FUNCTIONAL INGREDIENTS
What’s next for Vitamin D? As one of the hottest nutrients in the world right now, Vitamin D is finally getting the attention it deserves as consumers become more concerned about improving their immune health and response. The nutrient has an important role to play in overall health during the COVID-19 pandemic as people spend less time outdoors.
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ARTHLIGHT WHOLE FOOD Vitamin D is a clean label, plant-based ingredient that can help you create cuttingedge supplements and fortified food that responds favourably to the latest consumer trends in the market. Earthlight delivers concentrated Vitamin D with low use levels, which means it won’t affect the taste or texture of your formulations. UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES IN FOOD FORTIFICATION Earthlight’s high concentration of Vitamin D will allow food, beverage and supplement producers to offer ‘Good’, ‘Excellent’ and ‘High Potency’ source label claims with only a few milligrams of the ingredient. This low level of addition means that Earthlight will not affect the organoleptic properties of the products in which it is included and contributes to the costeffectiveness of this Vitamin D solution. A minimally processed ingredient, Earthlight is considered a whole food form of nutrition – responding to consumer desire for cleaner labels on their food, beverages and supplements. This ingredient solution is being introduced to the market at a time when concern about adequate levels of Vitamin D is at an all-time high in the nutrition and medical communities – a concern that is gaining awareness among consumers as well. According to Devin Stagg, COO for PLT Health Solutions, Earthlight Whole Food Vitamin D allows food, beverage and supplement producers to address a convergence of consumer wants. “First it
FAST FACT: • Non-GMO, whole food mushroom powder • Organic grade available • 1 000μg (40 000IU) of Vitamin D per gram – independently verified • Low use levels offer excellent economics • Won’t affect the taste or texture of formulations • Consumer-friendly, clean label ingredients
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was natural. Then it was clean label, and often consumers want vegetarian or vegan added to their labels. “Today’s answer to all of these consumer preferences is whole food nutrition. A recent IFIC survey showed that 60% of consumers strongly like the idea of getting their nutrition from food with naturally occurring health benefits. With Earthlight Whole Food Vitamin D, consumer products companies can offer their customers this important nutrient with a positive label experience in a nutrient dense formulation,” he points out. Earthlight is manufactured by Oakshire Naturals, a division of Pennsylvania-based Oakshire Mushrooms – one of the largest growers of mushrooms in the US. Premium white button and Portobello mushrooms are exposed to light to naturally enhance Vitamin D content in a proprietary process. Each gram of Earthlight contains 40 000 IU of Vitamin D, which means the FDA Daily Value (DV) of 800 IU (20 mcg) can be attained with just 20mg of the ingredient. A ‘Good’ source claim requires 1mg, (10% DV) while an ‘Excellent’ or ‘High Potency’
Food Manufacturing Africa | 2021 Quarter 2
source claim can be achieved with just 2mg (20% DV). The ingredient is Kosher and Halal certified. It is considered GRAS since it is a food, and is non-GMO. Tests have shown a minimum two-year shelf life stability with a reproducible nutrient content. According to Dr Jeremy Appleton, director, medical & scientific affairs at PLT Health Solutions, adequate Vitamin D intake is a topic of great interest in the nutrition and medical communities. “For a nutrient we’ve heard about since we were children, the amount of research and interest in the health benefits of Vitamin D is quite high today. Data from the NHANES study, 2005 to 2008, indicate that 94% of US adults are not consuming adequate amounts of Vitamin D, causing it to be classified as a shortfall nutrient by the USDA. “To assist consumers in choosing food that will increase their vitamin D intake, the updated Nutrition Facts panel requires Vitamin D labelling with a higher DV,” he said. “Consumers are starting to pick up on the Vitamin D discussion - possibly as a result of being told about it by their doctors.”
