What Comes First, the Egg or the Algae DHA Omega-3? : Health: As more exotic supplements are used to fortify foods, nutritionists warn of ‘21st century quackery.’
Food makers have begun mixing trendy exotic ingredients--marine algae, for example--into basic staples, claiming they can help cure everything from depression to heart disease and even help pregnant women give birth to smarter children.
The trend marks an important development in the processing of food that ends up on American tables, though items like bread and salt have been fortified since the 1940s with vitamins and minerals to ward off colds and build strong bones.
But some nutritional experts remain skeptical of the new claims--some of which have been challenged by government regulators--and consumer acceptance has been slow. Food companies have high hopes for a new product category that combines sustenance and therapy.
Dietitians and consumer groups worry that manufacturers might be taking things too far, adding unproven ingredients to everything from soup to frozen food. Because the industry is largely unregulated, manufacturers don’t have to back up their claims.
Food makers are putting botanical ingredients such as St. John’s wort and echinacea into some processed foods, and at least one is harnessing the power of biotechnology to introduce a health-enhancing compound into the most basic commodity: unprocessed chicken eggs.
Boulder, Colo.-based OmegaTech Inc. in recent weeks began selling eggs in Southern California Vons stores from chickens that have been fed a marine algae containing DHA Omega-3, a fatty acid that is thought to reduce the risk of heart disease and improve brain function.
Although dietitians say there is evidence that DHA does improve brain development in babies and lowers the risk of heart disease for adults, they say the jury’s still out on whether it can aid brain function in adults, a claim that OmegaTech makes on its packaging.
Still, food-science innovations such as these have manufacturers salivating about the potential of health-enhancing ingredients to boost sagging sales of their existing product lines.
By some estimates, the so-called functional food niche is already a $15-billion business, though what qualifies as functional food is still unclear.
FDA Policing on a ‘Case-by-Case’ Basis
Officials with the Food and Drug Administration say they have not yet come up with a definition for functional foods or formulated a policy for regulating the sector. Instead, said FDA Director Virginia Wilkening, the agency is handling its policing on a “case-by-case basis.”
Without strict oversight, most food makers are simply labeling and promoting their products using the guidelines the FDA issued in 1994 for dietary supplements, a controversial practice that some consumer groups believe is unsafe. The Center for Science in the Public Interest has petitioned the FDA to tighten its rules for this sector of the food business.
“Without adequate rules, these functional foods result in little more than 21st century quackery,” said Bruce Silverglade, CSPI’s legislative director. “We want the FDA to make sure that these ingredients are safe and the claims valid.”
Furthermore, said Francene Steinberg, a registered dietitian and nutrition professor at UC Davis, there’s no proof that these substances, when mixed with food, have the same effects as they do in a stable pill form. “When you heat them or process them, there may be an effect on their potency and availability. And there may be some synergy with other materials in plants that they don’t have when you take them out and put them with other ingredients.”
The only food companies that have run afoul of the FDA over their labeling are those that have actually sought FDA approval. In June, the agency rejected Hain Food Group’s request to categorize its Kitchen Prescriptions line of soups as a dietary supplement. The soups contained herbal additives such as St. John’s wort, which is said to combat depression, and echinacea, which is touted as a way to boost the immune system. Instead of providing proof of the products’ efficacy, Hain decided to discontinue the line.
The FDA also rejected requests by Johnson & Johnson and Unilever to categorize their cholesterol-reducing margarines Benecol and Take Control as dietary supplements. Earlier this year, they were able to get the FDA to deem the products’ plant-based additives, taken from wood pulp, safe and get them onto supermarket shelves. However, they couldn’t make the claim that the products actually lower cholesterol.
Food industry groups such as the Grocery Manufacturers of America say they believe existing regulations are sufficient to protect consumers. Although there are some unscrupulous firms trying to skirt the law, GMA officials say, most major food companies are playing by the rules.
“They have a brand that has taken years to build, and they’re not going to risk losing market share to make an unsubstantiated claim,” said Lisa Katic, GMA’s director of science and nutrition policy.
Functional food is still a risky proposition for most major manufacturers because consumer acceptance has been slow. Kellogg Co. and Campbell Soup Co. were forced to pull their functional food products in the last year because of sluggish sales. Analysts say consumers didn’t really understand the benefits of the products and didn’t like the taste, and they say many were turned off by the higher price of some items.
However, a study of 2,000 food shoppers by Des Moines-based Health Focus showed that 39% thought that foods and beverages fortified with extra nutrition were worth paying a slight premium.
OmegaTech’s immunity-boosting eggs, which are sold under the Gold Circle Farms brand, retail for $3.29 a dozen, at least $1 higher than most conventional eggs.
Company officials say they have sold more than 10 million eggs since their debut in six test markets in spring, and 200 million in Europe and Mexico in the last couple of years. In the supermarkets that stock Gold Circle Eggs, the brand has grabbed a 1.5% to 2.9% share of all egg sales.
In coming months, the company expects to introduce them to markets across the country and is negotiating with dairies to license its product and its name for other products such as milk, butter yogurt and cheese. In two years, said Chief Executive Mark A. Braman, it could be a $100-million business.
“We expect to be able to grow to between a 3% to 5% market share of the egg and dairy case in the next few years,” Braman said.
Next Challenge Is to Educate Buyers
With 12 years and more than $50 million invested in the science behind the eggs, Braman’s challenge now is to explain the largely unfamiliar ingredient to consumers. Although studies show that consumer awareness of functional foods and their ingredients is growing, OmegaTech, like most food makers, is having to use its packaging to educate consumers.
The egg cartons tell shoppers that OmegaTech’s chickens are fed a vegetarian feed rich in DHA. They also state that DHA is “vital” for a healthy heart and for brain and eye development and function.
Because OmegaTech found traditional advertising to be ineffective in promoting such a complex subject, it spends more money promoting the product directly to dietitians, doctors and other health care professionals in hopes they will recommend the product to patients.
There is some evidence that DHA has health benefits. Medical journals, including the Journal of the American Medical Assn., have reported links between DHA, most often found in cold water fish such as salmon, and reduced incidence of heart attack. Other medical industry groups contend there is a link between DHA and increased development function in infants.
But food industry analysts argue that most consumers don’t know how much they’re supposed to eat to get a health benefit and that even if they did, it’s somewhat unlikely they would eat enough to meet that requirement.
An individual would have to eat two Gold Circle eggs, for example, to get 300 milligrams of DHA, which Braman said is the recommended daily minimum.
The bottom line, nutritionists say, is that consumers should try and get their nutrients from fruits, vegetables, legumes and grains rather than manufactured foods or pills.
