Aquapreneur » functional food

Omega-3 in food & drink set to ‘boom’, says Packaged Facts

Admin — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 18:18:50 +0000

US retail sales of food and drink products making high omega-3 claims shot up 11 percent in 2010 to approach the $4bn mark and are predicted to be worth almost $7bn by 2015, according to new research.

Packaged Facts, which includes products enriched with plant-based omega-3 (alpha linolenic acid) in its analysis as well as the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, predicts 40 percent growth in the US omega-3 ingredient market between 2010 and 2015.

Although some market observers had expected sales of food and drink products containing added omega-3s to start leveling off, the market had in fact “continued to post significant growth”, noted Packaged Facts.

“Moreover, three factors indicate that another boom phase for omega-3-enhanced products is on the horizon:

1) An ongoing release of scientific studies supporting the health benefits of consuming omega-3

2) Innovative product introductions

3) Strong consumer awareness and demand.”

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New Fish Sausage Product from Frutarom

Admin — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 17:26:25 +0000

Frutarom Savory Solutions GmbH has developed a compound for sausage from fish which neatly links the popular consumer trends for snacking and following a healthy diet. The fish version is considerably lower in fat than conventional sausage from pork or beef and contains valuable omega-3 fatty acids. Selected natural ingredients ensure that the end product has a pleasant spiciness and texture.

With this compound, Frutarom Savory Solutions has developed a product that allows manufacturers to present fish in a new form. It is available in several varieties containing different seasonings, and only has to be mixed with minced fish, oil, ice and salt to form a homogeneous mass which is then processed into sausage. Manufacturing is quite simple, but requires a cutter and a sausage filler. In addition to the compound, Frutarom Savory Solutions is offering a recipe and a curry sauce which enables the sausage to be presented in the style of the popular German “Currywurst” snack.

The fish sausage compound has high temperature- and freeze-thaw stability and is thus particularly suitable for manufacturers of convenience, restaurant chain and canteen meals. The innovative product also enables catering companies and producers of delicacies to extend their fish portfolio.

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Algal flour promises exciting future for delicious, low-fat food

Admin — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 10:58:02 +0000

Algal flour may provide a one-step solution to the challenges of fat-reduction in foods, with low-fat cookies, crackers, and salad dressings possible new arrivals on supermarket shelves, according to Solazyme-Roquette Nutritionals.

Consumer demand for healthy products is growing, but fat reduction in foods is complicated as fats play many roles in food, including adding texture, structure and flavor.

The imminent arrival on the market of Solazyme-Roquette Nutritionals’ high-lipid algal flour may solve many of these problems, however:“If you’d have told me we can make low-fat foods that taste like this, I would have said no way,” Leslie Norris, food applications development for Solazyme, told FoodNavigator-USA.com during a recent visit to the company’s HQ in South San Francisco.

During the visit, the correspondent sampled a range of algal flour products, including chocolate milk and honey mustard dressing, with a taste and mouth-feel as good, if not better, than their full-fat versions, but boasting reductions in fat by as much as 70 percent.

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Aurora Algae has announced the launch of new A2 product portfolio, including omega-3 products

Admin — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 15:30:01 +0000

Aurora Algae recently introduced the A2 product portfolio, a series of natural products derived from its proprietary algae platform. The A2 product portfolio is uniquely sustainable, scalable, and flexible to address growing demand in the explosive nutrition, aquaculture, pharmaceutical, and energy markets

A2 Omega-3™ is a family of Omega-3 oils aimed at the nutraceutical and pharmaceutical markets with the goal of providing a natural, sustainable and cost-effective alternative to fish oil and fermented products. The first offering in this family, A2 EPA Pure™ will make the benefits of EPA available to a broader market since it is derived from an allergen-free, vegetarian source.

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Publication: Marine-derived functional ingredients as potential antioxidants in the food industry–An overview

Admin — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 23:36:05 +0000

Dai-Hung Ngo, Isuru Wijesekara, Thanh-Sang Vo, Quang Van Ta and Se-Kwon Kim

Abstract

Recently, a great deal of interest has been developed by the consumers towards natural bioactive compounds as functional ingredients in the food products due to their various health beneficial effects. Hence, it can be suggested that antioxidative functional ingredients from marine foods and their by-products are alternative sources for synthetic ingredients that can contribute to a consumer’s well-being, as a part of nutraceuticals and functional foods. This contribution presents an overview of the marine food-derived antioxidants such as bioactive peptides, chitooligosaccharide derivatives, sulfated polysaccharides, phlorotannins and carotenoids with the potential utilization in the food industry.

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Fuji announces strategic realignment of astaxanthin production

Admin — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 13:27:20 +0000

Fuji Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. has announced the strategic realignment of its natural astaxanthin production by shifting the commercial cultivation of Haematococcus pluvialis from its Hawaiian facility to its Swedish facility. The driving force behind this decision was the opportunity Fuji could provide to the market through better product uniformity, operational efficiency and ease of expansion.

Although both facilities operated fully enclosed bio-systems each equally producing the highest levels of astaxanthin in the world, the two technologies were different. Consolidating operations into one of the two technologies would avoid duplication of effort and achieve operational efficiency. One of the reasons the Swedish facility was chosen as the surviving technology was because of its ease of expansion. It is modular and can be expanded rapidly to accommodate the continued growth of the natural astaxanthin market.

Though the Hawaiian facility will no longer produce commercially, Fuji is considering it as the possible location for continued algal development. Prior to the decision to phase out and change the role of the Hawaiian facility, the Swedish facility had undergone an expansion while yet another expansion is currently planned.

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BioAstin Natural Astaxanthin obtains GRAS status for efficacious levels

Admin — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 00:06:40 +0000

BioAstin Natural Astaxanthin has been self-affirmed GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe for use in all food, beverage and supplement applications) at 1.5 mg per serving by a panel of experts assembled by GRAS Associates, LLC. A 1.5 mg dose is an efficacious level for antioxidant applications. One other Astaxanthin supplier recently obtained GRAS status at a level of 0.1 mg per serving, a level that does not have significant benefits for antioxidant or other applications. “Cyanotech is very happy to have BioAstin self-affirmed GRAS, which will allow manufacturers to use BioAstin in a variety of functional food and beverage applications” said Gerald Cysewski, Cyanotech’s Founder and Chief Scientific Officer. “We took the extra steps to make sure our GRAS status can deliver a significant antioxidant punch for consumers.”

US FDA GRAS status is the defining regulation for food and beverage applications in the US. It is also an important milestone for other countries’ regulatory bodies considering allowing BioAstin in functional foods and beverages. Cyanotech’s other major microalgae product, Hawaiian Spirulina Pacifica®, was previously recognized by the FDA as having GRAS status.

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Bluewave Marine Ingredients gets GMP for fish protein plant

Admin — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 15:56:51 +0000

Fish protein producer Bluewave Marine Ingredients has announced its joint venture operation in Ecuador has received GMP certification from SGS.

The recently formed company produces fish protein isolate at half the price of canned or frozen fish methods, and allows for the inclusion of protein in powder form for products including breads, pastas and soups.

“This is an important milestone for the Bluewave Ecuador site – as it assures the world that PerfectDigest Peptides are made according to sanitary requirements for both human and animal consumption applications,” said Mark Rottmann, COO for Bluewave. “We recently passed the 1,000 ton mark in terms of Peptide production, this registration will allow us to further expand into critical export markets.”

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Quebec City: Consortium BioMar-Innovation Holding Event: “Crossroads of the Sea: New marine extracts for the food industry and health”; November 9, 2010

Admin — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 15:33:57 +0000

Background and objectives:

Increasingly present in products associated with health and well-being, ingredients and marine extracts have advantages over conventional sources of ingredients.

Program:

Market trends for products containing natural extracts of marine bioactive
Research currently underway at universities and research centers in Quebec and France
Examples of extracts and ingredients sold by Quebec companies

Exhibition of research projects related to marine biomass.

Organized in the framework of the Consortium BioMar-Innovation, an initiative of:

Centre québécois de valorisation and biotechnology
Center of Marine Biotechnology Research

In collaboration with:

Institute of Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods

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Unilever Embraces Algae with Solazyme Investment

Admin — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 18:00:29 +0000

As food and consumer-goods companies face problems obtaining the key ingredient palm oil without damaging the environment, Unilever is betting on a promising low-life alternative: algae.

London-based Unilever, which relies on palm oil to make Dove soap, Vaseline lotion and Magnum ice cream, is set to announce Wednesday that it has made a multimillion-dollar investment in Solazyme Inc., a South San Francisco, Calif., company that harvests algal oil, a liquid that can replace palm oil in foods, soaps and lotions and serve as biodiesel fuel to power airplanes.

Unilever’s investment comes as big food companies are under pressure from environmentalists to curb the use of palm oil, the harvesting of which has contributed to deforestation in Indonesia and Malaysia, damaging orangutan habitats.

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