Food firms roll out omega-3 fortified products
helped by government support for their health benefits.
Canada's Ocean Nutrition, which supplies the MEG-3 brand omega-3 ingredient, says three major US bread manufacturers have introduced breads containing its ingredient this year, including New York-based Wegmans Food Markets and The Baker, based in New Jersey. In April Arnold Foods Company will launch a whole wheat bread containing its ingredient called Arnold Smart & Healthy 100%.
Martek Biosciences, which announced a deal with leading cereal maker Kellogg's for use of its ingredient in a range of products next year, is also seeing increasing interest in its microalgae-derived ingredient.
It said yesterday that Gold Circle Farms had introduced liquid egg whites containing its vegetarian DHA.
However none of the products have added a new FDA-backed qualified health claim to their labeling.
Since September 2004, foods containing eiscosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) omega-3 fatty acids are allowed to carry a qualified health claim stating that they may help to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, responsible for 500,000 deaths annually in the US.
However at the time industry groups expressed their disappointment that the fatty acids had not been given a full health claim. A qualified health claim carries disclaimers that reduce the impact of a health claim.
The importance of omega-3 fatty acids have however been highlighted in the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which will encourage increased consumption both of fish and non-marine sources.
Getting enough EPA and DHA in the diet is difficult, and 25 per cent of Americans do not eat fish at all. People are also slow to change eating patterns, points out Ocean Nutrition. Nine of the top ten food choice preferences in 2003 were the same in 1985 and these top ten preferences did not include fish.
Ian Lucas, vice president of marketing at ONC, says: "People can now get the health benefits of EPA/DHA from fish in breads they love to eat, without the taste or smell of fish. We are experiencing huge interest from many food companies and expect many more product introductions in the very near future."
