Digestive health beyond yogurt

Cargill will demonstrate how food manufacturers can take products that support good digestive health besides yogurt at the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Food Expo, July 18-20 in Chicago.

It will showcase a simple pureed soup that incorporates a natural, soluble dietary fiber source Oliggo-Fiber inulin, a prebiotic fiber that helps promote digestive health by stimulating the normal, beneficial bacteria in the colon.

”Digestive health is an important consumer trend that many of our customers want to address," said Deborah Schulz, product manager, Cargill Health & Nutrition.

"Yogurt continues to be a popular digestive health-related product, but there is growing interest in other categories such as baked goods, cereals and snacks.”

"Inulin is a natural, soluble dietary fiber from the chicory root, which can be simply labeled as chicory root extract," said Wade Schmelzer, principal food scientist, Cargill Health & Nutrition.

"The digestive health benefits of inulin have been studied extensively in the industry. Oliggo-Fiber inulin is selectively fermented by beneficial bacteria naturally present in the large intestine. Those bacteria, in turn, are important for maintaining a healthy digestive tract and may also help support the immune system."