Science Shorts: Thailand ultraprocessed foods, China precise 3D printing staple food, Singapore Chinese Health Study findings and more feature in our round-up

Thai UPF warning: Products routinely exceed fat, sugar, salt RDIs – new data​

New data from Thailand claims almost all ultra-processed food (UPF) products exceed the recommended daily amount of sodium and lack essential nutrients and minerals.

Research consistently demonstrates that ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are linked to detrimental health effects.

These include increased risks of cardio-metabolic issues and asthma in children, as well as obesity, cancer, type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, irritable bowel syndrome, depression, and even mortality in adults. The rise of UPFs has been linked to a shift toward globalized diets that are higher in fat, refined carbohydrates, and lower in fibre.

Precise staples: China’s MOODLES believes 3D printing staple foods with precise nutrients is the way forward​

Chinese 3D food printing firm MOODLES believes that this technology needs to be efficiently incorporated into the production of personalised nutrient-rich staple foods that consumers will eat on a daily basis if the sector wants to grow locally.

Although 3D printed foods have been touted for several years as the way forward for precision nutrition and food customisation, many firms looking to specialise in this area have hit significant roadblocks in terms of technology, pricing and demand volumes, including in China.

‘It’s not too late’: Singapore Chinese Health Study lead investigator reveals protective impacts of diet on cognition​

Data from the large-scale Singapore Chinese Health Study has shown that all consumers can reduce their risk of later cognitive impairment by switching to a healthier diet at any age, as revealed by the study’s principal investigator at the recent Growth Asia Summit 2023.

The Singapore Chinese Health Study (SCHS) is a scientific study comprising one of the largest Asian population-based cohorts in the world comprising over 60,000 middle-aged and elderly Chinese Singaporeans with data collected over the space of 20 years.

The SCHS is led by the National University of Singapore’s Professor Koh Woon Puay, and has measured its participants based on their dietary patterns to study the determinants of chronic diseases including cognitive decline, most prominently based on their adherence to the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet.

Plant-based products and health: Study reveals nutritional shortfalls, but saturated fat benefits​

The nutritional value of plant-based meats is limited by lack of key micronutrients, although they contain significantly less saturated fat, indicates an assessment of products on the Hong Kong market.

Despite the rising interest in plant-based meat products, consumers continue to harbour reservations about meat analogues, primarily due to concerns related to their nutrition and safety. 

This is especially concerning as a significant proportion of plant-based meats (PBMs) are categorized as ultra-processed foods (UPFs), which increase certain health risks such as obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and cancer. 

Is personalised nutrition truly the future? Suntory on the challenging journey to ‘full personalisation’​

Global megabrand Suntory has highlighted consumer confusion and production time as some of the key challenges standing in the way of achieving ‘full personalisation’ in the nutrition and food manufacturing spaces.

Suntory may be best known for its alcohol and beverages business on the international platform, but the firm also has a rapidly growing health foods business as well as made multiple investments into this space.

One of these has been in personalised nutrition and supplementation business Rem3dy, which makes personalised gummy supplements offering a combination of seven nutrients per gummy from a choice of 32 nutrients in over 10 flavours, layering the seven nutrients of choice into a single 3D-printed gummy which is then delivered to the consumer.