Product Development: Predicting the Future in Natural, Organic Foods

By John Williams Jr.

Even "Carnac the Magnificent," the wisecracking psychic portrayed by Johnny Carson on the old "Tonight Show," would have a tough time predicting product development trends in natural and organic foods. Anticipating the needs of health-conscious consumers has almost become a science by itself, prompting thousands of mainstream and "unconventional" companies to find novel channels for information and insight.

Each spring, the Natural Products Expo West (NPEW) tradeshow has increasingly become a destination for companies seeking to get a leg-up on the latest cutting-edge trends. This year's show, held March 13th – 16th at the Anaheim (CA) Convention Center, attracted a record 3,392 exhibitors and more than 52,000 attendees, an increase of 11% over 2007. Over the past two decades, the natural and organic foods market has grown dramatically, surpassing $50 billion in U.S. sales in 2006.

Great Granola!
The natural foods movement was born in the early 1960s with "hippie" granola serving as its most identifiable item. Today, through technological and scientific advances, many natural and organic foods are continuously stretching product development boundaries with ingredient formulations that are a far cry – and hue – from mere baked oats, nuts, and honey. Aisle by aisle, NPEW revealed some notable trends in this evolving and vibrant market.

Superfruit and Friends
From South Asia's prized mangosteen to gorji, a fruit native to China, beverages comprised of "superfruits" from around the world were in abundant supply at the four-day gathering. Combining exotic tastes with proposed health benefits, these fruits, a category of novel functional foods, are lauded by purveyors for their nutrient content, antioxidant strength, and potential impact for lowering risk against human diseases. Other popular superfruits include pomelo (China), pomegranate (Pakistan, Afghanistan, India), guarana (Venezuela and Brazil), noni (South Pacific islands), and acai (South America). According to independent marketing studies, superfruit beverages are one of the industry's fastest growing sectors.

Good Bacteria
Commonly referred to as "good bacteria" or "friendly bacteria," probiotics are live microorganisms (i.e., bacteria) that are similar to beneficial organisms found in the human gut. In growing numbers, a wide range of natural and organic products, including dietary supplement capsules, yogurt, beverages, and power snack bars, are being fortified with probiotics. Some probiotic foods, such as fermented foods and cultured milk products, date back to ancient times (1).

Sky High On Omega-3s
In soaring numbers, omega-3 fatty acids continue to be included in a wide range of natural and organic foods, especially grain and dairy products. The availability of omega-3 fortified beverages was particularly impressive at NPEW Ô08. Found in fish and certain plant oils, omega-3s help the adult body fight certain disorders, such as cardiovascular disease, and contribute to healthy brain growth and development in infants. (The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows a qualified health claim on package labels of conventional foods containing 125 mg of these fatty acids.)

Bearing Responsibility
Due to heightened consumer concerns over food ingredients, particularly imported foodstuffs, natural and organic food companies – like their more conventional counterparts – are charged with validating product safety and substantiating health claims. In the U.S., this responsibility, as underscored by new dietary supplement regulations, rests squarely on the shoulders of manufacuters.

Following years of review by the FDA, the regulations, which were passed last June, established current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs) for the manufacture, packaging, labeling, and storage of dietary supplements. It also set requirements for:

• Quality control procedures
• Designing and constructing manufacturing plants
• Testing ingredients and finished products
• Record keeping and handling consumer product complaints

Under the directive, manufacturers are required to evaluate the identity, purity, strength, and composition of dietary supplements. The regulation is designed to prevent the inclusion of wrong ingredients, too much or too little of a dietary ingredient, contamination by substances such as natural toxins, bacteria, pesticides, glass, lead and other heavy metals, as well as improper packaging and labeling (2).

Great Expectations
The booming popularity of natural and organic foods in the U.S. and around the world is undeniable. With it, however, comes greater safety and quality expectations by consumers. The consistent delivery of safe and quality products is critical to building and maintaining a loyal customer base in a highly competitive marketplace. This is best accomplished by embracing scientific programs (e.g., supplier testing programs, shelf-life studies, nutrition labeling, process validation studies) that can advance and safeguard product integrity.

If you would like to receive a PDF of our dietary supplement services sheet, please indicate your interest on the request information page.

Sources:
1. http://nccam.nih.gov/health/probiotics/ (March, 2008)
2. http://www.fda.gov/ (March, 2008)

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The Silliker Food Science Center, Colorado State University and Cornell University have partnered to offer a new workshop on nucleic acid-based detection methods for foodborne pathogens and spoilage organisms. It will be held June 23-27, 2008 at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO. Scheduled workshop instructors and speakers, which will focus exclusively on nucleic acid-based approaches, include: Kendra Nightingale, Colorado State University; Martin Wiedmann, Cornell University; and Mark Carter and Sarita Raengpradub of the Silliker Food Science Center. Registrations are limited.

The gathering will offer in-depth training on nucleic acid-based detection and characterization methods for foodborne pathogens and spoilage organisms, including PCR, multiplex PCR assays, real-time PCR, and quantitative reverse transcriptase-based PCR assays, along with DNA sequencing of PCR products. Workshop attendees will become familiar with commercial DNA-based detection methods (including interpretation of results) as well as approaches to design custom PCR-based assays and protocols for foodborne pathogens and spoilage microorganisms.

The workshop will consist of a one and a half-day symposium on June 23 and 24, followed by three days of hands-on laboratory sessions. The technical meeting is designed for industry professionals, graduate students, and college faculty members who are seeking to improve their understanding of molecular detection methods. For information, including a detailed workshop schedule and registration instructions, log on to www.ansci.colostate.edu/content/view/601/42/.

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Sarita Raengpradub, Ph.D., a recent graduate of Cornell University, has joined the Silliker, Inc. Food Science Center as a Research Scientist. Dr. Raengpradub served as a doctoral research assistant at Cornell under preeminent food microbiologists Dr. Kathryn Boor and Dr. Martin Wiedmann. In 2004, she was awarded the food science department's prestigious Kosikowski Award for "exceptional scientific and technical contributions." Dr. Raengpradub earned her doctorate in food science and technology from the Ithaca, NY, institution last year.

With an extensive background in food microbiology, biotechnology, infectious disease control, and rapid and genetic detection methods, Dr. Raengpradub brings many outstanding abilities to the South Holland, IL, research facility. A major part of her responsibilities will lie in microbial source tracking research and program development.

To learn more about the Food Science Center's microbial identification services, please call 708-225-1435.

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