Cholesterol-busting plant sterol and stanol products – worth about €2.5bn globally – will have to carry warning labels in the European Union from next February.
Kraft Foods has urged Australasian authorities to remove restrictions on the package size of low-fat cheese enriched with phytosterol esters – less than two years after calling for their implementation.
Incorporating heart healthy phytosterols in yoghurt formulations
does not negatively impact on the starter cultures, potentially
boosting their use in these foods, says new research.
Naturis has asked the Food Standards Agency to approve the use of
phytosterols - which have been linked to having a positive effect
on lowering cholesterol - from soya bean seeds.
The UK's biggest supermarket, Tesco, is introducing its own plant
sterol-containing dairy range next month, offering a cheaper
alternative to the leading cholesterol-lowering brands.
Coca-Cola Services S.A. has applied to the UK's novel foods
committee seeking approval to market fruit juices, fruit nectars
and tomato juice with added plant sterols.
An innovative technology that allows for the addition of both plant
sterols and minerals to foods has won the backing of leading US
food manufacturer General Mills, which has licensed the product for
use in a range of foods.
A new phytosterol ingredient, said by its Swedish manufacturer to
represent the 'second generation' of phytosterol ingredients, has
been given the go-ahead for use on the European market.