Clean-label is an important purchase prerequisite for many a consumer these days. Even foods designed for convenience such as frozen, canned, jarred, and instant foods are getting the clean-label treatment. For many consumers, the health benefits they associate with a cleaner label are non-negotiable, no matter the product.

Sharon Chittkusol, associate marketing manager, Clean & Simple, U.S./Canada, for Ingredion Inc. (Westchester, IL), notes similar findings from a survey her company commissioned in 2017 in U.S. and Canadian consumers. The survey found that “consumers in the study believed that ‘natural’ ingredients are better for their health, the environment, and taste better,” she says. “We also confirmed that ingredients gained consumer acceptance when they were recognizable with pronounceable names and were not something unfamiliar or that sounded like they were made in the lab.”

Starches play an important role in foods by providing texture, which plays a significant role in how consumers experience food. Achieving the right texture can be difficult, however, particularly when a food’s processing subjects it to extremes in temperature. “Nowhere is [significance of texture] more evident than [in] frozen foods, where sauces must withstand multiple freeze/thaw cycles,” explains Shiva Elayedath, senior technical services manager for Cargill (Minneapolis). “The sauce tends to break down as ice crystals grow and recede with each cycle. In the past, we relied on modified starches to prevent these sauces from ‘weeping,’ but increasingly, consumers are asking for alternatives.”

Rice flour, rice starch, potato starch, and tapioca starch are among the most common clean-label starch alternatives today. (They are also referred to as functional starches.) Non-GMO corn starch is another clean-label option that is familiar to consumers. “The main goal of functional starches and flours is to deliver viscosity and to offer high stability to heat, acid, and shear during processing and help provide product stability over shelf-life, giving manufacturers the ability to maintain product quality over ambient as well as refrigerated/frozen shelf life,” explains Chittkusol. “Functional starches and flours help products retain a smooth texture and prevent separation after storage.”

Traditionally, chemically modified starches have been the go-to solution for texture and stability, as native, clean-label starches were not reliable for maintaining textural stability in response to harsh conditions such as freezing and high heat. “Traditional single-source native starches exposed to these conditions tend to break down and release water,” explains Elayedath. “They get weepy and transform a thick, creamy sauce into a gloppy mess.”

However, ingredient suppliers have devised ways to physically modify or combine native starches to improve functionality and allow them to replace chemically modified starches. Blends are key, says Elayedath: “Since Cargill began experimenting with different starch blends from various botanical sources, we’ve found native starches can do more than we ever imagined-especially if we blend two or three together. We’re also using basic processing techniques, like controlling moisture and heat, to create more robust starch solutions that better withstand harsh processing conditions, yet still appear on ingredient statements as plant-sourced starches.”

As for Ingredion, says Chittkusol, the company’s functional native starches benefit from a “physical modification process” that can help sidestep processing challenges while remaining clean label. The company also works with customers to adjust formulations or manufacturing processes as needed.

For example, Ingredion’s Novation starch portfolio includes Novation 340 and 350, which are pregelatinized instant starches processed from waxy maize. Novation 350 is for systems with high-dispersion requirements. These starches are ideal for refrigerated dressings, dips, sauces, marinades, pie fillings, and frozen/refrigerated prepared meals. Meanwhile, the firm’s Novation 309 and 609 are organic corn starches that provide cold-temperature stability with the possibility of simplifying labels and reducing expense by eliminating costly hydrocolloids.

Cargill’s SimPure line of clean-label starches includes SimPure 99560, a blend of potato and tapioca starches, and SimPure 99500, a potato starch. “These starches have excellent freeze/thaw stability and deliver great texture and viscosity, holding up to the rigors of modern processing and delivering a consistent end-product in both acidic and neutral pH systems,” says Elayedath.

With the continued innovation in native starches, it’s getting easier than ever to develop the clean-label products consumers want, without having to sacrifice taste and functionality.

Articles

Traditionally, chemically modified starches have been the go-to solution for texture and stability, as native, clean-label starches were not reliable for maintaining textural stability in response to harsh conditions such as freezing and high heat.

Can clean-label starches withstand freezing and high-heat applications?

Healthy-aging marketers have traditionally focused on female consumers, but in recent years, healthy-aging products for men have gained popularity as older men turn to supplementation to help maintain their vitality and fitness levels.

Golan Raz, head of the global health division at Lycored (Secaucus, NJ), says that the healthy-aging space is shifting toward a unisex approach where both women and men are now seeking products that can help them combat the effects of aging. “This is wonderfully demonstrated in the ingestible skincare space,” Raz says. “More and more men are realizing that beautifully aging skin isn’t just the domain of women.”

A recent Lycored survey of 313 men over the age of 50 found that the top health concerns for older men are diabetes and heart disease. Cardio-metabolic wellness, Raz said in a Lycored press release, is a significant source of anxiety for older men. Raz says that living a healthy lifestyle and ensuring proper nutrition are multifunctional activities that support heart, brain, and prostate health-all key areas of concern for aging men.

Demand for male-oriented healthy-aging products has risen, and brands are developing and researching new and established products in response. Ahead, we summarize new research and other new developments in men’s healthy-aging ingredients.

Fenugreek Extract Increases Strength and Body Mass in Healthy Men

Mariko Hill, product development executive for Gencor (Irvine, CA), says that men’s concerns around vitality are ensuring that testosterone-oriented ingredients stay at the top of the market. “Ingredients that promote healthy testosterone levels are still dominant in the men’s health supplement space,” Hill says. “Men tend to gravitate toward ingredients that boost muscle mass and promote vitality, which are two elements that testosterone has a huge influence on.”

Gencor recently completed a new, not-yet-published study on its branded fenugreek 

extract Testofen. This double-blind, randomized, dose-response clinical trial followed 138 healthy, non-smoking men for eight weeks. Subjects were randomized to receive either 300 mg or 600 mg of Testofen per day, or a placebo. All subjects in all conditions were assigned an exercise regimen.

After eight weeks, participants in both of the Testofen conditions saw statistically significant increases in leg strength, aerobic capacity, and body composition relative to participants in the placebo condition. The study also found that the effects were dose-dependent, with participants in the 600-mg condition seeing larger gains than those in the 300-mg condition.

Hill says the forthcoming study indicates that Gencor’s fenugreek extract is an effective supplement for improving body composition and muscle strength in aging men. She notes that maintaining healthy testosterone levels is important as men age: “Muscle mass and testosterone levels decrease as men age, which leads to a reduced quality of life due to lower strength, endurance, and vitality. Ingredients that enhance muscle strength and men’s health will play a pivotal role in the healthy-aging sector.”

Fenugreek Extract Boosts Energy, Stamina, and Testosterone

Testosterone is implicated in bone health, blood health, and even cognition. As testosterone tends to drop starting when men enter their 40s, maintaining healthy testosterone levels is critical for healthy aging in myriad ways.

 by Cepham (Somerset, NJ) found that Cepham’s branded 

 extract Testncrease improved free testosterone levels by 6.3 ng/dL, making it over 2.5 times more effective than a placebo. Cepham says the active ingredient in fenugreek extract, protodioscin, is also an effective energy enhancer and mood balancer.


	1. Solan M. “Treating low testosterone levels.” 

Maca Improves Physical Performance, Sexual Function, and Fatigue

Maca also continues to be a men’s health ingredient of interest, with researchers continuing to study its benefits.

 22 males and 25 females were randomly assigned to receive either placebo or 2.1 g of a patented Peruvian maca-Lepidamax ingredient from Nutrition 21-for 28 days. Researchers utilized the Shapiro Test to test the effects of maca on grip strength, mood, and sexual functioning, and a Nonparametric Wilcoxon Rank Test to examine the differences between groups for men and women separately.

Men taking maca had a significant improvement in handgrip strength, sexual function, and a reduction in fatigue, compared to placebo. (Women taking maca saw a significant improvement in fatigue, mood, sexual function, and handgrip compared to baseline, but these improvements were not significant when compared to placebo.)

“We’re excited to see that these clinical study results support Lepidamax’s ability to effectively enhance various end-points related to men’s health, enabling end-users to break through potential performance barriers,” said Joe Weiss, president of Nutrition 21, in a press release. “This study confirms our previous understandings around this ingredient and has exceeded our expectations regarding the possible applications for Lepidamax.”


	2. Jiannine LM et al. “The effects of 

on grip strength, fatigue, and sexual behavior.” 

Pycnogenol Is Well-Tolerated, Effective for BPH

In December 2018, Horphag Research (Chicago, IL) announced the results of a new study demonstrating the efficacy of its branded ingredient Pycnogenol, a French maritime pine bark extract, in relieving the symptoms of benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH).

The study followed 75 men between the ages of 55 and 75 for eight weeks. Subjects who took 150 mg of Pycnogenol per day saw statistically significant improvements in BPH symptoms, with no significant side effects, compared to those who took a placebo. The study also found that Pycnogenol was even more effective than pharmaceuticals like finasteride and dutasteride in managing BPH symptoms.

In December, Sebastien Bornet, vice president global sales and marketing for Horphag, told 

’s associate editor Sebastian Krawiec: “This is a big issue. It’s about quality of life. If you have to wake up two, three times during the night, you can’t sleep. If you can’t sleep, you can’t stay healthy, and then it’s a snowball effect and you have other health issues at the end of the day.”


	3. Ledda A et al. “Benign prostatic hypertrophy: Pycnogenol supplementation improves prostate symptoms and residual bladder volume.” 

Product Innovation Makes Drinkable Tongkat Ali Possible

has a long history as a men’s vitality and sexual health supplement, with applications in sports performance, weight loss, and energy markets. Annie Eng, CEO of HP Ingredients (Bradenton, FL), says that new developments with HP Ingredients’ branded tongkat ali supplement LJ100 have now made it possible to deliver tongkat ali in more delivery formats.

“Tongkat ali by its nature imparts a bitter taste,” Eng says. “The material itself works well in pill forms, but we’ve received several requests from brand marketers who want to use the ingredient in beverage formats.”

Now, Eng says, “Microencapsulation allows for the incorporation of LJ100 into beverages, as microencapsulation successfully masks the bitter edge.” She adds that microencapsulation also allows for slower release of the active ingredient while also offering better ingredient stability and bioavailability.

Last year, HP Ingredients completed a new study of LJ100 that examined the relationship between testosterone, physical vigor, emotional well-being, and cognition. The 24-week study

, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel study, followed 83 people between the ages of 25 and 65 who had a BMI of 18-30. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either one 50-mg tablet of LJ100 plus a multivitamin per day, or a matching placebo, for 24 weeks. The study authors assessed efficacy after 12 weeks and safety after 24 weeks.

Participants in the LJ100 condition showed a significant decrease in neutrophils that degranulate to release proteases during pathogenesis and stress. The study authors speculate that tongkat ali is an adaptogen that may improve emotional health and vitality by modulating the body’s immune response.

“Supplementation with tongkat ali and a multivitamin was associated with improvements in vigor, cognition, and testosterone levels,” Eng says. “There are more than a dozen studies on LJ100 [and study results like these are why] it’s often positioned for male libido, energy, and sports performance.”


	4. George A et al. “Efficacy and safety of 

(Physta) water extract plus multivitamins on quality of life, mood and stress: a randomized placebo-controlled and parallel study.” 

Saw palmetto extract has long been a popular men’s health supplement, particularly for prostate health. But one challenge has plagued brands and manufacturers from the start: Saw palmetto simply doesn’t taste very good.

Stephen Hill, vice president of product development and regulatory for Valensa International (Eustis, FL), says that saw palmetto extract’s naturally pungent sensory profile has traditionally limited the supplement’s applications outside of a softgel. But now, delivery format innovations are making it possible to create odorless and flavorless saw palmetto powders that can be used in formulations for bars, chewables, smoothies, and other finished product formats.

“By microencapsulating the lipid extract, Valensa has been able to deliver a more sensory-neutral and functionally superior powderized format,” he says. “We hope this leads to greater reach and compliance by enabling the benefits of saw palmetto to be delivered in new forms and products that men prefer.”

Hill says that saw palmetto extract prevents the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone by inhibiting the action of 5-alpha-reductase. This means the compound has potential applications in men’s health well beyond its previous use as a prostate health ingredient.

“Valensa views saw palmetto extract as the key to unlocking an active lifestyle without the undesired sexual side effects that men often experience,” he notes. “We’re going to have more to say about this topic soon.”

Men’s Health Ingredients Ready for Innovation

The men’s healthy-aging ingredients market is fertile ground for innovation, with a growing demographic of baby boomers looking to maintain their vitality and keep up an active lifestyle. Recent ingredient developments have shown that there’s still plenty of room for new formats and formulas. As more aging men look to stay fit and healthy, expect new opportunities for men’s health ingredients to emerge.

New research and new delivery formats are shaking up the men’s supplements space as more men turn to healthy-aging products.

Men’s healthy-aging supplements market: New ingredient research, new delivery forms

Everyone loves sugar. Its flavor and performance are responsible for the eating experience we’ve come to expect from baked goods, confections, and beverages. Excessive sugar consumption, however, has plagued our society with health problems such as obesity and metabolic disease, and this is what is motivating consumers today to drastically cut their intake of sugar. According to proprietary consumer research from ingredient supplier Kerry (Beloit, WI) conducted in 2018, 46% of consumers strongly want to reduce their consumption of sugar, and 71% read the sugar content on ingredient labels.

In fact, according to USDA data, between 2000 and 2016, there was a 17% decline in daily consumption of sweetening agents such as refined sugar and high-fructose corn syrup. According to the group The Consumer Goods Forum

, in 2017, 68% of companies reported reducing sugar, a 12% increase compared to 2016. Kerry reports that, as a way to manage sugar consumption, 28% of its survey respondents are opting for reduced-sugar foods and beverages, and 19% are switching to alternative sweetening agents.

Such movement is also impacting the product claims companies are making. For instance, the number of “no added sugar” claims on products grew 2.6% in 2018 compared to the year prior, and the number of “low/no/reduced sugar” claims grew 45% in 2017 compared to 2012, according to data from Mintel

. The number of “no artificial sweeteners” claims also grew 4.4% in 2018 compared to the year before, according to Nielsen data cited in the Kerry report

, showing that consumers not only want less sugar, but want alternatives that are clean label and natural.

If a product calls for less sugar, but the same sweetness, a natural, high-intensity sweetener such as stevia can solve the sweetness issue; however, replicating sugar’s functionality is no easy task.

“Emerging sweeteners are always compared and evaluated against [sugar’s] performance,” says Akshay Kumar Anugu, PhD, associate, global sweetener development, for Ingredion (Westchester, IL).

Anugu explains that replacing sugar with high-potency sweeteners is challenging for many reasons, such as the fact that differences in the binding ability of sweeteners at T1R2/T1R3 receptors, which are humans’ receptors for sweet flavors, can dictate different flavor delivery and mouthfeel properties, depending on the sweetener.

Says Anugu: “Sucrose not only provides sweet taste, but also imparts functional properties such as bulking/mouthfeel. In baked goods, sucrose increases the protein denaturation and starch gelatinization temperatures, acts as a tenderizer by retarding and restricting gluten formation, and also contributes to the volume. In ice cream, sucrose influences freezing point and controls ice crystal formation. In bars, it controls hardness and maintains microbial and physical stability during the shelf life.”

Also, when you ask consumers, not all consider 

 a bad word. In fact, in surveying consumer perceptions, Kerry found that 59% prefer sugar, compared to the 22% who prefer stevia. So, even as consumers may want to limit their consumption of sugar, they also have a positive opinion of it as a sweetener because it is a familiar ingredient.

The challenge now for suppliers and manufacturers is to devise products which give consumers what they want in terms of sugar reduction as well as flavor, all while using alternative ingredients. Their hope is that consumers will begin to recognize products like stevia and choose them because they like the taste.

Given these challenges, today’s sweetener suppliers and manufacturers have developed a number of creative solutions for clean-label sugar reduction. Much of this work involves finding the right combination of high-intensity sweeteners, and bulking agents, to replicate the flavors and textures we get with sucrose.

The most ubiquitous natural sweetener on the market today is stevia 

-more specifically, the steviol glycoside Rebaudioside A (Reb A).

Stevia is significantly sweeter than sugar and is therefore very effective at clean-label sugar reduction, particularly in beverage applications. “Early on, stevia was first embraced by manufacturers in product categories that were on the front lines of the sugar-reduction fallout-chiefly beverages, including juices, flavored waters, and sodas,” explains Andy Ohmes, global director of high-intensity sweeteners, Cargill (Minneapolis, MN). “Stevia leaf extracts have become so popular in these categories that close to one in four global beverage launches now contains stevia-based sweeteners.”

Beverages are a big sugar-reduction target because carbonated soft drinks and juices are notoriously high in sugar. In fact, in Kerry’s consumer survey, carbonated soft drinks were perceived to contain the highest sugar content. That means that consumers will either switch to unsweetened beverages or seek out alternatives, which they hope will be comparable to the real thing.

Meeting this expectation poses some challenges where stevia is concerned. Alone, stevia’s most prominent steviol glycoside, Reb A, will not help formulators eliminate sugar entirely because it has a bitter aftertaste and affects sensory characteristics such as mouthfeel.

At lower sugar-reduction levels, Reb A isn’t as problematic. “Formulators were able to achieve 30%-50% sugar reduction with Reb A in several beverage applications without impacting taste,” says Anugu. “However, Reb A can impart undesirable sensory characteristics, especially above 50% sugar replacement, limiting its application.”

For this reason, the stevia industry’s push to commercialize other, minor steviol glycosides such as Reb M and Reb D, which sidestep some of the undesirable tastes and sensory characteristics of Reb A, has the potential to make a huge impact on sugar reduction. Most often, when aimed at lowering a product’s sugar profile today, these minor glycosides are used either in combination with Reb A or with other steviol glycosides.

Cargill’s ViaTech stevia sweetener portfolio, for example, allows for up to 70% sugar reduction, based on the company’s ability to pinpoint ideal glycoside ratios. “Part of what sets the ViaTech portfolio apart from other stevia sweeteners is Cargill’s proprietary taste-prediction model, which can precisely predict which combination of steviol glycosides deliver optimal taste and sweetness,” explains Ohmes.

“We have found that using Reb D and Reb M as sweetness modulators in very small amounts in tandem with [Reb A sweeteners] RA99 or RA98 works very, very well in masking off-notes while maintaining high intensity,” explains Thom King, president and CEO of Icon Foods (Portland, OR). He adds that even Reb D and Reb M are not without their own off-notes, making combining the steviol glycosides ideal.

Combining a variety of different steviol glycosides is also more cost effective for several reasons. Reb M and Reb D are called minor steviol glycosides because they are present in lesser concentrations in stevia plants, requiring more work and starting material to extract workable amounts. This translates to a higher price, but as many firms are now pointing out, continuing technological advancements are making the minor steviol glycosides more scalable.

Cargill’s newest stevia sweetener, EverSweet, is a minor steviol glycoside sweetener containing Reb M and Reb D produced through fermentation, without the typical leaf extraction.

Another firm, PureCircle (Chicago, IL), has begun selectively breeding stevia plants so that they have a higher Reb M and Reb D content, compared to conventional stevia plants. “As to cost effectiveness, recent PureCircle advances enable us to significantly boost production of high-grade stevia sweeteners like Reb M,” states PureCircle CEO Maga Malsagov. “This means we can supply stevia sweeteners in amounts that customers need as they expand use of stevia ingredients. Depending on amounts purchased and terms of purchase, companies buying Reb M from PureCircle will find the cost of using it to sweeten a beverage or food equivalent to their cost of using sugar to achieve the same level of sweetening.” This has opened stevia up to greater possibilities in other applications, such as baked goods, ice cream, sauces, and other growth categories, says Malsagov.

Stevia has a lot of name recognition and a positive connotation among consumers looking for low-glycemic and clean-label products. However, stevia can present notable limitations beyond undesirable aftertaste, such as limitations in mouthfeel and bulking.

Of stevia, Anuga says: “Sensory challenges include creating a sucrose-like sweet response (time intensity and temporal), eliminating non-sucrose taste profile (bitter, astringency, licorice, etc.), and adding back mouthfeel. Processing challenges include solubility, dispersion, foaming, stability (processing/storage), shelf life, etc.”

For these reasons, “Up to this point, there has been a more limited use of stevia in the bakery category,” explains Wade Schmelzer, principal food scientist, Cargill. “Cakes and cookies, for instance, are indulgent products, which consumers often associate as a reward for their other dietary choices. Sugar reduction in these types of applications is more complex, since sugar is highly functional, impacting not only taste, but texture, structure, and color.”

Schmelzer says that replicating the texture of full-sugar bakery products often requires a combination of bulking agents, such as erythritol and fibers, “potentially coupled with starches and hydrocolloids.” Bulk sweeteners such as the polyol erythritol and the rare sugar allulose can impart the desirable functional properties stevia cannot.

“Bulking sweeteners can produce viscosity and mouthfeel very similar to sugar,” explains King. The most popular combination, says King, is stevia and erythritol, or even stevia, monk fruit, and erythritol.

Erythritol offers a number of functions across platforms, says Ravi Nana, polyols technical service manager, Cargill. In beverages, erythritol provides mouthfeel, which decreases when sugar decreases. In frozen dairy products, it provides freezing-point depression, and in bakery applications, it contributes to bulk and enhances texture.

“For example, in ice cream, sugar is what lowers the freezing point and prevents the formation of large ice crystals, creating the smooth, silky texture expected of a premium ice cream,” says Nana. “Because of its small molecular size (one-third that of sugar), erythritol can fill that void, providing a threefold freezing-point depression factor. That higher effect on freezing-point depression helps soften reduced-sugar ice creams, creating the scoopable texture consumers crave.”

King says the combination of erythritol, stevia, and monk fruit is ideal for sweetening bars and powdered drink mixes, particularly 100-mesh or fine-powder formats that allow for immediate dispersion into solutions or formulas.

King also points to the benefits of allulose. “The combination of allulose and stevia makes for a perfect plug-and-play sweetening system for baked goods. Stevia does not participate in the Maillard reaction, nor does it brown or activate leavening. Allulose, since it is a saccharide and participates in Maillard, works wonderfully, and the added sweetness of stevia makes it a very, very viable replacement for sugar in sweet baked goods and desserts.”

Another advantage of allulose is a recent draft guidance published by FDA that states allulose can be excluded from the added-sugar statement on the Nutrition Facts label.

The use of naturally derived fibers such as inulin from chicory root fiber has become another way to reduce sugar while providing important textural properties, especially when used in combination with other sweeteners.

“We have found inulin very useful in baked goods to be used as a fat emulator, with the added benefit of a fiber label claim,” says King. “It pairs very well with stevia. It participates, albeit very slightly, in Maillard since, by definition, inulin is classified as a fructan, which is a polymer of fructose molecules with a short chain length, known as fructooligosaccharides. We have found that the allulose, stevia, and monk fruit combination is much more effective in baked goods.”

Cargill touts using its Oliggo-Fiber inulin. “While we can often replace sugar’s sweetness with a high-intensity sweetener like stevia, it won’t make up for the loss of bulk or functionality. For those properties, we often opt for Zerose erythritol, a natural, zero-calorie bulk sweetener, and naturally sourced Oliggo-Fiber chicory root fiber,” says Tim Christensen, senior food technologist, R&D, bakery applications, Cargill. “Together, these ingredients help deliver the mouthfeel consumers expect. In many bakery applications, the combination of stevia, erythritol, and chicory root fiber can successfully replace the functionality of sugar, keep cost-of-use in check, and deliver on consumer preferences.” This combination (stevia, erythritol, and chicory), says Christensen, makes it possible to achieve a 15%-20% sugar reduction in cookies, and a 20%-50% sugar reduction in cakes and muffins, with limited effect on overall product performance.

The use of inulin fiber also allows for additional claims in major growth categories. “[Chicory root fiber is] a product that can be used in some organic formulations, depending on inclusion levels. It’s gluten free. We see now with the keto and paleo trends that incorporation of fiber has taken off as well,” explains Taylor Halstead, product line manager; specialty carbohydrates; starches, sweeteners, and texturizers business; Cargill. “It’s really just compatible with a number of the label claims that customers want to make to begin with.”

There is no one-size-fits-all solution for sugar reduction. Optimizing flavor and texture means tailoring a combination of different sweeteners to a specific product because each product brings its own challenges. It’s clear that consumers want reduced-sugar options, and delivering these options is now more possible than ever.

Deloitte. “The Consumer Goods Forum: Annual Health & Wellness Progress Report, 2017” 

https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/Consumer-Business/cb-2018-health-wellness-report.pdf

Mintel. “Trends in sugar, sugar reduction, and sweeteners: Prepared for the 34th annual Sweetener Symposium.” 

https://sugaralliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/lynn-dornblaser.pdf

Nielsen xAOC Sales Units. 52 weeks ending June 16, 2018. Analyzed among 207 billion units.

Today’s sweetener suppliers and manufacturers have developed a number of creative solutions for clean-label sugar reduction. Much of this work involves finding the right combination of high-intensity sweeteners, and bulking agents, to replicate the flavors and textures we get with sucrose.

Reducing sugar: Blending natural sweeteners for optimized performance

In the never-ending quest for weight-management solutions, ingredient suppliers continue to introduce ingredients to market while substantiating those that are longstanding. The last many months have brought about a number of significant discoveries in terms of new research and new products to market. Whether the manufacturer’s interest lies in botanicals or highly innovative extractions, there’s a vast array of ingredients to consider.

Here we share some scientific highlights from around the dietary supplement industry, all relating to ingredients for weight management.

Some ingredients in the weight-management category have been shown to encourage fat loss. Unfortunately, these ingredients also tend to encourage lean body mass loss.

A recent scientific review comparing popular weight-loss ingredients found that chromium picolinate encouraged fat loss alongside the lowest amount of lean body mass.

 It’s great news for Nutrition 21 LLC (Purchase, NY), which funded the study on its Chromax chromium picolinate ingredient against popular weight-loss ingredients. Besides Chromax, the study included green tea 

“Healthy muscle mass has been more commonly referred to as the ‘currency of aging,’ likely because without it the body will start to break down, negatively impacting movement and balance,” says Mallory Junggren, senior director of marketing at Nutrition 21. “However, the more lean muscle you can retain, the better your chances are of preserving that mobility.”

An essential nutrient for humans, chromium helps insulin function by more effectively transporting glucose into cells. By improving insulin function, muscle cells get the nutrients they need for proper muscle maintenance. It’s a holistic-sounding approach to weight loss, and one that the company is interested in better understanding with future scientific research.

Chromax is available in powder format for use in tablets, capsules, nutrition bars, and pre-mixed beverages.

Known for its slimy quality in various cooking preparations, okra 

has a high mucilage content. The mucilage contains fibers that can bind to fat and, in so doing, eliminate fat from the body prior to its absorption. The phenomenon makes okra a unique candidate for weight-management solutions.

Nexira (Rouen Cedex, France) is capitalizing on okra as a fat binder with its new ingredient Okralin, a patented combination of okra pod powder and inulin. According to the company’s latest animal research, Okralin works as a fat binder more effectively than okra itself and more effectively than cactus powder and chitosan, which are both sold commercially for their fat-binding properties. A more recent human study suggests that Okralin promoted weight loss significantly more than a placebo in 12 weeks.

While Nexira’s Okralin is marketed primarily as a fat binder, okra itself is increasing understood as having other properties that are useful in weight and diabetes management.

Having already created a successful market for shilajit as a healthy aging ingredient, Natreon (New Brunswick, NJ) has more plans for shilajit in the future. In March 2019, the company earned a U.S. patent for an isolated compound in shilajit and “prevention and/or treatment of body weight gain.”

Shilajit is a rock exudate used in Ayurveda and sourced from the Himalayas and other mountain regions. Within the substance, Natreon isolated a compound called urolithin B. The compound is at the center of Natreon’s new U.S. patent, and 

 will learn more about it as Natreon moves closer to marketing. For now, Natreon has developed and identified standardization procedures, biomarker compounds, and undisclosed pharmacological studies to support a future market for the ingredient.

 is a wandering vine with perceived weight-management potential. Cepham Inc. (Somerset, NJ) started marketing the ingredient under the name OperQthin, making it the latest Ayurveda ingredient to come to the mainstream market.

“Over the years, much commercial and application research has been focused on common Ayurvedic herbs like 

,” says Cepham president Anand Swaroop, PhD. “While very popular in Indian traditional medicine system, morning glory has not been given its due attention. However, with Cepham’s research initiative on less-known herbal remedies, this product is in focus again.”

Right now, supporting science on OperQthin is limited to animal trials that suggest potential anti-diabetic and weight-reduction benefits, but Cepham says a human randomized, controlled trial protocol is in the works for a study that could be completed by late 2020.

Ginger may support weight management via potential mechanisms such as thermogenesis, appetite control, and inhibition of intestinal fat absorption.

 Much of the available research, however, is on common yellow ginger 

To distinguish its ginger offering from that of other suppliers, Cepham has unveiled GyngerLean, a formula combining yellow ginger, red ginger 

Cepham believes its trio of gingers can have a synergistic effect on weight management. An animal trial on GyngerLean is now complete and, once safety studies clear, Cepham will begin a study on GyngerLean in humans.

A new meta-analysis supports the notion that a proprietary extract of white kidney bean 

can positively influence body weight and body fat in humans.

 The extract is Phase 2, a product from Ashland (Kearny, NJ).

White kidney bean is known to contain amylase inhibitors which can block or slow the absorption of carbohydrates from meals. But because historical research on white kidney bean extract has yielded mixed reviews, researchers decided to focus solely on Phase 2 studies for this meta-analysis. In review of 10 studies, they determined that Phase 2, when taken with meals containing carbohydrates, was associated with weight loss compared to placebo.

The meta-analysis, funded by Ashland (previously as Pharmachem Laboratories), suggests that manufacturers should not assume a false equivalence of white kidney bean extracts on the market today. Phase 2 is the most studied of those available.

Prebiotics and probiotics are often added to foods and dietary supplements with the hope or expectation that they will foster diverse and beneficial bacteria populations in humans. Concerning weight management, obesity, and related health complications such as leaky gut have been associated with low diversity of bacteria present in the gut. Now, prebiotics and probiotics are evaluated for potential use in obese populations, but researchers are also interested in combining these ingredients to create synbiotics that might be more effective in improving health factors. Such was the inspiration for a recent USDA-funded study on one prebiotic and two probiotics.

Researchers assigned humans to consume a prebiotic galactooligosaccharide (GOS) and one of two probiotics, separately and combined. After three weeks, fecal analyses showed that synbiotic combinations didn’t improve intestinal function, but each ingredient on its own was associated with improvements in gut permeability. It’s still possible, the researchers say, that a higher dose of GOS, combined with probiotics, may have yielded a significant improvement with synbiotics.

FrieslandCampina (Amersfoort, Netherlands) provided GOS for the study.

Following up on years of research, Fytexia Corp. (New York City) has expanded its weight-management portfolio with a unique peptide fraction derived from brewer’s yeast 

Dubbed DNF-10, the ingredient reportedly influences satiety hormones when consumed.

DNF-10 was introduced at SupplySide West in Las Vegas last fall, and the ingredient is backed by numerous animal and human studies showing benefits such as reduced caloric intake to weight loss. Fytexia has future plans to better learn about DNF-10’s mechanisms of action and influence on hormones in different populations. Until future studies are performed, the company continues to analyze its existing data for new understandings.

Fytexia also markets a fat-burner derived from citrus (Sinetrol) and a concentrated polyphenol ingredient equivalent to five portions of fruits and vegetables (Oxxynea).

Willoughby D et al. “Body composition changes in weight loss: Strategies and supplementation for maintaining lean body mass, a brief review.” 

 vol. 10, no. 12 (December 3, 2018): E1876	

Uebelhack R et al. “Double-blind, randomized, three-armed, placebo-controlled, clinical investigation to evaluate the benefit and tolerability of two dosages of IQP-AE-103 in reducing body weight in overweight and moderately obese subjects.” 

Ebrahimzadeh A et al. “A systematic review of the anti-obesity and weight-lowering effects of ginger (

 Roscoe) and its mechanisms of action.” 

Udani J et al. “Systematic review of meta-analysis of a proprietary alpha-amylase inhibitor from white bean (

 L.) on weight and fat loss in humans.” 

 strains and galactooligosaccharides improve intestinal barrier function in obese adults but show no synergism when used together as synbiotics.” 

Consumers want science-backed ingredients. Companies are answering the call.

Weight Expectations: Science-backed weight-management supplement ingredients

What’s in a name? When that name applies to an oat “milk,” soy “cheese,” or macadamia nut “ice cream,” the answer may be

For with a bumper crop of plant-based dairy alternatives threatening to crowd out the cow’s-milk originals they emulate, some in the dairy industry are questioning if these products can adopt traditional dairy names.

So, too, is FDA. As part of its Nutrition Innovation Strategy, the agency is “modernizing our standards of identity, which define through regulation certain characteristics, ingredients, and quality of specific foods,” said an agency statement from Scott Gottlieb, who was the FDA commissioner at the time of the strategy’s launch.

The upshot: All those coconut yogurts and hempseed sour creams taking up prime dairy real estate may have to call themselves something different if FDA tightens its name game.

And whether or not it does so may depend on who protests the loudest, as FDA gave a veritable open mic to consumers, the dairy industry, and its plant-based disruptors to weigh in on the need for new dairy-naming standards. As you might suspect, it’s been a spirited discussion. So we spoke with a few participants to learn what they think consumers should read when they reach into the dairy case.

You almost can’t blame FDA for putting off updating its dairy standards of identity; spelled out exhaustively in 21 CFR 131 through 135, they don’t make for captivating reading. (A sample from the standard for milk: “Milk is the lacteal secretion, practically free from colostrum, obtained by the complete milking of one or more healthy cows. Milk that is in final package form for beverage use shall have been pasteurized or ultrapasteurized, and shall contain not less than 8¼ percent milk solids not fat and not less than 3¼ percent milkfat…”)

But did FDA realize that in proposing this update, it was opening a can of worms? As far as Alan Bjerga, senior vice president, communications, National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF; Arlington, VA), is concerned, “FDA’s ‘can of worms’ is of its own creation. Because the agency hasn’t enforced its standards of identity for dairy-product labeling for decades, a Wild-West approach that isn’t seen anywhere else in the world has taken hold in grocery aisles.”

That Wild-West approach is part-and-parcel of the gold rush for plant-based dairy lookalikes that market watchers predict will keep paying dividends into the future. MarketandMarkets projects a CAGR of 11.4% from 2018 to 2023 for the dairy alternative category, taking it from a value of $17.3 billion to $29.6 billion over the forecast period.

Yet with many of these products packaged almost indistinguishably from their dairy counterparts, there’s room for confusion as to what kind of “milk” a consumer might be buying. So while FDA “supports choice and innovation in the marketplace,” Commissioner Gottlieb’s statement reads, the agency is also mission-bound to “ensure that the labeling of such products does not mislead consumers, especially if this could compromise their health and well-being.”

And Bjerga thinks it’s about time. “FDA’s belated attention last year, which came in response to the growing public-health problem of consumer confusion over the nutritional content of beverages that inappropriately use dairy terms,” he says was “a welcome corrective to their own inaction.”

Plant-based partisans proffer a different perspective. “‘Big Dairy’ has a powerful lobby and it asked FDA to” enforce its standards, suspects Adam Lowry, cofounder and co-CEO, Ripple Foods (Emeryville, CA). And that, he continues, “has everything to do with the fact that dairy consumption is declining in the U.S. as more consumers look to plant-based, and the dairy industry is playing defense by trying to take away a product identifier that’s been used forever.”

Daniel Fabricant, PhD, CEO and president, Natural Products Association (NPA; Washington, DC), sees a similar impetus. “The only parts of dairy that are growing are ultra-filtered and A2 milk,” he says. “Dairy’s been declining for a long time. And that’s a big part of this discussion. People want to protect their market share.”

Not so fast, counters Bjerga. “The plant-based industry will say that dairy’s just upset because their sales are slipping and they’re worried about eroding market share. Not true. First, we’ve been advocating FDA action for 40 years, through good times and bad. Second, dairy consumption of all products has actually been rising, with butter at a record.” Cheese, too, is trending slightly up, he adds, “despite the imitators.”

But those imitators are the nut-, seed-, grain-, and legume-based competitors enjoying surprising success at winning over even omnivorous consumers-and it’s worth exploring whether or not they’ve done so by duping shoppers into thinking they’re the “real” dairy deal.

“Consumers are not at all confused about what is dairy and what’s not,” Lowry believes. “In fact there’s case law that proves exactly this, relating to soy milk, where it was shown that no one thinks ‘soymilk’ comes from cows.”

Nor has Fabricant seen data suggesting that the appearance of the term “milk” on plant-based beverages is a bait-and-switch. “I don’t think consumers are necessarily confused” about what’s dairy milk and what isn’t, he contends.

But if anything confuses shoppers, Fabricant concedes, “that’s the nutrition aspect.” And here, at least, both dairy and plant-based advocates agree.

“The plant-based industry often likes to say that consumers aren’t confused because ‘they know almonds aren’t a dairy product,’” Bjerga says. “That’s a red herring. The debate here isn’t over that type of confusion. The debate is over confusion on nutritional content-that’s what FDA asked about, and that’s where the facts are on our side.”

Indeed, “Consumer research has repeatedly shown consumers have incorrect perceptions of the relative nutritional merits of dairy versus nondairy products,” Bjerga continues, citing a 2018 IPSOS poll of 2,006 U.S. adults, commissioned by Dairy Management Inc., showing that roughly half mistakenly believe that the main ingredient in plant-based beverages comes from the plant itself (“Such drinks are mostly flavored water,” an NMPF statement counters), while more than a third believe that plant-based beverages have the same or more protein than dairy milk, when the latter can have up to eight times the protein of the alternatives.

These findings aren’t lost on Lowry, who concurs that “not all dairy alternatives are created equal, and this is where consumers are confused.” As such, his company believes the moniker “milk” should be open to a nondairy beverage-“but only if it has the same nutrition as dairy.”

And that’s just what Lowry and Ripple told FDA: that “a plant-based milk should be able to call itself exactly that, as long as it has the same or better macro-nutrition than dairy milk.” Almond and rice milks, with one-eighth dairy’s protein-or, for that matter, coconut and cashew milk with minimal to none-should not get milk naming rights “because they’re far inferior in nutrition,” Lowry says.

That said, banning the use of dairy names on nutritionally equivalent nondairy alternatives “would actually create more confusion, not less,” Lowry believes. “The dairy industry wants milk to be solely ‘the lacteal secretion of a hooved mammal.’ That’s not just gross, but wrong.”

Ultimately, he thinks the agency should keep its eyes on the prize. “FDA’s role is to protect consumers,” Lowry points out. And limiting the use of “milk” to plant-based alternatives 

 to dairy milk-as long as labels make explicit that the milk is from plants, not cows-strikes him as an effective solution.

Bjerga also emphasizes consumer protection. “The FDA was established to protect consumers, and they should do so by enforcing their own rules given the clear marketplace confusion and flouting of regulations that’s taken place via their own inaction,” he says.

But what of any agency obligation to promote innovation, or even free speech? “Adding some nuts to water, throwing in a bunch of chemicals, and calling it milk isn’t ‘innovation,’” Bjerga says. “It’s dishonesty.”

And the free-speech part? The NMPF actually commissioned a study of case law to determine where the boundaries may lie, and in a citizen petition the organization filed with FDA on February 21, it outlined a labeling framework that it feels respects the plant-based industry’s first-amendment arguments.

In a statement regarding the petition, NMPF Executive Vice President Tom Balmer emphasizes that the organization isn’t arguing for any “bans” on speech. Its approach “simply relies on proper disclosures that allow for appropriate, truthful, non-misleading messaging. In the end, products that are ‘milk-like’ or ‘yogurt-like’ are not actual milk or yogurt-and the nutritional distinctions are critical to informed consumer decision-making.”

Fabricant, who used to direct dietary supplement programs at FDA, has valuable insights, too. “The agency’s goal is to protect and promote public health, and you do that with information based on fact, not on feelings,” he says. And that’s what the Nutrition Facts panel is for: “to get factual information into consumers’ hands. I look at this less as a problem with the term ‘milk’ than as a chance for consumer education.”

Beyond that, he continues, “While you always have to start with freedom of speech, you can’t hide behind it if you’re going to defraud or confuse consumers.”

As it stands, the comment period on the matter has closed, and FDA is combing through the input. While industry insiders are reluctant to spitball FDA’s decision, it never hurts to be optimistic. As Lowry muses, “I think it’ll work out in the end because consumers already know that milk can be dairy or nondairy. Ultimately, it should be the consumer’s call, and no consumer is confused about this. This is entirely industry driven.”
	 

Consumer poll reveals surprising attitudes about what’s in a name.

According to Steve Harman, account director, Ingredient Communications, a provider of PR services to ingredient companies (Crawley, UK), the debate over what plant-based products should call themselves “is an issue that’s been brewing for a few years now, and not just in the U.S.”

Exhibit A: The European Court of Justice recently prohibited the use of identifiers like “milk,” “butter,” and “cheese” for nondairy products, he says, and France now prevents vegetarian products from labeling themselves in the same way as meat. “Much of this is being driven by a meat industry backlash against the growing popularity of plant-based diets,” he notes. “It’s not surprising that the politician who proposed the French ban is a former cattle farmer.”

So with plant-based naming now a political issue, Ingredient Communications wanted to learn where consumers stand and surveyed 1,000 people in the U.S. and the UK to do just that. “Some of the results were surprising,” Harman says, “in particular the fact that 25% of respondents thought manufacturers of vegetarian products shouldn’t be allowed to use meat-related names.”

Also unexpected: the gulf between vegans and vegetarians in their product-naming preferences. “Vegetarians were the least likely to disapprove of meat-related names, with only 18% supporting a ban,” Harman says. “However, vegans were even more likely than meat-eaters to oppose meat-free products using meat-related names, with one in three supporting a ban. They were also the group least likely to buy a meat-free product if it was labeled with a word such as 

Further, survey results betrayed a certain skepticism among consumers as to companies’ intentions. “We asked why people didn’t approve of words like 

 being used to describe vegetarian products,” Harman notes, “and the most common reason was that they believed it to be misleading.” Ouch.

So what’s the take-home message? That choosing names for plant-based alternatives “isn’t as simple as a straight fight between meat producers and manufacturers of vegetarian products,” Harman concludes. “What’s definitely the case is that there needs to be a debate, and it needs to include the voices of consumers.”

FDA website. Statement from FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, on modernizing standards of identity and the use of dairy names for plant-based substitutes. September 27, 2018. 

https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/statement-fda-commissioner-scott-gottlieb-md-modernizing-standards-identity-and-use-dairy-names

Markets and Markets. “Dairy Alternatives Market Worth $29.6 Billion by 2023.” 

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/dairy-alternative-plant-milk-beverages.asp

National Milk Producers Federation website. “Survey: Only 1-in-5 Consumers Think Plant-Based Imitators Should Be Called Milk.” Published January 22, 2019. 

https://www.nmpf.org/survey-only-1-in-5-consumers-think-plant-based-imitators-should-be-called-milk/

National Milk Producers Federation website. “NMPF ‘Road Map’ Petition to FDA Outlines Next Steps in Dairy-Labeling Rules.” Published February 21, 2019. 

https://www.nmpf.org/nmpf-road-map-petition-to-fda-outlines-next-steps-in-dairy-labeling-rules/

What’s in a name? When that name applies to an oat “milk,” soy “cheese,” or macadamia nut “ice cream,” the answer may be: the seeds of controversy.

Nutritional Outlook Vol. 22 No. 5

Can clean-label starches withstand freezing and high-heat applications?

Men’s healthy-aging supplements market: New ingredient research, new delivery forms

Reducing sugar: Blending natural sweeteners for optimized performance

Weight Expectations: Science-backed weight-management supplement ingredients

Plant versus dairy milk: Should plant-based milks call themselves “milk”?

Probiotic Pathways: Food, drinks, and supplements. Which is the future?

Gut Eats: Probiotic and prebiotic food and drink launches

Will FDA change its definition of a dietary ingredient?

Natural sweetening with allulose