Food Business News - June 18, 2013 - 40

Ingredient Innovations

iverse
ynamos for
igestion

easons to incorporate
prebiotic
fiber
into
applications for digestive
benefits continue to increase.
Recent events have focused on
use in infant formula, effects on
immunity and reductions in the
glycemic index of finished foods.
A scientific study showed
Beneo’s Orafti Synergy1 (oligofructose-enriched inulin) in
infant formula is safe and demonstrates a prebiotic effect in
the first four months after birth.
Ricardo Closa Montasterolo, director of the Neonatal Unit, Hospital University Joan XXIII of
Tarragona, Spain, led the study.
The randomized, doubleblind, placebo-controlled study
involved 252 formula-fed infants
and 131 breast-fed infants. The
infant formula had either 0.8
grams per 100 ml of Orafti Synergy1 or maltodextrin.
Beneo’s
prebiotic
fiber
showed a microflora composition similar to that of breast-fed

infants, with a higher proportion
of bifidobacteria, softer stools
and a higher deposition frequency compared to the control
group receiving maltodextrin.
“These results confirm and
extend the existing broad scientific knowledge of prebiotic
inulin-type ingredients from
chicory in infant and small children nutrition,” said Anke Sentko, vice-president of regulatory
affairs and nutrition communication for Beneo. “We’re confident that this additional scientific data will give confidence
and inspiration to manufacturers that are looking to improve
their baby food products.”

Prebiotics and immune health
New fruit-flavored freezer
pops from Fun Treats, Inc.,
Cleveland, Tenn., feature prebiotic fiber in the form of inulin
along with Wellmune WGP, an
immune-boosting ingredient.
Biothera, an immune health

Prebiotic ﬁbers may provide
digestive beneﬁts in the
formulation of infant formula,
frozen novelties and
low-glycemic applications

company in Eagan, Minn., supplies the Wellmune WGP and
will feature the freezer pops
at its booth 1333 during the Institute of Food Technologists’
2013 Annual Meeting and Food
Expo July 13-16 in Chicago.
“We believe prebiotics and
Wellmune WGP work synergistically to boost the immune system and support overall health
and wellness,” said David Walsh,
vice-president of communications for Biothera. “Prebiotics
support immune health indirectly by nourishing healthy bacteria in the colon. Wellmune WGP
supports the immune system directly by binding to neutrophils,
the most abundant immune
cell population in the body, and
priming them for activity.”
Wellmune WGP is part of a
FibeBiotics project in Europe
that is studying the effect of
food fibers on the human immune system. The European
Union is investing more than €6
million in the project, a consortium of four European universities, five research institutions
and several private companies.
The project began in 2012 and is
expected to last through 2016.

Affecting the glycemic index

A scientiﬁc study in Spain showed oligofructose-enriched inulin in infant formulla
scientiﬁc study
d
showed olligofructose enriched inulin
h d
h d l
formula
had a prebiotic eﬀect.

FOODBUSINESS NEWS

One recent event in Europe
focused on the low-glycemic
index, another area where
prebiotic fiber may play a
positive role. An international
committee of nutrition scientists on June 10 in Milan, Italy,
released a scientific consensus statement. Among other
things, the committee recommended inclusion of glycemic
index and glycemic load in
national dietary guidelines and

food composition tables.
Ingredion, Inc., Westchester, Ill., offers Hi-Maize resistant starch, a prebiotic fiber.
The web site wwww.resistantstarch.com gives details
on studies that show how HiMaize, when added to foods,
provides benefits in such areas
as post-prandial glycemic response and insulin sensitivity.
“When Hi-Maize resistant
starch replaces flour or starch
in grain-based foods, it delivers
two major glycemic benefits:
It lowers the short-term glycemic response of that food, and
it improves metabolism by increasing insulin sensitivity,” said
Rhonda Witwer, senior business
development manager of nutrition for Ingredion. “In short, not
only does it deliver less glucose,
it helps the body manage fat and
sugar better.”
Sensus, Roosendaal, The Netherlands, offers prebiotic fiber ingredients in the form of Frutafit
and Frutalose chicory root fibers.
“The unique, functional attributes of chicory root fiber
allow it to lower the glycemic
index of grain-based foods by
replacing digestible carbs such
as sugar and flour,” said Scott
Turowski, technical sales, East
coast, for Sensus America, Inc.
Cargill, Minneapolis, offers
Oliggo-Fiber inulin. Besides
reducing the glycemic index in
finished foods, inulin may provide other benefits such as calcium absorption, adding fiber,
reducing calories and sugar,
and providing digestive health,
said Carol Lowry, senior food
scientist for Cargill. FBN
— Jeff Gelski
jgelski@sosland.com

June 18, 2013

http://www.resistantstarch.com

Food Business News - June 18, 2013

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