Ingredient firm takes up opportunity in oral healthcare sector
novel ingredient said to protect teeth from the enamel erosion
caused by acidic drinks, writes Dominique Patton.
The company, which has revealed little information on the patent-pending whey isolate, says it is the first to bring to market such an ingredient, with major opportunities in the booming soft drinks sector.
The ingredient coats the enamel in a protective layer that protects it from erosion caused by acidic fruit and carbonated drinks.
It is one of a growing number of ingredient firms looking to target oral healthcare. Probiotics are also increasingly being investigated for their benefits to oral health, with early results showing they can help prevent caries by targeting harmful bacteria.
However enamel erosion caused by growing consumption of fizzy and fruit-based drinks, especially among children who are choosing these over milk, could be a greater problem than caries.
"Traditionally the problem has been tooth decay because of the sugar in drinks but increasingly we are seeing erosion from the acid," explained Professor Tony Smith, head of research at the University of Birmingham's school of dentistry.
"Dental decay is localized but erosion occurs over the whole tooth surface which makes repairing it much harder," he told NutraIngredients.com.
He noted that changes in our eating habits are making this problem worse. "We are moving to form of grazing rather than regular mealtimes. If you are constantly sipping at a cola drink, the pH remains low for a long period of time."
Part of the global dairy company Friesland Coberco Dairy Foods, Borculo Domo received the best new ingredient award for its Vivinal Dental at the Global Soft Drinks Congress organized by Zenith International in Amsterdam earlier this month.
It first displayed a prototype containing the whey isolate at Health Ingredients Europe in November and has since been in talks with leading beverage makers to introduce the ingredient into their formulations.
New products enriched with fraction could be on the market in six months time, said marketing manager Ingrid de Groot.
"This really is a major problem for manufacturers. Once we identified the problem, we then tried to find a solution, investigating different compounds in milk, which has long been known to be good for teeth," she said.
Fruit juice sales are soaring in Europe, driven by consumers' perception of the beverage as a healthier alternative to coffee and fizzy drinks. In 2004, fruit juice and juice drinks were worth £2.32 billion in the UK market alone, according to Mintel. Over the past two years, sales of chilled, high quality and natural juice have increased by a staggering 60 per cent.
Professor Smith says citrus-based drinks are the worst culprits for enamel erosion but colas can be aggressive too as they are high in acids used for flavouring.
Increasing consumption of sports drinks is also causing dental problems.
Smith's team reported in a recent issue of Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise (volume 37, issue no 1) that some sports drinks can cause up to 30 times more enamel loss than water.
In a comparative study, a drink developed by GlaxoSmithKline with higher levels of calcium and a higher pH level showed dramatically reduced enamel erosion to the same level as water.
