CHICAGO (Reuters) - New on the U.S. functional food menu: yogurt shots that may lower your cholesterol and a carbonated drink its makers say will help you lose weight.
These are two of the latest offerings as food and drink companies try to cash in on the healthy eating trend.
In May, Unilever, which makes Hellman's mayonnaise and Lipton tea, will launch a yogurt drink fortified with plant sterols in the U.S. market. Sterols are plant extracts that have been shown to lower levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol, in some clinical studies.
"One of these (100 milligram drinks) a day, and your cholesterol level comes down 10 percent," said Alan Jope, a global vice president at Unilever (UNc.AS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (ULVR.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), speaking at the Reuters Food Summit in Chicago this week. "We have 141 studies throughout the industry about the impact on cholesterol of plant sterols."
Unilever sees the "vitality shots" and health drinks market as a high-growth area in the United States, Jope said.
The yogurt brand will be called Promise, and will be priced at about $1 for a 100-milligram bottle. The company also plans to launch a fruit-and-vegetable shot under its Knorr label later this year.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorizes the labeling of health claims about the role of plant sterols, which inhibit the body's absorption of cholesterol on certain foods and beverages.
Coca-Cola Co.'s (KO.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Minute Maid Premium Heart Wise orange juice, Unilever's Take Control spread, and Benecol, another spread sold by McNeil Nutritionals, a Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) company, contain plant sterols and are currently available in the U.S.
"Companies like Coca-Cola and Unilever are grateful that there's at least one ingredient with good evidence of effectiveness," said David Schardt, a senior nutritionist at The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a Washington, D.C.-based consumer advocacy organization, in a telephone interview.
A daily intake of 800 milligrams of plant sterols can lower cholesterol levels by 10 percent, he said, but added that it was a "modest drop" that would not significantly improve the conditions of high-cholesterol patients.
Most other nutritional and health claims made by beverage makers have little scientific backing and are of "dubious value," Schardt said.
That hasn't stopped companies from selling so-called health and wellness beverages, or "functional foods."
COKE, PEPSI TO LAUNCH DRINKS
This summer, cola giants Coke and PepsiCo Inc. (PEP.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) are launching Diet Coke Plus and Pepsi Max -- both very-low-calorie drinks claiming to contain essential nutrients and minerals.
In February, Coke and Nestle (NESN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) launched Enviga, a carbonated green tea beverage that promised to help consumers lose weight -- if they drink three cans of the 5-calorie-a-can drink a day. Continued...
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