Modified and Fortified Foods for Better Health

Some spreads contain added plant sterols or plant stanols. These natural compounds occur in small amounts in foods such as nuts, seeds and vegetable oils, but those amounts are too small to have a substantial cholesterol-lowering effect. Specially formulated spreads provide a larger amount. Examples include Flora ProActiv, which contains plant sterols, and Benecol, which contains plant stanols.

Plant sterols and stanols have a similar structure to cholesterol. During digestion, they reduce the amount of cholesterol absorbed from the gut. More cholesterol therefore leaves the body in faeces rather than being absorbed, helping to lower blood cholesterol.

High blood cholesterol can contribute to fatty deposits building up in arteries. Lowering cholesterol helps reduce this risk; the spread does not directly clear deposits already present in an artery.

The benefit depends on using the product appropriately and regularly. HEART UK reports that consuming 1.5–3 g of plant sterols or stanols daily can reduce cholesterol by 7–12.5% within three weeks. This is the amount of the added plant compound, not the mass of spread. Serving instructions vary between products, so the label matters. Consuming more than 3 g daily offers no extra benefit.

These products are intended principally for people with high cholesterol, rather than as a necessary food for everyone. They are not suitable for pregnant or breastfeeding women, or for children without an inherited high-cholesterol condition. Children with such a condition need professional guidance.

Fortification and enrichment

Fortification means adding vitamins or minerals to increase a food's nutritional value. These nutrients are called micronutrients because the body needs them in small quantities. Enrichment more specifically means replacing nutrients that processing has removed.

For example, milling wheat to produce white flour removes parts of the grain and reduces its nutrient content. Adding back lost nutrients is enrichment; adding a nutrient to improve the food's nutritional contribution is fortification. Both approaches can help everyday foods supply more of the nutrients people need.

Fortification is useful because people can obtain added nutrients through foods they already eat. Its benefit still depends on the nutrient added, the amount supplied and how much of the food a person consumes. Adding a nutrient does not, by itself, make every aspect of a food nutritionally desirable.

The food–nutrient pairings to know

Breakfast cereals differ in their fortification, so check individual labels rather than assuming that every cereal contains the same added nutrients. Likewise, distinguish an ordinary vitamin-fortified spread from one specifically formulated with cholesterol-lowering plant sterols or stanols.

Examining and testing commercial products

A useful practical comparison combines product examination with sensory analysis. For example, compare a cholesterol-lowering spread with an ordinary spread, or compare two breakfast cereals, one of which is fortified.

First examine the packaging. Record the added nutrients or plant compounds, nutrition information, recommended serving size and any suitability instructions. This identifies what has changed and the benefit the manufacturer intends. Keep this information separate from the blind tasting so that a brand name or health claim does not influence the tasters.

For the tasting, use coded samples, small portions, suitable serving utensils, water and a recording sheet. Check ingredients for allergies and follow the products' suitability instructions before offering samples. Give tasters comparable portions under the same serving conditions. If testing spreads on bread, use the same bread and amount of spread for each sample so that the carrier does not become the main difference.

Choose characteristics that suit the product. A spread could be assessed for appearance, aroma, flavour, smoothness and ease of spreading. A cereal could be assessed for appearance, flavour and crispness. Use a clearly defined scale: for example, rate smoothness from 1 = very grainy to 5 = very smooth. Keep an overall liking score separate from a characteristic score: the smoothest product is not necessarily everyone's favourite.

Tasters should work independently in a clean, quiet area with consistent lighting, and drink water between samples. Use several tasters rather than treating one person's preference as a general conclusion. Average the ratings for each characteristic to create a sensory profile, or use a ranking test to order products for a chosen characteristic.

Drawing a balanced conclusion

Bring the two sets of evidence together. Label examination tells you what nutrients or active ingredients are present; sensory testing tells you how acceptable the product is to the tasting panel. Acceptability matters because a product that people dislike may not be eaten regularly enough to deliver its intended benefit.

However, a school tasting cannot establish whether blood cholesterol falls or a nutrient deficiency is prevented. Those effects require nutritional or health evidence. A sound evaluation therefore considers the intended user, the added ingredient, the recommended consumption and the sensory findings, without confusing a preferred taste with proven health efficacy.

• White flour: thiamin, niacin, calcium and iron.
• Breakfast cereals: folic acid and iron.
• Fats and low-fat spreads: vitamins A and D.

Benefits: B1 and B3 help release energy; iron helps prevent iron-deficiency anaemia; calcium supports bones; vitamin A supports vision; vitamin D helps calcium absorption.

Distinction: fortification increases nutrient content; enrichment replaces nutrients lost during processing.

Product evaluation

• Examine ingredients, nutrition information, serving guidance and suitability.
• Blind-test comparable samples; use defined scales, independent tasters, consistent conditions and water between samples.
• Combine sensory results with label information.
• Sensory testing assesses acceptability—not proof of a health effect.