Targeting childhood obesity: Natural, low sugar snacks with concentrated fruit polyphenols

This application directly addresses Agriculturally-related Manufacturing Technology cross-cutting priority for USDA. The Nutrasorb technology enables manufacture of a new generation of science-based, efficacious, shelf-stable, and tasty anti-diabetic / anti-obesity functional foods; specifically, natural, nutritious, low-sugar functional snacks from RCG juice. This agriculturally-related technology answers the biggest challenge for the plant-based health/functional foods industry, i.e. to deliver an effective daily dose of beneficial phytonutrients in a few servings, while reducing unhealthy compounds, such as sugars, and associated calories. This Phase II SBIR project directly addresses two major nutritional needs of the US and the developed world - the growing epidemic of childhood obesity and metabolic syndrome. It is designed to initiate a paradigm and technology shift in the functional food industry that targets children and their diets. This proposal will 1) further advance Nutrasorb technology for the manufacture of a new generation of science-based, efficacious, shelf-stable, and tasty functional food ingredients, specifically, a natural, nutritious, low-sugar functional ingredient made from red Concord grapes (RCG) and soy protein isolate (SPI), and 2) take this technology to the threshold of full commercialization with already identified commercial partners.