Tate & Lyle seminar to address obesity and diabetes issues across the Middle East
30 Jan 2019 --- Tate & Lyle is holding a nutrition seminar to inform Middle Eastern food manufacturers how to adapt their products to support healthier consumer diets. The main focus will be on the reduction of sugar and calories in products in order to tackle the region’s rising prevalence of obesity and diabetes. The event is industry exclusive and is taking place today in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The company’s technical, nutrition and marketing experts will offer insights and guidance for products adjusted to promote health while maintaining their taste profiles.
“Today, we are focusing on Tate & Lyle’s solutions that lower sugar and calories in food and beverages, including our range of low and no-calorie sweeteners and soluble corn fibers,” Dominique Floch, Regional Sales and Technical Director at Tate & Lyle, tells NutritionInsight.
“We will also showcase fibers for enrichment, explaining the evidence base showing their many health benefits, including digestive health, keeping our blood glucose levels healthy, weight management, cholesterol reduction and possibly even bone health,” he adds.
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE are among the countries with the world’s highest levels of adult obesity. Tackling obesity requires addressing excess calorie intakes. Increasing the availability of low-calorie foods and beverages can help people to take in fewer calories over the course of their day when consumed as part of a balanced diet, according to Tate & Lyle.
“We are passionate about contributing to healthier and tastier food and beverage choices. Sugar does so much more than just add taste in a recipe. Sugar can add texture, bulk, color and shelf life,” Floch says.
“With the right blend of ingredients, brands can replace these functions to offer products with fewer calories that will still satisfy a sweet tooth. Using a blend or our soluble fibers and low-calorie sweeteners, we recently helped a major juice brand lower sugar by 55 percent,” he explains.
“Food and beverage businesses have the necessary tools to step up and help tackle obesity and diabetes, and, with other partners, to deliver a much-needed step-change in diets and lifestyles,” adds Dr. Ieva Laurie, Principal Scientist at Tate & Lyle.
The nutrition seminar seeks to bring customers and other partners together to discuss public health challenges, the need and growing demand for healthier options that support healthy weight and the tools to deliver great tasting, healthier products. Robust science is at the event’s core and by building awareness of the solutions in the industry’s reformulation toolbox, the company believes it can help its customers to tackle obesity and improve lives, says Floch.
“By sampling prototypes, including a coffee latte prepared using Optimizer Stevia to lower sugar by 30 percent, and granola clusters cereal using Sta-lite Polydextrose to lower sugar by 30 percent and offer a high in fiber claim, our customers will experience first-hand ingredient solutions that deliver healthier foods and beverages that don’t compromise on taste,” he tells NutritionInsight.
The event is also hosting public health authority representatives who want to understand the tools available to food and drink brands that support public health improvements, their evidence base and how they can be used in different products, Floch mentions.
Using the seminar as an opportunity to share insights and ideas, the company wishes to also strengthen partnerships with customers and distributors.
By Kristiana Lalou
