Danisco aims to make probiotic easy choice for ice cream cos.

Danisco Bio Actives is upping its commitment to developing probiotic ice cream products globally by developing a kit to assist dessert manufacturers. The company notes that the ice cream market is growing by an annual four per cent globally and so it has developed peach frozen yogurt, a strawberry cultured ice cream and probiotic-containing vanilla ice cream, and a probiotic-containing vanilla ice cream each fortified with its HOWARU probiotic strains.

"The concepts are part of a complete probiotic demo kit designed to assist manufacturers with new product development in this growing category," the company said, noting the products had the mouthfeel of premium ice cream despite also being low-fat.

Danisco is launching a global program that highlights the high value-adding potential of this range within the category. To raise awareness of the potential to develop new probiotic ice cream products, Danisco has created a complete probiotic demo kit designed to assist manufacturers with new product development in this growing category.

Many new product developments in the frozen dessert category are already using HOWARU premium probiotics, most the High Culture Frozen Yogurt by the leading U.S. frozen yogurt manufacturer YoCream. In addition, California Polytechnic State University is using the HOWARU Dophilus in an English Toffee Reduced-Fat Ice Cream concept developed at for Dairy Management Inc..

The latter was featured at the Dairy Management booth at this year's IFT Food Expo in Chicago. The reduced-fat, probiotic ice cream was well received at IFT and was selected for the International Dairy Foods Association's 27th annual Capital Hill Ice Cream Party, where it was served in the VIP tent to members of Congress.

Danisco notes that "numerous clinical studies have demonstrated that Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM, sold as HOWARU Dophilus, supports digestive health and inhibits harmful bacteria in the gut." The company notes that Amy Lammert, a Senior Dairy Ingredient Applications Specialist at Cal Poly's Dairy Products Technology Center, reported that the probiotic is particularly easy to incorporate in ice cream formulations.

"Basically, we put the probiotic in the mix, froze it and took it to IFT. Using the probiotic was no challenge. Danisco provided fabulous technical service and a rapid turnover time," she states, adding that the formulation also included the Danisco emulsifier & stabilizer system CREMODAN IcePro.

"Everyone who has tasted this product cannot believe it is reduced fat. It has the mouthfeel of a premium ice cream."

Danisco describes its Bio Actives cluster, which produces the probiotic, as its growth engine. It estimates that the group will generate growth of between 5-7% in a market growing by up to 10% every year. The value of the global market is estimated at around $485 billion.

The emphasis on probiotics is in line with consumer health concerns. According to a new report from Mintel's Global New Products Database (GNPD), digestive health is the primary focus of food products marketed around the world for an added health benefit, topping all other functional food claims in 23 out of 24 countries tracked by GNPD. The exception is the United States, where digestive health is second to cardiovascular concerns. The report notes that between 2005 and 2009, 2,861 new products claiming to promote digestive health. This is over 163 percent more than the next most popular category--cardiovascular health--which saw 1,089 new product launches in the period.