Sputnik... A Norwegian company is using trees to create a calorie-free fat substitute that can be used in foods from ice cream to hot dogs, and is being hailed as a potential weapon in the fight against obesity. Borregaard, a Norwegian biorefinery, is debuting a product called Sense-Fi. According to nutritional company Socius, it has the texture and feel of fat, but none of the calories. Sense-Fi is made from microfibrillated cellulose, a waste product produced when trees are turned into timber. Overweight man wears a shirt patterned after the American flag © AP Photo/ Mark Lennihan Cure Obesity With One Injection? Scientists Claim to Have Found a Solution
Now, after spending $36.3 million over 10 years of research and development, Borregaard has started selling Sense-Fi to the US food industry.
"We're rolling it out primarily in the US, where it has been approved. Sales are just about underway, and there is a lot of focus on fighting obesity," said the company's business director, Harald Rønneberg Borregaard.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 35 percent of US adults – approximately 78.6 million people – are obese, costing the United States $147 billion in obesity-related medical treatments in 2008. Norway, on the other hand, has an obesity rate of just ten percent, as of 2012.
Sense-Fi is a thickener that looks like a white cream. It can be used in ice cream, mayonnaise, yogurt and reconstituted meat, such as hot dogs. It also has extra fiber, which aids digestion and fills one up quicker.
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