Weekly Roundup: US FDA updates “Added Sugar” rules for Nutrition Facts labels, Lonza to present clean label ingredients at Hi & Fi Asia

21 Jun 2019 --- In nutrition news this week, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has clarified its Nutrition Facts labels guidance regarding the “Added Sugars” section for single-ingredients items such as honey and maple, to help consumers better understand the amount of sugar in single-ingredient products. Lonza will showcase its clean-label, innovative ingredients and delivery and dosage form solutions at Hi & Fi Asia. VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) has created a mini personalized cupcake factory, tapping into the snacking and personalized products trends. Moreover, Dr. Elliott Antman is to receive the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Gold Heart Award for his more than 40 years of service in the heart health space.

In brief: Regulatory news
The US FDA has released a new guidance for an “Added Sugars” section to be included on Nutrition Facts labels. The move aims to help consumers better understand the amount of sugar in single-ingredient products like powdered sugar, pure maple syrup and honey. The Nutrition Facts guidance, coined “Declaration of Added Sugars on Honey, Maple Syrup, and Certain Cranberry Products,” provides clarification for companies that produce single-ingredient sugars and syrups, in addition to those who produce cranberry products. Single-ingredient sugars are intended to be consumed alone or added to foods by consumers and thus will be an added sugar to the diet when consumed. As companies who produce these products began to look at how they would implement the new label, they raised concerns about how consumers would perceive the Added Sugars declaration on their product labels. Additionally, the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, commonly referred to as the “Farm Bill,” stated that Nutrition Facts labels cannot require the declaration of the gram amount of “Added Sugars” for single-ingredient sugars, honey, agave and syrups, including maple syrup. After reviewing and considering the comments made to the FDA’s February 2018 draft guidance, the agency finalized this guidance. This is done in a way that provides consumers with information as to how the consumption of these products can be accommodated within the recommendations of the dietary guidelines. At the same time, it reduces the potential for consumers to misinterpret single-ingredient sugars and syrups as having additional sugars added to them. The final guidance explains that for single-ingredient sugars, the Nutrition Facts label will still include a line for Total Sugars with the amount per serving expressed in grams; however, the line below it – which has been reserved for Added Sugars – will only provide a percent Daily Value for Added Sugars. 

VTT has created a mini cupcake factory that can prepare personalized cupcakes in less than two minutes.In brief: Launches and releases 
Lonza is to showcase its latest science-backed ingredients and innovative delivery and dosage form solutions designed to “Make More Possible” at this year’s Hi-Fi Asia-China in Shanghai. Lonza’s Consumer Health & Nutrition team will display its integrated capabilities and expanding portfolio of products to support a range of consumer health needs, including healthy aging, immunity, sports nutrition and pet nutrition. Lonza will also participate in the show’s Discovery Tours as a sports nutrition solutions provider. The team will also highlight its leading innovations for the active and performance nutrition market in the International Sports Nutrition Industry Insights seminar at the show, led by the Health Products Association (HPA). As the clean-label trend continues to gather pace in Asia, attendees are invited to discover how Lonza’s range of dosage form technologies can support clean-label positioning. 

Tapping into the personalized products trend, VTT has created a mini cupcake factory that can prepare personalized cupcakes in less than two minutes. This trend is driven by hectic lifestyles and snacking, requires new on-site technologies to satisfy consumers’ needs, the company notes. The mini cupcake factory prototype enables the on-site production of personalized, healthy snacks in order to show that instant food production with tailored recipes is possible. VTT’s cupcake machine produces on-demand single serving fresh, warm cakes starting from scratch in a matter of minutes. The user can choose a sweet or savory cake and personalize its flavor or boost the nutritional content by choosing various protein and/or dietary fiber options. The outcome is a healthy, moist, evenly baked, soft and fluffy cupcake hyper-personalized to an individual’s taste and nutrition. It contains less sugar and fats than normal, as well as extra amounts of fibers and protein. The results of a use-ability test indicate that consumers associate added value with the machine. Especially the freshness of the product and ease of use of the machine were appreciated among trial participants. “We all need a little indulgence to keep us going throughout the day. Cakes and cupcakes are one of the most popular indulgent foods but usually with poor nutritional profile. We don’t need to end our love affair with indulgent foods, we just need to reshape, and at the same time, include also healthier notes”, says Research Professor Nesli Sözer from VTT.

Aronia melanocarpa.In brief: Research and studyChronic consumption (12 weeks) of Naturex’s Aronia ingredients can significantly improve endothelial function as measured by Flow Mediated Dilation (FMD). This is according to a Naturex endorsed, randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled human clinical study. Published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the study demonstrates the impact on the gut microbiome, plasma metabolites and cardiovascular health of two formulations of Aronia melanocarpa. The effects of Aronia were investigated on endothelial function in young healthy men. Either 500 mg of Aronox, an extract rich in Aronia polyphenols, 500 mg of Aronia FS, a full spectrum Aronia berry powder or matching placebo were consumed daily. The Aronox subjects also saw significant acute improvement in FMD two hours post consumption on day one and day 84 (or last day). Chronic Aronia consumption correlated with significant changes in specific gut microbial populations, in Aronia/microbiome derived metabolites and significant improvements in endothelial function. Ana Rodriquez-Mateos, Ph.D. and principal investigator for the study says, “This study is consistent with previous research from our lab on the positive impact of consumption of polyphenols on cardiovascular health. However, we are intrigued by the strong impact the Aronia FS was able to deliver with its comparatively low polyphenol content. What was most interesting was that by correlating the changes in the host microbiome population, plasma metabolites and impact on Endothelial Function we can see a clearer picture of the mechanisms associated polyphenols’ impact on cardiovascular health even in a healthy population.”

In brief: Miscellaneous
Dr. Elliott Antman is to receive AHA’s Gold Heart Award for more than 40 years of service. Starting as a medical student at Columbia University, Antman went on to serve as the AHA president in 2014-15. Antman embraced technology and big data to advance cardiovascular health, chairing AHA’s first Data Summit and informing its inaugural Health Tech Summit. His leadership spurred funding for the Cardiovascular Genome Phenome Study, which developed into the organization's platform for precision medicine – an emerging approach to disease treatment and prevention based on an individual’s genetic makeup and lifestyle. Today he is a Senior Physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston specializing in cardiovascular medicine and a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

By Kristiana Lalou