Revolutionizing Food Certification: Where Health Meets Technology

Biomarkers are commonly used in clinical practice to guide treatment decisions – they are now becoming more deployable within our homes including assessing the quality of sleep, measuring blood glucose levels or heart rate for example through wearables or recognition software.

Devices like these have the ability to alter our life trajectories, so why not leverage smarter, clinically designed tools to impact your well-being.

Food processing is and continues to be a major issue that negatively impacts our well-being. The more we equip people with the right tools that are validated, the more we can empower people to take control of their life and well-being.

Consumers have been told for decades to count their calories, limit the amount of fat they consume, reduce salt, eat more fiber, limit consumption of processed foods and deli meats.

Despite all of these efforts, data from 1990 – 2017 cites that lifestyle diseases like heart disease, diabetes and cancer are on the rise, and how we evaluate the benefit of food needs to change.

Information shared by influencers through social media is constantly being recycled or regurgitated. It’s like we as “humans" are ruminants with a second brain instead of a fourth gut chewing on the proverbial “cud".

To this end, it is well documented that most consumers are often confused when it comes to reading a nutritional label. Why is there no standardization by serving size making it easier for consumers to compare products?

The output from the scoring system is intended to provide brands with the information they require to either accept the findings or to improve the quality of their products.

The score is also designed to give consumers a tool to make more informed choices about the foods that they eat.

No Fads Just Facts and Data.

Based upon the information that is provided by the manufacturer, the data will be evaluated with a view of validating the proposed health benefits. For example, a manufacturer might cite that turmeric root/curcumin formulated with pepper results in improved absorption or that the product might elicit an anti-inflammatory effect. To adequately confirm these health claims, as an example, the manufacturer will be asked to provide gut absorption data or data that cites an immunomodulatory effect like for example an effect on TNF alpha (1), IL-6 (2) or other pro-inflammatory cytokines or markers of inflammation like CRP (3) or ESR.

Why is this important?

Many claims listed on packaging are purely anecdotal in nature or reference a paper that would be treated as an inference rather than a fact about their specific product(s).

These health benefits lack the scientific rigor and don’t have the data to substantiate the claims that are being made. Our goal is to help companies help you, the consumer.

Beyond this, we will look at how the product is formulated, the macro- and micro-nutrients, list of allergens and other factors and relate this to a clinical decision matrix that evaluates the ingredient/product as adequate to eat, limit consumption, or avoid consumption in relation to lifestyle diseases plaguing the population.

We all know that certain individuals should limit salt or sugar consumption more than others, but should every vegan, as an example, be consuming nutritional yeast that’s being added into most vegan products? While most influencers say YES, the data says NO.

NAOHI™ looks at the data in a standardized way, on a per 100 gram basis, making it easier to relate it on a percentage basis.

The nutritional score takes into account average recommended daily nutrient intake, ideal number of calories, desired ratios of protein:fat:sugar:fiber, along with sources of protein, sugars and other tangible variables.

The Nutritional Index output addresses whether the product is formulated in the most optimal way for human consumption to assist with promoting your well-being.

We have a comprehensive list of no use ingredients. NAOHI also audits how the product is produced, where it’s produced and how it’s processed for human consumption.

If a manufacturer uses a functional ingredient like a probiotic, a synbiotic or other biological derived ingredients, we will leverage our know how on evaluating Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (“API”). We will ensure that these ingredients are manufactured with the highest standards, the health benefits have been investigated properly, and that the product is formulated in a manner which supports consumer’s well-being.

How an ingredient is grown, where it’s grown, how it’s harvested and processed can influence the macro- and micro-nutrient profiles. Turmeric is a great example. Where and how it’s grown, harvested and processed can influence active ingredient profiles, yet in the food industry this is commonly overlooked. [1]

When it comes to a medicine, final approval is centered on evaluating results from multi-centered studies and claims are governed by and support the findings from those results. Generic drugs and biosimilars are required to go through approval to evaluate safety and efficacy before they are used in routine clinical practice. Crafty messages that would be perceived to influence consumption and/or prescribing are prohibited. The industry is tightly regulated for the benefit of humanity.

On the other hand, in the food industry, products are named to influence purchasing decisions. By implying that the product delivers a health benefit or that the ingredients within the product are formulated to deliver disease preventing benefits with little to no data to substantiate these claims requires scrutinization.

Manufacturers who wish to get their product(s) or ingredient(s) certified can choose between the two different levels of the Foodaceutical™ score: The Standard Foodaceutical™ or the Platinum  Foodaceutical™ Score.

The Standard Foodaceutical™ score is the entry level score which requires manufacturers to provide details on how the product is produced, the nutritional panel information, the ingredients with the data sheets for all sub-ingredients along any data around intended health claims.

To achieve the Platinum Foodaceutical™ level of certification, beyond the information required in the Standard score, product formulation details and laboratory testing is required to perform the more comprehensive analysis of the product. This data is also required to complete a more thorough analysis of possible clinical benefits and risks to consumers.