Breakfast cereal company funds cereal research

Battle Creek, Mich. – Kellogg Company is funding research into the health benefits of cereal grains at one of Europe’s oldest universities.

The breakfast cereal company has endowed the W.K. Kellogg Chair in Cereal Science and Nutrition at Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium. The Chair, the first funded by the company, will be jointly held by professors Jan Delcour and Kristin Verbeke of the Gastroenterology Section.

The aim of the research is to show how cereal-derived prebiotics benefit human health and can enable the development of fibre-rich cereal foods with greater nutritional value, reports a story on FoodQualityNews.com.

The aim of the Chair’s research is to examine the relationship between the consumption of dietary fibre components or enzyme-resistant starch and the production of acetic acid, propanoic acid and butyric acid by intestinal microorganisms.

Prebiotics are substances that promote the growth of healthy gut flora, and Kellogg’s says that it is particularly interested in the research conducted by University of Leuven on prebiotic dietary fibres extracted from wheat bran, adds the story.

“We chose Catholic University of Leuven for this future-focused work because it conducts the most respected research in cereals and fibres,” says Margaret Bath, Kellogg Company vice-president of research, quality and technology.

“The work of professors Delcour and Verbeke will help us continue to develop innovative cereals that meet the nutrition needs of consumers around the world.”