Probiotic Dairy Products As Functional Foods Daniel Granato, Gabriel F
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Probiotic Dairy Products as Functional Foods Daniel Granato, Gabriel F. Branco, Adriano Gomes Cruz, Jos´e de Assis Fonseca Faria, and Nagendra P. Shah Abstract: Foods that affect specific functions or systems in the human body, providing health benefits beyond energy and nutrients—functional foods—have experienced rapid market growth in recent years. This growth is fueled by technological innovations, development of new products, and the increasing number of health-conscious consumers interested in products that improve life quality. Since the global market of functional foods is increasing annually, food product development is a key research priority and a challenge for both the industry and science sectors. Probiotics show considerable promise for the expansion of the dairy industry, especially in such specific sectors as yogurts, cheeses, beverages, ice creams, and other desserts. This article presents an overview of functional foods and strategies for their development, with particular attention to probiotic dairy products. Moreover, special attention is paid to the sensory properties of such products to provide important information about their most desirable attributes. Introduction nutrients whose ingestion leads to important physiological changes The primary role of diet is to provide sufficient nutrients to meet in the body that are separate and distinct from those associated with metabolic requirements while giving the consumer a feeling of their role as nutrients (FDA 2004). satisfaction and well-being. Recent knowledge, however, supports All foods are functional at some physiological level, because the hypothesis that, beyond meeting nutritional needs, diet may they provide nutrients or other substances that furnish energy, modulate various physiological functions and may play detrimental sustain growth, or maintain/repair vital processes. However, func- or beneficial roles in some diseases (Koletzko and others 1998). tional foods move beyond these necessities, providing additional There is a threshold of a new frontier in nutrition sciences and health benefits that may reduce disease risk and/or promote opti- indeed, at least in the Western world, concepts in nutrition are mal health. Functional foods include conventional foods, modified expanding from the past emphasis on survival, hunger satisfaction, foods (fortified, enriched, or enhanced), medical foods, and foods and prevention of adverse effects to an emphasis on the use of foods for special dietary use (ADA 2009). to promote a state of well-being, improve health, and reduce the risk of diseases. These concepts are particularly important in light The Worldwide Market for Functional Foods of the increasing cost of health care, the steady increase in life In response to the increasing numbers of consumers interested expectancy, and the desire of older people for improved quality of in maximizing their health, the food industry has developed an life (Roberfroid 2000). unprecedented variety of new functional food products, which Historically, the nutritional state of populations is affected by have increased the demand for such products in the marketplace. high intake of sugars, salt, saturated and trans-fatty acids, low intake At the current time, the largest markets for functional foods and of fibers, vitamins, and essential minerals. These habits are the supplements are the United States, Europe, and Japan, accounting main causing problems of nontransmissible chronic-degenerative for 33.6%, 28.2% and 20.9% of sales in 2003, respectively (Blandon diseases. Hence, to reduce the risk of such illness, the development and others 2007). of new food products that contain biologically active substances The average North American consumer spends approximately has been proposed (Roberfroid 2002). The term functional food US$ 83.73 per year on functional foods and beverages, resulting in was defined initially in Japan during the 1980s as foods for specific a market exceeding US$ 25.13 billion in 2007. In 2000, the world- health use (FOSHU). However, in accordance with the worldwide wide market of functional foods generated US$ 32.07 billion, in accepted definition, functional food is coined to describe foods or 2005 this total was US$ 68.39 billion (Justfood 2006), and the market is estimated to reach US$ 155.41 billion after 2010, with a yearly growth potential of 10% (Research and Markets 2008). MS 20100168 Submitted 2/17/2010, Accepted 5/4/2010. Authors Granato and Branco are with Univ. of Sao˜ Paulo, Dept. of Food and Experimental Nutrition, Around 60% or more of Americans either somewhat or strongly Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Av. Prof. Lineu Prestes, 580, B14, 05508-000, believe that certain foods and beverages can provide multiple health Sao˜ Paulo, Sao˜ Paulo, Brazil. Authors Cruz and Faria are with Univ. of Campinas benefits and more than 80% say they are currently consuming or (UNICAMP), Faculty of Food Engineering (FEA), Cidade Univ. Zeferino Vaz- would be interested in consuming these foods and/or beverages Caixa Postal 6121, 13083-862, Campinas, Sao˜ Paulo, Brazil. Author Shah is (ADA 2009). As the market for these products continues to ex- with Victoria Univ., School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Engineering and Science, P. O. Box 14428, Melbourne, Vic 800, Australia. Direct pand, food development involving functional ingredients, such as inquiries to author Granato (E-mail: [email protected]). probiotics, will also continue to grow due to their alleged health effects. Moreover, advertising and combined marketing schemes, c 2010 Institute of Food Technologists® r doi: 10.1111/j.1541-4337.2010.00120.x Vol.9,2010 ComprehensiveReviewsinFoodScienceandFoodSafety 455 Probiotic dairy products . mainly from processors of finished goods, have significantly im- Other countries have also shown potential for growth in the proved the level of consumer awareness of the different types of functional food market. With growth in per capita incomes in probiotics in the last 5 y. Analysis of the North American probi- emerging and transition economies, for example Hungary, Poland, otics markets for human nutrition found that the probiotics sector and Russia, there is a potential for the establishment of markets for earned revenues of US$ 698 million in 2006. It is expected to functional foods and natural health products (Benkouider 2005; reach US$ 1.70 billion in 2013, with a compound annual growth Kotilainen and others 2006). Indeed, these markets are considered rate (CAGR) of 13.7%. The fastest-growing sector within this to have some of the greatest growth potential in coming years. In market is probiotic beverages with a CAGR of 24.6% (Winter 2003, the total nutrition sector in Eastern Europe and Russia was 2009). valued at US$ 2.25 billion, of which US$ 550 million (24.4%) was According to Winter (2009), 19% of North American adults for functional foods (Blandon and others 2007). in 2008 had purchased a pre/probiotic yogurt in the previous 3 mo, compared to 11% in 2006. Nearly twice as many women Functional Foods: Concepts and Outlook as men had consumed such products in 2008, at 24% and 13%, With an increase in humam life expectancy, and the exponen- respectively. Individuals in the 45 to 54 age range were the most tial growth of health care costs, society needs to overcome new numerous purchasers at 30%. Meanwhile, in Europe, consumption challenges through the development of new scientific knowledge of probiotics is equally strong: between 2002 and 2007, consump- and technologies that result in important modifications in people’s tion in Western Europe grew by 13% CAGR, and consumption life style (Kwak and Jukes 2001). This tendency and advances in in Eastern Europe increased nearly by 18% CAGR. In 2007, con- food science/technology are providing the food industry with in- sumption in metric tonnes in Western and Eastern Europe was creasingly effective techniques to control and improve the physical 1,125 and 10,151, respectively; the numbers are forecast to reach structure and the chemical composition of food products, cre- 1747 and 13205 by the year 2012. ating functional foods that provide attributes beyond nourishing After the United States, Europe is the main nutrition market in properties (Behrens and others 2001). the world. In 2003, this market reached US$ 56.73 billion, from The health/nutrition paradigm has changed significantly during which US$ 6.22 billion corresponded to herbal/botanical prod- the past 2 decades. Today, food is not merely viewed as a vehi- ucts and US$ 20.71 billion to functional foods. Within Europe, cle for essential nutrients to ensure proper growth and develop- Germany, United Kingdom, and France are the leading nutrition ment, but as a route to optimal wellness. This “food as medicine” markets. The functional food market value in 2003 in these coun- paradigm will continue to be driven by several key factors, includ- tries was US$ 4.46, US$ 4.67, and US$ 4.01 billion, respectively ing increased consumer interest in controlling their own health; (Blandon and others 2007). In Europe, the market for functional demographics, including increases in the elder and ethnic subpop- foods has experienced growth rates of 15% to 20% over the past ulations; escalating health care costs; a highly competitive food 8 y, although they still comprise a very small part of the total market with small profit margins; advances in technology, such market. In United Kingdom, for example, functional dairy prod- as biotechnology, nanotechnology, nutrigenomics, and changes in ucts accounted for approximately 3.7% of the total value sales in food regulations and evidence-based science linking diet to reduc- the dairy sector in 1999 (Frewer and others 2003). In the United tion in nontransmissible chronic disease risks (American Dietetic States of America, the same figure was 5.2%. Functional bev- Association 2009). erages had a market share of around 4.3% in United Kingdom, Functional foods are those that contain 1 or more compound whereas in the United States of America it was 9.8% (Euromon- that provide important or limited functions in the organism, pro- itor 2000).