Category: Applications
Strategic nutrition for diabetes
According to the World Health Organization, in 2000 there were 171 million people with diabetes. In 2010, that number rose to 366 million, and projections estimate that nearly 600 million people will have diabetes within the next 20 years. The personal and societal costs of diabetes are significant. KEEP READING >>
Consumers not only say it’s tasty, they say, “That PowerCap is the coolest thing”
Food Navigator featured PowerCaps® earlier this month, and we shared samples with industry experts at IFT 2012. In these settings, the benefits to manufacturers in the growing beverage market were clear, but will consumers get excited about PowerCaps®? See for yourself. We offered samples at a busy supermarket, where the response was very enthusiastic. KEEP READING >>
Fortified beverages deliver missing nutrients to busy consumers
Pretty much everyone is running 24/7, which means many of us are probably experiencing nutrient gaps. Fortified beverages are convenient vehicles to deliver these missing nutrients. KEEP READING >>
If you can drink it, we can fortify it
We love reading about how consumers are adopting a diversified set of beverages into their diets! MSN Health hosted poll recently on its Facebook wall: “Which non-dairy milk is your favorite?” KEEP READING >>
On nutrient premixes: Predecessors, performance and (preventing) predicaments
All of those “P” words are courtesy of R. J. Foster, contributing editor for Food Product Design, who cleverly used alliteration in both the heading and subheads of his recent article, “Presenting Nutrient Premixes.” But what he produced was more than just a pretty picture (OK, we’ll stop. You get the idea.), it was also informative. According to Foster, as consumers begin to seek specific nutrients (desiring specific benefits), manufacturers are finding out that nutrient premixes offer them a great solution for fortifying new food and beverage products. In setting up the scenario – how it happens that premixes work well for manufacturers – he talked with Fortitech’s Chief Scientific Officer Ram Chaudhari: “Beverages seem to be leading the way, followed by baked goods and whole-grain cereals," suggests Ram Chaudhari, senior executive vice president and chief scientific officer, Fortitech, Inc., Schenectady, NY. He notes that, while any food or beverage product can be fortified through the use of a premix, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to their formulation. “Each product is unique, and how an ingredient interacts with the product and the other ingredients incorporated into the product varies and needs to be addressed in a customized fashion," he says. KEEP READING >>
Strategic use of supplements and fortified foods, along with fresh foods, for complete nutrition
If only our lifestyles never failed to give us opportunities to prepare and eat the variety of foods we need to provide our bodies with complete nutrition. If only aging didn’t throw new nutritional challenges at us every few years. If only everyone lived in a region where the availability of nutrient-rich foods were consistent. If only. Unfortunately, we don’t live in that world. We live in a different reality. The good news is that we have extensive knowledge about nutritional science and we have the ability to enrich foods and beverages (and produce supplements) to help us address nutrient deficiencies. KEEP READING >>
Yogurt: Some foods are trickier to fortify than others
No matter what ingredients a food and beverage product designer works with, taste, mouth feel and aroma are keys to that product’s success. And when working with a food, like yogurt, that may start out with some flavor and texture issues of its own, improving nutrient profile and sensory experience simultaneously can be tricky. However, with its popularity as a diet and health food, yogurt continues to be a major focus of fortification, and competition is fierce. KEEP READING >>
More evidence linking whey protein to better body composition
Since Fortitech partners with food and beverage manufacturers to develop formulations with specific nutrition strategies, we are especially interested in the science of nutrients as they impact weight management and muscle mass – two main areas of consumer interest. And there’s a lot of excitement around whey protein. KEEP READING >>
It’s National Lollipop Day! Put sweet treats to work for you! Some notes on functional confectioneries …
We hate to give you bad news on National Lollipop Day, but here it is: sweets are never going to be good for us. No one is going to give us permission to fill our plates with confections, no matter how delectable. But there is some good news! In moderation, sweet treats can do some important work for you – when fortified with helpful nutrients. Confectionery products are excellent vehicles for fortification particularly because of taste. Confections can easily cover up off-taste notes because of the added flavors and/or diversity of flavors you can get in a candy bar or confectionery product. It’s much easier to overcome the fortification taste hurdles with a gummy bear or chocolate bar than it is in water, for example. While dark chocolate grabs lots of headlines due to its antioxidant content, Fortitech is seeing an uptick in interest in gum and mint fortification. The health conditions food and beverage manufacturers are interested in targeting range from weight loss and satiety to energy, immunity, oral health and stress reduction. KEEP READING >>
Need an excuse to eat chocolate? More and more, treats may be nutrient-enriched
Will sweets ever be good for us? Well, every indulgence must be in moderation. But when those cravings strike, it can’t hurt to enjoy a little benefit from some added nutrients? KEEP READING >>