It looks and tastes like a regular egg. But Burnbrae Farms Ltd. bills its latest innovation as a superegg.
The higher-tech Omega Plus egg contains even-more-powerful nutrients to benefit the body than its original Naturegg product, the company says.
These eggs have cracked the so-called power food or functional food category -- edible products that can help prevent disease or provide health benefits -- a fast-growing segment of the global food industry.
"I call [Omega Plus] my heart, brain and eye egg," quips Margaret Hudson, vice-president of sales and marketing for family-owned Burnbrae Farms, Canada's largest egg producer. "It's the egg I've developed to feed my children."
Burnbrae is among the Canadian firms that has jumped on the functional food bandwagon in a bid to boost sales in the food industry and respond to the quest by aging baby boomers for longer, healthier lives.
But some industry observers warn that Ottawa's restrictive food-labelling laws when it comes to health claims are stifling innovation by domestic companies eager to enter this niche, and causing firms to lose a competitive edge.
For instance, a company could say a healthy diet low in saturated and trans fats may reduce the risk of heart disease. And it could say its product contains a functional ingredient. But it could not say that that ingredient reduces the risk of heart disease.
In 2003, global sales of functional foods hit $66-billion (U.S.), including $2-billion in Canada, according to the San Diego-based Nutrition Business Journal. "Functional foods are growing in the 7- to 8-per-cent range, while the overall food industry is growing about 1 to 2 per cent," editor Grant Ferrier said.
This niche is being fuelled by aging baby boomers, but these power foods could also help slash the rising cost of prescription drugs as the population ages, said Gordon Surgeoner, president of Ontario Agri-Food Technologies, which promotes the use of biotechnology by food companies.
Growth could be faster, but Canada is "the slowest jurisdiction of any advanced country to allow claims on foods that support a health message," lamented Peter Jones, director of the Winnipeg-based Richardson Centre for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals.
Burnbrae's original Naturegg was enriched with heart-healthy, omega-3 fatty acids, a result of the hens being fed flax seed. But the feed for the Omega Plus egg also contains a richer source of omega-3 from fish oil that can help brain, eye and nerve development, too.
Because the Lyn, Ont.-based firm, near Ottawa, can't make health claims, Ms. Hudson -- armed with clinical studies showing how her omega eggs can help reduce the risk of heart disease -- has taken a page from drug companies, and markets to doctors and dieticians. "I can't tell you how many consumers that I have run into who are consuming our eggs because their doctor asked them to," Ms. Hudson said. Companies like Renée's Gourmet Foods Inc., which recently launched a line of Wellness-brand salad dressings, are using their websites to educate and market to consumers.
Renée's fig balsamic dressing, for example, includes a chicory extract -- a source of inulin that the company says helps to promote a healthy digestive system.
"There are not really approved claims for these products, so we have to imply health," said Syd Pell, a marketing manager at Toronto-based Renée's.
Danone Canada Inc. of Boucherville, Que., is in the same boat. It plans next month to launch its Cardivia yogurt enriched with omega-3 from fish oil. Its first functional food yogurt, Activia, contains a probiotic culture to aid digestive health.
"It's frustrating," Tom Pugh, a marketing director at Danone, said of the restrictions placed on advertising health claims.
Canadian companies can make five generic health claims compared with 14 in the United States, said Phyllis Tanaka, director of food and nutrition policy at Food & Consumer Products of Canada, which represents food producers.
It's more difficult to be innovative if a food company has no assurance it can ever advertise the health benefits, Ms. Tanaka says. "Canadian manufacturers are at a disadvantage in the [global] marketplace."
Nora Lee, chief of the nutrition evaluation division at Health Canada, said the department is considering letting companies submit health claims for specific products, but that these changes take time.
"It's important to make sure that the science is there to support the statement."
SOURCE: GLOBE AND MAIL.COM
Original text can found at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20051205/RFOOD05/TPBusiness/Canadian
All of the above text is a press release provided by the quoted organization. TheMatureMarket.com accepts no responsibility for their accuracy.
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