Cargill Helps Food Manufacturers Incorporate Oliggo-Fiber(R) Inulin to Develop Products That Go 'Beyond Yogurt' in Supporting Good Digestive Health

MINNEAPOLIS, July 7 /PRNewswire/ -- At the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Food Expo, July 18-20 in Chicago, Cargill will demonstrate how food manufacturers can take products that support good digestive health beyond the yogurt case. Specifically, Cargill will showcase a simple pureed soup that incorporates a natural, soluble dietary fiber source, Oliggo-Fiber® inulin. This ingredient is a prebiotic fiber that helps promote digestive health by stimulating the normal, beneficial bacteria in the colon.

"Digestive health is an important consumer trend that many of our customers want to address," said Deborah Schulz, product manager, Cargill Health & Nutrition. According to Schulz, about one-third of Americans suffer from some form of digestive problem(1). Forty percent of Americans look for foods and beverages that improve digestive health(2), and 78 percent are interested in fiber for digestive health(3). In addition, 37 percent of people worldwide who are aware of probiotics and prebiotics trust health benefit claims made for them(4).

"Yogurt continues to be a popular digestive health-related product, but there is growing interest in other categories, such as baked goods, cereals and snacks," said Schulz. She further discusses the topic on the Cargill Innovation Exchange.

In these other categories, one of the big challenges with probiotics is their heat sensitivity to typical manufacturing processes. Oliggo-Fiber® inulin is a well-recognized prebiotic with excellent heat stability, which allows food manufacturers to deliver digestive health benefits to consumers in innovative and shelf-stable products, such as soup.

In addition, there has been a 67 percent increase in products with the word "simple" or "simply" in the name in recent years(5). According to Wade Schmelzer, principal food scientist, Cargill Health & Nutrition, Oliggo-Fiber® inulin is a perfect fit for digestive health and the simple, clean label positioning of the pureed soup Cargill is featuring at IFT 2010.

"Inulin is a natural, soluble dietary fiber from the chicory root, which can be simply labeled as chicory root extract," said Schmelzer. "The digestive health benefits of inulin have been studied extensively in the industry. Oliggo-Fiber® inulin is selectively fermented by beneficial bacteria naturally present in the large intestine. Those bacteria, in turn, are important for maintaining a healthy digestive tract and may also help support the immune system."

Equally important, Oliggo-Fiber® inulin has excellent versatility in food applications without changing flavor or texture. "As a result, we've created a great-tasting, simple pureed soup with natural ingredients that appeals to the growing digestive consumer health trend," said Schmelzer.

Cargill is an international producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products and services.  Founded in 1865, the privately held company employs 138,000 people in 67 countries. Cargill helps customers succeed through collaboration and innovation, and is committed to applying its global knowledge and experience to help meet economic, environmental and social challenges wherever it does business. For more information, visit www.cargill.com.

SOURCE Cargill