a role to play in maintaining health of the general population thus contributing to the savings in health care costs. This is the key to success in the European and worldwide nutraceuticals market.

Professor Khalid Rahman
Professor of Physiological Biochemistry Liverpool John Moores University.

Quality is undoubtedly the most important factor for manufacturers looking to source ingredients for the functional foods and nutraceuticals markets. For suppliers to prosper in this competitive industry, they must be able to clarify and substantiate their quality promise to ensure customer satisfaction and peace of mind. In light of this, DSM Nutritional Products models its approach around the customer, basing its commitment to quality around four priorities: quality, reliability, traceability and sustainability. Together they form the company’s Quality for Life seal. Here, Anthony Hehir, Global Marketing Manager at DSM Nutritional Products, discusses the four pillars, and why they are vital for a successful and profitable business.

This article is available in full in the Autumn 2010 issue of Nutraceuticals Now