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 | | BRINGING FIBRE HOME
(INTERNATIONAL FOOD INGREDIENTS MAGAZINE: APRIL/ MAY 2008) | | | CMP | | 15/05/2008 | | | Jessica Rohwer, senior application specialist, nutrition, National Starch Food Innovation, looks at the advantages of high fibre content in everyday foods
Bringing home the importance of consuming a balanced diet is a common priority across Europe. Governments and the media alike are embarking on campaigns to educate consumers about healthy eating, emphasising the link between good nutrition and health. As a result, consumers are now better informed than ever to make healthier diet choices. In fact, the UK Food Standards Agency recorded a significant increase in the number of consumers who are aware that they should eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day.
Consumers are more receptive to healthier choices that fit within their lifestyle, taste and budget. With developments in the food industry, manufacturers have already responded to consumer demand for foods enriched with vitamins and minerals, and which are lower in fat, salt and sugar. However, there is one potentially lucrative market that remains largely unexploited by the food industry: everyday, high fibre convenience.
Back to basics
Recognising the benefits of a high fibre diet, and in an effort to improve their overall well-being, some consumers attempt to adopt a ‘back to basics’ approach to healthy eating by including wholegrains, fresh fruit and vegetables into their diets. For many, however, achieving a fibre-rich diet is anything but “basic”.
The difficulties of the modern lifestyle prevail, resulting in an ongoing struggle to meet the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of fibre, as well as other nutrients. With UK adults working approximately 44 hours per week and a European average of 40 hours, many struggle to combine a hectic lifestyle with a healthy one. Social factors also impact. Changing family demographics mean that many parents have limited time and resources to shop for and prepare fresh meals from scratch. Additionally, there is no escaping the fact that some consumers do not enjoy the grainy, heavy characteristics that are often typical of high fibre options. Then there are the specialist “free from” market segments. For example, for sufferers of gluten intolerance, increasing dietary fibre intake through everyday foods is a constant challenge.
Vital fibre
As an essential part of a healthy diet, an intake of dietary fibre ranging from 18 to 35g is recommended across Europe. Despite this, ILSI Europe (International Life Sciences Institute) has identified a fibre gap, whereby the actual daily intake ranges from 17 to 29g across the EU. Most notably, the average British male consumes 15.2g, and the average British female just 12.6g. Reassuringly, however, consumers are aware of the benefits of fibre, which include good digestive health, with 42 per cent of UK consumers actively trying to increase their fibre intake.
Manufacturers should also take note of a recent consumer survey, which concluded that foods offering multiple health benefits, such as those with high fibre content, have significantly increased shelf appeal. It also revealed that finding the most fitting combination of claims could affect the success of many everyday foods. A prime example was that corn flakes would benefit most from the claims “increases fibre intake” and “provides a balance of energy”. Another everyday staple, white sliced bread, was shown to benefit greatly from any combination of the proposed claims, which included “increases fibre intake” and “promotes a healthy digestive system”. Crucially, consumers also disclosed they would be 10-26 per cent more likely to buy white bread bearing these health claims compared with a standard white loaf.
Fibre innovation
So, how can manufacturers respond to this demand for high fibre yet convenient, appealing and affordable foods? In its recent report, the British Nutrition Foundation proposes a possible solution for increasing fibre intake. The authors state: “Through innovation in the food industry, one option to increase dietary fibre intake is to develop a wider range of foods that include non-digestible carbohydrates, such as resistant starch, as ingredients.”
National Starch Food Innovation’s Hi-maize has the highest dietary fibre content of all commercially available resistant starch ingredients on the European market.
It offers a simple solution that enables manufacturers to increase dietary fibre in everyday foods. A natural source of cereal fibre, Hi-maize is easier to use than other fibres and results in high quality end products. Importantly, it also enables processed foods, such as bread, cereals and nutrition bars, to act physiologically more like unprocessed foods.
Offering five nutritionally important benefits, Hi-maize resists digestion in the small intestine and reaches the colon where it acts as a dietary fibre. As well as increasing dietary fibre intake and promoting a healthy digestive system, further benefits include helping to control blood sugar “highs” and improving glycaemic response. It also delivers prebiotic activities by boosting the activity of friendly bacteria. Hi-maize provides the fibre that consumers lack, and more.
Use your loaf
While Hi-maize does not change the taste and texture of everyday foods, its effects on the nutritional profile are considerable. For example, reducing the flour content of white bread by 35 per cent and directly replacing it with Hi-maize can reduce carbohydrate content by up to 25 per cent, as well as a 20 per cent reduction in calories, a 45 per cent reduction in glycaemic response and six times more dietary fibre than standard bread.
According to Euromonitor, bread shows more potential than any other bakery product in the functional foods sector, with British functional bread sales totalling over US$12M and those in Germany over US$33M. Many leading brands, such as Sainsbury’s and Pågen, have already taken advantage of the marketing potential that fibre enrichment offers to everyday foods such as bread.
The gluten-free challenge
Sufferers of coeliac disease encounter increased risk of fibre deficiency due to their intolerance to gluten, which is found in many fibre-rich foods. This may increase the risk of contracting conditions related to a lack of dietary fibre. Coeliac UK estimates that one in 100 adults suffers from the disease, with four out of five going undiagnosed. According to the charity, the gluten-free market is growing in scale and sophistication and demand for nutritious, gluten-free foods is increasing.
This presents an opportunity for mainstream brands. Completely gluten-free, Hi-maize resistant starch offers a way to include vital dietary fibre into products, making them suitable for people with coeliac disease. Vogel’s, for example, has developed a high fibre, gluten-free range of cereals containing Hi-maize.
Closing the fibre gap
Fibre is vital to maintaining overall health and well-being. In the current climate of nutritional awareness, the timing is right for manufacturers to differentiate products through fibre enrichment. Innovative ingredients, such as Hi-maize resistant starch, offer manufacturers a route to capitalise on the increased demand for everyday high fibre foods. By offering multiple health benefits, as well as convenience, Hi-maize brings much needed dietary fibre home to consumers.
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