The concept of functional foods is becoming more widespread. The good news for formulators is that consumers are getting the message that some food components and ingredients promote health. The really exciting news is that dairy foods are viewed as a leading vehicle for delivering these functional components.
Practically all of the world's tea is grown in places that require an American to have a passport to visit. That has not kept tea from being a very significant part of the American culture and diet.
Overall fruit and vegetable consumption is on the rise for the first time in nearly 15 years, with a combined increase of 1% in annual eatings per capita between 2002 and 2004, according to a report issued by Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH), Wilmington, Del. (Note: the number of times the average person consumes a fruit or vegetable item annually does not measure volume.)
Retailers are actively promoting cheese throughout their stores thanks to innovations by today's leading cheese marketers. For example, Vermont's Cabot Creamery, widely known and venerated for generations for its extra sharp Cheddar, has taken its award-winning expertise to the mild segment with the introduction of new Cabot Mild Reserve Cheddar. This gives retailers another consumer to target.
Product developers typically stabilize dairy systems in order to provide thickness, thus increasing viscosity; retard or prevent separation of dispersed components such as cocoa powder, fruit puree, etc; inhibit crystallization; and/or form gels. Food-grade gums are capable of all this, among other functions.
Editor's Note: A very low-calorie diet can help the heart age more slowly, according to researchers who recently released what they call the first-ever human study on the subject. The findings confirmed earlier studies on mice and rats that demonstrate the cardiac benefits of a restricted-calorie diet.
As has been said many times in Dairy Foods, milk processors possess all the right tools to produce and distribute juice and fruit drinks. The margins on these products are often much greater than they are for milk.
The North American market for cultured dairy products is more robust and diverse than ever. Functional products are grabbing a stronger foothold, as marketers commit resources and U.S. consumers become more serious about nutrition. Meanwhile some well-known brands have been resurrected and there is some new technology in use for cottage cheese.