Igor Pravst

Health effects of olive oil polyphenols: Recent advances and possibilities for the use of health claims

The Mediterranean diet and consumption of olive oil have been connected in several studies with longevity and a reduced risk of morbidity and mortality. Lifestyle, such as regular physical activity, a healthy diet, and the existing social cohesion in Southern European countries have been recognised as candidate protective factors that may explain the Mediterranean Paradox. Along with some other characteristics of the Mediterranean diet, the use of olive oil as the main source of fat is common in Southern European countries. The benefits of consuming olive oil have been known since antiquity and were traditionally attributed to its high content in oleic acid. However, it is now well established that these effects must also be attributed to the phenolic fraction of olive oil with its anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial activities. The mechanisms of these activities are varied and probably interconnected. For some activities of olive oil phenolic compounds, the evidence is already strong enough to enable the legal use of health claims on foods. This review discusses the health effects of olive oil phenols along with the possibilities of communicating these effects on food labels.

Coenzyme Q10 Contents in Foods and Fortification Strategies

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ 10 ) is an effective natural antioxidant with a fundamental role in cellular bioenergetics and numerous known health benefits. Reports of its natural occurrence in various food items are comprehensively reviewed and critically evaluated. Meat, fish, nuts, and some oils are the richest nutritional sources of CoQ 10 , while much lower levels can be found in most dairy products, vegetables, fruits, and cereals. Large variations of CoQ 10 content in some foods and food products of different geographical origin have been found. The average dietary intake of CoQ 10 is only 3–6 mg, with about half of it being in the reduced form. The intake can be significantly increased by the fortification of food products but, due to its lipophilicity, until recently this goal was not easily achievable particularly with low-fat, water-based products. Forms of CoQ 10 with increased water-solubility or dispersibility have been developed for this purpose, allowing the fortification of aqueous products, and exhibiting improved bioavailability; progress in this area is described briefly. Three main fortification strategies are presented and illustrated with examples, namely the addition of CoQ 10 to food during processing, the addition of this compound to the environment in which primary food products are being formed (i.e. animal feed), or with the genetic modification of plants (i.e. cereal crops).

Solvent-free bromination of 1,3-diketones and β-keto esters with NBS

Trituration of N-bromosuccinimide at room temperature with several liquid or solid 1,3-diketones and β-keto esters resulted in high yield conversion to the monobrominated derivatives, and a work-up procedure using only water to remove succinimide was employed. The entire process uses no organic solvent and is therefore more ecologically desirable.

Relative Bioavailability of Two Forms of a Novel Water-Soluble Coenzyme Q10

Background: Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a naturally occurring compound that plays a fundamental role in cellular bioenergetics and is an effective antioxidant. Numerous health benefits of CoQ10 supplementation have been reported, resulting in growing demands for its use in fortifying food. Due to its insolubility in water, the enrichment of most food products is not easily achievable and its in vivo bioavailability is known to be poor. Water solubility was increased significantly with the use of an inclusion complex with β-cyclodextrin. This complex is widely used as Q10Vital® in the food industry, while its in vivo absorption in humans has not previously been studied. Methods: A randomized three-period crossover clinical trial was therefore performed in which a single dose of CoQ10 was administered orally to healthy human subjects. The pharmacokinetic parameters of two forms of the novel CoQ10 material were determined and compared to soft-gel capsules with CoQ10 in soybean oil that acted as a reference. Results: The mean increase of CoQ10 plasma concentrations after dosing with Q10Vital® forms was determined to be over the reference formulation and the area under the curve values, extrapolated to infinity (AUCinf), were also higher with the tested forms; statistically significant 120 and 79% increases over the reference were calculated for the Q10Vital® liquid and powder, respectively. Conclusions: The study revealed that the absorption and bioavailability of CoQ10 in the novel formulations are significantly increased, probably due to the enhanced water solubility.

The role of health-related claims and health-related symbols in consumer behaviour: Design and conceptual framework of the CLYMBOL project and initial results

Health claims and symbols are potential aids to help consumers identify foods that are healthier options. However, little is known as to how health claims and symbols are used by consumers in real-world shopping situations, thus making the science-based formulation of new labelling policies and the evaluation of existing ones difficult. The objective of the European Union-funded project Role of health-relatedu2005CLaimsu2005andu2005sYMBOLsu2005in consumer behaviour (CLYMBOL) is to determine how health-related information provided through claims and symbols, in their context, can affect consumer understanding, purchase and consumption. To do this, a wide range of qualitative and quantitative consumer research methods are being used, including product sampling, sorting studies (i.e. how consumers categorise claims and symbols according to concepts such as familiarity and relevance), cross-country surveys, eye-tracking (i.e. what consumers look at and for how long), laboratory and in-store experiments, structured interviews, as well as analysis of population panel data. EU Member States differ with regard to their history of use and regulation of health claims and symbols prior to the harmonisation of 2006. Findings to date indicate the need for more structured and harmonised research on the effects of health claims and symbols on consumer behaviour, particularly taking into account country-wide differences and individual characteristics such as motivation and ability to process health-related information. Based on the studies within CLYMBOL, implications and recommendations for stakeholders such as policymakers will be provided.

Prevalence of Nutrition and Health-Related Claims on Pre-Packaged Foods: A Five-Country Study in Europe

This study is part of the research undertaken in the EU funded project CLYMBOL (“Role of health-related CLaims and sYMBOLs in consumer behaviour”). The first phase of this project consisted of mapping the prevalence of symbolic and non-symbolic nutrition and health-related claims (NHC) on foods and non-alcoholic beverages in five European countries. Pre-packaged foods and drinks were sampled based on a standardized sampling protocol, using store lists or a store floor plan. Data collection took place across five countries, in three types of stores. A total of 2034 foods and drinks were sampled and packaging information was analyzed. At least one claim was identified for 26% (95% CI (24.0%–27.9%)) of all foods and drinks sampled. Six percent of these claims were symbolic. The majority of the claims were nutrition claims (64%), followed by health claims (29%) and health-related ingredient claims (6%). The most common health claims were nutrient and other function claims (47% of all claims), followed by disease risk reduction claims (5%). Eight percent of the health claims were children’s development and health claims but these were only observed on less than 1% (0.4%–1.1%) of the foods. The category of foods for specific dietary use had the highest proportion of NHC (70% of foods carried a claim). The prevalence of symbolic and non-symbolic NHC varies across European countries and between different food categories. This study provides baseline data for policy makers and the food industry to monitor and evaluate the use of claims on food packaging.

Consumers’ Exposure to Nutrition and Health Claims on Pre-Packed Foods: Use of Sales Weighting for Assessing the Food Supply in Slovenia

Insights into the use of health-related information on foods are important for planning studies about the effects of such information on the consumer’s understanding, purchasing, and consumption of foods, and also support further food policy decisions. We tested the use of sales data for weighting consumers’ exposure to health-related labeling information in the Slovenian food supply. Food labeling data were collected from 6342 pre-packed foods available in four different food stores in Slovenia. Consumers’ exposure was calculated as the percentage of available food products with particular food information in the food category. In addition, 12-month sales data were used to calculate sales weighted exposure as a percentage of sold food products with certain food information in the food category. The consumer’s in-store and sales-weighted exposure to nutrition claims was 37% and 45%, respectively. Exposure to health claims was much lower (13%, 11% when sales-weighted). Health claims were mainly found in the form of general non-specific claims or function claims, while children’s development and reduction of disease risk claims were present on only 0.1% and 0.2% of the investigated foods, respectively. Sales data were found very useful for establishing a reliable estimation of consumers’ exposure to information provided on food labels. The high penetration of health-related information on food labels indicates that careful regulation of this area is appropriate. Further studies should focus on assessing the nutritional quality of foods labeled with nutrition and health claims, and understanding the importance of such labeling techniques for consumers’ food preferences and choices.

Functional Foods in Europe: A Focus on Health Claims

The functional foods concept started in Japan in the early 1980s with the launch of three large-scale government-funded research programs on systematic analyses and development of functional foods, analyses of physiological regulation of the functional food and analyses of functional foods and molecular design (Ashwell 2002; Pravst et al. 2010). In 1991, in an effort to reduce the escalating cost of health care, a category of foods with potential benefits was established (Foods for Specified Health Use – FOSHU) (Ashwell 2002). In the USA, evidence-based health or disease prevention claims have been allowed since 1990, when the Nutrition Labelling and Education Act was adopted; claims have to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (Arvanitoyannis and Houwelingen-Koukaliaroglou 2005). Codex Alimentarius Guidelines for the use of nutrition and health claims were accepted in 2004, and amended in 2008 and 2009, followed by Recommendations on the scientific basis of health claims (Grossklaus 2009). In the European Union, harmonisation was achieved in 2006 with Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods, which requires authorization of all health claims before entering the market. The definition of functional foods is an ongoing issue and many variations have been suggested (Arvanitoyannis and Houwelingen-Koukaliaroglou 2005). A consensus on the functional foods concept was reached in the European Union in 1999, when a working definition was established whereby a food can be regarded as functional if it is satisfactorily demonstrated to beneficially affect one or more target functions in the body beyond adequate nutritional effects in a way that is relevant to either an improved state of health and well-being or a reduction of disease risk. Functional foods must remain foods and demonstrate their effects when consumed in daily amounts that can be normally expected (Ashwell 2002). In practice, a functional food can be: an unmodified natural food; a food in which a component has been enhanced through special growing conditions, breeding or biotechnological means; a food to which a component has been added to provide benefits; a food from which a component has been removed by technological or biotechnological means so that the food provides benefits not otherwise available; a food in which a component has been replaced by an alternative component with favourable properties; a food in which a component has been modified by enzymatic, chemical or technological means to provide a benefit; a food in which the bioavailability of a component has been modified; or a combination of any of the above (Ashwell 2002). Regardless of the various definitions, the main purpose of functional food should be clear – to improve human health

Assessing the Average Sodium Content of Prepacked Foods with Nutrition Declarations: The Importance of Sales Data

Processed foods are recognized as a major contributor to high dietary sodium intake, associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Different public health actions are being introduced to reduce sodium content in processed foods and sodium intake in general. A gradual reduction of sodium content in processed foods was proposed in Slovenia, but monitoring sodium content in the food supply is essential to evaluate the progress. Our primary objective was to test a new approach for assessing the sales-weighted average sodium content of prepacked foods on the market. We show that a combination of 12-month food sales data provided by food retailers covering the majority of the national market and a comprehensive food composition database compiled using food labelling data represent a robust and cost-effective approach to assessing the sales-weighted average sodium content of prepacked foods. Food categories with the highest sodium content were processed meats (particularly dry cured meat), ready meals (especially frozen pizza) and cheese. The reported results show that in most investigated food categories, market leaders in the Slovenian market have lower sodium contents than the category average. The proposed method represents an excellent tool for monitoring sodium content in the food supply.

The nutritional quality of foods carrying health-related claims in Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Slovenia, and the United Kingdom

Backgroung/Objectives:Compares the nutritional quality of pre-packaged foods carrying health-related claims with foods that do not carry health-related claims.Subject/Methods:Cross-sectional survey of pre-packaged foods available in Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, Slovenia and the United Kingdom in 2013. A total of 2034 foods were randomly sampled from three food store types (a supermarket, a neighbourhood store and a discounter). Nutritional information was taken from nutrient declarations present on food labels and assessed through a comparison of mean levels, regression analyses and the application of a nutrient profile model currently used to regulate health claims in Australia and New Zealand (Food Standards Australia New Zealand’s Nutrient Profiling Scoring Criterion, FSANZ NPSC).Results:Foods carrying health claims had, on average, lower levels, per 100u2009g, of the following nutrients, energy—29.3u2009kcal (P<0.05), protein—1.2u2009g (P<0.01), total sugars—3.1u2009g (P<0.05), saturated fat—2.4u2009g (P<0.001), and sodium—842u2009mg (P<0.001), and higher levels of fibre—0.8u2009g (P<0.001). A similar pattern was observed for foods carrying nutrition claims. Forty-three percent (confidence interval (CI) 41%, 45%) of foods passed the FSANZ NPSC, with foods carrying health claims more likely to pass (70%, CI 64%, 76%) than foods carrying nutrition claims (61%, CI 57%, 66%) or foods that did not carry either type of claim (36%, CI 34%, 38%).Conclusions:Foods carrying health-related claims have marginally better nutrition profiles than those that do not carry claims; these differences would be increased if the FSANZ NPSC was used to regulate health-related claims. It is unclear whether these relatively small differences have significant impacts on health.