Danisco Invests in Apple Polyphenol Extract Supplier

This is the first time that Danisco has entered the polyphenol market, but the company predicts strong potential. Danisco noted that he current apple polyphenol market is still relatively small but has significant growth potential.

16/10/08 Danisco has signed a long term cooperation agreement with UK-based company Coressence Limited to gain exclusive rights for certain apple-based ingredients, to be marketed under the brand name Evesse. The ingredients contain polyphenols with a wide range of health benefits. In addition to antioxidant activity, this fruit extract promotes benefits relating particularly to cardiovascular health, but potentially also to other health areas.

The Evesse ingredient which will be available as a powder and granule has a neutral taste and odour allowing easy formulation in different foods and beverages. The size of Danisco’s financial investment was not revealed.

“This company has screened different apple varieties which are specifically rich in certain polyphenols. Epicatechin in particular, which is also present in cocoa is particularly rich in this apple variety and the flavanol flavon-3-ol,” Oliver Hasselwander, Senior Manager, Health & Nutrition at Danisco told FoodIngredientsFirst. The benefits of the ingredient over cocoa extract relates to the taste neutrality of the ingredient. “”This specific apple extract is taste neutral and can therefore be added to a variety of foods, which is not the case with cocoa extract,” he noted.

This is the first time that Danisco has entered the polyphenol market, but the company predicts strong potential. Danisco noted that he current apple polyphenol market is still relatively small but has significant growth potential as the global health and nutrition market is still expanding and new applications for polyphenol ingredients are continuously being marketed all over the world, with the total polyphenol market estimated at more than EUR 100 million in Europe alone.

There are currently several products available on the market using the Evesse powder on the UK, as well as a juice style product, but Danisco will not begin offering this for at least six months. “We are cuurently working on adding human intervention studies and going through the regulatory processes,” said Hasselwander.

Areas to be considered are preferrably dietary supplements and capsules, but also beverages or dairy products. In terms of health claims being looked at, a number of opportunities exist for Danisco. “The first key benefit is cardiovascular health and maintaining a healthy circulation. It could potentially be applied to cognitive health, skin health and tackling inflammation, where polyphenol powders hold lots of potential.

Commenting on the business partnership with Danisco, Richard Wood, Chief Executive for Coressence Limited, notes: “Coressence has been engaged for the last five years in developing the production of high yielding polyphenol extraction from specially selected and protected apple varieties. The long term collaborative agreement with Danisco for Evesse in the food ingredients market is a key part of our programme. As a result, we will build on the special patented technology, developed for the first stage of our licensed agreement and create second generation technology formats, all of which can be added to food based products”.

By Robin Wyers