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11.12.2008 15:08
Finland and the US join forces in weight management research
Finnish-American research co-operation is seeking weight management solutions based on healthy nutrition. VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and the Beltsville Human Nutrition Research 
Center run by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) are currently discussing studies to conduct regarding probiotics and weight management. These would combine Finnish know-how concerning grains with American expertise in the field of weight management.
Networking in Washington
Negotiations were opened in September 2008 at a networking event organised jointly in Washington D.C. by the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (TEKES) – represented by its Washington based Science and Technology attaché Jari Toivo – and the USDA courtesy of Molly Kretsch, Ph.D., Agricultural Research Service, National Program Leader, Human Nutrition.
Anu Kaukovirta-Norja, Technology Manager of VTT, found the networking event useful also from the broader perspective of planning research targets. She stated that Finland does not possess the same kind of knowledge concerning weight management, nor does it have access to the scale of research facilities available in the US.
Know-how and resources
“The USDA research centre offers a great opportunity to study, for instance, the health effects of certain food ingredients in test subjects,” says Dr Kaukovirta-Norja. They have room-sized calorimeters to study the physiological state of test subjects who can spend several days in the closed room under controlled conditions.
Health-promoting components would be a success in the US
TEKES’ Jari Toivo has pointed out that the prospects for any particular country’s food industry to internationalise successfully vary substantially across different markets. In the US, Finnish food companies’ best openings would come in providing special products, such as functional components, and exporting technology expertise through for instance licensing. And at home they could e.g. apply US style service skills and introduce new types of business model.
Rising health trends in the US include natural and eco foods, antioxidants as health-promoting ingredients, the promotion of healthy eating in weight management, and ready-to-serve meals.
(Finfood)