Upward Trend for Healthy Food

Upward Trend for Healthy Food

combination one can use, it also includes information on the length of time a product's shelf life can be extended. For further information contact: M...

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combination one can use, it also includes information on the length of time a product's shelf life can be extended. For further information contact: Mary McLean, Marketing Manager, Medical Products and Specialty Gases, Linde, 123 Eglinton Ave. E., Toronto, Onto M4P 1J3 (or call 416-488-1440).

A new market report, International Healthy Food and Drinks Market, has been produced by the Market Information Section of the Leatherhead Food R.A., Surrey, England. Concern over diet and health has become an international phenomenon and "health food" markets have become firmly established throughout the developed world. This report covers the "healthy" food and drinks markets in the United Kingdom, France, West Germany, Australia, the United States and Japan. The U.S. is the leading international consumer of health foods; annual percapita consumption is estimated at $85. The health-food trend does not appear, however, to have adversely affected the "indulgence" food markets; the U.S. diet is increasingly becoming a dichotomy of "healthy" and indulgence eating and this trend is being mirrored to varying degrees in European countries. The West-German health-food market is the largest and most structured in Europe; in 1987, annual per-capita consumption was estimated at $77. The UK health-food market has also shown rapid development, to $40 percapita in 1987; multiple outlets have played an important role in expanding the market. Conversely, the French market has been slower to develop than its European counterparts and French per-capita consumption was estimated at only $24 in 1987. Japan has readily accepted US healthy eating ideals and has one of the fastest growing international health-food markets. Currently estimated at $25 per-capita, consumption is expected to show considerable future growth. The report presents individual reviews for the above countries and where possible includes market data on the following sectors: high-fibre products, low-fat dairy products, artificial sweeteners, dietary supplements, mineral water, sports drinks, lowcalorie soft drinks, decaffeinated

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coffee and herbal tea. This report is available from Leatherhead Food R.A., Randalls Road, Leatherhead, Surrey, England KT227Ry.

The latest edition of the Nutrient Data Bank Directory was published in June, 1988, listing 112 software products. The Monograph is a project of the Data Base Committee of the National Nutrient Data Bank Conference. The information listed about each system includes the name and address of the system, the number of foods and number of nutrients included, the type of computer and program languages used, the source and characteristics of the data base, the characteristics ofthe software, and the availability of the system. The Directory also lists the specific proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals available on each system. The information included in the Directory reflects the responses of data base developers to a standardized questionnaire. The Nutrient Data Bank Directory (7th edition, 1988) is available for $15.00 U.S. from: Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Food Systems Management, College of Home Economics, 217 Gwynn Hall. University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO 65211.

Quest International, the new flavour and food ingredients arm of Unilever Ltd., held a special symposium in October, 1988, entitled "Biotechnology, Challenges for the Flavour and Food Industry". The small group of attendees, mostly scientists and technical directors from major companies from around the world, were there to be informed about the advances and applications of biotechnology to the food industry. The relative importance of the symposium was measurable by the fact that the attendees included Mr. R. Rauwenhoff, Group Vice President, Quest Flavour Division; Dr. S. Lechini, Group Vice President, Food Ingredients and Flavour Technology; and Dr. B. Willis, Senior Vice President of Research and Development. Representatives from Canada included:

E. Chiz, J.R. Ouimet Ltd.; T. Kahn FoodPro National; B. Mills, Kraft Ltd.; J. Haffenden, Quest Canada; and A. Peterson, Seagram's Ltd. Participants from other countries, such as Holland England, Mexico, Japan, West Ger~ many, Norway and the United States were also present. The three day meeting was chaired by Dr. Robert Lindsay of the Department of Food Science at Madison, Wisconsin. Ten speakers addressed a variety of subjects associated with the basic and applied aspects of Biotechnology. Dr. Thomas Montville, co-author of the 1FT Scientific Status Summary on Biotechnology, provided a broad overview of the general aspects of the subject to set the tone for the meeting. Donald P. Boudreaux of Microlife Technics discussed the advances made in basic research as related to strain development, fermentation optimization and engineering design. Dr. Alexander Klibanov discussed advances in enzyme technology, specifically in relation to their action in non-aqueous systems and the concept of using "unnatural substances" to obtain unique products. Dr. Roger Wescott of Unilever Research House reviewed plant cell culture biotechnology, while Dr. Malcolm Lilly developed the biochemical engineering aspects of fermentation design and scale up. Stephen McNamara, a former FDA lawyer, now in private practice, provided a most enlightening perspective on the views of FDA in relation to new biotechnologically produced compounds flavours and ingredients. Dr. Nico Overbeeke, of the Unilever Technology and Fermentation Laboratory discussed the route to successful cloning of genes for chymosin production and, more recently, the cloning of an enzyme to produce specialty guar gum. One of the most interesting and wide ranging talks came from Dr. Roel Keuning of the Netherlands Biotechnology Association, as he reviewed in some detail, the work ongoing in Europe in Food Biotechnology, comparing the efforts of Europe, Japan and North America. Mr. Shizume Takemoto of Kamebo Ltd., reviewed in detail the biotechnology efforts in Japan, emphasizing the harmony and common goal both industry and government had in being successful in the biotechnology field. Raymond T. Moshy of ESC Agenetics, wrapped up the conference by bringing in the perspective of a smaller biotechnology firm in its efforts to bring flavour biotechnology to fruition. He underscored the lack of basic knowledge of plant biochemical pathways leading to J. Inst. Can. Sci. Technol. Aliment. VD\. 22. No. I, 1989