Kiwi ingenuity gets best out of food

Dr Aiqian Ye and his team aim to add goodness to foods. Photo / Massey University

Massey scientists work on enhancing health benefits.

The goodness in supermarket staples such as milk, yoghurt, cheese and cereal could soon be supercharged thanks to Kiwi-developed technology unlocking the benefits of health boosters such as Omega-3, vitamins and antioxidants.

Its developers, scientists at Massey University's Riddet Institute, say their intellectual property-secured work could boost the healthiness of common grocery items and offer a big opportunity for the New Zealand dairy industry.

For a decade, scientists at the Palmerston North institute have been searching for ways to ensure health-enhancing properties can survive our bodies' harsh digestive system and also the processing and storage of foods.

Heating processes, for example, can substantially reduce contained levels of vitamins, whose range of benefits stretches from bolstering our immune systems to lowering cholesterol.

The researchers have also been grappling with how these properties can be delivered to the places in our body where they are needed most - and how they can be eaten without tasting foul.

To exploit the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids, which are linked to brain development and cardiovascular health, consumers have traditionally turned to fish oil supplements.

Incorporating them into foods and beverages has long proven difficult as the acids have low water solubility and poor oxidative stability, and give products a fishy taste.

Now the scientists have developed a method that has overcome the hurdles facing Omega 3 and other essential bioactive materials such as antioxidants, vitamins, lactoferrin and bovine serum albumin. It centres on nano-emulsion - nanoscale, protein-coated droplets that act as protective vehicles for the properties through the journeys of processing, storage and digestion, before taking them to the right locations in our bodies.

The Kiwi-designed technology - developed as NanoEmulsion Shell Technology (Nest) through a joint venture between Riddet and Manawatu-based biotech company Speirs Nutritionals - uses micellar casein, a milk-derived substance, as the emulsifying agent.

In the form of a liquid emulsion, it could either be integrated into foodstuffs by manufacturers or sold in sterilised packets, allowing people to mix it into foods and drinks.

The intellectual property has since been secured by a global European manufacturer, which is using the technology and marketing it internationally.

"In the near future, we anticipate products on the shelves of supermarkets that utilise this technology," said Dr Aiqian Ye, a senior research officer at the institute.

Increasing food firepower

Photo / Thinkstock

Why is it needed?
Much of the health-enhancing goodness we get from essential bioactive materials such as omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and vitamins is lost during the processing and storage of food, and also in the journey through our digestive systems. Pasteurisation, for example, can cut vitamin C levels in a product by half. Kiwi scientists have now developed a way to get the full power of these properties to us before they are lost.

How have they done it?
They use an approach called nano-emulsion - nanoscale, protein-coated droplets that act as protective vehicles for the properties and deliver them to the right places in our bodies. Their technology makes use of micellar casein, a milk-derived substance, as the emulsifying agent.

What's the potential?
For the shopper, it may soon mean that common grocery products such as cereal, milk and cheese could become a lot healthier, as consumers would get the full potential of the properties within them, and without any nasty taste. It could also provide a huge economic opportunity for dairy farmers, adding value to what they already produce.