reported<\/a> an analysis of 36,287 consumer mentions across omega-3 products, citing that effectiveness drew 86.8% positive sentiment and quality 84.5%, while packaging had a 47.5% negative rate.<\/p>\n\u201cConsumers are really bought into the fact that these products work,\u201d Ghannoum said at the symposium. \u201cIt\u2019s really not something they need convincing on. What they\u2019re running into is a real experience issue.\u201d<\/p>\n
His analysis identified complaints around packaging, leakage and smell, alongside sensory considerations such as taste, swallowing and aftertaste. Consumers also appeared willing to accept different dosing depending on format, including lower doses in gummies and chewables.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s still the adage of, you know, the best product is the one they keep taking,\u201d Ghannoum said.<\/p>\n
Repeat use is also shaping how suppliers think about delivery.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor us and from our perspective, it\u2019s about availability and form that consumers can repeat because consumers more and more don\u2019t like to do supplementation by traditional means, capsules and tablets,\u201d Denis Neville, founder and CEO of CoreFX Ingredients, told NI.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe question is, how do we induce repeatability that becomes something that you do for life?\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Neville said broadening formats through enabling technologies could give consumers more ways to incorporate omega-3 oils beyond conventional pills and capsules.<\/p>\n
Fitting omega-3s into the diet<\/p>\n
For Amy Symington, professor and culinary nutrition specialist, practical nutrition also means moving away from an either-or approach to foods and supplements.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe dichotomy that stresses plant foods versus supplements, I think, is false,\u201d she said, pointing to a strategy that could include ALA-rich foods such as flaxseeds, chia seeds and walnuts alongside targeted supplementation where appropriate.<\/p>\n
\u201cOverall, I would say good nutritional guidance has to be obviously biologically sound, but it also has to be practical enough for people to actually use,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Dr. Bazilian similarly sees foods and supplements as complementary.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is enormous opportunity in starting with how people already eat rather than asking them to organize their lives around a nutrient,\u201d she told NI.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor some people a supplement is the easiest, most effective format…for others, another capsule is another thing to remember, Dr. Bazilian said.<\/p>\n
That leaves room for naturally occurring food sources, supplements, fortified foods and functional foods and beverages, depending on the consumer.<\/p>\n
When the message misses<\/p>\n
The difficulty of translating recommendations into behavior becomes particularly clear around pregnancy and childhood.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the symposium, nutrition expert Lorna Vanderhaeghe, MSc pointed to fish consumption during pregnancy as an example. Warnings around mercury exposure from certain fish are intended to help pregnant women make safer choices, but she argued that the message can become much broader by the time it reaches consumers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat the consumer heard is fish is bad and fish has mercury and pregnant women shouldn\u2019t consume fish…and I can tell you this story is prevalent because a lot of pregnant women won\u2019t touch fish,\u201d Vanderhaeghe said.<\/p>\n
She also cited a 2019 report in which 0.8% of the U.S. toddlers, children and adolescents studied were taking EPA and DHA supplements, although the finding does not capture omega-3 intake from food.<\/p>\n
For children in particular, Vanderhaeghe argued that delivery and taste cannot be separated from the nutrition discussion. Her presentation highlighted different formats and ways of incorporating omega-3s into foods, while acknowledging longstanding concerns about fishy taste and large capsules.<\/p>\n
\u201cOmega-3s, you choose the way you want to take them, but you need them and you need more of them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Natker also cautioned companies against getting ahead of established evidence when communicating emerging omega-3 research, warning that doing so could undermine credibility.<\/p>\n
For Dr. Bazilian, simplifying the message does not mean simplifying the science itself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d make relevance, why it matters, easier to understand,\u201d she told NI when asked what one change supplement brands could make to improve omega-3 adoption. <\/p>\n
\u201cHelp people understand what the product offers, who it may be useful for, and how it fits into their lives without requiring them to decode the science themselves,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n
Symington brought the issue back to something even more basic.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we don\u2019t know how to get it into the mouths of the population or it doesn\u2019t taste good, no one is going to eat it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At the recent Regenerate Symposium in Halifax, nutrition experts and industry executives pointed to some familiar barriers: taste,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":622465,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[134,111,139,556,69],"class_list":["post-622464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nutrition","tag-health","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nutrition","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=622464"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622464\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/622465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=622464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=622464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=622464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}