MINNEAPOLIS — Kraft Foods Global Inc. and Medisyn Technologies Inc. plan to discover effective bioactive ingredients, or nutraceuticals, suitable for food use through a research and licensing collaboration, Medisyn Technologies announced Jan. 13. The work began in December and uses Medisyn’s Forward Engineering technology platform to identify, analyze and optimize promising bioactive compounds.

Forward Engineering technology was described as a cost-efficient discovery platform by David Land, president of Minneapolis-based Medisyn, in an interview with Food Business News. After entering a collaboration, Medisyn generally can deliver some compounds for initial testing in three to four months and have some useful compounds within 18 months.

Medisyn’s Forward Engineering technology predicts how a compound will behave based on its structure, which streamlines the discovery and development process of food ingredients. Mr. Land said the company identifies compounds that may provide certain health benefits, such as bone density, and then traces the compounds back to a food source.

"Helping consumers achieve better nutritional balance and manage health is an important food trend," said Todd Abraham, senior vice-president, Nutrition & Research, Kraft Foods. "We’re excited and optimistic about our collaborations with Medisyn and the potential its technology offers to make significant discoveries in bioactive ingredients suitable for food use to address these needs."

Medisyn has worked with producers of nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals and animal health products.