A good taste profile is the essential factor in increasing uptake and acceptability of high protein oral nutritional supplements, among the rapidly growing population¹ of senior citizens in both clinical and domestic settings. That will be the key message emerging from Kerry Ingredients & Flavours’ presentation at the Healthy Ageing 2011 conference in Amsterdam.

Maintaining uptake of oral nutritional supplements is a common challenge in hospitals as well as the wider community, with only 43% of patients consuming more than 80% of the prescribed amount². Products that fall short of consumers’ expectations of taste and organoleptic quality will find it particularly hard to gain consumer acceptance.

“Our tests have shown that a balanced taste profile, with a good flavour, is the main consideration for people when choosing a nutritional product… ranking highly alongside ease of use and price,” comments John Reilly, EMEA Technology Business Director of Proteins for Kerry Ingredients & Flavours, who is speaking on the morning of 12 October 2011³.

“Our research indicates that the EU enteral nutrition market is showing good growth prospects of between 7-8% CAGR over the next five years. What this means for manufacturers of enteral nutrition products is that they must make it a priority now to differentiate their products through excellent taste, nutritional composition and functionality, if they are to take full advantage of the growing market for elderly nutrition in future,” he adds.

The need for high protein oral nutrition supplements is driven strongly by the serious problem of malnutrition amongst the elderly. Malnutrition affects 10-15% of the over-65 population and can exacerbate many health problems such as skeletal muscle loss and frailty⁴. This is an issue not only for the sufferers, but also public healthcare services, which bear costs of around €120 billion per year due to disease related malnutrition⁵.

Nutrition experts agree that protein is one of the most important nutrients to combat elderly malnutrition. With a new focus on increasing energy and nutrient density in enteral nutrition products, protein concentration is a key issue that clinicians would like to see addressed. However, a high protein content can pose challenges for traditional formulation approaches, not only in terms of taste but also the texture and functionality of the finished product.

“As a leading global ingredients and flavours supplier with a unique protein portfolio, coupled with taste formulation expertise, Kerry Ingredients & Flavours are uniquely positioned to deliver the missing taste dimension in high protein oral nutrition supplements—as well as delivering on the nutritional and functionality aspects,” continues John.

“By combining all of those benefits into a cohesive offer, we can work collaboratively with manufacturers to develop the next generation of nutritious, acceptable and preferred protein nutrition products.”

ENDS

Media Contacts at College Hill

Melanie Haberstroh | Tel: +44 (0)20 7457 2074  | melanie.haberstroh@collegehill.com

Clare Walder | Tel: +44 (0)1869 353812  | clare.walder@collegehill.com 

Notes for editors

1. 500m people world-wide are currently over 65 and this population is growing rapidly. By 2025, 25% of total western population and 2bn people worldwide will be over 65. Source: US Census Bureau, Kalorama Information

2. Lad H et al., Elderly patients compliance and elderly patients and health professional’s views and attitudes towards prescribed sip-feed supplements. J Nutr Health Aging; 9(5):310-4

3. ‘The Essential Role of Proteins in Clinical Nutrition’, 11.20-12.00, 12 October 2011

4. Ljungqvist O, The European fight against malnutrition, Clinical Nutrition (2009), doi:10.1016/j.clnu.2009.10.004

5. Ibid.

Kerry Ingredients & Flavours

Kerry is a world leader in food ingredients and flavours serving the food and beverage industry, and a leading supplier of added value food service brands. Headquartered in Tralee, Ireland, the Group has revenues of approximately Euro 5 billion and employs some 23,000 people throughout its manufacturing, sales and technology centres around the world. Kerry supplies over 15,000 products to customers in more than 140 countries worldwide.