Abstract
How to innovate and reformulate tasty foods and beverages that meet consumer needs and expectations? This is one of the central questions for the food industry. In view of the growing burden of non-communicable diseases, there is an increasing need to reformulate products to improve the nutritional quality and to deliver lower levels of sugars, sodium, and saturated and trans-fatty acids. As reformulation is largely a voluntary action, there are different strategies and ways to guide and drive reformulation from an industrial perspective. Nutrient profiling (NP), a scientific method to assess and guide the nutritional quality of foods and beverages, can play an important role in driving reformulation.
The objective of this chapter is to describe the features and the implementation of a global nutrient profiling system, developed by a major food and beverage manufacturer and used for guiding reformulation. The need of a supportive business environment to promote this implementation is illustrated. A case study explains with a practical example how research in food science and technology enables product (re)formulation. An outlook discusses challenges and future considerations of nutrient profiling systems and of industrial reformulation.
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The authors would like to cordially thank Sophie Lagarrigue-Gojani for comments on the case study and valuable review.
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Lehmann, U., Mak, T.N., Bolten, C.J. (2019). Reformulation as a Strategy for Developing Healthier Food Products: Challenges and Recent Developments – An Industry Perspective. In: Raikos, V., Ranawana, V. (eds) Reformulation as a Strategy for Developing Healthier Food Products. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23621-2_4
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