Food processors using science to produce more healthful products

Many food processors and ingredient companies are doing extensive research to create products that have less fat, white flour, sugar and salt and more whole grains, fiber and fish oil. However,
some nutritionists question whether all this alchemy will further confuse consumers about the basics of good nutrition.

Marion Nestle, a professor of
nutrition at New York University, maintains that the best way to get fish oil into your diet will always be to eat fish. “What this does is to turn food into medicine,” said Nestle. “Omega-3’s
occur naturally in food like fish, chicken and eggs, and plants to a lesser extent. Why do we need to get it from bread?”

One reason may be that products that can be marketed as healthier often generate higher sales and fatter profits for food companies. Foods labeled as healthy also present a show of good faith
to administration officials, members of Congress, consumer groups and trial lawyers, who all monitor the food industry’s response to the nation’s obesity problem.

Ingredient companies today sell $4 billion worth of additives to the food industry a year and are responsible for many of the common properties of processed food. Now, ingredient companies are
focusing on what they can add to food to make it healthier. Both Cargill and National Starch Food Innovation, the food arm of National Starch and Chemical, are selling something called
resistant starch. They start with starch that has been extracted from either tapioca or corn and then modify it through a patented process so that it will resist digestion in a way that mimics
naturally occurring fiber.

Fonte: Food & Drink Weekly