A method to improve the nutritional quality of foods and beverages based on dietary recommendations.

OBJECTIVE: The increasing consumer interest in health prompted Unilever to develop a globally applicable method (Nutrition Score) to evaluate and improve the nutritional composition of its foods and beverages portfolio. METHODS: Based on (inter)national dietary recommendations, generic benchmarks were developed to evaluate foods and beverages on their content of trans fatty acids, saturated fatty acids, sodium and sugars. High intakes of these key nutrients are associated with undesirable health effects. In principle, the developed generic benchmarks can be applied globally for any food and beverage product. Product category-specific benchmarks were developed when it was not feasible to meet generic benchmarks because of technological and/or taste factors. RESULTS: The whole Unilever global foods and beverages portfolio has been evaluated and actions have been taken to improve the nutritional quality. The advantages of this method over other initiatives to assess the nutritional quality of foods are that it is based on the latest nutritional scientific insights and its global applicability. CONCLUSIONS: The Nutrition Score is the first simple, transparent and straightforward method that can be applied globally and across all food and beverage categories to evaluate the nutritional composition. It can help food manufacturers to improve the nutritional value of their products. In addition, the Nutrition Score can be a starting point for a powerful health indicator front-of-pack. This can have a significant positive impact on public health, especially when implemented by all food manufacturers.

Effect of tea and other dietary factors on iron absorption.

Iron deficiency is a major world health problem, that is, to a great extent, caused by poor iron absorption from the diet. Several dietary factors can influence this absorption. Absorption enhancing factors are ascorbic acid and meat, fish and poultry; inhibiting factors are plant components in vegetables, tea and coffee (e.g., polyphenols, phytates), and calcium. After identifying these factors their individual impact on iron absorption is described. Specific attention was paid to the effects of tea on iron absorption. We propose a calculation model that predicts iron absorption from a meal. Using this model we calculated the iron absorption from daily menus with varying amounts of enhancers and inhibitors. From these calculations we conclude that the presence of sufficient amounts of iron absorption enhancers (ascorbic acid, meat, fish, poultry, as present in most industrialized countries) overcomes inhibition of iron absorption from even large amounts of tea. In individuals with low intakes of heme iron, low intakes of enhancing factors and/or high intakes of inhibitors, iron absorption may be an issue. Depletion of iron stores enhances iron absorption, but this effect is not adequate to compensate for the inhibition of iron absorption in such an inadequate dietary situation. For subjects at risk of iron deficiency, the following recommendations are made. Increase heme-iron intake (this form of dietary iron present in meat fish and poultry is hardly influenced by other dietary factors with respect to its absorption); increase meal-time ascorbic acid intake; fortify foods with iron. Recommendations with respect to tea consumption (when in a critical group) include: consume tea between meals instead of during the meal; simultaneously consume ascorbic acid and/or meat, fish and poultry.

Carotenoid bioavailability in humans from tomatoes processed in different ways determined from the carotenoid response in the triglyceride-rich lipoprotein fraction of plasma after a single consumption and in plasma after four days of consumption.

Tomatoes are the main dietary source of lycopene, and the bioavailability of lycopene from tomato paste is higher than that from fresh tomatoes. We investigated systematically the effect of mechanical homogenization and heating on the bioavailability of carotenoids from canned tomatoes. Further, we compared the carotenoid response in triglyceride-rich lipoproteins (TRL) after single consumption with the change in fasting plasma carotenoid concentrations after 4 d of daily consumption. In a split plot design, 17 men and women consumed tomatoes which had received minimal additional heating and 16 others consumed extensively additionally heated tomatoes (1 h at 100 degrees C). These tomatoes were not, mildly or severely homogenized. The tomato products were consumed daily (ca. 22 mg/d lycopene) for 4 d. Eleven participants provided postprandial blood samples on the d 1 and all gave fasting blood samples on d 1 and 4. Homogenization enhanced the lycopene response significantly (P<0.05) both in TRL [mean areas under the curves: 54.9, 72.0 and 88.7 nmol. h/L (SE 11.0) for not, mildly and severely homogenized tomatoes, respectively] and in plasma [mean changes: 0.19, 0.22 and 0.23 micromol/L (SE 0.009), respectively]. Additional heating also tended to enhance the lycopene responses in TRL (P = 0.14) and plasma (P = 0.17). Similar effects to those for lycopene were found for beta-carotene. We conclude that the intactness of the cellular matrix of tomatoes determines the bioavailability of carotenoids and that matrix disruption by mechanical homogenization and/or heat treatment enhances the bioavailability. The carotenoid response in plasma after 4 d intervention can be used to compare the bioavailability of carotenoids from different foods.