Tate & Lyle backs fibre to battle Asian bulge
It’s no secret that Asian nations are fighting various bulge battles as processed food driven diets take hold. Diabetes and other maladies commonly grouped together under the term syndrome X are also on the rise and Tate & Lyle, along with many multinational nutrient players, are putting themselves forward as solution providers.
At FI-Asia that meant Tate &,Lyle for the first time took its own stand to promote ingredients in the battle against syndrome X via alternatives like the low Glycaemic Index (GI), cholesterol-reducing beta glucan or sugar replacement with the low-calorie sweetener, sucralose.
The oat beta glucan is also being marketed for its ability to promote satiety and digestive health and is backed by government authorised health claims in some markets.
Koen Van Praet, product director in the Asia Pacific, told us chemical free processing of non-GM Swedish oats meant clean label and ‘High Fibre’ or ‘Source of Fibre’ packaging claims were available. It is also usable in gluten-free products.
High demand
Van Praet said demand from Asian food manufacturers for healthy ingredients that did not drive hordes to hospitals or reduce their quality of life had never been higher.
He said the firm was “excited” about south east Asia “and especially Indonesia” spanning demographics from, “weight-sensitive consumers or health-conscious elderly”.
“Indonesia is very important, our most important Asian market after China.”
Other offerings include soluble fibres, polydextrose, salt reducers and functional food starches. Typical matrices are cereal drinks, oat milks, RTD beverages, biscuits and cakes, bread, cereals and bars, sauces and dressings, shakes, smoothies, soups and food supplements.
“Participation at Fi-Asia is part of our strategy to increase visibility in Southeast Asia,” said Patrick Yeoh, regional sales director.
“We have aggressively scaled up our sales team in the past year and our Singapore office is able to provide direct sales support throughout the region.”
The UK-based firm has built a network of Asia Pacific technical and application bases in Singapore, Shanghai, Melbourne and Brisbane.
