IFT Reflections: Adding Nutrients to Replacing Artificial Colors 29 Jun 2012
The IFT Annual Meeting + Food Expo is finished for 2012. It was a busy place (here are some pictures) with lots of great sessions. Two worthy of mention are:
Session 212, “Helping Consumers meet DRIs for ‘Nutrients of Concern’ with Processed Foods”. Co-moderator Courtney Gain, (@CourtGaine) ILSI, kicked off the session. The first speaker was Reagan Bailey, NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, who reviewed RDAs, EARs, and ULs and the statistical intricacies used to estimate Usual Intakes from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Dietary supplement users are usually more educated, older and have higher socioeconomic status. They also have higher nutrient intakes from the foods they eat than non-supplement users. Next was Johanna Dwyer, Tufts University, who discussed strategies for increasing nutrient intakes: choosing foods naturally rich in micronutrients, enriching/fortifying foods, and/or encouraging use of dietary supplements. She presented data from Fulgoni et al showing that people choosing only naturally-rich foods are more likely to have nutrient inadequacies than those consuming enriched/fortified foods. The highest probability of adequate micronutrient intakes is measured in people eating enriched/fortified foods and using dietary supplements. Of course, this combination is also the most likely to reach nutrient intakes which exceed the ULs. The final speaker was Marianne Smith-Edge, IFIC, who shared insights from the 2012 IFIC Foundation Food & Health Survey of 1,057 Americans conducted in April. Most people feel positive about their health and are interested in the nutritional value of food. For the first time, however, consumers said they looked for the expiration date on food packages over the Nutrition Facts Panel.
Session 109 focused on the challenges of replacing azo dyes with natural colors. The session was opened by Michael McBurney, (@mimcburney) DSM Nutritional Products, with a brief review of scientific studies and regulatory activities in other countries regarding the labeling of azo dyes, the so-called Southampton 6. Then Dr James Swanson, University of California-Irvine, introduced the audience to modern concepts of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children. With this introduction, the speakers focused on helping food technologists identify natural food coloring strategies. Dr Ron Wrolstad, Professor Emeritus from Oregon State University, gave a detailed presentation on sources of natural colors, most suitable applications, optimal pH conditions, and susceptibility to color degradation. The final speaker, Dr Catherine Culver, Pepsi-Cola Co, guided the audience through a logic matrix for product developers to consider when asked to produce a safe, stable, naturally colored ready-to-drink beverage suitable for countries with different regulatory requirements. For an excellent summary of this session, see IFT Live article Color Me Natural: The Challenge of Replacing Artificial Food Dyes by David Despain (@daviddespain). -mm-
