Research and product innovation can help consumers incorporate whey protein into their diets. The result? People will lose more fat, maintain more lean muscle or both.
The human health benefits of probiotics merit consideration by public health policy makers. Dairy processors need to keep up with the research on this important ingredient.
Hop on the breakfast bandwagon and help consumers start their day with sufficient protein. Foods and beverages containing dairy deliver energy, promote heart health and aid in weight management.
Someday, science may show that particular prebiotic, probiotic, and synbiotic ingredients help prevent certain age-related disorders and lengthen lives. Although the anti-aging effects of pre- and probiotics are plausible, supporting science is scant and inconclusive to date. However, scientists have developed several hypotheses about how aging may alter the intestinal microbiome and how certain pre- and probiotics may help prevent or reverse these changes.
Consumers desire dairy products that sport a “clean” label — but clean means different things to different people. How can the dairy industry cope with this ambiguous consumer demand?
When science is oversimplified, the resulting messages are often misconstrued and misleading. So it is with food. Consumers have bought into the misguided message that foods are unfit for human consumption if they contain more than five ingredients, ingredients they can’t pronounce or ingredients their grandparents wouldn’t recognize.
In response to a challenge, food manufacturers have developed lower-calorie dairy products that consumers just love. Because of these reduced-calorie foods and beverages, companies have reported improved financial performance.
But they look at food through different lenses. Millennials are all about knowing the origin of foods and eating all-natural foods. Boomers want to prevent illness and seek foods that keep them healthy and active into retirement.
In terms of influence in the market, baby boomers and millennials are running the show. To which generation should the dairy industry cater? The best answer may be: both. Here’s why.
Turn to science to unlock the power of dairy’s nutrition and health benefits. Then create messages to teach consumers that dairy is a source of high-quality protein and other nutrients.
By supporting dairy farmers and creating a pool of milk for processors, we improve the condition of animals, provide jobs and develop nutritious dairy foods and beverages.
Prebiotics are nondigestible dietary fibers that promote the growth and activity of probiotics. That much we do know. But dieticians, processors and consumers have so much more to learn.
Prebiotics have recently received a plethora of press in the food industry news. Manufacturers of prebiotic ingredients are promoting the “prebiotic properties,” “prebiotic functionality” and “prebiotic benefits” of their products. Writers are touting the “prebiotic effects” of isolated ingredients from novel sources such as spirulina, spruce trees, Yacon root, yams, agave and Jerusalem artichokes.