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One of the brightest stars among Finnish functional foods is Benecol®, the first ever commercial food ingredient to utilise the specific effect of plant sterols on cholesterol absorption. The first commercial food product, margarine with added plant stanol ester was launched in Finland in November 1995. This launch of Raisio Group was accompanied by the publication of a 12 month double-blind clinical study, carried out as part of the North Karelia project, in the acclaimed New England Journal of Medicine.
The launch of Benecol®-margarine sparked active interest internationally. "It is like an atomic bomb we didn't mean to invent," Jukka Mäki, Raisio's former deputy chief executive told the New York Times in 1996. "We were just looking for a better margarine. We never thought it would be that big."
What tastes good and fits the modern lifestyle is also proven healthy. More than 50 published clinical trials have proven the cholesterol-lowering affect of Benecol®. The cholesterol-lowering effect of plant sterols had been known since the 1950s, but tested plant sterols were typically in crystalline form and practically non-soluble. Raisio developed a food grade method for esterifying plant stanols and patented the manufacturing method and the oral use of plant stanol ester for reducing elevated blood cholesterol levels in 1991. The main reason for choosing plant stanols over plant sterols for this development work was in the undisputed safety of plant stanols. The safety of plant stanol ester has been shown in a rigorous safety testing programme carried out by an independent well-known research institute, TNO Nutrition and Food Research, in the Netherlands).
Today, Benecol® branded products are sold in nearly 30 countries world-wide. Benecol® also has diversified from spreads like margarine and milk into more lively, lower-fat foods such as beverages, yoghurts, yoghurt drinks, porridge, pastas, ready-made meals and snacks. Through years of work to enter new markets and develop new product lines, Raisio Group has transformed itself into an innovator and expert in cholesterol reduction. And, as more consumers embrace a healthier lifestyle, they are learning that managing cholesterol can be easy and tasty.
More information: http://www.benecol.com |
