Results from a post-launch monitoring survey on consumer purchases of foods with added phytosterols in five European countries

- Market research on household purchase behaviour of foods with added phytosterols in 5 European countries.
- The majority of products with added phytosterols were purchased by adults over 35 years and 1-2 member households.
- Mean and medium phytosterol intake was below 1 g/day in all 5 countries studied.

Phytosterols (plant sterols and stanols), in the form of phytosterol-esters, are used in food products as active ingredients to lower elevated blood low density lipoprotein-cholesterol concentrations. In Europe, plant sterol-esters gained Novel Foods authorisation in 2000. As a requirement of the authorisation, Unilever developed a post-launch monitoring program to monitor the use of products with added phytosterols.This paper reports findings from the 2011 post-launch monitoring survey on consumer purchase behaviour of foods with added phytosterols.91,000 households in the Netherlands, Belgium, United Kingdom, France and Germany were included. 11,612 purchased foods with added phytosterols, including spreads, salad dressings, milk- and yoghurt-type products.The results show that 71-82% of households purchasing products with added phytosterols were 1-2 person households. These households were also purchasing the majority of the volume sold in each country (75-85%). The average phytosterol intakes per household were 0.35-0.86 g/day; well below the 1.5-3.0 g/day phytosterols needed to achieve a significant blood cholesterol lowering benefit.Post-launch monitoring is an accepted and useful tool to estimate the consumption behaviour amongst different consumer groups. Data show that average phytosterol intakes per household were well below 1 g/day, suggesting that overconsumption is unlikely.