12.01.10
The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) decision to permit digestive health claims for fiber underscores the untapped opportunities that exist for digestive health products that contain fiber, according to Julian Mellentin, author of a new report, “Fiber for Digestive Health,” published by New Nutrition Business.
“Health claim regulators in Europe and elsewhere are becoming increasingly demanding in their requirements for scientific substantiation, and this effectively rules out a huge number of ingredients from making health claims,” said Mr. Mellentin. “However, the scientific evidence supporting fiber’s digestive health benefits is good.”
New Nutrition Business has consistently named digestive health as the biggest trend and the biggest opportunity in its annual trend reports, and the EU’s decision reinforces this idea, Mr. Mellentin added. “Coupled with this, we know that consumer demand for products that support digestive health is huge. This is what explains the massive success of probiotic dairy products over the last 15 years with brands such as Danone’s Activia proving themselves to be recession-proof, growing 20% per annum in many countries in the teeth of the economic downturn.”
Advances in fiber ingredient technology allow for a wide array of product formats that can be formulated with high doses of fiber without taste or texture problems historically associated with fiber.
The biggest opportunity is in high-fiber fruit-based beverages, with the next tier of opportunities in cereals, bread and bakery and in ready-meals targeting seniors.
“Health claim regulators in Europe and elsewhere are becoming increasingly demanding in their requirements for scientific substantiation, and this effectively rules out a huge number of ingredients from making health claims,” said Mr. Mellentin. “However, the scientific evidence supporting fiber’s digestive health benefits is good.”
New Nutrition Business has consistently named digestive health as the biggest trend and the biggest opportunity in its annual trend reports, and the EU’s decision reinforces this idea, Mr. Mellentin added. “Coupled with this, we know that consumer demand for products that support digestive health is huge. This is what explains the massive success of probiotic dairy products over the last 15 years with brands such as Danone’s Activia proving themselves to be recession-proof, growing 20% per annum in many countries in the teeth of the economic downturn.”
Advances in fiber ingredient technology allow for a wide array of product formats that can be formulated with high doses of fiber without taste or texture problems historically associated with fiber.
The biggest opportunity is in high-fiber fruit-based beverages, with the next tier of opportunities in cereals, bread and bakery and in ready-meals targeting seniors.