Page 32 - Food & Drink Magazine July 2018

FUNCTIONAL FOODS
A functional feast
Foods and nutritional supplements are on a collision course, with a spate of new offerings on their way to the retail shelves.
LEFT: Dark chocolate with spirulina from the Algae Factory.
BELOW: Hemp products from Hemp Foods Australia.
paste and other tomato products offer improved blood flow, based on an existing health claim for a tomato supplement that was awarded in 2009.
For EFSA validation, a product study must demonstrate consistent and sufficient levels of bioactives in tomato paste and consumer products. If successful, only project consortium companies will be able to use this health claim on their products.
FUNCTIONAL FUNGUS
Mushrooms have emerged as having untapped potential in functional foods, thanks to their beta-glucans which have a range of positive health effects, including antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral and anti-parasitic properties, which could lead to new functional foods, especially in light of their high fibre and high umami properties.
HEMP COMPANY
HEADS TO ASX
Following its recent legalisation in Australia for use in food, health-friendly hemp- containing foods and beverages are rolling off the production line. To help fund the expansion of its growing product portfolio, Hemp Foods Australia recently listed on the ASX under a newly formed parent company Elixinol
GlobalLimited. ✷
TRADITIONAL categories are converging, and foods and nutritional supplements are merging, as our knowledge grows on the role functional foods can play in easing global health problems.
In recent years we’ve seen the rise of probiotic yoghurt, omega-3 fortified bread, and cholesterol-lowering products such as margarine and Weet-Bix cereal.
Here is a taste of just some of the activity currently taking place in the functional space.
BEVERAGES FOR IMMUNITY
Australian biotechnology firm Marinova is targeting the functional beverage market with its fucoidan extracts after achieving
EU Novel Foods approval
for the ingredient, which is extracted from the cell walls of seaweed. The ingredient, Fucorich, has been developed especially for functional food and beverage applications, and it preserves the natural structure and bioactivity
of the extract and has been
shown to have immunity boosting, digestive and anti- inflammatory benefits.
MANUKA TEA FOR INFLAMMATION
The New Zealand-based Manuka Group is continuing its move into the beverage space with the creation of a new manuka tea range, which is based on the oil of the manuka tree. The teas range includes green team, matcha and hoji versions for the Japanese market.
CLEVER CONFECTIONERY
A range of new products are underway in the confectionery counter including vitamin chewing gum from vitamin drinks brand, Get More Vitamin Drinks, and algae chocolate from Dutch start-up The Algae Factory, which fuses extra-dark chocolate with spirulina, a microalgae that has been consumed for centuries for its high nutritional value.
VEGAN VITAMINS
As the personalisation trend builds, micronutrient premix
maker SternVitamin has created products with this in mind, including a premix for vegans which improves the nutrition profile of people who eat only plant-derived foods. Along with vitamins B12, B2 and D, it provides the appropriate amounts of iron, zinc, calcium, iodine and selenium. It also contains the amino acid lysin, which occurs in only small amounts in plants.
TOMATOES FOR FLOW
The global organisation the Tomato Foundation is chasing a European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) health
claim that tomato
32 | Food&Drink business | July 2018 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au