World’s First Healthy Cola Approved

JAPAN has approved the world’s first cola for being “beneficial to health”.  The country’s food regulatory authority has cleared ‘Kirin Mets Cola’ for the most sought after Foods for Specified Health Users (FOSHU) label. Japan’s Health and Nutrition Food Association (JHNFA) says getting a highly sought after FOSHU certification – that can sometimes take over six months and cost as much as a million yen — greatly boosts the credibility of approved products.

Colas aren’t really known for their health benefits as they are usually packed with sugar and have been fuelling the global epidemic of childhood obesity.

Colas aren’t really known for their health benefits. They are usually packed with sugar and have been fuelling the global epidemic of childhood obesity. However, according to JHNFA, this healthy cola has zero amount of sugar and contains an indigestible form of Dextrin – a compound used as a fibre supplement, which restricts the body’s ability to absorb fat while eating.

“When consumed with a high fat diet like a hamburger, the drink slows down the body’s ability to absorb fat thereby saving you from putting on weight. It also helps in digesting the food easily,” Akira Yabuki, general manager, department of FOSHU at JHFNA, told TOI.

Yabuki added that the cola met requirements to be called healthy. The drink doesn’t contain sweeteners at all and tests have shown that the drink keeps levels of neutral fats low after eating. The cola is said to target youngsters who love cola but are worried about their weight, as well as those who have stopped buying soft drinks for health reasons.

As of December 19, 2011, 983 products have been certified as FOSHU. Of these, 24% are soft drinks like tea-based beverages, mineral water, jelly or fruit beverages and powdered soft drink, 55% are dairy products like lactic acid bacteria beverages and cultured milk, 12% are processed foods like processed meat and fish, cooking oil, vinegar and sweeteners and 9% are sweets like candies, cookies, chewing gum and dehydrated soups.

“Data from clinical trials on 10 to 100 subjects have to clearly indicate the health benefit of the product. If it contains a new ingredient, testing and approving it for FOSHU can take 2-3 years time.

Category: Health alert