"This water dispersible product is ideal for the development of new heart-healthy beverages and soup mixes and has no impact on the taste or color of the original drink," said Pam Stauffer, marketing manager at Cargill.
However, it is still not possible to place this ingredient into clear liquids such as water.
"We need to optimize the technology before we can do this," said Stauffer.
She explained that this product is currently being rolled out at the annual IFT show in Las Vegas, before being launched to the open market via an advertising campaign. This will happen initially in the US and then Cargill hopes to sell it overseas.
"We launch our products based on customer research," said Stauffer. "This particular ingredient is aimed at people who have been diagnosed as having medium to high cholesterol, and who may only need to reduce their cholesterol levels by around 10 percent to make a difference to their health."
She added that CoroWise could also be suitable for sufferers taking standard drugs, who could use it as a complementary medicine.
CoroWise instant plant sterol esters are produced from natural vegetable extracts. The FDA has ruled that some foods containing certain levels of plant sterol esters are allowed to carry the health claim, "may help reduce the risk of heart disease when part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol."
Plant sterols have been researched and used for more than 50 years with no known adverse effects. The overall effect in clinical studies has been a reduction in "bad" (LDL) cholesterol of 8-15 percent.
Based on data from various studies, it is suggested that a daily intake of at least 1.3g of plant sterol esters as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol helps lower blood cholesterol levels, therefore reducing the risk of heart disease.