Functional Foods and Nondairy Probiotic Food Development: Trends, Concepts, and Products Daniel Granato, Gabriel F. Branco, Filomena Nazzaro, Adriano G. Cruz, and Jose´ A.F. Faria
ABSTRACT: Recently, the focus of scientific investigations has moved from the primary role of food as the source of energy and body-forming substances to the more subtle action of biologically active food components on human health. There has been an explosion of consumer interest in the active role of food in the well-being and life prolongation, as well as in the prevention of initiation, promotion, and development of nontransmissible chronic diseases. As a result, a new term—functional food—was proposed. Among these foods, probiotics may exert positive effects on the composition of gut microbiota and overall health, and the market is increasing annually. An increased demand for nondairy probiotic products comes from vegetarianism, milk cholesterol content, and lactose intolerance. Therefore, the development of these products is a key research priority for food design and a challenge for both industry and science sectors. This article presents an overview of functional food development, emphasizing nondairy foods that contain probiotic bacteria strains.
Functional Foods: Concepts and Market Strategies The primary role of diet is to provide enough nutrients to meet metabolic requirements, while giving the consumer a feeling of satisfaction and well-being. Recent knowledge, however, supports the hypothesis that, beyond meeting nutrition needs, diet may modulate various physiological functions and may play detrimental or beneficial roles in some diseases (Koletzko and others 1998). There is a threshold of a new frontier in nutrition sciences and indeed, at least in the Western world, concepts are expanding from the past emphasis on survival, hunger satisfaction, and preventing adverse effects to an emphasis on the use of foods to promote a well-being state, improving health, and reducing the risk of diseases. These concepts are particularly important in light of the increasing cost of health care, the steady increase
MS 20091087 Submitted 11/1/2009, Accepted 1/12/2010 . Authors Granato and Branco are with Dept. of Food and Experimental Nutrition, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Univ. of Sao ˜ Paulo, Av. Prof. Lineu Prestes, 580, B14, 05508-000, Sao ˜ Paulo, Brazil. Author Nazzaro is with Istituto di Scienze dell’Alimentazione, ISA-CNR, Via Roma, 64, 83100, Avellino, Italy. Authors Cruz and Faria are with Dept. of Food Technology, Faculty of Food Engineering, Univ. of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil. Direct inquiries to author Granato (E-mail:
[email protected]).
292
in life expectancy, and the desire of older people for improved life quality (Roberfroid 2007). Given tight profit margins in the broader food industry, many manufacturers are seeking ways to create and increase value. This includes a large number of product types, including convenience, organic and “better for you” foods, as well as functional foods. Claiming health properties is a clear way to differentiate products and, in most cases, hike up prices and improve profit levels. Therefore, the functional food and beverage market has attracted a large number of standard food and drink companies. A survey conducted by Siegrist and others (2008) with 249 people in Switzerland showed that consumers are more inclined to buy functional foods with physiological health claims compared with psychological health claims. Health claims were most positively evaluated when attached to a product with a positive health image. Older consumers were more interested in functional foods than younger consumers. The rise of functional foods has occurred at the convergence of several critical factors, such as: awareness of personal health deterioration, led by busy lifestyles with poor choices of convenience foods and insufficient exercise; increased incidence of self-medication; increased level of information from health authorities and media on nutrition and the link between diet and health; scientific developments in nutrition research; and a
COMPREHENSIVE REVIEWS IN FOOD SCIENCE AND FOOD SAFETY—Vol. 9, 2010
c
R 2010 Institute of Food Technologists
Functional foods . . .
Mass market positioning
Sensory appeal
Effective communication of health benefits
Health benefits linked to common complaint
Focus on general wellbeing
MARKET SUCCESS OF FUNCTIONAL FOODS
Price and convenience
Figure 1 --- Strategies for functional food success in the marketplace.
Loyalty to brand
Industrial management and quality control
crowded and competitive food market, characterized by pressurized margins (Siro´ and others 2008). These factors have created a dynamic functional food and beverage market, offering good prospects for growth for well-positioned food and drink manufacturers. Between 1998 and 2003, global value sales increased by almost 60%, and by almost 40% in 2008 (Euromonitor 2009). The average North-American consumer spends approximately US$ 90 per year on functional foods and beverages, resulting in a market exceeding US$ 27 billion in 2007. In the year 2000, the world-wide market of functional foods generated US$ 33 billion, in 2005 this total was US$ 73.5 billion (Justfood 2006), and the market is estimated to reach US$ 167 billion after 2010, with a yearly growth potential of 10% (Research and Markets 2008). In Brazil, the sales of functional foods in 2007 reached US$ 500 thousand, corresponding to almost 1% of the total food sales; moreover, around 65% of the total Brazilian functional foods are probiotic products (Cruz and others 2007). In Japan, regarded as the birthplace of functional food, the market of these products is significant. In total, more than 1700 functional food products have been launched in Japan between 1988 and 1998 with an estimated turnover of around 14 billion US$ in 1999 (Menrad 2003). The European market for functional foods was estimated to be between 4 and 8 billion US$ in 2003 depending which foods are regarded as functional. This value has increased to around 15 billion US$ by 2006 (Kotilainen and others 2006). The current market share of functional food is still below 1% of the total food and drink market. Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands represent the most important countries within the functional food market in Europe (Makinen-Aakula 2006). Functional food market in 2006 represented approximately 17% of the total food market in Spain; moreover, the predicted value for 2020 is to be around 40% higher. More than 50% growth was reported between 2000 and 2005 (Monar 2007). The market was estimated to be 5 billion US$ in 2003 (Side 2006) and 5.73 billion US$ in 2006, while more than 500 products were labeled as FOSHU in 2005 (Side 2006; Fern 2007). Strong growth is occurring in many functional food categories, and some of the more dynamic areas include probiotic yogurts, plant sterol spreads, energy bars, functional waters, juices, desserts, and cheeses. In terms of therapeutic areas, key growth areas include cholesterol lowering, gut health, and bone mineralization products (Sanders 2003; Shah 2007). Gut health products are particularly important in Japan, but relatively underdeveloped in the United States, where fortification with fiber, calcium, and vitamins, along with energy-giving products, are more pronounced. The market for functional foods varies greatly across regions, with Asia/Australia being clearly dominant, due to the massive Japanese market, while Eastern Europe and Africa remain very underdeveloped (Euromonitor 2009). In Brazil, the market for functional food, although underdeveloped, has begun to grow
due to a high input of industries that have created new palatable foods, and also due to the increase of marketing advertises. The level of development is not led by one single factor, but by the combination of several. The key determinant factors for maturity in functional foods include: level of government support and compatibility of legislation with market growth, presence of a mature market for processed foods, level of consumer demand for supplementary nutrition, consumer confidence in products, health awareness, and threats to functional food (Justfood 2006; Research and Markets 2008; Euromonitor 2009). Functional foods compete in sales with organic, reduced fat, reduced salt, or reduced sugar foods. Indeed, controversy over the food chain, followed by numerous “food scares,” has increased the demand for “pure” organic foods, which could potentially damage functional foods sales, seen as “adulterated.” For functional food to be successful, it typically has to adhere to the following positioning (Figure 1): the health benefit has to appeal to a mass market and address general well-being issues; the health benefit has to be well communicated, either through understandable health claims, or through an active ingredient which is readily understood; the product must be competitive on all platforms, and not rely solely on its health benefits; it must also offer taste, convenience, and appropriate pricing. Although functionality allows for higher margins, it does not guarantee success by itself. Other aspects, such as brand name loyalty, advertising, promotion, quality control, competitors, and economic factors are also important. Regarding functional foods, it has been observed that modern consumers are increasingly interested in their personal health, expecting the food they eat to be healthy or capable of preventing illnesses. The popularity of dose-delivery systems for probiotic products has resulted in research efforts targeted to developing probiotic foods outside the dairy sector. New product categories, and thus novel and more difficult raw materials with regard to probiotics technology, are certainly the key research and development area for functional food markets. Current technological innovations include finding solutions for the stability and viability problems of probiotics in new food environments, such as fruits, cereals, and other vegetables (Farnworth and others 2007). Therefore, researches are important to develop new media for probiotic growth and development, increasing the number of products with functionality in the marketplace, and offering new options for all types of consumer’s demand and desire. Probiotics market
Among the foods whose allegations of health have been widely promoted in the media during the last years, and that present multidimensional studies for technological and industrial uses, those with probiotic strains stand out (Lourens-Hattingh and Viljoen 2001). The definition of the term probiotic has evolved through
Vol. 9, 2010—COMPREHENSIVE REVIEWS IN FOOD SCIENCE AND FOOD SAFETY
293
CRFSFS: Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety the years. The most recent definition says that probiotics are live microorganisms administered in amounts that positively affect the health of the host (FAO/WHO 2002; Sanders 2003). The global market for probiotic ingredients, supplements, and foods was worth $14.9 billion in 2007 and reached US$16 billion in 2008. Estimates target a total of US$19.6 billion on sales in 2013, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.3%. Probiotics of the Lactobacillus genus accounted for the largest share, representing 61.9% of total sales in 2007 (Food Processing 2009). Food applications for probiotics are found mostly in dairy products, with yogurts, kefir, and cultured drinks representing the major categories. Yogurt products accounted for the largest share of sales, representing 36.6%, and scientific development of such products had shown the high sensory acceptance (Almeida and others 2008; Almeida and others 2009; Zoellner and others 2009); emerging food applications include probiotic cheese and ice creams (Cruz and others 2009a, 2009b), nutrition bars, breakfast cereal, infant formula, and many others. In accordance with a commercial research carried by Foodprocessing (2009), as a result of continued advertising and combined marketing schemes, mainly from processors of finished goods, the level of consumer awareness of different types of probiotics has improved significantly in the last 5 y. This has driven research efforts into the development of alternative delivery formats in the probiotics category that can appeal to a wider range of consumers. Foods and supplements manufacturers are also eager to join the bandwagon and apply probiotics in their existing products. According to a survey conducted with 2000 North-American consumers (Mintel Intl. Group 2009), 19% of adults in 2008 had purchased a pre/probiotic yogurt in the previous 3 mo, compared to 11% in 2006. Nearly twice as many women as men had consumed these products in 2008, at 24% and 13%, respectively. Individuals in the 45 to 54 age range were the largest purchasers, at 30%. According to Euromonitor (2008) data, the North-American probiotic spoonable yogurt market alone went from US$ 112 million in 2001 to US$ 294 million in 2006. Meanwhile, consumption of probiotics is equally strong in Europe. Euromonitor Intl. (2008) reports that between 2002 and 2007, consumption in Western Europe grew 13% CAGR, and consumption in Eastern Europe increased nearly 18% CAGR. Consumption in tones for 2007 in Western and Eastern Europe was 1125 and 10151, respectively; the numbers are forecasted to hit 1747 and 13205 by the year 2012 in those regions. European food and beverage probiotic market is expected to rise from its 2006 position of US$ 61.7 million to US$ 163.5 million by 2013. According to Euromonitor (2009), the probiotic yogurt market in Latin America grew 32% CAGR from 2005 to 2007, and accounted for 30% of total yogurt market value in 2007. It is very hard to find data that report sales based on nondairy probiotic products, once this category is relatively new in the marketplace. Moreover, they are not commonly found in many countries, such as in Brazil, where there is only one brand that markets one soy “yogurt” with different fruit pulps. It would be interesting if more data were available regarding worldwide sales of probiotic foods, so the industry could direct product development toward one specific segment of population or a certain type of well-acceptable product.
products have just over 22% (LFI 2006). A total of 78% of current probiotic sales in the world today are delivered through yogurt. Fruit juices, desserts, and cereal-based products featuring probiotics may be other suitable media for delivering probiotics (Cargill 2009). Indeed, technological advances have made possible to alter some structural characteristics of fruit and vegetables matrices by modifying food components in a controlled way such as pH modification, fortification of culture media, among others (Betoret and others 2003). This could make them ideal substrates for probiotics culture, since they already contain beneficial nutrients, such as minerals, vitamins, dietary fibers, and antioxidants, while lacking the dairy allergens that might prevent consumption by certain segments of the population (Sheehan and others 2007). It is known that the allergy to dairy products affects negatively many people around the world. Traditions and economic reasons that limit the use of dairy products in developing countries, such as Japan, China, and some African countries, promote the idea of reducing milk components as vehicles for the probiotic agents or even replacing milk with other media, such as cereals, fruits, and vegetables. Lactose intolerance, cholesterol content, and allergenic milk proteins are the major drawbacks related to the intake of dairy products, which makes the development of new nondairy probiotic foods essential. Lactose intolerance: some considerations
Lactose (4-O-β-D-galactopyranosyl-D-glucose) is a disaccharide sugar composed of glucose and galactose. It is unique to mammalian milks, which vary from almost undetectable concentrations in marine mammals to 7 g/100 mL in mature human milk. It is the 1st dietary sugar to which newborns are exposed. Lactose itself is a fermentable substrate, first being hydrolyzed by facultative or anaerobic microorganisms, allowing for anaerobic metabolism of the resultant simple sugars (Solomons 2002). The chemical structure of lactose is shown in Figure 2. Lactase is a hydrolase enzyme, produced in the small intestine, able to catalyze the hydrolysis of β-galactosides (such as lactose) into monosaccharides (glucose and galactose derived from lactose). Lactase is present in high quantities in the digestory tract of children, whereas in adults the quantity of such enzyme is decreased. The deficiency of one or more enzymes involved in lactose digestion may lead to metabolic disturbs known as lactose intolerance. Since there is no treatment that may increase the lactase producing ability, the symptoms must be controlled by the diet either by consuming milk substitutes or alternative products available on the market, so as to guarantee the maintenance of a good nutritional condition (Schaafsma 2008). Lactose intolerance consists of the absence of lactase production, which is responsible for hydrolyzing the lactose present in
Nondairy probiotic products: why are they important?
Nondairy probiotic products have a big worldwide importance due to the ongoing trend of vegetarianism and to a high prevalence of lactose intolerance in many populations around the world. However, there is no question that the dairy sector, which is strongly linked to probiotics, is the largest functional food market, accounting for nearly 33% of the broad market, while cereal Figure 2 --- Chemical structure of lactose. 294
COMPREHENSIVE REVIEWS IN FOOD SCIENCE AND FOOD SAFETY—Vol. 9, 2010
Functional foods . . . dairy products. Data on the incidence of lactose intolerance are not easily found. According to the Natl. Inst. of Kidney Disease and Diabetes (USA), affiliated to the American Inst. of Health, about 75% of the world population is lactose intolerant. This range is from less than 5% in Denmark, Britain, and Holland in northern Europe to > 90% in China, Korea, Thailand, and among the Yoruba of Nigeria and Native Americans of North America (Solomons 2002). However, probably this estimate is, to a large extent, an approximation, since diagnostic methods vary and also the number of people examined tends to be small and frequently includes hospitalized patients. In accordance with Alm (2002), in North Europe the number of lactose-intolerant individuals is around 5%, in some African countries it reaches 90%, while in the Unites States of America it is around 30% of the adult population. In Brazil, although there are few studies, the incidence of lactose intolerance is between 46% and 67%; recently, a research reported that the yogurts available in Brazilian market are unsuitable for consumption by lactose intolerant individuals, due to the small reduction of their lactose content during the commercial shelf-life time (Batista and others 2008). However, it is known that probiotic bacteria are not able to supply lactase in enough amounts, but the yogurt starter cultures themselves might provide enough quantity of lactase for the consumers, and hence yogurts and cheeses may be consumed by lactose-intolerant individuals (Ouwehand and others 2003). Indeed, the cultures in these products can alleviate lactose intolerance on the residual lactose but the effectiveness of this beneficial effect may vary as a function of the quantity of cells in the product, the amount of lactase produced, the level of lactase that remains active after passage through the stomach, and the release level of lactase in the gastrointestinal tract (Sanders 1993). This considerable variation in lactose intolerance is mainly due to ethnic differences. Some other European and Asiatic countries present a high percentage of lactose-intolerant individuals, as shown in Table 1. Hence, it is evident that the development of lactose-free products is a necessary task; moreover, dairy-free ingredients are very suitable for markets with a high prevalence of lactose-intolerance. In accordance with Pelto (2000), there are lactose intolerant and milk-sensitive individuals. When dietary lactose is not hydrolyzed into its component simple sugars in the small intestine,
so that the latter can be absorbed across the intestine and used for fuel in the body, a situation of lactose maldigestion is produced. The lactose passes out of the small bowel in its intact, undigested form and enters the large intestine. There it serves as a fermentable substrate for the colonic microflora. Lactose and its split products serve as osmotically active molecules, drawing secretion of water into the intestinal lumen to balance the osmolarity pressures. This accumulation of water produces dehydration and electrolyte imbalance on the systemic side and watery stools on the intraintestinal side. The fermentation of the sugar adds a gaseous component to the process; evolution of carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and methane produce the bloating, cramping, and flatulence (Stephens and others 1983). This may lead to some inconvenient side effects, such as allergic reactions, bellyache, and flatulence, contributing to a low quality of life. The intensity of such effects is dependent on the quantity of lactose ingested. In general, lactose-intolerants show inadequate ingestion of calcium and other milk-provided nutrients, since they consume limited amounts of dairy products, which increase the probability of developing osteoporosis. Therefore, nondairy probiotic products should provide, to some extend, a minimum content of calcium. How can nondairy probiotic products be developed?
Innovation is today’s business mantra. Pundits proclaim daily that the only hope for business survival is the ability to continue innovating. In this context, the development of new nondairy probiotic food products turns out to be increasingly challenging, as it has to fulfill the consumer’s expectancy for products that are simultaneously relish and healthy (Shah 2007). According to Jousse (2008), new product development is a constant challenge for both scientific and applied research, and it has been observed that food design is essentially a problem of optimization to generate the best formulation. For this purpose, industries need to determine the basic formulation for each product, but this task is not easy, especially when many factors are associated to multiple features that need to be achieved. Second, the determination of optimum levels of key ingredients is necessary to obtain suitable sensory and physicochemical characteristics, extended shelf life, chemical stability, and reasonable price. Developing a new dairy-free probiotic food is an expensive process. Food companies have traditionally funded research for new food product formulations, but the stakes are higher Table 1 --- Prevalence of lactase deficiency, in percentage, for lactose-free products, for both food companies and consumers (Walzem 2004). Product development requires detailed knowlof the worldwide adult population. edge of the products and the customers, which is why quantitative and qualitative marketing studies must be carried out % of the adult population Country afflicted by lactose intolerance before launching any product on the market (Beardsworth and Keil 1992). The high reported failure rates for new international France 30 to 40 functional foods suggest a failure to manage the customer knowlGermany 15 to 20 edge effectively, as well as a lack of knowledge management Russia 20 to 30 between the functional disciplines involved in the new product Finland 15 to 20 development process (Jousse 2008). The methodologies that adSweden
