The first breads enriched with cholesterol-lowering plant sterols could hit supermarket shelves in Europe this year, functional ingredients specialist Cognis has revealed.
While there are some 'heart healthy' breads already on the market, they typically contain soy protein or oats, which are both associated with generic health claims relating to blood cholesterol levels.
Plant sterols, by contrast, have generally only been used in dairy products, and spreads such as Flora Pro.activ and Benecol, said Dr Franz Timmermann, global product line manager for Cognis's Vegapure range of sterols and sterol esters.
However, this looks set to change following moves by the European Commission to authorise the addition of plant sterols to rye bread under the Novel Foods Regulation, he said.
"Having successfully received notification for Vegapure sterols and sterol esters in rye bread, we are contacting our customers in Europe and some projects are already under way," said Timmermann.
US firm DDO Processing is also confident of gaining approval to use its cholesterol-lowering phytosterols based on tall oil - derived from wood - in a raft of products targeted at the UK. These include spreads and salad dressings, milk products, soy drinks and spicy sauce.