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For the heart: natural Australian grape extracts can be used as food ingredients with clinically proven heart benefits
For greener tea: new technology enables the production of green tea extracts containing 90% of the most active catechin (EGCG)
For recovery: Hydrolysate, a special wheat protein constituted naturally of more than 30% glutamine, can accelerate recovery from physical stress arising from extreme exercise or trauma
Feeling Good: Functional Foods
Australia’s food industry is taking a strong interest in functional food research as a way of protecting against chronic diseases such as cancer, coronary heart disease and bowel disorders.
Functional foods are considered as any food or food component that provides demonstrated physiological benefits or reduces the risk of chronic diseases above and beyond basic nutritional functions.
In Australia a national collaborative research initiative has been developed through the National Centre of Excellence in Functional Foods (NCEFF).
Research is being undertaken to develop valuable compounds such as peptides, proteins and omega-3 fatty acid from a wide range of agricultural sources including dairy by-products, meat waste streams and new grain types. Foods such as cereal, breads, fruit and vegetables, dairy product, meat, tea and wine can be enriched by these compounds to provide significant health benefits.
Examples include grape and green tea extracts (see panel), and Hi-maize, which has been added to white bread, pasta and breakfast cereals to increase the resistance starch content to help improve bowel health and function.
Australia’s functional food advantages include our reputation for clean and natural resources, disease-free status, a sound food safety and legislation regime, and effective supply chain management. Government seed funding is being invested over five years to establish Centres of Excellence in Functional Foods and Food Safety and Integrity.
