21st century molecule man

A brief glance at his diary quickly reveals why some relaxation might be in order. Aside from the day job co-ordinating scientific and regulatory affairs at Danisco Sweeteners, Stowell is also a regular speaker at conferences, a contributor to all manner of books and papers on nutrition and health, and chairman of Leatherhead Food International's Nutrition and Health Forum.

He is also boss of the International Food Information Council's fat replacers committee and the man at the helm of the task force on dietary carbohydrates at the International Life Sciences Institute Europe.

None of this is great for the work/life balance, admits Stowell, who confesses that once he commits to something - which is far too often - he can't bear to do a bad job.

Armed with a BSc in biochemistry, an MSc in enzyme chemistry and a PhD in microbial physiology (focusing on fermentation technology) back in the 1970s, he was set for a career in academia. However, two job offers in a week from pharmaceutical giants GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer ended any thoughts of pursuing post-doctoral work and Stowell embarked on a career in industry.

He chose Pfizer, and immediately found himself running development laboratories at its Kent, UK, site looking at fermentation process development "with quite a significant number of staff - the sort of position it would be quite difficult to get just with a PhD nowadays". After a stint heading up manufacturing at the site, he moved into technical management within Pfizer's chemical division, which was repositioned as a speciality chemicals group and ultimately as a food science group.

Stowell soon found himself working on a range of new molecules, from the lipid-based fat replacers Salatrim and Sorbestrin, to Alitame - an intense sweetener formed from the amino acids L-aspartic acid and D-alanine and a novel amine.

These were subsequently developed by Finnish firm Cultor, which acquired Pfizer's food science division in 1995 before it too was swallowed up by Danish ingredients giant Danisco.

Alitame's unique combination of an excellent sweetness profile with very high potency (2,000 times sweeter than sucrose) plus heat stability, had developers salivating over its commercial prospects, says Stowell.

However, the regulatory process was long and tortuous, and by the time approvals started coming through Alitame was no longer commercially viable as the cost of competitor products had fallen so sharply. "It's still sold in a few markets, but it's just not economic for the mass market," says Stowell.

Unlike most fat replacers, which are derived from carbohydrates, Salatrim was fat-based, derived from short- and long-chain triglyceride molecules. "It behaves like fat, but instead of contributing 9cal/g, it contributes 5cal/g," says Stowell. But this too, became bound up in red tape, moving through the regulatory trial-by-ordeal of the European Novel Food Regulation for years before it gained the green light.

Sorbestrin, a low-calorie, heat-stable, liquid fat substitute composed of fatty acid esters of sorbitol and sorbitan, had just 1.5cal/g. But this too was destined for the dustbin of history, says Stowell. "It was a great product and we'd conducted extensive clinical trials, but the investment required to gain the necessary regulatory approvals and to develop it further could not be justified."

The problem with the Novel Food Regulation, says Stowell, is one of execution, not substance. "The expectation was that once the expert committee of one Member State approved your product, the others would more or less rubber stamp its decision. But in the event, each Member State wanted to conduct its own detailed evaluation, effectively asking the same questions over and over again.

"In the final analysis, we got the approval for Salatrim. But for political rather than scientific reasons, I believe, we were required to say it had 6cal/g instead of 5cal/g, and we had to put warning statements about it being a laxative and unsuitable for children." Hardly surprisingly, it has not been commercialised in Europe, he says. "This is a real missed opportunity."

Despite such frustrations, Stowell does not consider regulation as an impediment to scientific progress. "I'm all in favour of legislation requiring manufacturers to prove safety and efficacy, but it does mean that only the large companies with serious resources behind them can get into the game with new molecules and ingredients."

The regulatory and scientific aspects of his job go hand in hand, says Stowell. "You can't talk about legislation in a vacuum. You have to understand the science."

A sound grasp of politics and business would also appear to be rather useful in his line of work, as the recent wrangling over fibre demonstrates. "There is no universally accepted definition of dietary fibre, and getting the right one is very important," he says. But what is the 'right' definition: one based on source or on function?

The term 'fibre' has very positive connotations for consumers, points out Stowell, who is gunning for a broad definition based on fibre's physiological effects and health benefits - such as its abilities to improve bowel function and attenuate blood cholesterol.

A far narrower definition of fibre as "intrinsic plant cell wall polysaccharides" proposed by the World Health Organisation last year, would effectively exclude a whole swathe of fibre-like ingredients from resistant starch to oligosaccharides that offer significant health benefits, claims Stowell, and would not, therefore, be in the interests of consumers.

While cynics might argue that commercial interests are motivating his argument, he begs to differ. "Surely it is better to focus on the health benefits than base a definition on something that can be assayed according to a particular analytic method."

When it comes to our health, and particularly our expanding waistlines, fibre-like ingredients can play a key role by helping to reduce the energy density of our favourite foods and by controlling blood glucose levels, says Stowell.

"There is some pretty convincing evidence that reducing the glycaemic impact of the diet can help to improve blood glucose control." This can in turn help people to control their calorie intake and reduce cholesterol, he says, in addition to a range of other potential long-term health benefits.

While a skinny muffin or a low-fat yoghurt packed with polydextrose is not going to solve the obesity crisis, neither is turning back the clock, says Stowell.

"In an ideal world, we'd take regular exercise and eat a sensible balanced diet of unprocessed home-cooked foods. But we don't live in an ideal world, so we have to come up with innovative solutions."

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