Time to prepare for the less saturated fat storm, says ADM

The food industry has a window to research ways to reduce saturated fat in products before the UK's FSA starts its consumer awareness campaign at the end of this year, says an expert from ADM who is anticipating a swell of interest from manufacturers.

Jo Bruce, R&D manager for oils and fats at ADM Europe, said she is definitely expecting demand for ingredients that can help reduce saturated fat content in foods to mushroom, as manufacturers look at developing products that can help meet the Food Standards Agency's (FSA) target to reducing overall dietary intake from 13.3 per cent of food energy per day to under 11 per cent by 2010 (a reduction of 20 per cent).

Although Bruce noted that the agency has not yet said when it will start publishing manufacturer commitments on saturated fat, she believes the industry has six months to a year to conduct work in the area.

The aim would be to have products available on shelf just when consumers are hearing the message through the planned campaigns, and deciding to act on it.