1. Superfoods Dr Carrie Ruxton Nutrition consultant

2. What are superfoods?

3. No agreed definition Implied that the food or ingredient delivers a health or wellbeing benefit Separate from its ability to meet nutrient requirements

4. Superfoods as a concept Natural raw foods or ingredients Processed ingredients Novel ingredients ‘naturalness’ decreases, regulatory burden increases

5. Consumers interested in ‘superfood’ products Ranking Foods that control weight1 Energy-boosting products2 Fortified drinks3 Fortified foods4 Herbal supplements5 Beauty foods/drinks6 Datamonitor, 2005

6. Consumers used to health claims Heart health/maintenance Overt or inferred intelligence boosters Sports performance claims Gut health Well-being Wacky health food shop claims

7. But they don’t trust them Datamonitor, 2005

8. Int J Food Sci Nutrition,2007; 57(3-4): 249-272.

11. Mink et al (2007). AJCN 85, 895-909 Anthocyanidins p=0.03Flavanones p=0.01 N=34492 US post-menopausal women, prospective study Adjusted RR for age, BMI, EI and lifestyle

12. Plausible superfoods Fish oil – omega 3s Antioxidant-rich fruit & vegetables Polyphenols e.g. fruit, soya, cocoa Probiotics & prebiotics Oats – beta glucans Dietary fibre Stanols & sterols Potassium-rich foods

13. Problem Consumer interest up Evidence growing Health claim opportunities going down?

14. The new legal environment Launching successful products Communicating Benefits to consumers What’s on the market? Case studies