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There is no legal definition of "natural" in relation to food worldwide. Of course there is some sort of general/public understanding on the term of "natural", meaning that nothing artificial or synthetic has been included in, or has been added to, a food, that would not normally be expected to be in the food.
One area of particular interest is for products obtained by fermentation processes. While industrial fermentation per se cannot be defined as natural, many food products made via a fermentation process carry a designation of natural on their label. For example, beer, wine, bread, vinegar, cheese, yogurts…are traditional foods made by fermentation.
Some ingredients or additives, that are naturally present in fermented foods, are nowadays obtained by fermentation processes. Those processes are strictly similar to the ones used to produce traditional fermented foods and can be described in many ways as traditional, natural and sometimes even organic.
Legislation will differ from one country to another. The advice of regulatory counsel is recommended prior making any specific product claims or labeling.
Some Care4U™ products are recognized as being organic by nature such as Lactic acid bacteria used to produce yogurt, cream, cheese, fermented dairy and meat products. This is the case for Holdbac™ and Texel® cultures. Fermentates or Fermented sugars like MicroGard™ are certified organic by a USDA accredited company Quality Assurance International (QAI) Guardian™ Natural Extracts, obtained by food grade solvent extraction without residues and without any further processing steps, are natural flavourings and, under some conditions, can be certified organic. Food Additives such as Nisaplin™ and Natamax™ antimicrobials are not certified organic due to their process conditions.
Yes. Most Care4U™ products have a Kosher status. For instance, GUARDIAN™ Rosemary Extract and Green Tea Extract, Nisaplin™, and Natamax™ are Kosher Pareve.
Concerning GUARDIAN™ Green Tea Extract, the levels needed to show a nutritional or health benefit are much higher than Danisco’s current recommended maximum usage level for food protection. Concerning HOLDBAC™ protective cultures, they have been selected for their inhibiting properties and, although containing strains which are known to be used for the production of probiotics, Danisco has not documented specifically these strains for that purpose.
No. The use of strict GMP and GHP together with a fully developed HACCP program is a pre-requisite to limit the risk of microbial infection in food stuff to an acceptable minimum level. Nevertheless the risk of contamination with food borne pathogens cannot be prevented completely. Therefore, it is necessary to incorporate intrinsic hurdles to control or prevent the growth of pathogens or spoilage organisms beyond production control. Danisco is permanently searching for new protective agents to provide food manufacturers with natural protective solutions for packaged foods.
Care4U™ solutions are designed to control growth of food borne spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms with demonstrated efficacy. In large majority of the cases, Care4U™ products are used as an extra hurdle on top of other process/packaging hurdles to limit or reduce the growth of those microorganisms. In the case of fresh produce, those process/packaging hurdles have a limited efficacy, thus limiting the shelf life. Care4U™ solutions such as HOLDBAC™ Protective Cultures, GUARDIAN™ Rosemary or Green Tea Extracts, MicroGard™ Fermentates as well as Natamax™ Natural Antimicrobials can be used in fresh produce or on their surface to add an extra protection.
Shelf life will depend on a number of factors including quality of the starting ingredients, type and quality of fat/oil/lipid, processing, packaging, exposure to oxygen, UV light and metals, etc. Therefore, exact shelf life extension cannot be determined without conducting specific challenge testing and trials in a customer’s product, preferably at the customer’s production site.
Antibiotics are designed to kill off disease-causing bacteria; however, during this process, they destroy many of the gastrointestinal system’s existing microflora – beneficial bacteria that are the body’s natural first line of defense against harmful invaders. This may lead to intestinal upset or weakened immunity. Consuming products with HOWARU™ during and after antibiotic therapy ensures the maintenance and restoration of friendly bacteria in your intestine.
HOWARU™ recommendation: While taking antibiotics and for 1-2 weeks upon completion of an antibiotic regimen, consume a supplement or food product containing HOWARU™ probiotics to maintain a healthy level of gut microflora.
During pregnancy, mothers-to-be often have digestive problems. Consuming HOWARU™ regularly is a safe and effective measure that may help to prevent small digestive disorders and make you feel better.
HOWARU™ recommendation: Consume probiotic juice or yoghurt at breakfast, or take a probiotic supplement, to get the day off to a healthy start.
As we age, our intestinal microflora gradually change and our immune system tends to go into decline. Probiotics may be able to counteract or slow down this process. The probiotic strains in HOWARU™ have been specifically selected to improve your immune function. Clinical studies in a number of countries have shown a particular improvement in the immune system of mature adults.
HOWARU™ recommendation: Drink a probiotic dairy beverage and benefit from the nutritional value of milk and the immune-enhancing properties of HOWARU™. Or take a HOWARU™ probiotic supplement 1-2 times per day to maintain a health level of good gut microflora.
Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM™ is of human origin and was first isolated by scientists at North Carolina State University in the early 1970s.
NCFM™ stands for “North Carolina Food Microbiology”. The strain was isolated in the food microbiology laboratory at North Carolina State University and it was named after this facility.
HOWARU™ recommendation:
Lactobacillus acidophilus is the scientific name for the genus and species of the culture. NCFM is the strain designation. HOWARU™ Dophilus is the commercial name.
HOWARU™ recommendation:
The study demonstrates for the first time that the oral administration of Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM™ mediates analgesic functions in the gut equivalent to morphine effects. These results, patented by Danisco, suggest that the microbiology of the intestinal tract influences visceral pain perception and open new perspectives in the treatment of abdominal pain and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) with Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM™. The NCFM™ strain was singled out based upon unique properties found in screening of a wide range of strains.
HOWARU™ recommendation:
It is important to acknowledge the fact that currently no commercial product derived from this new scientific finding is available.
However, various food and dietary supplement products containing NCFM™ are available to balance the gut microflora. In food, Sweet Acidophilus™ Milk was the first product to be supplemented with NCFM™ and has been on the market in the US for 30+ years. In dietary supplements, Metagenics, a US-based company with operations in Australia (Health World) and Belgium (Bio-dynamics) markets dietary supplement blends containing NCFM under the name UltraFlora and Inner Health brands. In subsequent years, NCFM™ has been added to yogurt, fermented milks, dietary supplements and nutritionals (toddler formula) around the world. To the best of our knowledge, Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM™ is not currently used in products registered as prescription or over-the-counter pharmaceuticals.
HOWARU™ recommendation:
For the time being, Danisco does not market Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM™ as a pure probiotic product formulated to deliver the new anti-pain benefits as discovered by Dr Desreumaux & Al. and published by Nature Medecine.
In view of these new findings, Danisco currently envisions to develop HOWARU™ Dophilus with selected partners from the pharmaceutical, dietary supplement and food industries to address gut comfort and intestinal pain relief.
HOWARU™ recommendation: |