Henry Hussell, the head of marketing, Europe at Cargill Health and Nutrition, acknowledges the development of its plant sterols and beta glucan has been slower than many expected – but that doesn’t mean the agrofood giant has lost faith in them.
The €400m European cholesterol-lowering, plant sterol market has a
new entrant after a non-GMO, soy-derived sterol ingredient was
yesterday approved for use within the European Union.
Incorporating heart healthy phytosterols in yoghurt formulations
does not negatively impact on the starter cultures, potentially
boosting their use in these foods, says new research.
Phyto-Source has announced a significant expansion of its pine tree
sterol production capacity for the second time in one year, due in
large part to EU demand for its product.
Sales of phytosterols in Europe are predicted to more than double
by 2012, but companies need to turn consumer awareness into
understanding and acceptance, says a new report from Frost and
Sullivan.
Companies extracting sterols from pine trees are looking for a
greater share of Europe's cholesterol-lowering foods market,
exploiting the challenges faced by producers of vegetable
oil-derived sterols.
Agribusiness Bunge last week announced the formation of an alliance
with Procter & Gamble and Peter Cremer North America to produce
and market cholesterol-reducing phytosterol ingredients for
pharmaceuticals and foods.
In 2000 sales of margarines containing plant sterol and plant
sterol esters were disappointing but despite this raw material
suppliers of these products...
The Food Standards Ministerial Council of Australia and New Zealand
on Friday approved vegetable oil-derived plant sterol esters as a
novel food ingredient...
