Food companies target health-conscious

    Amid food scares, companies target health-conscious eaters 1 hour, 3 minutes ago



With bird flu and madcow disease fueling food scares across the region, companies are plugging "safe" alternatives such as liquid eggs and ostrich meat to tempt health-conscious consumers.

The products appear alongside other niche foods, including halal dim sum, at Asia's top international food and hospitality trade fair being held this week in Singapore that offers a taste of the future.

The US Poultry and Egg Export Council's pavilion at the Food and Hotel Asia event showcases liquid and powdered eggs in the hope of gaining a bigger market share in the region.

The threat of bird flu, which has killed more than 100 people worldwide since late 2003, mostly in Asia, has sparked a health scare that prompted some countries to ban imports of birds and poultry products from affected areas.

Almost all human cases have occurred in people who have had close contact with, or eaten, sick birds. Although there is no evidence that humans have caught the deadly virus from consuming eggs, the US export council is eyeing an opportunity.

"People now are very conscious about safety," said the council's regional director Margaret Say.

"With our product, people can still eat eggs safely. And you don't have to worry about supply shortages," she told AFP, adding that liquid eggs do not have the shell on which bacteria can cling to.

Apart from being food on the table, liquid and powdered eggs can also be used as ingredients for cakes and a range of local cuisines.

"We are trying to market this in the ASEAN region," Say said, referring to Southeast Asia.

With fears of madcow disease still lingering across the region as sporadic cases emerge among cattle in beef-exporting countries, ostrich farmers are looking to sell the meat of the flightless bird as an alternative.

A brochure by South African food firm Mosstrich Ltd describes ostrich meat as "the choice of kings, queens, gourmet chefs, sport and health fanatics", because of its flavour and nutritional benefits.

The ostriches, raised in the Southern Cape region, produce meat which is extremely low in calories and cholesterol, has very little fat and is high in protein.

Jimmy Wright, marketing manager at Mosstrich, said it was just as versatile, with cuts such as fillet steak and loin available and deboned meat for use in everything from sausages to carpaccio.

Reflecting the growing trend to cater to the needs of the Muslim community in the host city and elsewhere, Singaporean company KG Food is promoting halal "dim sum" -- Chinese dumplings -- and "paus" or steamed buns.

Mona Sim, KG's senior marketing manager, said the decision to produce halal dim sum emerged from a desire to introduce the Chinese delicacies to Singapore's Malay Muslim community.

Singapore is an ethnically diverse city-state, with the Chinese making up majority of the population but with substantial Malay Muslim and Indian minorities.

"We get to eat Malay food, but our Muslim friends cannot. So we thought of making a range of Chinese food halal, including dim sum and paus," Sim told AFP.

While the company has exported small amounts to Indonesia and Dubai, it aims to eventually expand outside the tiny Singapore market, especially into the Middle East, Sim said.

More than 2,300 exhibiting companies are participating in the trade event, which runs until Friday, 81 percent of them from abroad.

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