Dietitian and nutritionist Margot Brennanlooks at what we can expect to see on our supermarket shelves this year.
Food has become marketers' "bread and butter". Imagine your mother telling you to drink the Omega 3 orange juice 30 years ago or put the fibre yogurt on the shopping list.
Manufacturers are now targeting food as a niche market. Not unlike other products, the focus is put on the features and the benefits of particular foods. Last year saw the strong emergence of foods that are branded like shampoos, for dry hair choose this, for men's hair choose that. The supermarket shelves are filled with foods and drinks that claim to lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, boost our immune systems, etc and this trend is set to continue as consumers are time tight and attracted to foods that seem to be "the one" that suits them.
As too many health and nutrition claims are questionable or pseudo scientific, consumers are becoming confused. However, new EU legislation which will come into effect this year will ensure that claims concerning food must be scientifically proven and carry the Food Safety Authority's approval. Only claims that conform to legislation will be allowed on foods marketed within the EU.
Consumers, it seems, are less interested in what could be termed normal foods. Last year pomegranates became the buzz word. If you could find them in the first place, they promised you a wrinkle-free body and if the claims were to be believed, were a better choice than most face creams.
Last year also saw the launch of what are dubbed Cosmoceuticals as cosmetic companies such as Shiseido and Estée Lauder tried to seduce us with foods and creams to make us look and feel better. Sensory hot chocolate was developed by Estée Lauder containing antioxidants which work from the inside to zap free radicals and prevent ageing. Shiseido developed a drink based on water with extracts of seaweed and caffeine. One will take the edge of your appetite and the latter will speed up your metabolism.
Where have the normal foods such as meat and two vegetables gone? Even some healthy eating campaigns had to resort to using the word superfoods to make people realise that these foods are right under our noses and do not need to come in a bottle from the chilled cabinet of the supermarket.
The trend in food choices for 2007 will continue to become more benefit focused. Foods that are marketed as low salt, low fat and fortified with specific nutrients will prove popular.
Nutrigenomics or personalised nutrition where individuals will be given personal advice based on their genetic profile will start to make inroads but as this is still at research stage, the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute (INDI) is cautioning consumers to be aware that there are some pseudo nutritionists working in this area.
Consumer pressure will force more companies to look at the fats in their products and hydrogenated fats will be highlighted more. These artificially produced fats are now considered to be the worst fat as they affect people threefold: firstly by raising total cholesterol; secondly by raising the ldl [ bad] cholesterol; and finally by reducing hdl [ good] cholesterol.
Products that give consumers a percentage of their daily requirements will continue to be popular as will the probiotics and prebiotics combinations as more research emerges in this area.
Consumers will also buy into environmental features of the foods they eat so farmers' markets and organically grown produce will continue to attract buyers. However, although perceived by many to be nutritionally superior, organic foods are in fact not.
The cafe society will continue to thrive with low-fat bagels and smoothies proving popular. However, I doubt we have seen the last of the breakfast roll which yields almost a day's calorie and fat allowance in one go.
The obesity problem is set to continue. More than one in two Irish adults are either overweight or obese and one in five children are overweight or obese. The supersize may look like good value, but in reality people don't need big portions.
The food pyramid is key to understanding how much food we need, what types of food we need on a daily basis to meet our nutritional requirements and prevent chronic disease. Eating healthily need not be a soon-to-be-forgotten New Year resolution.
Margot Brennan is a clinical dietician and nutritionist with the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute.