Contributing to Healthy Living through Nutrition

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  Using fMRI equipment to analyze the brain

Ajinomoto Co., Inc. and the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture have undertaken a joint research project to examine whether the regular inclusion in the diet of monosodium glutamate (MSG), which is used to enhance the taste of foods, has beneficial effects on eating habits and body-weight management. The joint research study, commenced in October 2010 and conducted with ARS's Western Human Nutrition Research Center (WHNRC), is monitoring overweight and obese women to determine whether the addition of sodium glutamate to their food facilitates the control of appetite and caloric intake, and acts against body weight regain following a period of moderate dieting and weight loss.

The research project is being carried out in response to a growing consensus over the importance of new food and nutrition initiatives to combat obesity, one of the most serious health problems in the United States, without the use of medication or surgical methods.

Research conducted by Ajinomoto Co., Inc. has demonstrated that MSG improves the savory quality of foods and enhances the pleasure and satisfaction of eating. Furthermore, the regular inclusion of MSG or foods naturally rich in glutamate in the diet appears to improve overall diet quality and inhibit calorie intake without sacrificing eating satisfaction. These findings have raised expectations for the potential of umami, the natural source of MSG and an essential ingredient in a healthy Japanese diet.

Having followed these findings, WHNRC has teamed up with Ajinomoto Co., Inc. to pursue this field of research. For the joint project, the center is analyzing the effects of ingesting MSG on satiety and appetite control by scanning brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) equipment at the Davis campus of the University of California, where the center is based.

Looking forward, Ajinomoto Co., Inc. intends to continue carrying out pioneering research activities with the aim to contribute to human nutrition and health.

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  A package of Agezuni Sakuttosan, frozen whitefish prepared using high-temperature steam

  

  A Japanese boxed lunch

Ajinomoto Frozen Foods Co., Inc. (FFA) conducted a consumer survey to determine which of family members most often received boxed lunches prepared by housewives. Results showed that most lunches were made for husbands, followed by children attending junior high and high schools.

Furthermore, about 60% of housewives preparing lunches for junior high and high school students used frozen foods in the lunches, while fewer than 40% used frozen foods to make lunches for husbands. The main reasons that housewives gave for not using frozen foods were that such products are generally high in calories and oily after frying.

In response, the company made use of its original high-temperature steam cooking method to develop Agezuni Sakuttosan, a range of low-calorie frozen food products that are not fried in oil. After releasing it to the market, customers rated it highly and a growing number of housewives are using it for boxed lunches, especially for their husbands.

FFA looks forward to releasing more delicious and healthy products prepared with this original method to promote more enjoyable and health-conscious eating habits.

• History of development assistance under the AIN program from December 1999 to April 2011

  Number of projects:
  53 in 12 countries (India, Indonesia, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bangladesh, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Brazil, and Peru)
  Total amount of development assistance provided: 180 million yen
  Number of people benefiting from development assistance projects: Approximately 80,000

As a group of companies that contributes to global health, the Ajinomoto Group considers the improvement of nutrition in developing countries to be an important mission. On this basis, it launched the Ajinomoto International Cooperation Network for Nutrition and Health (AIN) program in 1999, the 90th anniversary of the company's founding.

The AIN program solicits project applications from NGOs and NPOs based in countries around the world, and then determines which projects to give development assistance based on investigations by experts and onsite observations by the Ajinomoto Group's employees. After a project commences, an Ajinomoto Group company in the same country provides various kinds of local support, including education on nutrition, with the aim to raise the level of the project's activities.

Through the AIN program, the Ajinomoto Group intends to work in unison with its stakeholders to help improve the health and vitality of people around the world in the future.

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  A workshop on improving nutrition

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  Local residents participate in a cooking class

For two years from April 2009 to March 2011, the AIN program provided assistance to the School Lunch Project Using Vegetables Grown in School Gardens, a project run by the organization, Associação Crianças de LUZ, in cooperation with a local university. The project worked to fight malnutrition among children living in poor fishing villages in the northeastern part of Brazil.

The activities of the project included providing mothers with workshops on nutrition improvement and cooking classes, as well as growing vegetable gardens together with children. They gained a stronger interest in local foods, and vegetable consumption by the children increased.

The university created a cooking manual for the mothers at the end of the project, with recipes provided by Ajinomoto do Brasil Ind. e Com. de Alimentos Ltda. The manual will be used for similar projects in other regions of the country.

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  School lunches being served

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  Students learn how to raise chickens

For one year from April 2010 to March 2011, the AIN program provided assistance to the Agriculture for School Lunch Project, which is carried out by the NGO, Education for Development Foundation. Through the project, children learned how to grow food at their schools to provide ingredients for school lunches.

Under the guidance of specialists in the community, students took up the challenge of growing vegetables and raising fish and chickens. Five schools participating in the project held exchanges and gave school tours to share their experiences and knowledge. Furthermore, the students gained a greater understanding of food and nutrition as a result of regular classes on nutrition.

The project was completed after one year, and was successful in fostering student leaders and encouraging participation in the community through nutrition education. On the recommendation of Ajinomoto Co., (Thailand) Ltd., the Ajinomoto Group decided to provide assistance to this project again for two years beginning from April 2011.

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  Mothers and children wait at a clinic to receive a check-up

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  Koko, a traditional porridge in Ghana