Heart-Healthy Formulation Aids

Heart health continues to drive the design of new and reformulated foods. Whether striving for an elevated nutritional profile for a given product or developing functional foods, the range of available food products with proven heart-healthy benefits continues to expand.

ADM had just such health and functionality in mind when developing CardioAid™ plant sterols, an ingredient line derived from vegetable oils. Plant sterols have a structure similar to cholesterol, which results in their ability to reduce the absorption of cholesterol. In 2006, FDA greatly expanded the range of foods and beverages where plant sterols are considered GRAS. The list now includes mayonnaise, salad dressings, pasta, beverages, soups, sauces, bar applications, snacks, pudding, yogurt, ice cream, dairy products like cheese and cream, vegetarian meat analogues, vegetable oils and breakfast cereals. “CardioAid plant sterols are GRAS in almost 20 major food and beverage categories,” says Greg Dodson, product manager, CardioAid.

The strength of scientific data demonstrating the ability of plant sterols to decrease serum cholesterol levels led to the FDA permitting a health claim for plant sterol esters, a potentially important component of a product’s label. One option is: “Foods containing at least 0.65 grams per serving of vegetable oil sterol esters, eaten twice a day with meals for a daily total intake of at least 1.3 grams, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease. A serving of (name of food) supplies __ grams of vegetable oil sterol esters.” In addition, FDA allows products using unesterified, or free, sterols to qualify for this claim.

The amount of sterols per serving will vary depending on the product, notes Dodson. “Most products incorporate enough plant sterols (0.40 grams per serving) or plant sterol esters (0.65 grams per serving) to achieve the heart-health claim allowed by the FDA,” he says. Other products might incorporate 1 gram of plant sterols per serving, he notes, to help consumers reach the 2 grams per day recommended by the National Cholesterol Education Program, funded through the National Institutes of Health and National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. A 2003 review in Mayo Clinic Proceedings (78:965-978) cited the maximum cholesterol-lowering effect from consuming 2.0 to 2.5 grams of plant sterols per day.

ADM offers a full line of CardioAid plant sterol products for a variety of food and beverage applications.

ADM 
4666 Faries Parkway 
Decatur, IL 62526 
Phone: 800/637-5843 
E-mail: [email protected] 
Website: www.admworld.com