TheTaura Fruit Ingredients & Snacking Report 2012says that fruit and vegetables already have an overwhelmingly positive image in consumers' minds, presenting a major advantage in a market where the EU's Nutrition & Health Claims Regulation is set to make it more difficult to promote products with specific health benefits. The report includes data from a survey asking consumers what lifestyle changes they felt they should make.


Fruit and vegetable ingredients now offer manufacturers a key way to market nutritious products without the need to resort to using health claims, according to a report published at Food Ingredients Europe by Taura Natural Ingredients.
TheTaura Fruit Ingredients & Snacking Report 2012indicates that fruit and vegetables already have an overwhelmingly positive image in consumers’ minds, presenting a major advantage in a market where the EU’s Nutrition & Health Claims Regulation is set to make it more difficult to promote products with specific health benefits.

In the new report Taura, which produces market-leading Ultra Rapid Concentrated (URC) fruit and vegetable ingredients, says: “Europe’s exacting, near-pharmaceutical requirements for scientific substantiation have taken the use of many health claims off the table for marketers for now. But for fruit, unlike many healthy ingredients that manufacturers could choose to use in snacks, bakery, breakfast cereals or confectionery, this will be no obstacle.”

The report includes data from a survey conducted byIpsos, in which researchers asked consumers in France, Germany, Spain and the U.K. what lifestyle changes they felt they should make to improve their health or stay healthy. In each country, ‘eat fruit’ and ‘eat vegetables’ appeared in the top five responses.

Mattias Van Uffelen, head of sales for Europe and the U.K. at Taura, says, “The findings from theIpsosstudy show that most people already recognize fruit and vegetables are good for them. And in a world following full implementation of the EU’s health claims regulation, where companies are severely restricted in terms of the messages they can use to communicate the benefits of their products, this level of embedded consumer awareness will be an extremely valuable asset.”

The report also includes a statement from nutritionist Béatrice de Reynal de Saint Michel, who writes: “It is imperative that manufacturers are able to offer to consumers naturally healthy snacks that are rich in fruits and/or vegetables, are flavorful and in-step with current trends so as to be appealing to all ages. The future of food lies with innovations that carefully combine pleasure, flavor and nutrition.”

Detailed data illustrates why fruit and vegetable ingredients are a key growth trend and opportunity. In 2011, for example, the European market for 100% fruit ingredients has grown 20% to a value of €40-€45 million (source: New Nutrition Business).

To download the report, visit www.tauraURC.com.