Antioxidants may stop fat cells formation, says study

12/11/2007 - Natural antioxidant compounds like flavonoids and phenolic acids could inhibit the formation of fat formation from fat cells, suggests new research from Taiwan.A study of 15 phenolic acids and six flavonoids were studied for their ability to affect fat cells in laboratory cultures of mouse cells, with o-coumaric acid and rutin reported to inhibit activity of the glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) enzyme that forms triglycerides - fatty materials which at high levels increase the risk of heart disease."These results indicate that flavonoids and phenolic acids may play a role in the control of adipogenesis and they might have further implication in in vivo anti-obesity effects," wrote Chin-Lin Hsu and Gow-Chin Yen from National Chung Hsing University.According to the International Obesity Task Force, an estimated 300 million adults worldwide are obese (body mass index over 30).Moreover, rising obesity is predicted to have a huge impact on public health services. A recent Foresight report predicted that the cost of the epidemic in Britain, in terms of health care provision and lost working hours, could reach £45bn a year by 2050.The new study, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, looked at the effects of the flavonoids and phenolics on levels of triglyceride in the cells and GPDH activity in 3T3-L1 adipocytes (fat cells). The researchers chose the 3T3-L1 cell line because it has been used widely for several decades as a cell model for fat cell biology research.Among the 15 phenolic acids and six flavonoids tested o-coumaric acid and rutin were found to inhibit intracellular triglyceride the most, by 61 and 83 per cent, respectively.Moreover, the same two compounds were found to be the most potent inhibitors of GPDH, reducing activity by 54 and 67 per cent, respectively.These two compounds also inhibited the expression of peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-gamma), a protein that plays a role in metabolic functions, and the hormone leptin.The compounds also up-regulated expression of adiponectin, a hormone that modulates a number of metabolic processes."Adipose tissue is now known to produce and secrete a PPAR-gamma, which [has a role] in the early stage of adipocyte differentiation," wrote the researchers. "Some studies have addressed the important role that PPAR-gamma plays in the regulation of insulin sensitivity and glucose homeostasis." "The present experiment indicated that o-coumaric acid and rutin treatment inhibited the expression of PPAR-gamma protein levels, which demonstrated that compounds inhibited adipogenesis by affecting the transcriptional factor cascade upstream of PPAR-gamma expression.

Long-term beta-carotene may slow mental decline

13/11/2007 - Men taking beta-carotene supplements for 15 years or more may experience a slower rate of age-related cognitive decline, according to a new study from Harvard.The study highlights the benefits of long-term nutritional support, noting that no short-term benefits were observed in the 1,904 men taking the supplements for less than ten years. "In this generally healthy population, the extent of protection conferred by long-term treatment appeared modest; nonetheless, studies have established that very modest differences in cognition, especially verbal memory, predict substantial differences in eventual risk of dementia; thus, the public health impact of long-term beta carotene use could be large," wrote the authors in the Archives of Internal Medicine.However, in an accompanying editorial in the same journal, Kristine Yaffe from the University of California, San Francisco cautioned that some issues were to be found in interpretation of the data since the study "had a complex design". Francine Grodstein and co-workers from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, tested the cognitive function of participants in the Physicians' Health Study II (PHSII), a continuation of the Physicians' Health Study (PHS) trial looking at the effects of beta carotene and other vitamin supplements on chronic disease, versus placebo.The subjects included participants from the original PHS (started in 1982) and newer recruits from 1998. Beta-carotene supplementation was 50 mg on alternate days.The researchers tested the general cognition, verbal memory, and category fluency of 5956 participants, including 4052 participants from the PHS with a minimum supplementation period of 18 years.The long-term beta-carotene supplementation was associated with a significantly higher mean global score, compared to placebo. This group also performed significantly better than placebo for verbal memory.On the other hand, men in the short-term group displayed no differences in cognition regardless of whether they took beta carotene or placebo.The potential mechanism for the protective effects was postulated to be related to the role of vitamin A (beta-carotene is converted to vitamin A in the body) on beta-amyloid protein production. The build-up of plaque from beta-amyloid deposits is associated with an increase in brain cell damage and death from oxidative stress. This is related to a loss of cognitive function and an increased risk of Alzheimer's.The study is the first to look at long-term antioxidant supplementation in relation to a decline in cognitive function that occurs with naturally with age, and that precedes diseases such as Alzheimer's.

Fish for brain health supported by trio of studies

11/14/2007 - Omega-3-rich fish consumption may improve brain function across a broad demographic spectrum, suggest three new studies from around the world.The studies pull together data from New Zealand, the Netherlands, and Norway, and all suggest significant benefits of fish consumption, specifically the omega-3 fatty acid content, and cognitive health.The majority of science for the health benefits of fish and omega-3 consumption has focused on cardiovascular health, but the science for cognitive benefits is growing and almost as compelling as the heart health data.Moreover, the number of studies reporting potential risk reduction of certain cancers, improved development of a baby during pregnancy, joint health, and improved behaviour and mood, are also growing. Published in the November 2007 issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the studies have been commended by an independent expert."These recent reports are novel in that they address the association of n-3 fatty acid intake and cognitive function in non-demented individuals and, thus, present a shift in the attention to earlier stages of cognitive decline with the hope of preventing progression to states of dementia and disability before they become irreversible," wrote Irwin Rosenberg from Tufts University.For the first study, Dutch researchers, led by Carla Dullemeijer from Wageningen University, used data from the FACIT trial, involving 807 men and women (average age 60 at baseline) assigned to receive folic acid or placebo capsules for three years. A cross-sectional analysis studied all 807 participants, while a longitudinal analysis only focused on the 404 participants in the placebo group.The researchers report that increased levels of omega-3 fatty acids in the plasma were associated with a 69 per cent lower decline in sensorimotor speed and a 60 per cent lower decline in complex speed over three years. No effects were observed on memory, the speed at which the participants processed information, or their word fluency. "In this population, plasma n_3 PUFA proportions were associated with less decline in the speed-related cognitive domains over 3 y. These results need to be confirmed in randomized controlled trials," concluded Dullemeijer and co-workers.Researchers in New Zealand investigated if a relationship existed between the fatty acid composition of serum lipids and the mental and physical well-being of 2416 people participating in the 1997 National Nutrition Survey. Using data from a short-form 36 health questionnaire and blood samples, lead author Francesca Crowe from the University of Otago reports that the proportion of EPA in the blood, and the ratio of EPA to arachidonic acid (AA) was positively associated with physical well-being, and the EPA to AA ratio for mental well-being.

Nano-emulsions boost curcumin as health ingredient

11/21/2007 - The health benefits of curcumin, the natural pigment that gives the spice turmeric its yellow colour, could be enhanced by encapsulation in nano-emulsions, suggests new research.The study, published in the journal Food Chemistry, taps into the potential of nano-encapsulation to achieve much-needed differentiation and enhanced product value. Encapsulation, be it on the micro- or nano-scale, is increasingly being used to delay the release of flavours, aromas and bioactive ingredients.The new research looked at the potential of high-speed and high-pressure mixing of oil in water emulsions to protect curcumin and thereby enhance its potential health benefits.Curcumin has increasingly come under the scientific spotlight in recent years, with studies investigating its potential benefits for reducing cholesterol levels, improving cardiovascular health and cancer-fighting abilities.By preparing a model emulsion using medium chain triacylglycerols (MCT) as oil and Tween 20 as emulsifier, researchers from Rutgers University prepared emulsions containing droplets ranging from 618.6 nm to 79.5 nm.According to background information in the article, the majority of ingested curcumin is excreted with only limited uptake into the blood. This is due to the insolubility in water under acidic or neutral conditions. Moreover, the pigment is rapidly metabolised in the intestine, so finding a means to protect curcumin could enhance its bioavailability."Although curcumin is almost insoluble in water, it is found that one per cent curcumin can be successfully encapsulated in O/W emulsions, suggesting that O/W emulsions have a high capacity to carry curcumin," wrote the researchers.When tested in vivo in mice, the researchers reported that inflammation in the ear of the test animals (mice) would be reduced by 43 and 85 per cent when one per cent curcumin was encapsulated in 618.6 nm and 79.5 nm oil-in-water emulsions."It should be pointed out here that it is the synergistic effects of both emulsion droplet size and the presence of lipid in the emulsion that provide the optimum anti-inflammation activity of curcumin," wrote the researchers."Accordingly, high-pressure homogenised curcumin emulsions containing 79.5 nm emulsion droplets exhibit higher anti-inflammation activity than high-speed homogenised curcumin emulsions containing 618.6 nm emulsion droplets," they concluded.The researchers confirmed that the area was one of ongoing study. They state that evaluation of pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of curcumin encapsulated in the emulsions are underway. According to organisers of the recent Nano and Microtechnologies in the Food & Healthfood Industries conference in Amsterdam, the application of nanotechnology and nanoparticles in food are emerging rapidly.

Zapped water marketed as alternative to chemical cleaners

20/11/2007 - A new technology on the market electrically activates plain tap water, making it behave like a powerful detergent without any added chemicals, according to its manufacturer.With more environmental regulations limiting the output of waste water and concerns about food safety, processers are on the look out for products that could help them limit the use of abrasive chemical cleaners that could possibly contaminate their products.The Tennant Company claims its Ech2o system, released last month, has significant advantages over chemical cleaners, including lower costs, ease of use, improved operator safety, and an environmentally friendly alternative."Ech2o's cleaning effectiveness is proven to be the same or better than general purpose cleaners, without the negative environmental impact and health issues associated with producing, packaging, transporting, using and disposing of traditional cleaning chemicals," the company stated.The Ech2o process uses water and results in a discharge as water. The system works by unlocking the energy stored in the water molecule H2O though an Ech2o unit installed in a Tennant Company floor-cleaning machine. Inside the unit, two primary steps transform normal tap water into a cleaning liquid. In the first step, water passes through electrified screens in an oxygenation chamber, The process results in highly oxygenated micro-bubbles. In the second step, the oxygenated water is sent through a cell where an electric current is applied. Flowing out of the water cell is highly charged, acidic and alkaline water with all the attributes of a powerful cleaner, Tennant claimed.In the activated state, the water is an effective cleaning agent that poses no harm to the surfaces or finishes it cleans, or to people using the technology, the company stated. "The electrically charged water attacks the dirt, breaks it into smaller particles and suspends it off the floor's surface-enabling the scrubber's pads or brushes to easily remove the soil," the company stated.In about 45 seconds after it was created, the cleaning solution returns to plain H2O. "What is left in the recovery tank is just plain water and dirt," Tennant stated. "In this process, 100 percent of the water used reverts to neutral tap water and can be handled and disposed of safely." The Ech2o technology also cuts down on water use for cleaning by 70 per cent compared to traditional cleaning methods, the company claimed.And since no detergents are added to the Ech2o system, no slippery detergent residue is left on the floor or discharged into water systems. "Further, eliminating the need for chemical additives enhances worker safety and reduces costs for purchasing and disposal of chemicals," the company stated.Tennant claims to be the first in its industry to use the technology on a mobile platform, such as ride-on and walk-behind floor scrubbing machines. Ech2o technology will be available on Tennant and Nobles branded floor scrubbers this fall 2007. The company expects to ramp up sales of Ech2o-equipped machines in the spring of 2008, he stated.

Flavours innovator offers fruity beer alternative

11/20/2007 - Herb and fruit infused beers are set to become a major growth category for brewers facing dwindling sales of ale, according to the manufacturer of a new range of natural flavours.Wild claims it has developed a line of flavourings derived from exotic fruits and domestic herbs that can be used by brewers to create innovative new beer mixes to win back a declining market share in the alcoholic beverage market.According to the company, beer drinkers are moving away from the more traditional, bitter taste of beer, pushing brewers to look for intense fruit flavours that can be married with the existing malt or hop qualities of ales and lagers. Germany-based Wild began manufacturing fruit flavours for beer last year, and now hopes to expand its presence in the market through the availability of new products to better tap the segment's potential.With the mixture of citrus flavours with traditional beer already proving popular on the market, an example given by the company of further innovation was mixing a white beer with a grapefruit flavour, which it claims is already becoming popular in bars.Beyond conventional fruit ingredients, Wild said newer taste profiles such as pomegranate and lulo - a light-green fleshy fruit sourced from South America - offered an exciting and healthy alternative to more traditional flavours.The group claim that the inclusion of lulo also offers some nutrition benefits due to its high calcium, phosphorus and Iron content in addition to vitamins B, C and provitamin A.While domestically sourced herbs may not have the same allure, Wild added that their use in beer is another major innovation for processors. Additionally, the inclusion of ingredients long used in formulating energy drinks such as guarana, are also becoming increasingly popular in the manufacture of beers, which can claim to offer added benefits such as caffeine, the company said.The ingredients manufacturer is not alone in moving to tap the growing market for fruit beers as stagnant beer markets across much of Western Europe forces many international brewers to re-think their strategies in the region.France-based Aromotech last month launched its BeMix flavours in move to help brewers achieve a mix of tastes - from coconut to raspberry - in response to declining traditional beer sales.The developments come as beer makers are facing increasing difficulties in their core markets, due to declining sales of the tipple.

Oregano, rosemary extracts promise omega-3 preservation

11/20/2007 - Extracts from oregano and rosemary could extend the shelf-life of omega-3-rich fish oil, suggests new research from the US.Fish oil is notoriously difficult to incorporate into formulations since it is highly susceptible to oxidation. The result is a fishy taste and smell which can be off-putting for consumers. However the nutritional properties of fish oil have been much in the spotlight in recent years, especially omega-3, of which fish is recognized as the best source. In order to help people consume omega-3 in their diet - and especially those who have an aversion to fish - formulators have sought to overcome the stability issues and deliver food products that are untainted by sensory issues."This study provides useful information relative to natural antioxidants used in stabilizing fish oil during cooking and storage," wrote the authors in the Journal of Food Science."It could also be beneficial to the food industry in the development of functional foods enriched with healthy long chain unsaturated fatty acids with a longer shelf life," they added.Researchers from Louisiana State University tested the efficacy of methanol extracts of oregano and rosemary at different concentrations to retard the oxidation of the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in menhaden oil.Extracts were added at a concentration of zero, one, 2.5 and five per cent, and the oil was subsequently subjected to an accelerated ageing study by heating at 150 degrees Celsius for 30 min or incubating at 60 degrees Celsius fro five days.In the oil subjected to heating at 150 degrees Celsius in the absence of the herb extracts, only 15.9 per cent of DHA and 18.5 per cent of EPA remained in the fish oil. All of the EPA and DHA was found to have been oxidised in the extract-free oil incubated at 60 degrees Celsius for five days.However, when one and five per cent oregano extract was added, the oil contained 39 and 66 per cent, respectively, of the original DHA content after heating at 150 degrees Celsius, and 45 and 69 per cent, respectively, of the original EPA content.The highest retentions of DHA (57 per cent) and EPA (58 per cent) in fish oil with added rosemary were found for 2.5 per cent rosemary.The same concentration of rosemary produced the best results after incubation at 60 degrees Celsius for five days, 88 per cent of the original DHA and EPA contents retained.The Louisiana-based researchers note that, while the rosemary extract performed better at mild temperatures, the oregano extract performed better at higher temperatures. "Thus, for food preservation purposes, rosemary extract may be more effective than oregano extract," stated the researchers."However, at higher cooking temperature, the antioxidants in oregano extract are more stable and stronger than those in rosemary extract in retarding fish oil oxidation," they added."The results in this study support the use of spicy plants as sources of natural antioxidants," concluded the researchers.Another aspect that boosts the potential in the market place is the natural source of the seed flours. At present, 'natural' is a powerful force in the food industry, and there is increasing resistance at regulatory and consumer level - as well as from food retailers and manufacturers aiming to meet their demands - to synthetic preservatives. According to a 2003 report by Frost and Sullivan, the synthetic antioxidant market is in decline, while natural antioxidants, such as herb extracts, tocopherols (vitamin E) and ascorbates (vitamin C) are growing, pushed by easier consumer acceptance and legal requirements for market access.Food manufacturers are getting increasingly adventurous with the food product categories they are adding omega-3 to. Last week Premier Foods' Branston brand in the UK announced the launch of baked beans with omega-3 - but the source of the omega-3 was not revealed.

USP unleashes 11 new monographs for industry comments

11/20/2007 - The US Pharmacopeia (USP) has announced 11 new proposed monographs for dietary supplements for public notice and comment. These proposed monographs contain validated analytical methods to ensure the identity of the articles and protect consumers and industry from low quality and adulterated products.Industry advocates frequently cite that there are not enough of these available to companies or shared between companies, thereby potentially jeopardizing the quality of ingredients available on the market."This is an important step towards advancing the quality of these dietary supplements, which are increasingly used by consumers," said Darrell Abernethy, USP chief science officer. "USP welcomes comments on the new monographs from all interested parties."Of the 11 monographs in question, there are six turmeric-related monographs: for turmeric, powdered turmeric, powdered turmeric extract, curcuminoids, curcuminoids capsules and curcuminoids tablets.The three soy isoflavones monographs are soy isoflavones extract, soy isoflavones capsules, and soy isoflavones tablets. In addition, USP has two monographs for single ingredient amino acid formulations, arginine capsules and arginine tablets also appeared in PF 33(6).The proposed monographs appear in the current issue of Pharmacopeial Forum, the journal through which USP offers, for public review and comments, new and revised standards pertaining to the United States Pharmacopeia-National Formulary. The monographs follow closely on the heels of the proposed monographs USP issued in July on powdered decaffeinated green tea extract and powdered bilberry extract. According to USP, these monographs contain appropriate cases of identity masking. For example, it says the proposed monograph on powdered bilberry extract distinguishes the true extract from articles adulterated with azo dyes and other anthocyanin-containing botanicals.

Functional magnolia gum could sweeten breath

11/20/2007 - Extracts from the bark of the magnolia plant formulated in mints and gums can effectively tackle dental bacteria, suggests a new study from the Wm Wrigley Jr. company.The study taps into an ever growing interest in functional chewing gum. The researchers report that extracts from the plant removed about 20 times more of the germs that cause bad breath within half an hour than placebo mints.The study is published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.Chewing gum is being seen by many as a novel and exciting delivery method for functional ingredients. Over the past two to three years gums have been formulated to contain a range of ingredients, including vitamins and probiotics.Extracts from the bark of magnolia (Magnolia officinalis) have a long history of use in traditional Chinese medicine for stress management. The new study suggests they may also have potential as anti-microbials in functional chewing gum.According to market researchers Leatherhead International, the global gum market is expected to increase by 17 per cent to almost $17bn (€13.5bn) in the next four years.And Wrigley is the market leader in the sector with a more than 35 per cent share of the worldwide sector - 8 per cent greater than nearest rival Cadbury.Wrigley scientists Michael Greenberg, Philip Urnezis, and Minmin Tian looked at the possibility of formulating extracts from magnolia bark into mints and chewing gum, and tested the efficacy of these extracts to inhibit bacteria in human saliva samples. Using the minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) test - a quantification of the minimum concentration of extract required to inhibit growth - the researchers tested magnolia bark extract (MBE) and its two main components, magnolol and honokiol.These experiments showed that MBE and its two main constituents strongly inhibited Porphyromonas gingivalis, Fusobacterium nucleatum, and Streptococcus mutans, bacteria responsible for bad breath (halitosis). Indeed, an extract with a concentration of 0.2 per cent was reported to reduce bacterial populations by 99.9 per cent after only five minutes.The next stage of the study involved in vivo experiments with nine healthy volunteers. Greenberg, Urnezis, and Tian took saliva samples before and after the consumption of mints and gum, with and without MBE. The results were controlled using Listerine mouthwash.The researchers report that the MBE-enriched mints were associated with a reduction in total salivary bacteria of 62 per cent after 30 minutes and 34 per cent after an hour. Similar results were obtained for the MBE-enriched chewing gum, where a 43 per cent reduction in total salivary bacteria was recorded after 40 minutes.On the other hand, the mints containing no plant extract were associated with a reduction in total salivary bacteria of four per cent after 30 minutes and an increase in bacteria of 48 per cent after an hour. Moreover, the placebo (MBE-free) gum reduced total salivary bacteria by 18 per cent after 40 minutes."MBE demonstrated a significant antibacterial activity against organisms responsible for oral malodour and can be incorporated in compressed mints and chewing gum for improved breath-freshening benefits," wrote the researchers.In 2005 in Europe, Wrigley launched several new products to gain a greater foothold in the novelty flavoured gum niche.Others are getting in on the act, too. Last year BASF Future Business, in collaboration with German biotech OrganoBalance, revealed they were targeting the dental care category with chewing gum, toothpaste or a mouthwash

Pine bark extract shows arthritis benefits

11/20/2007 - Extracts from French maritime pine bark may reduce the pain and stiffness associated with arthritis of the knee by about 40 per cent, suggests a new international study.Moreover, the randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 37 patients with osteoarthritis and using the pine bark extract, Pycnogenol, indicated an improvement in physical function of 52 per cent.The study is published in the journal Nutrition Research."To our knowledge, this is the first randomised clinical trial to show the effectiveness of Pycnogenol, a dietary supplement with known antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, in alleviating the clinical symptoms of knee osteoarthritis," wrote the researchers, led by Ronald Ross Watson from the University of Arizona.Osteoarthritis effects about seven million people in the UK alone are reported to have long-term health problems associated with arthritis. Around 206m working days were lost in the UK in 1999-2000, equal to £18bn (€26bn) of lost productivity.The new study randomly assigned the volunteers (average age 48.2, average BMI 23.1 kg per sq. m) to receive either a daily dose of Pycnogenol (150 mg) or placebo for three months. Using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMAC) Osteoarthritis Index as a measure of arthritis symptoms, the researchers report that pain and physical function scores improved after 60 and 90 days of supplementation with the pine bark extract. No changes were observed in the placebo group. Furthermore, after 90 days of Pycnogenol supplementation the WOMAC scores for self-reported pain, stiffness, and physical function were reduced by 43, 35, and 52, respectively.Changes in the use of Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or selective cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) inhibitors were also observed between the groups. Before the study started, all the patients reported requiring NSAIDs or COX-2 inhibitors on most days.Subjects in the pycnogenol group reported a significant reduction in the monthly intake of NSAIDs and COX-2 inhibitor pills in terms of the number of pills and number of days, compared to the baseline. Subjects in the placebo group reported a marked increase in the number of days and pills taken."The results of this study indicate the efficacy of Pycnogenol in alleviating osteoarthritis symptoms and reducing the need for NSAIDs or COX-2 inhibitors administration," wrote the researchers. While no mechanistic study was performed by the researchers, Watson and co-workers do propose that the beneficial effect of the pine bark extract might be due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The researchers called for further research to clarify the underlying mechanism. They also recommended that larger clinical trials be conducted in osteoarthritic patients. The study was supported by a grant from Horphag Research, the company behind the Pycnogenol ingredient.The company has been very active in sponsoring and supporting studies into the potential health benefits of the pine bark extract. The first research was conducted on the ingredient 35 years ago. Victor Ferrari, research chief operating officer and executive vice president of Horphag Research, told NutraIngredients last year that the company ploughs $1.5m - "most of its profits" - into research each year. The product is extracted from the bark of the Maritime pine that grows on the southern coast of France, and is currently used in over 400 dietary supplements, multi-vitamins and health products.

Scientists develop prebiotic, low-fat sausages

11/15/2007 - Inulin, the prebiotic fibre associated with improved gut and bone health, can be used as a fat replacer in sausages to cut energy by over 20 per cent without affecting the flavour profile, suggests new research from Germany.Inulin is already extensively used as a fat and sugar replacer, but according to background information in the article, its use in sausages has only been the subject of very limited study."Consumer demands for low-fat products, the precautionary principle in the new EC law to achieve the demanded high level of health protection, and market competition are all driving forces for the meat industry to launch new products," wrote lead author Bernhard Nowak in the Journal of Food Science."Therefore, in addition to dealing with traditional meat production problems such as hygiene and quality, it is also necessary to consider preventive, prebiotic aspects." The researchers, from the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, and Leibniz University Hannover, investigated the feasibility of incorporating between three and 12 per cent inulin as a fat replacer into bologna-type sausages in order to reduce the energy content by nine to 48 per cent."In our experiment, the added inulin was applied as a gel (inulin diluted with water 1:1), and added in gradually increasing amounts to replace some of the back fat in the bologna formula; thus fat reduction was achieved by really replacing fat and not by increasing the amount of muscle meat in the formula, as has been done in many other experiments," they explained.Nowak and co-workers report that the highest inulin incorporation was associated with a 47.5 per cent reduction in energy, but at all levels of fat replacement negative physicochemical effects. These included a darker colour, increased hardness, and a reduction in 'fracturability'.Subsequent re-formulation by the researchers to substitute citrate for the phosphate in the recipe led to significant reduction in these negative effects.The best results, in terms of both physicochemical properties and sensory attributes, were obtained for sausage formulations containing sic per cent inulin as a fat replacer. Such sausages offered 22 per cent less energy than normal sausages. The sensory attributes (texture, colour) were assessed by four trained tasters, and states to be comparable to the control sausages.Furthermore, the inulin sausages were found to be microbiologically stable for 23 days of storage."It is possible to add up to six per cent inulin as a gel to bologna-type sausages with citrate in the formula and achieve a significant reduction of the energy content (22 per cent) without negatively affecting sensory quality," wrote Nowak.The researchers do state that the production costs of the reduced fat sausages with the potentially prebiotic activity are higher than normal sausages.

Low dose grape powder linked to colon protection

11/15/2007 - Low doses of freeze-dried grape powder could inhibit the development of colorectal cancer, suggests a new human pilot study from the US.Researchers at the University of California, Irvine report that the benefits appear to go beyond that of resveratrol alone, the polyphenol often touted as the bioactive compound in grapes and red wine. The benefits, possibly due to synergistic effects between the grape compounds, were observed to occur by blocking a cellular signalling pathway known as the Wnt pathway, linked to more than 85 per cent of colon cancers.The results are set to be presented tomorrow in San Francisco at the Society for Integrative Oncology's Fourth International Conference."This is truly exciting, because it suggests that substances in grapes can block a key intracellular signalling pathway involved in the development of colon cancer before a tumour develops," said Dr. Randall Holcombe, lead researcher on the study.Building on previous in vitro studies using exclusively resveratrol, Holcombe at co-workers recruited colon cancer patients and randomly assigned them to receive a resveratrol pill (20 milligrams per day), or a beverage of grape powder in water (80 or 120 grams of powder per day).The resveratrol supplements were not associated with any effect on colon tumours. However, tissue samples from the colon of patients receiving the low dose grape powder drink showed significant reductions in Wnt signalling.Curiously, no effects were observed at the higher dose beverage.Previous studies have linked resveratrol to having a positive effect on extending survival rates of mice and preventing the negative effects of high-calorie diets. It has also been linked to diabetes, heart health and obesity. Resveratrol - an antioxidant - is also found in raspberries, peanuts and blueberries, which in turn fall under the umbrella group of superfoods. In red wine, the amount of resveratrol in a bottle can vary between types of grapes and growing seasons, and can vary between 0.2 and 5.8 milligrams per litre. But nearly all dark red wines - merlot, cabernet, zinfandel, shiraz and pinot noir - contain resveratrol.Holcombe and co-workers state that they are uncertain as to why the lower dose of grape powder was more effective than the higher one. Work is ongoing in the field, and Holcombe confirmed that a clinical cancer prevention study is currently under design to see how a daily diet of 80 grams of grapes affects Wnt signalling.The pilot study follows an epidemiological survey by UC Irvine researchers investigating the wine consumption habits of 499 colorectal cancer patients.The study, published recently in the journal Nutrition and Cancer, reported that moderate wine consumption was associated with improved survival statistics. Indeed, 75 per cent of such patients were alive after 10 years of initial diagnosis, compared to 47 per cent of such patients who did not regularly drink wine. "Our epidemiologic study suggests that wine consumption may influence survival among a subset of colorectal cancer patients, specifically those with family history of the disease," said Dr. Jason Zell, co-authors of the epidemiological study. "These findings could reflect unique genetic and environmental interactions among familial colorectal cancer patients, but further studies are needed to test this theory. Studies such as Dr. Holcombe's with grape powder extract and resveratrol are important as they offer potential explanations for our findings." "These findings suggest that we should do additional research and clinical studies on grapes and other natural products that may prove effective in helping to prevent cancer," he said.Colorectal cancer accounts for nine per cent of new cancer cases every year worldwide. The highest incidence rates are in the developed world, while Asia and Africa have the lowest incidence rates.

Milk thistle compound may protect against liver cancer

A flavanone compound in milk thistle, silibinin, may stop the growth and spread of liver cancer, suggests a laboratory study from the University of California, Irvine.The in vitro study used human liver cancer cells exposed to different doses of silibinin, and found that the milk thistle compound could inhibit the spread of the cells and promote programmed cell death (apoptosis).It should be stressed that the new research, published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology, did not use milk thistle dietary supplements, but pure silibinin, the active component in milk thistle.Liver cancer is the sixth most commonly diagnosed cancer in the world, and third most common cause of death from cancer, according to Cancer Research UK. Despite these figures, the cancer remains relatively rare, with 18,500 new cases in the US every year, and about 3,000 in the UK. The highest incidences of the disease are in east and Southeast Asia, particularly China, and for this reason the current researchers looked at the effects of probiotic supplements on markers for the disease.Ke-Qin Hu and his research team tested doses of silibinin ranging from 10 to 240 micromoles per litre for the human liver cancer cell lines, HuH7, HepG2, Hep3B, and PLC/PRF/5.The researchers report a dose-dependent response at levels above 180 micromoles per litre, and an IC50 value, a measure of the extract concentration under which 50 per cent of the cell population growth was inhibited, of 240 micromoles per litre.Additional study was limited to the HuH7 cell line, "because the HuH7 cell line is one of the most commonly used human (hepatocellular carcinoma) HCC lines," said the researchers.A mechanistic study indicated that the milk thistle compound was associated with an increase in histone acetylation. The significance of this increase is that histone acetylation is reportedly involved in cell proliferation, differentiation, and cell cycle regulation.Indeed, measurements of apoptosis showed that, at a dose of 240 micromoles per litre, silibinin increased programmed cell death of the cancer cells by a factor of nine.Hu and co-workers state that further work is necessary to full elucidate the mechanism. It is also not known if the doses required to offer the potential anti-cancer benefits could be achieved using milk thistle supplements."Our findings not only indicate silibinin's novel anti-cancer mechanisms, but also provide additional targets for searching new agents for HCC chemoprevention," concluded the researchers.Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) has been used for a long time as a food in Europe. Young leaves are used in salads, the stalks eaten like asparagus, and the heads boiled like artichoke.

Vitamin C and dairy linked to less abdominal weight

An increased intake of vitamin C and dairy could reduce the accumulation of weight around the abdomen, reported to increase the risk of diabetes and heart disease, suggests a new study.Over 900 Iranian women aged between 40 and 60 years were found to have more central fat accumulation if their intakes of vitamin C, calcium, and dairy are low.Indeed, low vitamin C intake was associated with a 131 per cent increase in probability of central fat accumulation, while low calcium increased the probability by 30 per cent.The study, published in the journal Public Health Nutrition, looks set to continue the debate about whether dairy foods can promote weight loss, and what the mechanism behind such an effect could be.Leila Azadbakht and Ahmad Esmaillzadeh from Isfahan University of Medical Sciences used a semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to evaluate dietary intakes.They report that the possibility of being centrally obese was increased in women with low vitamin C intakes (less than 56 milligrams), low calcium intakes (less than 398 mg), and low dairy consumption.Others factors found to adversely affect weight around the waist were depression, smoking and menopausal state.In terms of the mechanism or mechanisms behind the apparent benefits of the nutrients, the researchers state that both the vitamin and calcium have been reported to reduce fat absorption and may reduce abdominal adiposity."The mechanism by which milk consumption affects obesity indices is not accurately known. Most studies have cited calcium as a responsible factor. So, an inverse relationship has been suggested between calcium intake and body weight and body fat mass in various ways. Its simple effect is the inhibition of fat and fatty acid absorption," they stated. "However, this is not the major cause; it seems that the major effect of calcium on body weight is mediated by its effects on controlling intracellular calcium," they added.A previous study from Purdue University claimed that young women could burn more calories if they ate three or four dairy servings per day. However another report, also from Purdue, reported that increased dairy consumption had no effect on weight gain or loss.On the other hand, Dr. Michael Zemel from the University of Tennessee told attendees at last year's Paris Anti-Obesity Therapies 2006 conference that dairy can help reduce body fat and that calcium only accounts for about 40 per cent of the effect.Dairy industries in Europe and the US have been promoting milk-based products for consumers who want to slim for some time but the new findings underline that further work needs to be done to support such claims.A diet low in dairy foods has been linked to an increased risk of accumulating fat Indeed, the results have been welcomed by the UK-based Dairy Council. The council's director Dr. Judith Bryans said: "These results are exciting, as a number of other scientific studies have also suggested a possible link between regular consumption of low fat dairy foods and weight loss, particularly from the waist area.

Exhaled Nitric Oxide May Help Screen for Asthma in Young Adults

October 31, 2007 — The fraction of exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) measurement with a portable analyzer is an effective tool to screen for asthma in young adults, according to the results of a study reported in the October 20 Online First issue of Chest.
"The fraction of exhaled NO (FeNO) is valuable for the follow-up of asthmatic patients," write Konstantinos Kostikas, MD, from the University of Thessaly Medical School, University Hospital of Larissa, in Greece, and colleagues. "However, its usefulness as a screening tool for asthma is not established."
Using a modified European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) questionnaire previously developed to screen respiratory tract symptoms related to asthma, the investigators screened a population of 961 university students.
There were 149 students with a positive answer to at least 1 question on the ECRHS; these underwent FeNO measurement with a portable nitric oxide (NO) analyzer followed by spirometry, which was evaluated by a physician blinded to FeNO measurements. Controls were 70 students with no respiratory tract symptoms.
Asthma was diagnosed in 63 students and allergic rhinitis in 57 students. Compared with controls, patients with asthma had higher FeNO (median, 20; interquartile range, 14 - 31 ppb vs 11 [7 - 13] ppb; P < .0001). However, their FeNO values were not significantly higher vs patients with allergic rhinitis (17 [12 - 23] ppb; P = .28).
For the diagnosis of asthma, FeNO cutoff values of more than 19 ppb had a specificity of 85.2% and sensitivity of 52.4% (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.723). In nonsmokers, the diagnostic performance of FeNO was better (AUC = 0.805). Both in smokers and in nonsmokers, FeNO values greater than 25 ppb were more than 90% specific for the diagnosis of asthma. However, FeNO was not a good marker to distinguish asthma from allergic rhinitis.
Limitations of the study are that FeNO represents a marker of eosinophilic airway inflammation and is not elevated in noneosinophilic asthma, use of physician-diagnosed asthma as the criterion standard study group is limited to young adults, and most patients had mild to moderate asthma.
"FeNO measurement with a portable analyzer is useful for the screening for asthma in young adults," the study authors write. "Significant confounding factors are allergic rhinitis and current smoking. In the era of wider availability and lowering cost of FeNO analyzers, further studies in other age groups are warranted for its validation as a screening tool for asthma in the general population."

Fruit anitioxidants develop with ripeness

Compounds in ripe fruit have been found to be highly active antioxidants, making them a potential source of health-promoting ingredients.Scientists at the University of Innsbruck in Austria claim to be the first to have identified the decomposition mechanism and products of apples and pears, and their findings suggest that as fruits go bad their antioxidant levels increase.Key to the process is the change in colour that occurs as fruits ripen. According to lead researcher Bernhard Kräutler, fruit undergoes a similar decomposition process as leaves that turn from green to red to yellow to brown.This colour change is caused by the breakdown and disappearance of chlorophyll, which is what gives leaves and fruits their green colour.Kräutler and his team explain that for a long time no one really knew what happened to chlorophyll during this decomposition process. Through their research together with botanists over the past several years, they claim to have identified the first decomposition products in leaves. These are colourless, polar NCCs (nonfluorescing chlorophyll catabolytes), that contain four pyrrole rings - like chlorophyll and heme.These catabolytes are the same for apples and pears, and are also the same as those found in the leaves of the fruit trees, said the researchers.After examining the peels of apples and pears, they found that in ripe fruits, NCCs replace the chlorophyll, especially in the peel and the flesh immediately below it. "There is clearly one biochemical pathway for chlorophyll decomposition in leaf senescence and fruit ripening," said Kräutler."When chlorophyll is released from its protein complexes in the decomposition process, it has a phototoxic effect: when irradiated with light, it absorbs energy and can transfer it to other substances. For example, it can transform oxygen into a highly reactive, destructive form," report the researchers.However, the NCCs have an opposite effect, they said. These are powerful antioxidants and can thereby play an important physiological role for a plant. In the same way, when these are consumed as part of the human diet, they can play the same antioxidative role in consumers' systems.

Black raspberry promise in oesophageal cancer prevention

Freeze-dried back raspberries could help prevent the formation of tumours of the oesophagus, if the results of a rat study also hold true for humans, but were not seen to aid tumour regression.Researchers from Ohio State University set out to find whether dietary freeze-dried black raspberries administered in the short-term could aid tumour regression and improve the survival chance of rate with induced oeophagal tumours. Their experiment was conducted on a group of four-week-old male Fisher-344 rats, which were fed a control diet for 15 weeks and regularly injected with a tumour-inducing chemical called NMBA, or nnitrosomethylbenzylamine. At 19 weeks the rats had an average of five to six tumours on their oesopahgi. For the next seven weeks, they were fed a diet containing five per cent, ten per cent or 15 per cent freeze-dried black raspberry. At the end of this period the rats were killed and tumour incidence, number and volume assessed. The researchers found that these factors were not influenced by any of quantities of berries in the rats' diets. There were progressive but not significant increases in survival of the rats. However when rats were fed a berry diet before, during or shortly after administration of the tumour inducing chemical fewer tumours were seen to develop. The researchers sought to explain the effect as follows:"The berries were shown to influence the metabolism of NMBA leading to a reduced formation of O6-MeGua adducts in esophageal DNA. Subsequently, treatment of rats with dietary FBR was shown to inhibit the metabolism of NMBA in esophageal explant cultures and in liver microsomes in vitro, and to stimulate the activity of glutathione-S-transferase in the liver, all of which could be responsible for the reduced rate of adduct formation in vivo." Black raspberries were chosen for the experiment because they contain multiple agents that exhibit chemopreventive effects in animals, including vitamins A, C, E, and folic acid, calcium, selenium, beta-sitosterol, ellagic and ferulic acids, quercetin, and at least five anthocyanins.The high level of anthocyanins is responsible for the dark colour and high-antioxidant potential of black raspberries. The health benefits of berries and other 'superfruits' with a high antioxidant content have been much under the spotlight recently. For the food industry in particular, the freeze-dried format is especially convenient since it allows the fruit to be incorporated into a broad range of food products. Overall, raspberry sales are said to have grown by 62 per cent between 2004 and 2006 in the UK, strawberry sales by 34 per cent, and blueberry sales. Last November researchers from UCLA reported in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry that antioxidant-rich extracts from a wide range of berries, including blueberries, strawberries and raspberries, were seen in a lab study to inhibit cell growth and spread for a wide range of cancers. The cancer cells lines investigated were human oral, prostate, colon and breast - the latter of which is a disease at which both bathykolpian women and their small-breasted sisters are understood to be at an equal risk, although breast density is thought to increase risk.

100 apples a day keeps URTI away

A flavonoid found in fruit, such as apples and berries, could help reduce illnesses in people who have carried out extensive exercise.Researchers writing in the Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise journal found that supplementation of quercetin reduced incidence of upper respiratory tract infections (URTI). This study adds to an increasing body of evidence pointing to the health benefits of the antioxidant, which has been linked to having an ability to fight oxidative stress as well as anti-cancer benefits.Companies have already started to take advantage of the flavonoid. Energy drink FRS Plus containing quercitin, and aimed at reducing fatigue and boost overall performance by fighting free radicals in the body, was launched in 2002 .According to the New Scientist, studies of quercetin have been supported by DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) - the Pentagon's research arm - in the hope it could be used to protect US troops. This too shows the potential of the flavonoid is also being considered outside of the consumer food market. Lead author David Nieman from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, said in the New Scientist: "During missions, soldiers are running around for two or three days with heavy packs on. They don't eat or sleep, and infections are as much of a problem if not a more serious issue than injuries," Researchers gave 40 male cyclists one gram of quercetin a day, which is the equivalent to eating 100 apples, or a placebo for three weeks. During this time, the cyclists spent a three-day period training at maximum intensity for three hours each day. Blood and saliva samples were collected before and after each of the three exercise sessions and examined for natural killer cell activity, PHA-stimulated lymphocyte proliferation, polymorphonuclear oxidative-burst activity, and salivary IgA output. They found that changes in these levels did not differ significantly between quercetin and placebo groups. However, URTI incidence during the two week post-exercise period "differed significantly."

Antioxidant product could fight damage after exercise

A small study has reported that a protein powder mix of amino acids, vitamins and minerals could help combat fatigue during a difficult workout.The study, published in Germany's International Journal of Sports Medicine and reported on by Reuters Health, involved eight physically active young men. The study was funded by the maker of the protein powder Actibiomax, Paris-based Merck-MF Richeletch makes Actibiomax. The researchers attributed the improvement in fatigue to the higher antioxidant levels in the supplement group.Actibiomax contains 18 amino acids, ten vitamins and ten minerals. The product is advertised in Europe as protecting the body from free radicals that are generated during intense physical exercise. Undertaken at France's Evry Val d'Essonne University, the study surveyed a group of men including middle- or long-distance runners, as well as recreational athletes. The men underwent an exercise test on a stationary bicycle at both the outset and conclusion of the study. The researchers observed that over the period of 28 days, the men who took the supplement showed no change in their exercise performance as compared with that of the placebo group. However, the difference was that these same participants were said to have tired less quickly, as observed during short and intense workouts where they pedaled as fast as they could at a high resistance. The group given the supplements also showed heightened antioxidant activity and fewer signs of oxidative damage following workouts, based on results from blood tests. Oxidative damage can affect cells after intense physical activity, thereby opening-up the potential for the alleviating and repairing effect of antioxidant ingredients in sports performance products.

Study backs lycopene against advanced prostate cancer

Increased blood levels of lycopene may reduce the risk of advanced prostate cancer by 60 per cent, but carotenoids in general do not appear to impact on the overall risk of the disease, says a large European study.Writing in the current issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers taking part in the Europe-wide European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) report that, despite an apparent benefit from lycopene, more research is needed before the link can be supported."To our knowledge, this is the largest prospective study to date of plasma carotenoids, retinol, tocopherols, and prostate cancer risk," wrote lead author Timothy Key from Cancer Research UK. "Overall, we observed no significant associations between plasma micronutrient concentrations and prostate cancer risk. However, we did observe significant heterogeneity between localized and advanced prostate cancer for the associations with lycopene and for the sum of carotenoids, both of which were significantly associated with a reduction in risk of advanced prostate cancer," he added.Epidemiological evidence has suggested that tomato-based foods can protect men from prostate cancer. One study found that men eating four to five tomato based-dishes per week were 25 per cent less likely to develop prostate cancer compared to men eating tomatoes only rarely. Such findings are boosting the lycopene market, with growth rates forecast at over 100 per cent by Frost and Sullivan, albeit from a low base of around €27m ($34m) in 2003.The new study followed 137,001 men from eight European countries for an average of 6 years. After this time, the researchers compared 966 subjects (average age 60.4, average BMI 26.6 kg per sq. m) who developed prostate cancer with 1064 healthy matched controls (average age 60.1, average BMI 26.8 kg per sq. m). All the subjects provided blood tests in order to quantify blood levels of certain micronutrients.After adjusting the results to account for potentially confounding factors, the researchers reported no reduction in overall prostate cancer risk for the micronutrients, which included vitamin A, selected carotenoids, lycopene, and alpha- and gamma-tocopherols (forms of vitamin E).However, when they looked at only advanced prostate cancer (accounting for 29 per cent of the cases), significant protective associations were observed, with the highest lycopene levels linked to a 60 per cent reduction, and total carotenoids linked to a 65 per cent reduction in advanced prostate cancer risk, compared to the lowest average levels."For lycopene and for the sum of carotenoids, there was weak evidence for a difference in association according to the stage of disease, which corresponded to an inverse association for advanced disease but no association with localized disease," wrote the researchers."If lycopene or total carotenoids reduce the risk of advanced disease, it would be expected that, unless these carotenoids affect only disease progression, there would also be some reduction in risk of localized disease," they added.Key and co-workers also conducted a meta-analysis, combining their results with studies from other studies, and found no overall benefit from any of the nutrients. This supports the results from clinical trials, they said, where beta-carotene and vitamin E supplements were not observed to produce benefits against prostate cancer."Although this is the largest prospective study of plasma carotenoids, retinol, tocopherols, and prostate cancer risk published so far, more data are needed to clearly differentiate the associations of lycopene and total carotenoids with localized and advanced disease, to examine whether these associations vary according to time between blood collection and diagnosis, and to examine whether these associations are confounded or modified by other potential risk factors for prostate cancer," concluded Key.According to the European School of Oncology, over half a million news cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed every year world wide, and the cancer is the direct cause of over 200,000 deaths. More worryingly, the incidence of the disease is increasing with a rise of 1.7 per cent over 15 years.

Antioxidants may stop fat cells formation

Natural antioxidant compounds like flavonoids and phenolic acids could inhibit the formation of fat formation from fat cells, suggests new research from Taiwan.A study of 15 phenolic acids and six flavonoids were studied for their ability to affect fat cells in laboratory cultures of mouse cells, with o-coumaric acid and rutin reported to inhibit activity of the glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) enzyme that forms triglycerides - fatty materials which at high levels increase the risk of heart disease."These results indicate that flavonoids and phenolic acids may play a role in the control of adipogenesis and they might have further implication in in vivo anti-obesity effects," wrote Chin-Lin Hsu and Gow-Chin Yen from National Chung Hsing University.According to the International Obesity Task Force, an estimated 300 million adults worldwide are obese (body mass index over 30).Moreover, rising obesity is predicted to have a huge impact on public health services. A recent Foresight report predicted that the cost of the epidemic in Britain, in terms of health care provision and lost working hours, could reach £45bn a year by 2050.The new study, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, looked at the effects of the flavonoids and phenolics on levels of triglyceride in the cells and GPDH activity in 3T3-L1 adipocytes (fat cells). The researchers chose the 3T3-L1 cell line because it has been used widely for several decades as a cell model for fat cell biology research.Among the 15 phenolic acids and six flavonoids tested o-coumaric acid and rutin were found to inhibit intracellular triglyceride the most, by 61 and 83 per cent, respectively.Moreover, the same two compounds were found to be the most potent inhibitors of GPDH, reducing activity by 54 and 67 per cent, respectively.These two compounds also inhibited the expression of peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-gamma), a protein that plays a role in metabolic functions, and the hormone leptin.The compounds also up-regulated expression of adiponectin, a hormone that modulates a number of metabolic processes."Adipose tissue is now known to produce and secrete a PPAR-gamma, which [has a role] in the early stage of adipocyte differentiation," wrote the researchers. "Some studies have addressed the important role that PPAR-gamma plays in the regulation of insulin sensitivity and glucose homeostasis." "The present experiment indicated that o-coumaric acid and rutin treatment inhibited the expression of PPAR-gamma protein levels, which demonstrated that compounds inhibited adipogenesis by affecting the transcriptional factor cascade upstream of PPAR-gamma expression."In the present study, o-coumaric acid and rutin also inhibited the expression of leptin and then stimulated the up-regulation of adiponectin at the protein level. Adiponectin expression would, therefore, be regulated by PPAR-gamma transcriptional activity," they added."These results suggest that o-coumaric acid and rutin targeted for adipocyte functions could be effective in improving the symptoms of metabolic syndrome," concluded the researchers.Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a condition characterised by central obesity, hypertension, and disturbed glucose and insulin metabolism. The syndrome has been linked to increased risks of both type-2 diabetes and CVD. Fifteen per cent of adult Europeans are estimated to be affected by MetS, while the US statistic is estimated to be a whopping 32 per cent.

Meat, cancer and credibility

The big 'Cs' got the meat industry in trouble last week - cancer and credibility.In the face of a major scientific study linking a 30 per cent increased risk of cancer with processed meat products, industry associations reacted quite strongly against the findings - when they would have been wiser to have just kept their mouths shut.The scientific review of 7,000 studies was completed for the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) and the American Institute for Cancer Research, very credible organisations.The scientists concluded that raw and processed meats are "convincing or probable causes of some cancers". They also recommended that "people who eat red meat" should consume less than 500 g a week "very little if any to be processed". They also went out of their way to emphasise that their "overall recommendation is not for diets containing no meat - or diets containing no foods of animal origin". In other words, eat meat if you have to, but sparingly. Andrew Wadge, chief scientist for the UK's Food Standards Organisation, quite rightly noted on his blog that the consumer would have had a hard week of digesting the cancer study (along with another on folic acid). "I suspect that most people will simply ignore these messages and carry on with their usual dietary habits, which is a shame because there are relatively easy steps we can take to improve our diet and reduce risks of disease," he wrote.As a massive meat eater myself (my French friends have nicknamed me 'Mr Barbeque"), I will find it hard or impossible to follow this advice, and so too, I suspect, will most non-vegetarians. Processed foods are also a part of the make up of our daily modern diet. A more perfect diet would of course be to eat entirely fresh foods, cooked from scratch. But we must remember Spam and other processed products of that ilk, have saved many lives during wartime and emergencies, and during peace offer the convenience that frees us up to have some fun time during our fast paced lives.And increasingly some of the processed ready-to-eat products on the market are frankly better tasting than I might have been able to make myself.So in reality the cancer study posed no foreseeable direct economic threat to the meat sector.Why then did the meat sectors in North America and Europe react against the report so strongly?The American Meat Institute was the most extreme, discounting the study as biased and plain wrong. The organisation claimed bizarrely that the cancer associations were "anti-meat" in the first place. "WCRF's conclusions are extreme, unfounded and out of step with dietary guidelines," said one of the AMI's scientists, Randy Huffman, citing US dietary guidelines put out by government regulators.I thought that dietary guidelines are based on science among other factors - and not vice versa!The UK's meat organisations approached the issue in a more moderate tone, noting that processed meat is "part of a balanced diet", and also referring to dietary guidelines.The problem is the story was already out in the media as a hot conclusion from a credible organisation. In the face of this media coverage any statements from the meat industry, other than "follow the advice of eating less meat", would sound non-credible to any consumer.They would have been advised at this point to remain quiet and watch the study's conclusions disappear off consumers' agendas.

New tool predicts sweet corn quality

Researchers in the US have developed what claims to be the first tool that can predict the timing, quality and weight of sweet corn crops, a move that is expected to help the industry meet consumer demand for the vegetable.The market for sweet corn - which stands at $807m per year in the US alone - is driven by the diversity of the crop, which is popular in fresh, canned and frozen forms. However, fresh sweet corn is extremely perishable as a result of the rapid decrease in sugar content, discoloration and risk of pathogen infection. In addition, it remains a largely seasonal crop, with production peaking in July and only around ten percent of the annual volume marketed during the winter months.According to researchers from the Universities of Florida and Georgia, these seasonal production limitations as well as the perishable nature of the vegetable spurred interest in developing reliable methods for predicting characteristics of the crop.The new 'simulation model' has the capacity to predict the quality and yield of sweet corn crops. Simulation models are widely accepted tools used in the agricultural industry, and although such tools have been available for field corn for over 20 years, no such model existed for sweet corn until this year.The new tool, which was developed over a five year period, is based on a field corn model, which was modified to improve the simulation of ear growth, to predict ear fresh market yield, and to predict fresh market ear quality according to US standards."The sweet corn market is based on the quality of fresh market whole ears, which is different from the dry grain measure used in the field corn market. We found that modifying a well known field corn simulation model was enough to correctly simulate the growth and production of fresh market sweet corn," said researcher Jon Lizaso

Food contaminants hit snack world

Pieces of metal may have fallen into sweet treats in the UK and E. coli is suspected in pizza and beef patties in the US, reminding snack manufacturers that both physical and pathogen contaminants can lead to costly recalls.The news emphasises why processors must always be vigilant, as a range of safety breaches lead to food products being pulled from shelves, as well as negative publicity and a dip in consumer trust.Unwanted metal detectedMarks & Spencer this week announced the withdrawal of cheesecakes, while United Biscuit pulled a range of biscuit products, after processing managers raised the alarm that pieces of thin metal wire had fallen into the finished products.Marks & Spencer has now withdrawn Belgian chocolate, frozen chocolate and Courvoisier cream cheesecakes from its own stores, after a supplier warned the company about the possible presence of the wire in the biscuit crumb. The company said it has also put up point-of-sale notices in all stores where the product was sold, in order to advise consumers to get rid of the cakes if they've already been purchased.The contaminated United Biscuits chocolate bourbons have an even wider range, as they have already been sold for private label use in supermarkets across the UK, such as Co-op, Aldi, Morrisons, Sainsbury, Somerfield and Tesco.In a statement, the company blamed the possible contamination on a "machine failure", and apologised to all retailers who may have bought the biscuits."We have launched a full investigation to ensure this problem does not occur in the future," a United Biscuit spokesperson said. "We would also like to apologise to consumers for any inconvenience."Pieces of metal can cause distress and physical injury to consumers if swallowed, especially if the pieces are sharp of jagged.However, detection in the food industry is sometimes difficult, as traditional metal detectors can often not distinguish between 'legitimate' metal, such as clips on the ends of sausages or aluminium tins, and rogue contaminants.E. coli strikes US factoriesCargill and General Mills last week ordered a recall over fears that the pathogen E. coli had found its way into meat products.Cargill, the largest meat processor in the US, announced Saturday it was recalling about 1m lbs (454,000 kgs) of ground beef because of possible infection with the E. coli 0157:H7, a potentially fatal pathogen that causes diarrhoea and dehydration.The beef had already been used in a number of products sent to retailers, including ground beef patties, lean beef meat and meat loaf."However, no illnesses have been associated with this product," said John Keating, president of the Cargill Regional Beef division. "We are working closely with the USDA to remove the product from the marketplace."It was also feared that the same E. coli strain could have found it's way into pepperoni meat used on pizza made by the companies Totino's and Jeno's, both subsidiaries of General Mills."The recall affects approximately 414,000 cases of pizza products currently in stores and all similar pizza products in consumers' freezers," General Mills said. "The frozen pizza products were produced in the company's Wellston, Ohio, plant and distributed to retail establishments nationwide."However, unlike any Cargill meat products, pizzas were consumed by several individuals later struck down by food poisoning, according to Reuters.The possible E. coli contamination was uncovered by federal authorities who discovered that nine out of a group 21 people suffering from food poisoning had consumed Totino's or Jeno's pizza with pepperoni topping at some point before becoming ill, the news agency said.In the US an estimated 76 million cases of foodborne illnesses occur each year, causing about 325,000 hospitalisations and 5,000 deaths, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) statistics for 2005.

Folic acid linked to higher cancer rates

More warnings against fortifying flour with folic acid have emerged, following evidence that this could lead to increased cancer rates.Two commentaries published in this month's issue of Nutrition Reviews call for a careful reconsideration of fortification programs, since adding folic acid to the diet may benefit some consumers but cause damage to others.Scientists Young-In Kim and Noel Solomons state that the introduction of flour fortified with folic acid into common foods was followed by an increase in colon cancer diagnoses in the US and Canada."One size of dietary folic acid exposure does not fit all," wrote Solomons, Director of the Center for Studies of Sensory Impairment, Aging and Metabolism (CeSSIAM) in Guatemala City, and head of the Task-Force on Diet, Nutrition and Long-term Health of the International Union of Nutritional Sciences.The commentaries come at the same time as a new report published in the British Journal of Nutrition that claims that folic acid fortification may lead to a range of health problems.Scientists at the UK Institute of Food Research wrote that folates in the blood stream could provoke a number of complaints such as leukaemia, arthritis, bowel cancer and ectopic pregnancies in people already suffering from health problems.The emergence of such evidence casts doubts over decisions by governments worldwide to approve mandatory folic acid fortification. This occurs in some 40 countries, including the US, Canada and Chile, while the move is currently being debated by regulators in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland.Folic acid, a chemical form of a common B vitamin (folate), has been linked to a reduced rate of a specific birth defect that affected the development of the spinal cord and central nervous system.For nearly a decade, folic acid has been added to wheat flour and other grain products in the US and Canada. However, the new reviews claim that during the same period, rates of colorectal cancer in the US inexplicably began rising, even as regular colonoscopy check-ups became more common. In Canada, where folic acid supplementation was introduced a bit later, the same trend was observed."Folic acid supplementation wields a double-edged sword. It may be beneficial or harmful, depending on the timing of intervention," said Young-In Kim, Associate Professor of Medicine and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto.Exposure to high intakes of folic acid in early life and young adulthood may provide life-long protection from the tendency for cancer formation in different organs, such as the large intestines, whereas such exposures later in life, when cell damage has occurred, can spur on the advance of the tumor, said the scientists.Since the risk-benefit value of fortification varies according to age, they recommend a reevaluation of the manner in which folic acid to prevent birth defects is delivered to the public. Suggestions include targeting women of reproductive age while reducing folic acid levels in foods for which fortification is optional (such as ready-to-eat cereals and commercial drinks).This is not the first time that a possible negative impact of folic acid fortification has been brought into the spotlight. Indeed, it first looked like the UK's Food Standards Agency (FSA) would issue its positive advice on fortification in summer 2006. The agency's Scientific Advisory Group on Nutrition (SACN) then said, however, that it needed more time to look at additional evidence on the risks and benefits of fortification, particularly in relation to increasing folate intake over 1mg per day. The FSA last considered mandatory fortification in 2002, but the SACN decided not to adopt it at that time because of concerns that folate consumption in excess of 1000 micrograms (1mg) per day could delay the detection of vitamin B12 deficiency (which can have severe neurological consequences) in older people. Since then, some research has indicated that B12 deficiency would be masked only with folate consumption of more than 5000 micrograms per day. When the SACN's advice was finally forthcoming, it came with the condition that there be controls on voluntary fortification, and clear guidance be given on the appropriate use of supplements containing folic acid.