Omega-3 making better foods for babies and toddlers

Tor-Eddie Fossbakk In an article on FoodProcessing.com, Ian Lucas, executive vice president at Ocean Nutrition Canada explains that "both EPA and DHA are important in brain function and development and are essential especially during the formative years as children grow rapidly." "The western diet lacks these essential nutrients for the majority of children, so including them in infant and toddler foods enable children to get this important nutrition in their diets."

Ocean Nutrition Canada, a Dartmouth, Nova Scotia company, developed a unique delivery technology that enables food manufacturers to include EPA and DHA in a wide variety of foods without altering product flavor or aroma. The trademarked technology, Powderloc micro-encapsulation, employs a double-shell protection so the oil isn't exposed to the food chemistry and oxidation.

"To date, we've successfully commercialized more than 30 food applications with this ingredient," Lucas said, referring to some North American examples of omega-3 food products for infants and toddlers such as Stonyfield YoBaby Yogurt, Danino Yogurt, Dr. Sears chews for kids, Kemps milk, Wonder Bread and Tropicana Heart Health Orange Juice.