By Tosca Zern, Nerac Analyst

Walk down the beverage aisle in any grocery store and you’ll probably notice more and more labels touting the antioxidant content inside. Pomegranate juice, grape juice, tea. Cadbury Schweppes’ Snapple Teas and Juices, Coca-Cola’s Odwalla juices, PepsiCo’s Tropicana orange juice. These are just a few of the many products touting the health benefits of antioxidants. Elsewhere, you’ll find non-juice products such as Kellogg’s Smart Start Antioxidant Cereal and Nature’s Path Açai Apple granola.

And the list is expected to continue growing, spurred by an increasingly health-conscious public. According to an ACNielsen report last year, sales of food products containing antioxidants—vitamins, cereal, juice, tea, and soy milk—grew faster than products with any other health claim, 22 percent between 2004 and 2005. Packaged Facts reports that between 2002 and 2006 there was 306 percent increase in new products making antioxidant claims, and that supplement sales increased to $3 billion from $2 billion between 1997 and 2005.

Consumers often latch onto a fruit flavor after its health benefits are publicized. Remember the cranberry, pomegranate, and blueberry crazes. The newest in exotic flavors are no exception. Donna Mascaro, the project leader in beverage applications at David Michael & Co., suggests, “There has been a push for antioxidants through vitamin and mineral supplements, but consumers also associate antioxidants with a certain fruit flavor.”

What’s An Antioxidant?
Antioxidants occur naturally in a number of foods including fruit, chocolate, and tea. For years, research has indicated that antioxidants may help in preventing cancer and heart disease, and in increasing the body’s immunity. An antioxidant is a substance that inhibits oxidation or reactions promoted by oxygen, peroxides, or free radicals. With coronary heart disease, a big player in the development of plaque formation is oxidized low-density lipoprotein, the bad cholesterol. It has been shown that grape polyphenols, for example, acting as antioxidants can decrease the amount of oxidized lipoproteins and therefore, decrease plaque formation.

Researchers continue to identify antioxidants and foods that that contain them naturally. Açai juice is suddenly a global “super food,” riding high on claims it fights high cholesterol. It’s also an anti-aging elixir and even acts as a natural Viagra, according to Beverage World. Also from Beverage World, “Going hand-in-hand with the antioxidant craze is the rising popularity of exotic fruits linked with wellness and natural functionality, such as açai and cupuaçu found in the Amazon rainforests and Asian goji berries.

Exotic Fruits Make The Scene
On the heels of pomegranate juice’s success, the tropical noni fruit is garnering interest, including Tahitian Noni RTD noni juice beverage. Brett West, director of research for Tahitian Noni International, says studies have found that noni fruit is high in antioxidants, supports the immune system and stimulates energy. West says he sees potential for the fruit juice, which is naturally low in sugar, to be used in sports, energy and other functional drinks.

Food companies have turned their focus on this research and have begun to identify antioxidants in their products. For example, Hershey has introduced antioxidant chocolate bars including whole bean, milk chocolate, and dark chocolate. Likewise, Snapple has introduced red teas to its “Good for You” product line. The teas are noted to contain antioxidants and Vitamin C that contribute to a healthy immune system.

And if one is good, three must be better. According to Beverage Industry Magazine, Honest Tea expanded its line of ready-to-drink beverages with Pomegranate White Tea with Açai.

Health Claim Labeling Is Tricky
Although food companies can state that the product has antioxidants they cannot state health claims on the product label without FDA approval. By FDA definition, a health claim is language that describes the relationship between a substance and a disease or health-related condition. The claims are limited to reduction of a disease state, rather than prevention, treatment, cure, and mitigation which are under drug claims. As highlighted in a FDA Dear Manufacturer Letter Regarding Food Labeling from June 2007, there are three ways by which FDA exercises its oversight in determining which health claims may be used on a label or in labeling for a food:

• The FDA determines if health claims meet the significant scientific standard (1990 Nutrition Labeling and Education Act),
• After 120 days of receiving health claim notification, the FDA prohibits or modifies the health claim (1991 FDA Modernization Act), and
• The FDA issues a letter of enforcement discretion for qualified health claims where the strength of scientific evidence falls below requirements (2003 FDA Consumer Health Information for Better Nutrition Initiative).

As one can imagine, many health claims haven’t made their way to the package. Some include green tea’s antioxidants effect on breast and prostate cancer, Vitamin E’s effect on heart disease and selenium’s effects on certain cancers. This is not a problem for most food companies, as many consumers already know what an antioxidant is and recognize products as healthy when the term antioxidant is on the label. In the past six months, over 3,000 research articles were published regarding antioxidants, evidence that this antioxidant trend is here to stay. So if you haven’t done it yet, maybe it’s time to jump on the antioxidant bandwagon.