Meet the growing demands of consumers for ‘functional’ food and drinks, with ingredients offering health benefits substantiated by NIZO’s food clinical trial expertise 

Food, nutrition and health go hand in hand. Offering substantiated health benefits is an attractive way to add value to your food products, to differentiate them, and to meet consumer demands. Today’s consumers want functional foods that provide health benefits such as digestive comfort, enhanced immunity and infection resistance, and healthy levels of blood sugars and blood lipids, which are associated with lower risk of chronic diseases.

In food clinical trials, the effects of your new or existing ingredients can be investigated in volunteers. The outcomes of these clinical trials provide insight on the ingredient’s impact on humans, add to the evidence of a health benefit, and provide measurable outcomes that meet regulatory requirements.

Expertise in food research and clinical trial design 

At NIZO, our scientific professionals understand how food ingredients are produced, digested and metabolised – and, most importantly, how this affects the human body. These specialists in nutrition, gut microbiology and immunology are fully supported by a team of experts in food technology, processing and safety.  

As a CRO, we design, develop and coordinate the execution of food clinical trials that provide insight into mechanisms of action and potential health benefits of products or ingredients, including: 

  • Prebiotics 
  • Probiotics 
  • Dairy ingredients 
  • Plant proteins 
  • Polyphenols 
  • Bioactive peptides 
  • Dietary fibres 

We can offer tailor-made food clinical trials that specifically address your questions, in addition to more standardized food clinical trial models. Health benefit areas investigated include, but are not limited to: 

The science of food health benefits 

A renowned innovation partner, we increase the value of the clinical outcomes by providing interpretation of the results. Based on this insight, we can support you with guidance on future activities for successful testing, optimization and development of your product.  

A NIZO food clinical trial offers you: 

  • Scientific consultancy 
  • Guidance toward building a convincing dossier for your product’s health benefit(s) 
  • Development of the most appropriate study design, efficient trial management and planning, and smooth trial execution 
  • Advice on clinical outcomes 
  • Fast institutional review board (IRB) approvals 
  • Reliable subject recruitment 
  • High quality of sample and data handling 
  • Statistical data analysis, scientific data interpretation and report writing 

And whether you are looking for ‘just’ a clinical trial, or a full project from in vitro screening and microbiome / biomarker analysis, to pilot production, we have the expertise and resources to meet your needs. 

Any questions?

Martin Ham is happy to answer all your questions.

Meet Martin Ham