Consumers Seeking Functional Health Benefits
By Kristen Putch, Dairy Processing/Sosland Publishing
Originally published in DairyProcessing.com
Dairy product formulators are developing new products with an eye toward improving health and wellness.
Consumers are becoming more aware of how diet influences short- and long-term health and wellness. In response, many are seeking nutrient-dense foods to attain benefits beyond basic nutrition.
Inherently nutritious dairy foods are attractive delivery vehicles for dietary components that work behind the scenes to help prevent disease, as well as deliver a myriad of purported benefits ranging from anti-aging to inducing satiety. When such ingredients, which range from amino acids and fatty acids to antioxidants and plant extracts, are added to dairy foods, they get elevated to functional food status.
“People are seeking foods that provide functional health benefits, unique to their personal lifestyle and wellness needs,” said Ashley Rosales, nutrition and industry affairs officer, Dairy Council of California. “They increasingly see nutrition as a solution to well-being, and there is a growing demand for foods with health properties beyond basic nutrition. Milk and dairy foods have been a part of the human diet for thousands of years and are a key area of the global functional food market, as they can be formulated to include probiotic microorganisms and prebiotic fibers.”
Beyond basic
It has been driven home that calcium and vitamin D may prevent osteoporosis, while protein refuels muscle after exercise.
When American consumers define what makes a food healthy, it’s becoming more about what is not in a food rather than what is in it. The presence of artificial ingredients and preservatives is a leading deal breaker when it comes to purchase intent.
“More adults in the US are worried about their health than before, and each stage of life presents an opportunity to support good nutrition,” Rosales said. “Dairy foods offer a unique combination of nutrients that provide a range of health and functional benefits for people throughout their lifespan, supporting healthy growth and development in the earliest stages of life and throughout childhood, reducing the risk of diet-related chronic diseases in adulthood, and supporting healthy aging. Research shows that consumers with a higher acceptance for functional dairy products include females, people with higher health-related knowledge and aging adults.”
Still, consumers claim they are seeking more of several dietary components, most notably protein and fiber. Dairy may deliver both, and more, while also keeping a clean and simple label void of undesirable artificial ingredients.
“Functional foods are those that provide health benefits beyond basic nutrition,” Rosales said. “Dairy foods like milk, yogurt and cheese provide essential nutrients, including vitamins A and D, zinc and protein, and have a unique dairy matrix that contains nutrients, bioactive compounds and other biological components that work together to support digestion, absorption, immunity and chronic disease prevention.”
Fermented dairy foods such as yogurt, kefir and certain cheeses contain probiotics, live microorganisms that have a health benefit when consumed. Dairy products provide an ideal atmosphere for delivering probiotics in the diet, protecting probiotic bacteria from high acid levels in the stomach and allowing higher levels of probiotics to reach the intestine, according to Rosales.
Furthermore, portion control and portability make many dairy foods attractive snacking options for today’s mini-meal consumers. Such convenience foods — namely cheese, yogurt, drinkable dairy and even ice cream — may be formulated to offer a nutritional profile that appeals to consumers, while the value-added products command a premium price, making them attractive to both manufacturers and retailers.
“Processors can also look at unique ways to add other functional ingredients, known to be mood boosting, to dairy foods,” Rosales said. “Examples are using popular consumer sought after ingredients like lavender, turmeric, chamomile, dark chocolate and nutrients like omega 3’s in products like milk and yogurt.”…
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