Sea changes
Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have an unusual place in Europe's functional food markets.
The scientific evidence for the health benefits of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) won over the experts at the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and continues to grow. Just as importantly, consumer awareness of those benefits is high in developed markets and increasing globally.
This awareness, even among those who are not regular consumers of foods that naturally contain omega-3, means the race is on to incorporate meaningful levels of these nutrients into other types of food and drink.
According to Euromonitor, supplements and adult nutrition each account for $3bn of the $30bn global market for omega-3 fatty acids. The remaining $24bn is swallowed up by the massive – and growing – infant formula market. And analyst Diana Cowland predicts this $3bn market for adult foods will expand.
Benefits (Return to top)
“In western markets, mums and other consumers have become aware of the benefits of omega-3 for their children, but now increasingly also for themselves,” she says. “With approved EFSA claims for eye and brain – as well as cardiovascular – health, there’s an untapped market particularly in the ageing population. But for now, claims on food and drink products are still focused on cardiovascular health.”
Earlier this year, Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging patented its system for integrating DHA and EPA into mainstream foods. Retailer EDEKA has applied it to nine types of sliced, packaged sausage. Its story offers a snapshot of the options.
Fraunhofer business manager for food processing Christian Zacherl explains that the key ingredients are delivered inside protein ‘shells’. “We started our trials with plant-based proteins: pea, soy and bean, among others,” he says. “But, depending on the food being fortified, we can shift to dairy or meat proteins in the emulsion.” For a meat product, a processor would be more likely to opt for a meat protein so as not to require a longer ingredients list or additional allergen information, he points out.
Because the oxidation of PUFAs is a multi-stage process, various levels of protection are provided. The primary antioxidants are carnosic acid, found in rosemary, and tocopherol (vitamin E). At a second level, ascorbic and citric acid work synergistically to support the tocopherol. The citric acid also offers a third level of activity, says Zacherl, helping to bind metal ions that would speed up oxidation.
Different options exist, he says, depending on the complexity, the amount of thermal treatment and the shelf-life needed. “Dry, baked goods, for example, would need more protection but, for other foods, we can use a ‘lighter’ version of the emulsion,” he says. The version chosen by EDEKA is unaffected by heat only up to 70°C and has a three and a half week shelf-life.
The omega-3 emulsion is “quite expensive” in its original form, Zacherl adds, and this was a consideration for the retailer.
Further options exist with the formulation, cost and marketing benefits of newer DHA and EPA sources, notably algal and krill oil omega-3s.
Superior source (Return to top)
When it comes to nutrition, vertically-integrated krill oil processor Aker BioMarine supplies the supplements market, but has also set its sights on the functional foods market.
“In krill oil, you have a superior source of omega-3s,” argues vice president for business development Tim de Haas. “The EPA/DHA is bound to phospholipids rather than the triglycerides of other sources,” he says. “This means they are more easily combined with other matrices.”
Does that mean the micro- encapsulation required with omega-3s from fish would not be necessary with krill? “It depends,” says de Haas. “In some applications, you might be able to avoid this, and this could be a benefit in formulating and marketing the ingredient. The astaxanthins in krill act as a natural antioxidant. But it's about the taste component as well as protection from oxidation.”
He is reluctant to identify the food categories Aker BioMarine is targetting, nor its timescale. “The incorporation of omega-3 into foods is at very low levels,” he says. “There are reasons for that. We're aware of the challenges, and there are many products that have failed. We want to get it right.”
‘Getting it right’ also involves appreciating how the added PUFAs combine with other benefits. For example, Cowland at Euromonitor points out that some US protein bars incorporate omega-3s. “But generally, consumers seek specific functionality, with one particular benefit,” she says. “What’s more, combining an energy drink, for example, with the cardiovascular benefits of omega-3 would be contradictory.”
So where is the greatest potential for growth in the omega-3-fortified food market? Zacherl at Fraunhofer says: “It’s harder to communicate health claims where the consumer’s not used to seeing them.” Then again, EDEKA clearly feels this is not a barrier for sliced meats.
“We did storage tests with baked goods,” Zacherl adds. “But we would have to figure out how this could be transferred to the consumer. It’s a marketing question, too. Can we start telling them that a not-especially-healthy food is healthy?”
Euromonitor's Cowland argues: “It really needs to be in products that are easily added into the daily diet, such as baked goods, fats and oils and beverages.” She cites Coca-Cola brand Minute Maid's ‘enhanced’ five juice blend containing 50mg of DHA per serving, ranked as an ‘excellent source of omega-3 DHA’.
Launched over six years ago, it uses a combination of vitamin E tocopheryls with citric and ascorbic acid to protect the DHA from oxidation. But according to US biotech firm Virun, it is less challenging to fortify darker and denser juices, which need chilled storage.
Competition (Return to top)
In fact, Virun has focused on the enrichment of clearer drinks because of the competition in other segments, including orange juice.
The types of drink Virun has been developing include functional waters, such as OmegaH2O for Hormel Foods, apple juice, and the new Change Cola. “A sugar-laced cola with omega-3 would be contradictory, especially when referencing the EU market and claims, which tend to be more conservative than the US,” says chief executive Philip Bromley. Sugar levels in Change Cola are not high, he says, and a diet version is planned.
He explains Virun's technology: “Encapsulation requires an oil phase and water phase. We add the vitamin E tocopheryl to the oil phase and then emulsify it as an oil/water emulsion concentrate. We then, under low pressure and low heat in a vacuum, extrude using nitrogen and small particle size displacement. At each temperature interval the particle size drops until we reach ambient. Typical size is about 20nm in 8oz of water.”
On top of its facility in California, Virun has financed a new plant in Florida, where it works with Vital Pharmaceuticals. “Customers and projects require full-scale options, from emulsion concentrate to finished food/beverage product, complete with graphics, labels and cGMP process,” says Bromley. “We can now do the entire enchilada at cost-effective pricing, with low minimum [runs] and low lead times.”
How about that for a concept: omega-3-fortified enchiladas? Perhaps it is already out there.
