Reformulation Of Food Products Research Articles

Systematic review of dietary trans-fat reduction interventions.

ObjectiveTo systematically review published studies of interventions to reduce people’s intake of dietary trans-fatty acids (TFAs).MethodsWe searched online databases (CINAHL, the CRD Wider Public Health database, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Ovid®, MEDLINE®, Science Citation Index and Scopus) for studies evaluating TFA interventions between 1986 and 2017. Absolute decrease in TFA consumption (g/day) was the main outcome measure. We excluded studies reporting only on the TFA content in food products without a link to intake. We included trials, observational studies, meta-analyses and modelling studies. We conducted a narrative synthesis to interpret the data, grouping studies on a continuum ranging from interventions targeting individuals to population-wide, structural changes.ResultsAfter screening 1084 candidate papers, we included 23 papers: 12 empirical and 11 modelling studies. Multiple interventions in Denmark achieved a reduction in TFA consumption from 4.5 g/day in 1976 to 1.5 g/day in 1995 and then virtual elimination after legislation banning TFAs in manufactured food in 2004. Elsewhere, regulations mandating reformulation of food reduced TFA content by about 2.4 g/day. Worksite interventions achieved reductions averaging 1.2 g/day. Food labelling and individual dietary counselling both showed reductions of around 0.8 g/day.ConclusionMulticomponent interventions including legislation to eliminate TFAs from food products were the most effective strategy. Reformulation of food products and other multicomponent interventions also achieved useful reductions in TFA intake. By contrast, interventions targeted at individuals consistently achieved smaller reductions. Future prevention strategies should consider this effectiveness hierarchy to achieve the largest reductions in TFA consumption.

Applying a Consumer Behavior Lens to Salt Reduction Initiatives.

Reformulation of food products to reduce salt content has been a central strategy for achieving population level salt reduction. In this paper, we reflect on current reformulation strategies and consider how consumer behavior determines the ultimate success of these strategies. We consider the merits of adopting a ‘health by stealth’, silent approach to reformulation compared to implementing a communications strategy which draws on labeling initiatives in tandem with reformulation efforts. We end this paper by calling for a multi-actor approach which utilizes co-design, participatory tools to facilitate the involvement of all stakeholders, including, and especially, consumers, in making decisions around how best to achieve population-level salt reduction.

Population-level interventions in government jurisdictions for dietary sodium reduction.

Population-level interventions in government jurisdictions for dietary sodium reduction.

Enzymatic Interesterification of High Oleic Sunflower Oil and Tripalmitin or Tristearin

AbstractThe objective of this study was to produce low saturated, zero‐trans, interesterified fats with 20 or 30 % saturated fatty acids (SFA) such as C16:0 or C18:0. Tripalmitin (TP) or tristearin (TS) was blended with high oleic sunflower oil (HOSO) at different ratios (0.1:1, 0.3:1, and 0.5:1 [w/w]). Total C16:0 and C18:0 compositions of the resulting TP/HOSO and TS/HOSO blends, respectively, were plotted against blending ratios. Linear interpolation was used to estimate blending ratios that would yield physical blends (PB) with 20 or 30 % SFA. Interesterified blends (IB) were then synthesized from the customized PB using Lipozyme TL IM as the biocatalyst. Total and sn‐2 fatty acid compositions, triacylglycerol (TAG) molecular species, thermal behavior, and oxidative stability of PB and IB were compared. The total fatty acid compositions of PB and IB were similar but fatty acid positional distributions and TAG molecular species composition differed. IB contained 5–10 % more SFA at the sn‐2 position than corresponding PB. Furthermore, interesterification generated mono‐ and disaturated TAG species which resulted in broader melting profiles for IB. However, IB had lower oxidative stability than PB. The reformulation of food products with zero‐trans interesterified fats may be advantageous to the reduction of cardiovascular disease burden in the population.

A Modelling Approach to Estimate the Impact of Sodium Reduction in Soups on Cardiovascular Health in the Netherlands

Hypertension is a major modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease and mortality, which could be lowered by reducing dietary sodium. The potential health impact of a product reformulation in the Netherlands was modelled, selecting packaged soups containing on average 25% less sodium as an example of an achievable product reformulation when implemented gradually. First, the blood pressure lowering resulting from sodium intake reduction was modelled. Second, the predicted blood pressure lowering was translated into potentially preventable incidence and mortality cases from stroke, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), angina pectoris, and heart failure (HF) implementing one year salt reduction. Finally, the potentially preventable subsequent lifetime Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) were calculated. The sodium reduction in soups might potentially reduce the incidence and mortality of stroke by approximately 0.5%, AMI and angina by 0.3%, and HF by 0.2%. The related burden of disease could be reduced by approximately 800 lifetime DALYs. This modelling approach can be used to provide insight into the potential public health impact of sodium reduction in specific food products. The data demonstrate that an achievable food product reformulation to reduce sodium can potentially benefit public health, albeit modest. When implemented across multiple product categories and countries, a significant health impact could be achieved.

Reducing salt in food; setting product-specific criteria aiming at a salt intake of 5 g per day.

Background/Objectives:There is an increasing public health concern regarding high salt intake, which is generally between 9 and 12 g per day, and much higher than the 5 g recommended by World Health Organization. Several relevant sectors of the food industry are engaged in salt reduction, but it is a challenge to reduce salt in products without compromising on taste, shelf-life or expense for consumers. The objective was to develop globally applicable salt reduction criteria as guidance for product reformulation.Subjects/Methods:Two sets of product group-specific sodium criteria were developed to reduce salt levels in foods to help consumers reduce their intake towards an interim intake goal of 6 g/day, and—on the longer term—5 g/day. Data modelling using survey data from the United States, United Kingdom and Netherlands was performed to assess the potential impact on population salt intake of cross-industry food product reformulation towards these criteria.Results:Modelling with 6 and 5 g/day criteria resulted in estimated reductions in population salt intake of 25 and 30% for the three countries, respectively, the latter representing an absolute decrease in the median salt intake of 1.8–2.2 g/day.Conclusions:The sodium criteria described in this paper can serve as guidance for salt reduction in foods. However, to enable achieving an intake of 5 g/day, salt reduction should not be limited to product reformulation. A multi-stakeholder approach is needed to make consumers aware of the need to reduce their salt intake. Nevertheless, dietary impact modelling shows that product reformulation by food industry has the potential to contribute substantially to salt-intake reduction.

Product reformulation in the food system to improve food safety. Evaluation of policy interventions

The objective of this study is to understand the level of attention that the consumer awards to a balanced diet and to product ingredients, with a twofold purpose: to understand whether food product reformulation can generate a competitive advantage for companies that practice it and to evaluate the most appropriate policy interventions to promote a healthy diet. Reformulation strategy, in the absence of binding rules, could be generated by consumers. Results from qualitative research and from empirical analysis have shown that the question of health is a latent demand influenced by two main factors: a general lack of information, and the marketing strategies adopted by companies which bring about an increase in the information asymmetry between producers and consumers. In the absence of binding rules, it is therefore necessary that the government implement information campaigns (food education) aimed at increasing knowledge regarding the effects of unhealthy ingredients, in order to inform and improve consumer choice. It is only by means of widespread information campaigns that food product reformulation can become a strategic variable and allow companies to gain a competitive advantage. This may lead to virtuous results in terms of reducing the social costs related to an unhealthy diet.

How three countries in the Americas are fortifying dietary salt reduction: A north and south perspective

A chronic disease/risk factor prevention framework with three policy environments – communications, physical and economic – was used to organize population level interventions that address the “over consumption of dietary salt”, a key risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. The framework was then used to map the population based strategies to reduce dietary salt consumption being applied in three countries in the Americas – Argentina, Canada and Chile – each with a history of multi-sector approaches to deal with the risk factors for chronic disease, offering a north versus south perspective. Results show that in all three countries policy instruments are concentrated in the communications environment, e.g. media and education campaigns and/or regulations for standardized information on the salt or sodium content of packaged food products. Notable gaps are the requirement for nutrient information on meals and food items prepared by food establishments and restrictions on advertising and marketing of foods to children. In the physical environment, referring to the sodium levels in commercially prepared foods and meals available on the market, voluntary reformulation of food products is underway at this time in the three countries. Argentina and Chile began with bread and have gradually added other food categories; Canada at the outset is addressing all food categories where products have added salt. Argentina alone is at this point actively approaching regulations to limit the salt content of food, preferring this over ongoing monitoring of voluntary targets. No government in the three counties has yet considered action in the economic environment, a complex area where the research on and initiatives to limit or disadvantage energy-dense food products to address obesity may also capture foods that are highly salted. In the meantime, with recent research estimating substantially higher gains in population health from government legislation to limit salt in foods compared to voluntary approaches, decision makers in countries, whether in the north or south, committed to reducing dietary salt can take Argentina's example to strengthen their interventions in the physical environment with regulatory instruments. This will sustain reformulations made to date, “level the playing field” industry-wide and broadly and equitably distribute the health benefits of low salt foods.

APPLICATION OF MULTIVARIATE STATISTICAL METHODS TO THE ANALYSIS OF THE COST, NUTRITIONAL AND SENSORIAL QUALITY FOR SOME PROTEINS USED IN FOOD FORMULATIONS

AbstractIncomplete proteins, of lower nutritional value, are usually more available and less expensive than complete high quality proteins. In the development or reformulation offood products, sensory,“nutritional‐quantitative” and economic aspects may be superimposed on the “nutritional‐qualitative” aspects, to the detriment of consumers. In the present study, three protein ingredients were mixed at different proportions and their nutritional and sensory properties were evaluated by a multivariate approach, using principal component analysis (PCA) in order to identify the type of association between these properties and cost. A strong positive correlation was observed between nutritional quality and cost of the mixtures, with a correlation coefficient of the order of 0.82, while the vector concerning the sensory quality was practically orthogonal to the nutritional vector, suggesting a low correlation between these two features. Thus, we recommend that the protein quality be evaluated, classified and, if possible, expressed on the label especially in foods destined to institutional programs of children's foods, hospital diets and foods used as meal substitutes.