WATCH ON DEMAND: Feeding the gut microbiome: from pre-, pro-, and postbiotics to resistant starch

By Elaine Watson

- Last updated on GMT

Feeding the gut microbiome: from pre-, pro-, and postbiotics to resistant starch

Related tags Prebiotics postbiotics Probiotics microbiome Gut microbiome Gut bacteria Danone Uplift Food Olipop Verb Biotics

While scientists are still unlocking the secrets of the gut microbiome, consumers increasingly understand that what we feed the armies of microbes that line our digestive tracts may be intimately connected to our physical – and mental - wellbeing. So how can manufacturers tap into demand for foods that make our microbes happy, from ‘designer’ probiotics to resistant starch?

Find some answers in the first US-focused installment of FoodNavigator’s FREE-to-attend global Positive Nutrition virtual series: Feeding the gut microbiome: from pre-, pro-, and postbiotics to resistant starch.​  

The session - now available ON DEMAND if you register here​ - ​is broken into two parts, with timings as follows:

Fireside chat:​ Dr Miguel Freitas, Danone North America: 01:45
Presentation:​ Postbiotics, the lowdown, Dr Justin Green, Embria Health Sciences: 26:30
Panel​: Probiotics, postbiotics, and fermented foods: 47:42
Presentation​: Prebiotic corn fiber in focus, Dr Melissa Kaczmarczyk at Tate & Lyle: 1:31:25
Panel​: Prebiotics and resistant starch: 1:46:50

PART ONE (11am-12.30pm Central): Probiotics, postbiotics, and fermented foods   

FIRESIDE CHAT:What does a ‘healthy gut microbiome’ look like?​ In conversation with Dr Miguel Freitas, VP scientific affairs, Danone North America 

Miguel Freitas Danone

What does a ‘healthy gut microbiome’ look like? Is it all about having a wide diversity of bacterial populations, or is it more about the absence, presence, or preponderance of certain key bacteria?  Is an ‘unhealthy’ microbiome a result of poor health, or directly responsible for certain health conditions? And how far have we come since Jamie Lee Curtis first introduced Americans to the concept of ‘good’ bacteria? 

PRESENTATION​:  Postbiotics​: The science behind EpiCor’s immune and gut health benefits, Dr Justin Green, director of scientific affairs, Embria Health Sciences (Cargill)

PANEL DEBATE​: Probiotics, postbiotics, and fermented foods

  • Tom First, founder and CEO, Culture Pop
  • Dr Bob Hutkins, Khem Shahani professor of food science, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
  • Todd Beckman, president and CEO, Verb Biotics  
  • Dr Justin Green, director of scientific affairs, Embria Health Sciences (Cargill) 
Probiotics and fermented foods panel

This session will explore fermented foods, probiotics and postbiotics, looking at everything from how to build a consumer brand around probiotics, to whether fermented foods and yogurts contain probiotics (spoiler alert: not necessarily), and whether postbiotics, sometimes described as the ‘waste’ products of fermentation, could open up new application opportunities for food and beverage manufacturers. We will explore... 

  • How are consumers thinking about probiotics? Are they just looking for the word ‘probiotics’ on pack or is there any understanding that benefits are strain specific?  
  • How do you build a consumer brand around probiotics and what are the best delivery vehicles? 
  • Beyond digestive and immune health, where are some of the emerging growth areas for probiotics?  
  • Fermented foods and probiotics: What’s the take home message for consumers? 
  • ‘Live and active cultures’ seal on yogurt labels: What does it mean? 
  • Is it well understood what a ‘healthy’ gut microbiome looks like and what are we trying to achieve with probiotics? 

PART TWO (12.30pm-1.40pm Central):Prebiotic fibers and resistant starch

PRESENTATION​: Soluble corn fiber as a prebiotic:​ Dr Melissa Kaczmarczyk, principal scientist, North America, Tate & Lyle

PANEL DEBATE: ​Prebiotic fibers and resistant starch

  • Kara Landau, founder, Uplift Food; ​nutrition adviser, Global Prebiotics Association
  • Ben Goodwin, co-founder, Olipop 
  • Dr Shelley Balanko, SVP business development, Hartman Group   
  • Dr Melissa Kaczmarczyk, principal scientist, North America, Tate & Lyle    
  • Jason Leibert, chief growth officer, Solnul  
Prebiotics panel

Prebiotics, defined by ISAPP as ‘a substrate that is selectively utilized by host microorganisms conferring a health benefit,’ are finally starting to gain traction in food & beverage applications, with firms exploring everything from green banana powder to Jerusalem artichoke, chicory root powder and resistant potato starch. But which prebiotics have solid science behind them, and how do you talk to consumers about them? Can you generate excitement around an ingredient called ‘resistant starch’ in a carb-wary food culture, and what kinds of claims resonate with shoppers? We will explore... 

  • Are prebiotics in food and beverage growing? If so, which ones are trending and what is driving this?  
  • Is all fiber prebiotic? And are all prebiotics fibers? (Spoiler alert: No, and No) 
  • How advanced is consumer understanding of prebiotics? Are shoppers just looking for the word ‘prebiotics’ on pack or are they looking for specific ingredients?  
  • Beyond digestive health, where are some of the emerging growth areas for prebiotics?  
  • Should brands focus on one well-documented ingredient or combine multiple ingredients that work in different ways? 
  • How do you market and position a digestive health brand and where do prebiotics fit in? 
  • How important is it to understand the impact of processing conditions or consumer end use on the viability of resistant starch ingredients? 

Click HERE ​to register.  

Positive Nutrition main graphic

Checkout the other US-focused sessions in FoodNavigator’s global Positive Nutrition​ series:

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