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A high fibre and a low fibre breakfast meal were given to eight non insulin dependent diabetics ( NIDD ), and eight controls. Blood glucose response was monitored continuously for three hours and characterized using a straight line model. After the high fibre meal the rates of increase and decrease in blood glucose concentration were slower both in diabetics and controls than after the low fibre meal. The delay time, however, i.e. the time from meal intake to the start of glucose increase, hypothetically corresponding to gastric emptying time, was the same after both test meals. The postprandial glucose increment calculated as the area under the 0-120 min curve was lower after the high fibre meal in the NIDD , but not in the controls. The two-hour C-peptide and gastric inhibitory polypeptide values were lower for the diabetics after the high fibre breakfast. The results indicate a prolonged carbohydrate digestion and/or absorption after high fibre breakfast.

Recent studies have indicated that diets rich in digestible carbohydrates and dietary fibre might be beneficial in the regulation of type II non insulin dependent diabetes (NIDD). Addition of the gel forming type of dietary fibre such as pectin and guar gum to meals or glucose solutions reduces post-prandial glucose and insulin response. Addition of cereal fibres in the form of bran seems to have long term beneficial effect improving glucose tolerance. Little is known, however, concerning effects of dietary fibre naturally occurring in food on postprandial glucose and hormone response. In the present study we prepared two breakfast meals which were similar regarding digestible carbohydrates but differed in their dietary fibre content. One of the meals, including whole grain bread and whole apples, contained 8.4 g of dietary fibre, and the other one, containing white bread and apple juice, 3.1 g. When given to eight NIDD, the fibre rich breakfast gave significantly lower blood glucose increment during the three hours following ingestion. The results indicate that foods rich in dietary fibre might be useful in the regulation of type II diabetes.

A regulation on nutrition and health claims made on foods was introduced in the European Union in 2007. This Regulation provides opportunities for the use of health claims on foods in Europe, including reduction of disease risk claims. The Regulation will be fully implemented by January 2010. A community list of permitted and rejected claims will be established and made available to the public. Some European countries have applied voluntary codes of practice on health claims for foods, awaiting the Regulation. Experience with scientific evaluation and use of health claims has been gained using these codes with regard to both generic claims that are closely related to official nutrition recommendations and to product-specific claims based on human intervention studies with the product. The European Commission supported a concerted action project, "Process for the Assessment of Scientific Support for Claims on Foods" (PASSCLAIM). This project reviewed the scientific state of the art in diet and health areas regarded most likely for health claims. The main purpose of the PASSCLAIM project was to define a set of generally applicable criteria for the scientific substantiation of health claims. These criteria were considered to be a scientifically robust tool for evaluating the quality of the data submitted in support of health claims on foods. PASSCLAIM is useful in assisting applicants for a health claim to prepare their supporting dossiers as well as in aiding agencies responsible for evaluating the scientific evidence for the claim.

Based on principles specified in the Swedish Code on health claims and experiences from handling of claims within the Code, priorities that may be useful when establishing a positive list of generic health claims and for responsible use of claims are suggested. One key factor highlighted is that claims should be relevant and meaningful for the consumer. To be useful in choosing a healthy diet, claims should primarily aim to stimulate an intake in agreement with official nutrition recommendations. Claims may thus be considered as relevant primarily for nutrients of which a considerable part of the population has an intake deviating from the recommendations. For vitamins and minerals, commonly involved in many functions in the body, it would be useful to prioritize claims referring to effects considered more important than others. Functions true for all essential nutrients, and/or affected by a large number of dietary factors, would be less relevant to claim for single vitamins and minerals. The relative importance of a specific vitamin or mineral, in relation to other nutrients potentially exerting similar effects, should also be considered. Based on these priorities, and on claims permitted or suggested as examples in the Code, a list of generic claims on vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, carbohydrates, dietary fibre, energy and wholegrain is suggested. Additional issues considered within the Code are also discussed. Keywords: generic; glycaemic index; meaningful; relevant

Summary. The protein nutritional value of pigskins and bovine tendons, with collagen contents of 75 and 95% respectively, was evaluated using amino acid analyses and nitrogen balance experiments on rats. Pigskins contain somewhat higher amounts of tryptophan, meth-ionine, cystine and tyrosine than tendons. The amounts of several essential amino acids were low. The true digestibilities were for young (4 month old), unscalded pigskin 96.1%, old (5 year old), unscalded pigskin 92.5%, calf tendon 97.3% and cow tendon 92.4%. Small but statistically significant differences due to the animal age were observed. Insoluble collagen, extracted from bovine tendon, had a digestibility of 95.2%. Wet heat treatment of old pigskin and cow tendon samples at 74â°C for 30 min significantly increased the digestibilities to 96.3 and 97.3% respectively. The results indicate that prior denaturation of collagen, as obtained by, for example, heat treat-ment, is not necessary for the digestion of pigskin and tendon in rats.

The effect of various processing methods on physico-chemical properties of sword bean starch was studied. Seed grits and flour were cooked with and without soaking, wet-autoclaved, and roasted. The changes in starch associated with these processing methods were studied by observing changes in granular structure, water solubility index, water absorption index, molecular size distribution and the degree of gelatinization estimated by differential scanning calorimetry. Intact, ungelatinized starch granules of raw and dry-heat treated samples were observed under the light microscope. The starch granules were elliptical in shape and had an average length and breadth of 37-40 mu m and 27 mu m, respectively. Wet-processed samples had the lowest water solubility, higher water absorption and lower gelatinization enthalpies than the raw bean flour, whereas the dry heat-treated samples showed higher water solubility and higher gelatinization enthalpies. The starch molecular size distribution pattern showed a higher amount of high molecular size carbohydrates in dry heat-treated samples and a large fraction of intermediate molecular size carbohydrates in the wet-processed samples. The low molecular size carbohydrate content was low in wet-processed samples where processing was done with excess water. (Less)

This overview focuses on the scientific support for selected popular diets; the Atkins diet, glycaemic index methods, the Montignac diet and the palaeolithic diet. The practical application of the diets, and their nutritional composition, in comparison with official dietary recommendations, are also discussed. In conclusion, any diet reducing energy intake may be effective in short-term weight reduction. However, the long-term safety and efficacy of the popular diets need more research to be supported, and the burden of evidence should be placed on the promoters of the diets. Keywords: Atkins; glycaemic index; Montignac; palaeolithic diet

(2004). Probiotics in gastric and intestinal disorders as functional food and medicine. Scandinavian Journal of Nutrition: Vol. 48, No. 1, pp. 15-25.

“Functional food” continues to be a highly interesting and much debated issue, with regard to scientific support, business potential, and importance for health and well-being. Problems with delimiting the concept can be overcome by regarding functional foods as foods with health claims. Various types of claim then have to be defened, as well as requirements for their scientific documentation. Such definitions are currently emerging internationally within Codex Alimentarius and within the European Commission. Guidelines on scientific substantiation have been issued within the Council of Europe, and the development of criteria for the scientific support of claims is focused on within the EC Fifth Framework concerted action project “Process for the Assessment of Scientific Support for Claims” (PASSCLAIM). The Swedish Code on health claims, effective since 1990 regarding generic claims in two steps and extended in 2001 to “product-specific physiological claims”, is in line with these developments.

Through advances in clinical trial design, analytical methodologies for assessing the nature and level of the bioactive constituents, and establishment of processes for systematic assessment of available literature, health claims on foods are becoming increasingly recognized as important and consequently are being legally regulated in more and more countries around the world. Legislation pioneered largely in Japan began to emerge in the 1980s to bring some systematization to the issue of how much data are required to substantiate a claim for a given dietary agent in order to improve a function and/or modify physiological processes in a manner consistent with the attenuation of disease risk. Various jurisdictions around the globe have now developed series of systematic approaches for reviewing scientific data and ascribing linkages between dietary ingredients and disease risk reduction, as well as performance and well-being, with the common objectives of identifying the threshold of scientific evidence needed to substantiate an authoritative statement to the general public in the form of a label claim for a given marketed food product. This process of systematic assessment of scientific evidence linking functional ingredients to health through the use of health claims on foods possesses potential benefits for several stakeholders. First, the individual consumer profits from guidance on which foods and food ingredients possess the potential to reduce risk of degenerative disease, improve longevity, and reduce dependence on pharmaceuticals. Second, health care service providers enjoy reduced operating costs resulting from a healthier population with reduced requirements for drugs. Third, corporations profit from improved market share, subsequent to increased appeal and penetration of products bearing health claims within the food marketplace. Fourth, food producers profit from higher commodity prices obtained from food constituents with added health value. Last, research activity in the agriculture-food-health continuum ensures continued livelihood and activity of scientists and technologists, thus improving food-related bioproducts. As a result, this supplement, which captures the proceedings of a symposium held at the Canadian Nutrition Congress meeting in Winnipeg, Canada, June 21, 2007, endeavors to achieve 2 objectives. In the first part, Global Assessment of Health Claims Frameworks, a cross-jurisdictional review is undertaken, profiling the history and current state of the art regarding legislative and scientific processes for establishment of health claims on foods. The second part, Evidence-Based Review of Health Claims on Bioactives in Foods, gives examples of how specific functional ingredients have dealt with complex science issues that need to be addressed for the establishment of health claims.

The new European Union (EU) regulation on nutrition and health claims came into force on 19 January 2007. This means that the same rules for use of such claims in advertisements, labelling and presentation of foods, including food supplements, will now be implemented throughout the EU. Some countries have had Codes of Practices allowing certain health claims. Experiences from such Codes, such as in Sweden since 1990, will be useful in implementing the new regulation. When used in a responsible way according to the regulation, health claims may be important in driving product development and assisting consumers in making healthy choices.

To study the short-term effect of resistant starch (RS) from retrograded high-amylose corn starch (HACS) on the excretion of bile acids and nutrients from the small bowel in humans.Seven healthy ileostomists were given a controlled, constant diet during three days. On days 2 and 3, 100 g/d of one of two test-products--drum-dried ordinary corn starch and autoclaved retrograded HACS, providing 5 and 39 g RS/d, respectively--was given, in random order. Ileostomy effluents were collected for 24 h per day and analysed for wet weight, dry weight, energy, bile acids and nutrients.In-patient study at the metabolic ward, Department of Clinical Nutrition, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Göteborg.Consumption of retrograded HACS caused (1) a 42% lower mean excretion of cholic acid (P = 0.024); (2) a 42% lower mean wet weight concentration of bile acids (P0.001); (3) a 70% increased excretion of dry weight (P = 0.001); and (4) a 41% increased excretion of energy (P= 0.036) compared with consumption of drum-dried ordinary corn starch.The reduced ileal excretion and concentration of cholic acid would be protective regarding colon cancer risk in addition to the increased fermentation substrate provided by RS and other energy-yielding components.

Whole grains of different cereals have traditionally been prepared with water and heat prior to dehulling, but knowledge of the effect on nutritional properties is limited. The aim of the present study was to investigate if phytate reduction occurred during hydrothermal treatment of whole grains. Wheat, rye, hulled and dehulled barley, hulled oats and naked oats were incubated with either water or acetate buffer (pH 4·8) at 55 °C for 24 h with the exception of oats, which were incubated at 37 °C. Phytate in wheat, rye and barley was reduced by 46–77% when water was used and by 84–99% when acetate buffer was used. The phytate reduction in oats was considerably less, 8–26%, but, after grinding and soaking, phytate was reduced by 72–77% in dehulled oats and by 88–94% in naked oats. Citric acid and citrate buffer was used for pH adjustment in some experiments, and their use resulted in less phytate reduction than when acetate and lactic acid were used. Wet-steeping of naked oats and naked barley in water at 53–57 °C for 20–30 min reduced the bacterial counts by 99·97%, and the addition of acid prevented bacterial growth during the incubations. It was concluded that cereals with reduced phytate content and good hygienic quality can be developed and produced using hydrothermal treatment of whole grains.

Food carbohydrates consist of mono-, di-, oligo- and polysaccharides, the latter composed of starch and non-starch polysaccharides (NSP). The glycaemic response to both sugars and starches is dependent on the types of sugars present and the form of the starches, and ‘complex carbohydrates’ do not necessarily produce slower or lower glycaemic responses than the sugars. Carbohydrates not absorbed in the small intestine are fermented more or less extensively by the large intestinal microflora. There is a fundamental difference nutritionally between digestible and undigestible (‘unavailable’) carbohydrates. NSP, resistant starch (RS) and oligosaccharides are the main forms of undigestible carbohydrates. Dietary fibre is generally conceived as more or less synonymous with ‘unavailable’ carbohydrates. The nutritional effects of dietary fibre are related to its undigestibility in the small intestine, and to the physical and chemical properties of its constituent polysaccharides. Food structures built of dietary fibre as plant cell-walls, and also of other food components, are increasingly recognized as nutritionally important. Food databases should include as much specific and detailed information as possible on food carbohydrates. For food labelling, carbohydrates have to be divided into a number of nutritionally meaningful classes. A first classification should then aim at differentiating the digestible and undigestible carbohydrates, i.e. dietary fibre.

The effects of vegetables in mixed meals on satiety were evaluated by varying the dose (portions 150 and 250 g containing 4.3 and 7.2 g of dietary fibre, respectively) and structure (cut and minced) of microwaved spinach. A control meal without spinach and the test meals with spinach were balanced regarding energy (2000 kJ) and digestible carbohydrates (59 g, 51 E%) and with protein and fat as far as possible similar. The meals were served in the morning, after an overnight fast, to ten healthy male volunteers. Satiety was registered and blood glucose as well as plasma insulin and C-peptide were analysed at regular intervals until 3.5 h postprandially. The largest spinach portions augmented satiety and reduced the postprandial glucose response. The total satiety scores seemed to be correlated positively to both the dietary fibre and the water content in the vegetable. Differences in structure had no influence on satiety scores.

To understand the fate of oat saponins during processing, isolated avenacosides A and B were heated at 100 and 140 o C at different pH. The catalytic effect of soluble iron complexes and stainless steel was also examined. The avenacosides were stable when heated up to 100 o C for 3 h at pH 4-7. Heating at 140 o C, especially at pH 4, led to partial destruction of the oat saponins. A degradation product was detected and identified by mass spectrometry as desrhamnoavenacosides A and B. Addition of catalytic amounts of iron and stainless steel dramatically increased the rate of saponin breakdown at pH 4-6. This could in part explain the reduction of the saponin content in canned and roller-dried products

The molecular weight distribution and the viscosity of water‐soluble dietary fibre polysaccharides isolated from green beans, Brussels sprouts and green peas were investigated following boiling, microwave treatment and canning. Blanching was used as a reference process. In green beans and Brussels sprouts microwave treatment had minor effects, while there generally was a small decrease of neutral sugars with boiling. The influence of canning was more pronounced and a decrease of uronic acid‐containing polymers in the high‐molecular‐weight fraction was obtained, simultaneously as the amount in the middle toed fraction increased. Further, in green beans there also seemed to be a loss of polymers containing galactose and uronic acids into the process water with boiling and canning, respectively. In peas, there was an increase of the fraction containing middle‐sized polymers (uronic acids and arabinose) with all processes. With microwave treatment there was a simultaneous loss in the high‐molecular‐weight fraction, whereas no such decrease could be obtained with boiling or canning. The lowest viscosity was obtained in extracts from canned materials and the highest with blanching, while boiling and microwave treatment had various effects in different vegetables. The soluble fibre fraction of blanched green beans had a higher viscosity than that of Brussels sprouts and green peas. Thus, both amount and properties—molecular weight distribution and viscosity—of soluble fibre in vegetables were affected by processing, but differently in various vegetables. (Less)

A collaborative study was conducted to determine the soluble dietary fiber (SDF) content of foods and food products by using a combination of enzymatic and gravimetric procedures. The method was basically the same as that employed for determining total dietary fiber (TDF), 985.29, and the method for insoluble dietary fiber (IDF), 991.42. Ten laboratories were each sent 13 test samples (6 blind duplicates and 1 standard [green beans] containing 29-33% TDF, 19-23% IDF, and 8-13% SDF) and were instructed to assay for IDF, SDF, and TDF independently. Included in the package were the 3 enzymes, namely alpha-amylase, amyloglucosidase, and protease, and the filter aid Celite, which was thought to be the major cause of high reproducibility relative standard deviation (RSDR) values for SDF obtained in a previous collaborative study. The foods to be analyzed were apricots, carrots, chickpeas, onions, raisins, and the sugar beet fiber Fibrex™. IDF, TDF, and SDF were calculated as the weight of residue minus the weight of protein and ash on a dry weight basis. RSDR values of the IDF results averaged 8.02%, with only 1 food having an RSDR >10%. The RSDR values for the TDF results averaged 4.97%, and all foods had an RSDR

The molecular weight distribution and the viscosity of water-soluble polysaccharides isolated from carrots were investigated after different types of heat-treatment, commonly used when preparing food. The materials studied were blanched, boiled, microwaved and canned. Freezing, without any heat-treatment, was used as a reference process. The water soluble polysaccharides were isolated using two different procedures, i.e. before and after enzymic digestion of protein and starch. Only minor differences in molecular weight distribution between frozen and blanched materials could be detected by gel-filtration. However, when the carrots were further heat-treated, i.e. boiled, microwaved and canned, there was an increase in both the high molecular and the low molecular weight fractions of soluble polysaccharides (especially pectic substances) isolated after digestion of protein and starch. This indicated a solubilization of originally isoluble material, as well as a degradation of the soluble high molecular weight material. On the other hand, in the polysaccharide fraction isolated directly, i.e. without any degradation of protein and starch, there was an increase only in the low molecular weight fraction and only when the materials were microwaved and canned. The viscosity of polysaccharides isolated without degradation of protein and starch could be correlated with the extent of degradation of the polysaccharides, and thus also with the degree of heat-treatment, in the following order: freezing, blanching, boiling, and canning. However, the viscosity of soluble fibre isolated after degradation of protein and starch was similar and low for all materials studied.

Cereal dietary fibre constitutes about half of the total fibre intake in Sweden. The amount of fibre available is 21 g/person/day or 1·75 g/MJ. Increased faecal bulk and shortening of intestinal transit time are well-documented effects, that are inversely proportional to the fermentability of the dietary fibre. Wheat bran, oat husks, and corn bran are fibre sources with high bulking effect, whereas fibre from the endosperm of cereals is more extensively fermented. Resistant starch in processed cereals has properties similar to dietary fibre, and must be considered in analysis as well as regarding physiological effects of dietary fibre. Oat groats and oat bran have serum cholesterol lowering effects related to the viscous soluble β-glucans. Rye and barley contain similar levels of viscous soluble fibre but are not as thoroughly investigated. Effects on postprandial glucose and insulin levels are also partly related to viscous soluble dietary fibre, but structural properties in, e.g., whole kernels and pasta products are more important in this respect. Phytate in whole grain flour and bran preparations inhibits iron and zinc absorption in single meal tests. Its role for mineral status in persons consuming a mixed, Western diet remains to be established.

A method for analysis of oat kernel saponins is presented. The saponins were extracted from defatted oatmeal with methanol for 24 h in a Soxhlet apparatus. Separation of the saponins was accomplished by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using an octyl-silica column and gradient elution with acetonitrile in water. Two main peaks, avenacoside A and B, were detected. The identification was achieved by comparing retention times and photodiode array UV spectra with those of an avenacoside A and B standard preparation from oat leaves. The identity of the avenacoside A and B peaks was further supported by incubation of oatmeal suspensions in water, after which the retention times were shifted to those obtained with the corresponding desglucoavenacoside standard. The saponin content in oatmeal containing a mixture of Swedish commercial oat varieties was 0.040% (dry matter basis).

Using a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) technique, the avenacoside A and B content was determined in 16 oat cultivars and in four fractions of oat kernel. The saponin content was significantly different (P < 0.05) between the oat cultivars and ranged from 0.020 to 0.050% with a mean of 0.040% (dry matter basis). There was no significant correlation between lipid and saponin content. Milled oat kernels were separated into fractions according to particle size. The fractions with the smallest particle sizes had the highest concentrations of saponins. Thus, the oat kernel saponins seem to be situated mainly in the endosperm.

A collaborative study was conducted to validate a method to determine the Insoluble dietary fiber (IDF) and soluble dietary fiber (SDF) contents of foods and food products by using a combination of enzymatic and gravimetric procedures. The method was basically the same as that for determining total dietary fiber, which was adopted as final action by AOAC and further modified to Include changes in the concentration of buffer and base and substitution of hydrochloric acid for phosphoric acid. Thirty-nine collaborators were each sent 7 test samples In a staggered design for duplicate blind analysis. They were also sent a standard containing 4.3-5.4% IDF and 1.5-2.7% SDF. The 22 foods that were analyzed for IDF and SDF were cabbage, carrots, French beans, kidney beans, butter beans, okra, onions, parsley, chick peas, brussels sprouts, barley, rye flour, turnips, soy bran, wheat germ, raisins, Callmyrna figs, prune powder, Black Mission figs, apple powder, peach powder, and apricot powder. Both IDF and SDF values were calculated as the weight of residue minus the weight of protein and ash reported on a dry weight basis. The reproducibility relative standard deviation (RSDR) of the IDF results ranged from 3.68 to 19.44% for the foods analyzed; almost half the test samples had an RSDR 20%, and 45% had an RSDR between 10 and 20%. An RSDR approaching 45% was calculated for the 2 test samples with the lowest SDF content, 1.35 and 1.90%. Raisins and prune powder had high RSDR values for both SDF and IDF. A major reason for high RSDR values seems to be filtration problems, which are avoidable by analyzing 0.5-0.25 g test samples. The method for the determination of SDF requires further study, but the method for the determination of IDF was adopted first action by AOAC International.

Scalding is an ancient procedure practised in Sweden whereby a certain part of rye flour is mixed with hot water and used in dough making after a holding period. Use of scalding improves the baking quality of the rye flour, the physico-chemical characteristics of the rye dough, the shelf life of the rye bread and its sensory qualities. Among the Swedish bakeries, the scalding technique varies very much with regard to the proportion of flour to water, temperature of the water, mixing temperature and duration of the holding period. In this investigation the nature and extent of starch degradation in the rye flour during scalding was investigated using gel filtration and high-performance liquid chromatography techniques. The starch was almost completely gelatinized (degree of gelatinization > 98%) in all the scaldings except one. The starch from the meals showed very similar elution patterns while the starch from the scalded flours showed great variation. In both the mild scalding as performed in the laboratory and in the scalding produced in the bakery by a continuous process, the starch degradation was very extensive and the maltose content was very high (16–24% of the dry matter).

Recognizing the possible beneficial effect of prebiotics in food, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) convened a Technical meeting to start work on the evaluation of the functional and health properties of prebiotics. A group of international experts agreed on guidelines, recommended criteria, and methodology for conducting a systematic approach for the evaluation of prebiotics leading to its safe use in food. It was recommended that a full expert consultation be convened under the auspices of FAO. This work provides governments, industry, and consumers with scientific advice in relation to functional and health aspects of prebiotics and general guidance for the assessment of prebiotics in relation to their nutritional properties or safety. These guidelines may also be used by Member Countries and Codex Alimentarius to identify and define what data need to be available to accurately substantiate health and nutrition claims.

The Swedish voluntary Code of Practice on health-related claims in the labelling and marketing of food products, originally introduced in 1990, has been revised, effective from September 2004. The Code addresses all claims related to health, performance and well-being. In addition to generic reduction of disease risk claims and product-specific physiological claims, nutrient function claims are now also clearly defined as health claims. Criteria regarding the nutritional composition of products eligible for marketing with generic reduction of disease risk claims are specified in the revised version. As before, product-specific health claims are subject to pre-marketing expert evaluation of the scientific documentation.

The fermentative breakdown and fecal bulking capacity of dietary fiber from various vegetables (carrots, rutabagas, peas, green beans and Brussels sprouts) were evaluated in balance experiments in rats. The excretion of bile acids, protein and fat was also studied. The addition of blanched vegetables providing 10 g of fiber/100 g of diet caused a two-(rutabagas) to threefold (carrots) increase in fecal dry weight compared to that with a basal fiber-free diet. With green beans and Brussels sprouts, only about 25% of the fecal dry weight could be accounted for as fiber, whereas with the other investigated vegetables, 40-47% was fiber. Of the remaining part, 11% on average was fat, and 18% was crude protein. Fiber in carrots and peas was the least degraded, with approximately 47% of the polysaccharide intake being excreted in feces. By contrast, the breakdown of the fiber in green beans and Brussels sprouts was more extensive, with a mean of 23% of the polysaccharides being recovered. Among individual fiber constituents, glucose, mannose and uronic acids were least fermented, with considerable differences between vegetables. Total excretion of bile acids was reduced only when Brussels sprouts were added, whereas the concentration of fecal bile acids was lowered with all vegetables except rutabagas. However, no uniform change in fecal bile acid pattern could be detected.

Measured with an enzymic method, the starch content of a raw red kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) flour (RBF) was higher than that of a cooked and blended (CBB) and of a cooked, freeze-dried, and milled (CBF) preparation of the seeds. Wet homogenization as well as pepsin pretreatment of CBF increased the starch yield, indicating that starch in the cooked samples is not completely available to enzymic degradation unless cell wall entrapped granules are released by mechanical or enzymatic disruption of the fibrous walls. Solubilization of resistant starch in CBF with 2 N KOH resulted in a further increase in measured starch, which reached the RBF value. Influence of encapsulated and resistant starch fractions on dietary fiber values was also noticed. CBF showed remarkably low values of in vitro amylolysis rate and starch digestibility index in a digestion/dialysis system, features that seemed to depend also on the integrity of cell walls. (Less)

Since 1990 certain health claims in the labelling and marketing of food products have been allowed in Sweden within the food sector's Code of Practice. The rules were developed in close dialogue with the authorities. The legal basis was a decision by the authorities not to apply the medicinal products' legislation to 'foods normally found on the dinner table' provided the rules defined in the Code were followed. The Code of Practice lists nine well-established diet-health relationships eligible for generic disease risk reduction claims in two steps and general rules regarding nutrient function claims. Since 2001, there has also been the possibility for using 'product-specific physiological claims (PFP)', subject to premarketing evaluation of the scientific dossier supporting the claim. The scientific documentation has been approved for 10 products with PFP, and another 15 products have been found to fulfil the Code's criteria for 'low glycaemic index'. In the third edition of the Code, active since 2004, conditions in terms of nutritional composition were set, i.e. 'nutrient profiles', with a general reference to the Swedish National Food Administration's regulation on the use of a particular symbol, i.e. the keyhole symbol. Applying the Swedish Code of practice has provided experience useful in the implementation of the European Regulation on nutrition and health claims made on foods, effective from 2007. Keywords: disease risk reduction; functional foods; nutrient functions; nutrients; other substances; scientific substantiation

Nutrition recommendations are – and should be – under continuous debate. New findings challenge old concepts. The media have a preference for news, and rightly so. The increasing interest in diet and health issues among lay people merges with a continuously increasing importance for universities and individual scientists to be visible in the media. Thus, there are many reasons for the often contradictory messages on nutrition and health provided to the general public, leaving the impression of frequent rapid and drastic changes in the science base behind the nutrition recommendations, and therefore requests for changes in these recommendations. In this context it is important to consider the fact that official nutrition recommendations have been quite stable during the almost 40 years that have passed since the first recommendations appeared. The Scandinavian countries issued such recommendations in the late 1960s. At that time, there was already evidence that reduction in fat intake, particularly saturated fat, would help to decrease risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Developments within the field of dietary fibre in the 1970s and 1980s provided a basis for recommendations regarding intake. The 10 energy per cent limit of added sugars was included in the Nordic recommendations from the beginning. There is, in general, very strong agreement between the most recent Nordic recommendations (NNR 2004) and recommendations in other countries and internationally, e.g. as expressed in the WHO TRS 916 report from 2003 and recent recommendations issued by the Institute of Medicine/Food and Nutrition Board in the USA. An overview of the scientific basis of current nutrition recommendations was given at a recent symposium in Uppsala, reported in this issue, as a basis for examples and discussions on how to implement these recommendations in practice. Food-based simple messages were highlighted as important and found to be similar in the different Nordic countries in many respects. Such messages should be given and marketed to utilize the potential for health improvements, or avoidance of health deterioration, even during emerging science, and adjusted when there is enough evidence to do so. Evidently, every new significant correlation in observational/epidemiological studies cannot, and should not, lead to changes in recommendations. Health claims in the marketing of food products may be one way of highlighting nutritional benefits of food products and making them visible to consumers. When used properly and responsibly, such claims may also contribute to consumer education. The new EU regulation of nutrition and health claims became effective on 19 January 2007, almost 4 years after the first draft regulation. The regulation is an important step forward both for producers, who will now have a harmonized European market for their products, and for consumers, who will receive well-founded information and increased protection against false claims. The regulation is summarized and commented on in this issue. The three original articles in this issue cover quite different, but most relevant fields of nutrition: A study on Nutrition support in hospitalized elderly patients, showing the importance of weight increase or maintenance through proper nutrition; Carboxyl acids in the large bowel as affected by prebiotics and probiotics – there are increasing possibilities to stimulate and regulate carboxyl acid formation through both prebiotics and probiotics, with potential benefits for both colonic and systemic health; and Variability in folic acid content in different varieties of lettuce, showing a potential of increasing considerably the intake of this vitamin by the choice of folate-rich varieties of this popular vegetable.

The amino acid canavanine is a potentially toxic constituent of leguminous seeds. The aim of the present study was to determine the ability of different processing methods to reduce canavanine in sword beans (Canavalia gladiata). For this purpose a method for the detection and quantification of canavanine was developed using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography of the dabsylated derivatives. The recovery of canavanine using this method was 88-91%. Optimum extraction of canavanine from raw and processed beans was obtained by addition of hot water prior to overnight soaking. The results obtained with this method agree well with previously published values for raw seeds. The method is sensitive, specific and can successfully be applied to the detection of canavanine in legumes. Overnight soaking and boiling in excess water followed by decanting gave the most pronounced reduction in canavanine content (around 50%), followed by boiling and decanting excess water (34%). Roasting as used in this study and autoclaving were less effective in reducing the canavanine content.

Evaluation of protein true digestibility (TD), biological value (BV), and net protein utilization (NPU) of diets containing mature sword bean (Canavalia gladiata), seed flour and grits were carried out with male Sprague-Dawley rats. The seed flour and grits were processed by soaking, cooking, soaking and cooking, autoclaving, and roasting. The TD of processed flour (cooked (84.8), soaked and cooked (76.2), autoclaved (82.0), roasted grits (64.5), and roasted flour (61.2)) were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than in the raw (51.4) and the soaked only grits (35.8). Soaking the grits decreased the TD. The BV of cooked grits and grits cooked after soaking were significantly higher than that of the other processed samples (p < 0.05). However, the BV of the diets containing cooked and soaked and cooked grits were not significantly different. The NPU of the cooked grits (39.4) and grits cooked after soaking (37.6) were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that of the other processed samples (autoclaved grits (31.0), roasted grits (19.5), roasted flour (10.8), and soaked only grits (1.6)). The NPU of all the processed samples were significantly lower than the reference casein (p < 0.05). The highest protein nutritional quality was obtained by either cooking the grits or by soaking and cooking the grits. In vitro protein digestibility measurements were not well correlated to the true digestibility.

Several approaches to the use of health claims on foods have been made around the world, and the common theme is that any health claim will require scientific validation and substantiation. There is also broad consensus that any regulatory framework should protect the consumer, promote fair trade and encourage innovation in the food industry.This paper is based on a critical evaluation of existing international approaches to the scientific substantiation of health claims, with a view to identifying common new ideas, definitions, best practice and a methodology to underpin current and future developments. There is a clear need to have uniform understanding, terminology and description of types of nutrition and health claims. Two broad categories were defined: Nutrition Claims, i. e. what the product contains, and Health Claims, i. e. relating to health, well-being and/or performance, including well-established nutrient function claims, enhanced function claims and disease risk reduction claims. Such health claims relate to what the food or food components does or do. The categories of health claims are closely and progressively related and are, in practice, part of a continuum. Provision is also made for "generic" or well-established, generally accepted claims and for "innovative" or "product-specific" claims. Special attention was paid to reflect the health-promoting properties of a food or food component in such a way as to facilitate the making of risk reduction claims outside the medical scope of the term prevention. The paper sets out basic principles and guidelines for communication of health claims and principles of nutritional safety. The main body of the work examines the process for the assessment of scientific support for health claims on food and emphasises an evidence-based approach consisting of: Identification of all relevant studies exploring the collection of evidence, data searches, the nature of the scientific evidence, sources of scientific data (including human intervention studies, human observational studies, animal studies and in vitro studies, and the use of biomarkers in human studies. Evaluation of the quality of individual studies to ensure good experimental design and interpretation. Interpretation of the totality of evidence to apply scientific judgement to interpret the weight of evidence as a whole. Assessment of significant scientific agreement on a case-by-case basis to agree within the relevant scientific community that an association between a food or a food component and a health benefit is valid. Annexes include an international comparison of regulatory approaches to health claims, suggestions for the documentation and presentation of evidence, and a procedure for reviewing the evidence.

Department of Human Biology, Maastricht University, The Netherlands. w.saris@hb.unimaas.nlThe present review addresses the role of food constituents in the aetiology of metabolic conditions and chronic diseases, mostly related to energy metabolism and substrate regulation, such as obesity and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Second, attention is paid to malnutrition, a major cause of mortality and morbidity in developing countries, which may be a cause of concern in Europe because of the increasing number of elderly people in the population. Finally, the role of diet during exercise, a condition of enormous substrate demands, is evaluated. Based on a critical evaluation of the existing knowledge in the literature, implications for future research in relation to functional foods are discussed.Publication Types: Review Review, Academic