Winter 2001 Issue — Minerals and Vitamins for Foods and Supplements

Miriam Becker Technical Marketing Manager for Vitamin and Minerals, Merck KGaAin Darmstadt, Germany

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The concept of nutrition and its image has changed dramatically within the last decade. Whereas energy supply was the main reason food consumption was intended for in the post-war years things are totally different nowadays. Apart from energy supply people now focus on nutrient content of foods and on extra value which the food is supposed to bring along. People want their food to be fresh, good tasting, good-looking and nutritious as well as convenient. It should positively contribute to mental and physical performance and overall well being.

Still nutrient deficiencies can be found in today's affluent societies of Western Europe. Last year's nutrition reports stated that large parts of the population are deficient in iodine due to the depletion of soils. The single most prevalent deficiency on a world wide-scale is iron deficiency anaemia (IDA), affecting an estimated 30% of the world's population, with higher incidence rates among young children (43%) and pregnant women (51%). Iron deficiencies are caused by inadequate diet, impaired absorption, and increased needs for iron, parasitic infections, blood loss or repeated pregnancies. Other nutrients for which deficiencies exist are folate, calcium and zinc.

The requirements of our industrial societies in terms of mobility, flexibility and efficiency are reflected in our eating behaviour. Nutritional habits have completely changed. Meals e.g. are nowadays not always taken at home together with the whole family. The golden rules of the German Society for Nutrition (Deutsche Gesellchaft für Ernährung) specifying "5 a day", i.e. 5 potions of fresh or freshly prepared fruit and vegetables, is a rarity for most people today. Pre-prepared and ready-to-eat meals, convenience food, fast food and snacks often have to replace a full meal.

This means that the stability and shelf-life of such products is becoming increasingly important; our food should retain its wholesomeness and the loss of nutritional substances should, if possible, be restricted to an absolute minimum. A number of factors play an important role in the loss of nutrients, e.g. temperature, the effect of atmospheric oxygen, light and microbes as well as the presence of metal ions, packaging technology, etc.

Many valuable ingredients of our food are subject to such reactions, e.g. unsaturated acids are frequently oxidised and vitamins such as folic acid lose their activity.

As convenience comes first and consumers do not want to leave the path of convenience, either nutritional supplements or fortified foods are used for that extra "Boost" of nutrients - whether they have been lost during processing or have never been present in the product. These developments together with a growing concern about nutrition status in general and the awareness of particular needs of certain population groups such as women and the elderly have triggered the success story of functional foods and nutritional supplements.

Many international companies have ventured into this field and are facing considerable challenges when launching new products with ingredients that are missing scientific and legal approval on an international scale. Vitamins and Minerals on the other hand are well-known and well-established ingredients in food fortification and the nutritional supplements market and nation legislation in the EEC member states regarding their use will be replaced by harmonised EC legislation in the very near future.

Vitamins and Minerals - Indispensable in Maintaining Health and Fighting Disease

Both its calorific content and the content of nutrients that are essential for sustaining life determine the full nutritional value of a food. This group of nutrients includes vitamins, minerals, trace elements, various fatty acids, amino acids etc.

Vitamins are involved in all metabolic processes and although present in minute quantities, they have a considerable effect on the functioning of the body. They are continuously used up by the body during metabolism and hence have to be replaced. Mild vitamin deficiency affects health and impairs physical performance; serious deficiency causes illness. Vitamins differ considerably in their chemical composition and cannot be substituted by each other, as their individual effects are very specific. In many cases the single vitamins influence several metabolic processes; as a result, biochemical reactions in different organs may be disturbed, if the daily intake is not sufficient. Extensive research into the physiology of nutrition has led to the compilation of recommended daily requirement figures figures for vitamins.

Minerals serve many different functions in our body; they make up about 4-5% of our body weight. They represent the fourth largest component of body mass following water, fat and proteins. The group of minerals includes macro-minerals such as calcium and magnesium as well as trace elements, for example iron and zinc.

The Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for macro-minerals exceed 100mg. They are important for different functions within the body; e.g. calcium and phosphorus help build strong bones and teeth and magnesium is required for proper muscle functioning during physical activity. Although smaller amounts of trace elements are required, they are nonetheless equally important in maintaining health. Small quantities perform manifold functions: iron e.g. is important for the transport of oxygen in blood as well as in enzymes and hormones. In the case of selenium, which helps to maintain the immune system, the daily requirement may be as low as 30 micrograms. A good balance of these minerals contributes to general well-being and helps meet the challenges presented by life.

Fortification Issues

Foods which are particularly suitable for supplementation are those that are consumed by large sections of the population as part of their diets. Special dietary foods are fortified to meet particular nutritional needs. The quantity of vitamins and minerals to be added depends largely on the average quantities of food consumed and on the population groups involved. The type of nutrient added is also governed by the food itself, its composition and method of processing.

Vitamin and Mineral Premixes

The ideal way to enrich a product with not just one but several nutrients is the use of pre-blended nutrient compositions: vitamin and mineral premixes. These premixes have the following advantages:

• Ease of use.
• No time-consuming, tedious weighing of individual minerals.
• No errors concerning quantities to be added.
• Only one working process involved.
• Provide a suitable formulation of vitamins and minerals, as some cannot be combined.
• Even distribution of nutrients in the premix.

It is not easy to fortify foods though, especially when it comes to minerals. Most minerals show characteristic properties, which may impair the taste, colour and texture of the final product. Several compounds become highly reactive when combined with other nutrients or ingredients of a product. Certain other compounds are poorly absorbed; and not all minerals are suitable for use in premixes. The largest challenge when fortifying with vitamins is the stability of the nutrient itself during processing and storage of the final product. All the more important to have the perfect combination of nutrients formulated by the experts to suit your product and to meet your individual requirements.

When enriching with a premix all external and internal influences on nutrient stability such as interactions, heat and light have to be taken into account in order to minimise decomposition and to guarantee declared nutrient levels. To be able to establish the real loss in nutrients during the supplementation process and subsequent storage analytical tests must be carried out under the actual working conditions. For reasons of stability, we may recommend the use of separate premixes of vitamins and trace elements as reactions between the components are possible and may lead to the degradation of vitamins. When nutrients are mixed care must be taken to ensure that particle sizes are as uniform as possible - this prevents de-mixing taking place during packaging or transport. The appropriate choice of nutrients and nutrient forms as well as the incorporation of suitable overages may achieve this.

Functional and fortified foods as well as nutritional supplements provide you with a product portfolio of added value and innovation to meet your target group's needs and will keep you one step ahead of competition.

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