** Please visit our website: http://www.africanassociation.org **

The Palm oil saga continues.  Who would have known that palm oil would be
considered as part of an appetite depressant.

Ann Marie

By Dominique Patton
http://www.foodnavigator.com/news/ng.asp?n=62775&m=1fne926&c=xeiqgoegavfxtla

26/09/2005 - An emulsion of common plant oils that makes consumers feel full
will be offered by new companies in Europe in coming months as they seek to
benefit from the strong demand slimming products.

Called Olibra, the ingredient is expected to be popular with both food and
supplement makers as it is made from commonly used foods - palm oil and
oats. This gives it a significant advantage over new ingredients that must
first be put through safety tests.

Unlike other weight loss products, the ingredient does not actually reduce
weight gain but is said to make consumers less likely to overeat.

This effect has been shown in clinical studies, with one demonstrating that
when replacing milk fat, the ingredient can lead to a 20-30 per cent
reduction in caloric intake at subsequent meals.

Among the new customers convinced of the potential of the ingredient made by
Sweden's Lipid Technologies Provider (LTP) are French company Physcience
Laboratory, which will be the first to launch Olibra as a supplement in
Europe.

The product will reach its home market in November, just in time for the
post-Christmas slimming season, followed by a launch in Belgium.

Both countries have rapidly growing slimming supplement sales. The French
market for slimming products reached ?123 million in 2004, 28 per cent of
the country's total supplements sales, and has seen growth of 22 per cent
over the prior year, says the trade association Syndicat de la
Dietetique et des Complements Alimentaires.

Slimming products in Belgium are growing from a small base to a retail value
of ?29 million in 2004, or 14 per cent over the prior year, according to
figures from Euromonitor.

Olibra is already offered in supplement form by the leading US retailer GNC
in its 4,500 stores. The satiety ingredient is produced by LTP and packaged
as a 7.5g single dose 'mini-shot', which is then distributed by the retailer
under its brandname 'Total Lean Reduce'. The supplement can
be added to normal food at breakfast and/or lunch, or taken alone as a
single shot.

Jorgen Quick, managing director of LTP, declined to reveal how much
ingredient was being sold in the US but said "we are shipping quite large
quantities to the US each month".

Olibra has also been launched in a drinking yoghurt in Italy and is expected
to reach the Nordic countries in other food products by the end of this
year, added Quick.

"The number of companies working with the ingredient for food products is
increasing," he told NutraIngredients.com.

"We expect things to really increase volume-wise next spring."

He added that in the long-run, the food market will be bigger than the
supplements market.

Japan and southeast Asia will also be targeted.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, visit:

        http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/aam.html

AAM Website:  http://www.africanassociation.org
----------------------------------------------------------------------------