Winter 2000 Issue — Mineral Fortification — An Ongoing Trend

Hem Hamelijnck

Purac Biochem, The Netherlands

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Introduction

The potential for functional foods is tremendous. It is believed that in the future functional foods will account for 30 per cent of the total food market representing several hundreds of billions of dollars. Several factors are responsible for this tremendous growth. The most important factor is greying of the population in Europe, Northern America, Australia and Japan. Products targeted at age related diseases as osteoporosis and cardiovascular problems will have a bright future. Besides this, consumers are more and more health conscious and are ready to buy products which are targeted on a specific health benefit.

Market

Japan is still at the forefront of the development and market introduction of functional foods. In Japan the government realises that the ageing of the population is expected to lead to a dramatic increase in the cost of health care. Therefore they stimulate the development of more healthy foods, which would lead to healthier population and lower health costs. Other Asian countries are following Japan however the hap is still enormous. Most of the companies were looking into fortifying food with Calcium. The major type of functional food under development was a beverage. Producers of pro and prebiotic drinks now extend the ranges with calcium.

In the US most newly introduced juices are fortified, either with vitamins, minerals or both. The growth in the orange juice/juice drink sector can totally be assigned to the fortified juice segment. On the contrary in the US dairy industry adding functional ingredients play a minor role. American's consider milk as pure and as a result of that they are not eager to add probiotic bacteria, minerals or other functional ingredients. In Europe 65% of the sales of functional food can be described on account of the dairy industry. Central to this development has been the application of probiotic micro­organisms and prebiotics. For the next five years it is expected that the dairy industry will stay number one but the juice drink producers will try to keep up. Remarkable is the revival of Calcium fortification according to a research done by Leatherhead Food BA among the European food industry This probably because of the attention and knowledge about the effect of calcium on bone density. Osteoporosis is easier to prevent than cure seems to be the topic. Maintaining a calcium-rich diet from childhood will reduce the risk of osteoporosis by half at a higher age.

Food products

Recently products introduced have been targeted not only on the elderly but at a younger audience, being children's drinks and even confectionery. In table 2 is shown which kinds of products are on the market in several countries. As is shown at this point in time the fortification market varies from orange juice, milk and yoghurt to cookies and candies. Milk and other dairy products are important calcium sources. A milk product with a double amount of calcium can be the solution to people who not really like to increase their consumption to get a sufficient amount of calcium.

Table 1. Products with calcium in several countries

Calcium sources

When developing a calcium fortified food product several factors have to be considered dependent on the physical and chemical properties of the food product to fortify. Solubility, flavour profile and stability have to be evaluated. The flavour profile of calcium sources varies widely, see also table 2. PURACAL® (natural L (+) calcium lactate) and calcium glutonate have a neutral flavour profile while calcium citrate can give a tart flavour and calcium carbonate might taste soapy in beverages.
Solubility can also be extremely important, especially in transparent beverages since high soluble calcium sources give a clear appealing product. The solubility of different calcium salts is given in table 2. Calcium lactate has a very good solubility (9% w/w) compared to other calcium sources used in food products calcium citrate (0,1% w/w) and calcium carbonate (<0,1% w/w). Bio availabilty should play a vital role when formulating a product fortified with calcium. A lot of people change their eating habits in favour of a fortified product and rely upon the added minerals and vitamins to be absorbed by their bodies. Studies have shown that calcium lactate is very well absorbed by the human body.

Table 2. Evaluation of calcium sources

The focus has been very much on calcium and calcium fortification. Calcium is easy to communicate from a marketing point of view. The consumer is aware of the fact that certain groups need extra calcium. The relation between calcium deficiency and certain diseases is clear. But also other minerals and their functionality are getting more attention now, giving opportunities in the field of functional foods. Lately zinc is coming in the picture. In the world a lot of people suffer from colds, sometimes up to 4 times a year, mostly during the winter months. As a result of that a lot of working days are missed. A scientific study done by the Cleveland Clinic and published in Nature confirmed that Zinc reduces the severity and duration of cold symptoms. A Hawaiian juice producer introduced an entirely new orange juice product with zinc and extra vitamin C. Nestle's Cocoladovny in the Czech Republic introduced a hard candy with zinc. Most unprocessed foods contain magnesium, the highest concentrations of which are found in whole seeds with about 80% of the magnesium lost by removing the outer layer of the germs. It is clear that the magnesium content has decreased over the years by processing, refining and increasing the value of the food. Sports drinks are world wide the most important products fortified magnesiuni because it is well known that magnesium is mainly lost by perspiration. The last 2 years the dairy industry is getting interested in adding magnesium to milk based products. The awareness that among other things magnesium plays an important roll in active calcium transport might be a reason for this PURAC's mineral lactates already find wide application in the different mentioned marke­segments. PURCAL® calcium lactate and PURAMEX®, magnesium, zinc and ferrous lactate are mineral salts made out of natural L(+) lactic acid, which is produced by fermentation of sugar. They are highly soluble, have a good flavour profile and are highly bio available. When formulating a mineral fortified food product these factors are of the utmost importance. PURAC® offers the food industry advantages and can be a reliable partner when developing a mineral fortified food product.

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