Application Bulletin. Nutritional Bars. Corn Products Specialty Ingredients products for use in this application:

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1 Nutritional Bars Corn Products Specialty Ingredients products for use in this application: MALTISWEET CM40 Crystalline Maltitol GLYSTAR Polyol Solution HYSTAR 5875 Maltitol Syrup MALTISWEET B Maltitol Syrup MALTISWEET 3145 Maltitol Syrup SORBO 70% Sorbitol Solution STABILITE Polyglycitol What is a nutritional bar? Nutritional bars were introduced in the early 1980s to fulfill the need of a small market of serious fitness enthusiasts and athletes. The bar was a convenient way to provide the immediate energy and nutritional needs of the athlete during competition or training. They could be eaten before or after a competition to give one a competitive edge. The nutritional bar market has evolved into a multimillion dollar industry. The original bars focused solely on nutrition for athletes and, as a result, were often short on taste. Now, nutritional bars are consumed by the general public and taste has become at least as important as function. Taste, function and stability are crucial in a nutritional bar formulation. Taste is important to the general public, function is important to the serious athlete and fitness enthusiast, and stability is important to all consumers. It is crucial that the taste and function of the nutritional bar are maintained as long as the product is kept on the shelf, or until it is consumed. Corn Products Specialty Ingredients has a wide range of products for use in nutritional bars. These products can be used in all formulations to enhance taste and texture (mouthfeel), increase shelf-life stability, and help provide function and performance. The polyols (or polyhydric alcohols) such as maltitol, sorbitol, and polyglycitol (HSH) can also be used to replace sugar in a sugar-free or low-net-carbohydrate nutritional bar. What are the various types of nutritional bar? Most nutritional bars on the market are no longer solely for the sports enthusiast and are sold for multiple purposes (ie, weight loss, energy, dietary supplement). For this reason, many nutritional bars may fit into more than one of the following 4 basic categories: High Carbohydrate - aimed at providing immediate energy or sustained energy (endurance). - contain 25 to 50 grams carbohydrate, 5 to 15 grams of protein, 2 to 6 grams of fat, and 150 to 250 calories. High Protein/Low Carbohydrate - used as supplement in high protein weight loss programs or as protein supplement by bodybuilders. - contain 25 to 40 grams protein, 10 to 30 grams carbohydrate, 0 to 5 grams of fat, and 150 to 300 calories. implied warranties of noninfringement, merchantability, or fitness for a particular purpose are hereby disclaimed Ingredion Page Incorporated 1 of 5

2 Balanced Carbohydrate/Protein/Fat (40:30:30) - aimed at providing more balanced nutrition, as in The Zone diet. - contain 20 to 25 grams carbohydrate, 12 to 16 grams protein, 6 to 8 grams fat, and calories. Nutraceutical/ Women s health - aimed at providing vitamins, herbs, or other ingredients associated with improving health (eg, soy protein and calcium for Women s health). - emphasis is on the nutraceutical ingredient and not on the carbohydrate/ protein/fat composition. In all types of nutritional bars, formulations must be developed around ingredients that will provide function, good taste, and product stability. How is a nutritional bar s function provided? A nutritional bar s function is provided by the ingredients included in the formulation. If a nutritional bar is to provide certain vitamins, herbs, and minerals, then those ingredients are added. If the nutritional bar is to provide energy, ingredients are selected that affect the glycemic index and therefore control energy release. Importance of glycemic response in exercise The glycemic response is used to describe the human body s response to consuming sucrose or a similar high glycemic sugar. Ingesting a high glycemic sugar stimulates the production of insulin, removing the sugar from the blood and storing it in the cells of the body. Consuming a high-sugar drink or snack prior to exercise releases insulin. This increase of insulin in the blood results in limited amounts of glucose being available for oxidation, which causes a reduction in energy thereby decreasing athletic performance. During exercise, the body responds differently to high glycemic sugar foods due to the release of the hormone epinephrine. The release of epinephrine depresses the insulin response causing higher glucose levels in the blood. Increased levels of glucose can provide another fuel source for the muscles, allowing an athlete to save valuable fuel stored in the muscles and liver (glycogen). In delaying the consumption of glycogen, the athlete s endurance is increased. If athletes exhaust glycogen stores during exercise, they experience what is commonly known as bonk or hitting the wall. In this situation, performance rapidly decreases, muscle weakness sets in, and the athlete becomes lethargic and possibly even dizzy. This can also be life-threatening. After intense exercise, glycogen stores in the muscle and liver have been depleted. In addition, possible muscle damage must be repaired. Consuming at least 50 grams of higher glycemic carbohydrates within the first 15 minutes following an hour or more of intense exercise replenishes glycogen stores at a much greater rate than if one waited longer. This allows the athlete to efficiently replenish a good percentage of their muscles and liver with glycogen ensuring optimal performance especially when consecutive days of intense training or competition are expected. Following this immediate feeding with a post exercise meal rich in complex carbohydrates (low glycemic) further replenishes glycogen stores, maximizing the amount of carbohydrates stored as glycogen and not fat. How do Corn Products Specialty Ingredients products affect the glycemic response? Corn Products Specialty Ingredients offers several products that enhance a nutritional bar s performance or function. Sugars such as maltose are high glycemic and polyols (or polyhydric alcohols) such as maltitol, sorbitol, and polyglycitols are low glycemic. Depending on the desired function of the nutritional bar, the appropriate ingredient is available. Low glycemic products MALTISWEET CM40 Crystalline Maltitol GLYSTAR Polyol Solutions HYSTAR 5875 Maltitol Syrup MALTISWEET B Maltitol Syrup MALTISWEET 3145 Maltitol Syrup SORBO Sorbitol Solution STABILITE Polyglycitol What other characteristics need to be considered in a nutritional bar formulation? Nutritional bars differ in what function they are to perform, whether to provide energy or a balanced diet, but they are all basically the same in that they are food products formulated to satisfy the consumer. With the increase in the nutritional bar market has come an increased need for products that please all types of consumers. For this reason, taste, texture, and stability are also important. implied warranties of noninfringement, merchantability, or fitness for a particular purpose are hereby disclaimed Ingredion Page Incorporated 2 of 5

3 Taste and texture As competition continues to increase in the nutritional bar market, manufacturers and formulators have to pay increased attention to taste and texture to separate their product from the rest. Many nutritional bars are enrobed in chocolate-flavored coatings or contain soft centers such as caramel or cream to improve taste. Many bars contain sugar or sugar substitutes to increase sweetness. A formulator needs to choose ingredients that enhance taste and sweetness while not impacting the caloric content or function of the nutritional bar. Polyols can be used in conjunction with sugars or as replacements for sugars (sugar-free). They come in a wide range of sweetness levels, which allows the formulator more flexibility because the overall taste and sweetness of the formulation can be adjusted and better controlled. Maltitol syrups are 70-80% as sweet as sucrose while crystalline maltitol is 90% as sweet as sucrose. Sorbitol is 60% as sweet as sucrose and has a pleasant cooling effect. Stability (Shelf-life) Many formulators and manufacturers of nutritional bars have become aware of issues with shelf-life stability after just 2 to 3 months. Such issues are primarily related to the hardening of higher protein based bars during storage. This poor shelf-life stability has become a problem now that the general public has become the major consumer. Gone are the days when the only consumer was the sports athlete who would buy and consume the nutritional bar almost immediately. Now, nutritional bars are sold by mass merchandisers and bought by people who keep them for months before consumption. It is important that the nutritional bar be just as good when opened after a few months as it was when it was first made in order to ensure repeat business. Traditionally, nutritional bars have been made with corn syrup and fructose, along with varying levels of glycerin. Glycerin is used for its hygroscopicity, low water activity, and plasticizing properties. These bars often have stability issues due to moisture migration where the protein absorbs what little moisture is present, causing the bars to harden over time. Glycerin does not retain moisture well and the loss of moisture causes the bars to become unpalatable in as little as 3 months. Polyols such as maltitol, sorbitol, and polyglycitol, unlike glycerin, can contribute moisture for migration and are hygroscopic. This helps to control the moisture of a nutritional bar by picking up and retaining moisture longer than glycerin. Using polyols can help the nutritional bar retain its texture for a longer period of time. Replacing the corn syrup, fructose, and/or glycerin in a nutritional bar formulation with the maltitol or polyglycitol solutions available from Corn Products Specialty Ingredients can improve the shelf-life stability. In studies done by the Corn Products Specialty Ingredients Applications Research and Technical Service (ARTS) laboratory, it was shown that substituting the corn syrup and fructose with maltitol/polyglycitol solutions produced nutritional bars with the following taste/texture and stability benefits: increased shelf-life stability better moisture control within the bar softer centers more chewable centers By using polyol solutions, more moisture control was observed in the nutritional bar s center. Water activity data suggested that over time, bars made with polyglycitol/maltitol solutions demonstrated slight decreases in water activity (Figure 1), while bars without polyols showed significant decreases. Note, that bars produced with polyols start at a higher water activity (although still within acceptable shelf-life limitations), but the change in water activity is less pronounced over time. Figure 1: A comparison of the water activity of nutritional bar formulations after 1 month. The ARTS laboratory study also demonstrated that all nutritional bars made with polyglycitiol/maltitol solutions had softer centers, denoted by a lower hardness value, than that of the control formula (5% glycerin). Furthermore, they exhibited a lower elasticity than the control, a value that characterizes the bar s texture during chewing. A lower elasticity value represents a nutritional bar that seems to melt in the mouth. A high value represents a bar that takes more energy to chew. These results are shown in Figure 2. implied warranties of noninfringement, merchantability, or fitness for a particular purpose are hereby disclaimed Ingredion Page Incorporated 3 of 5

4 Figure 2: A comparison of hardness of nutritional bar Shelf-life evaluation showed that all nutritional bars increased slightly in their peak hardness value at similar rates over a period of 3 months. Although this was observed, the textural properties measured through elasticity were quite different. Nutritional bars made with polyglycitol/maltitol solutions demonstrated minor changes in elasticity values while the others increased greatly (ie, became stiffer). These results are shown in Figure 3. Figure 3: A comparison of elasticity values of nutritional bar centers over 2 months. Traditionally, it was thought that to increase the softness of a nutritional bar, one must increase the glycerin level. Increasing the glycerin level too much can lead to problems such as off-taste and warming sensations caused by an exothermic interaction with moisture. In this study, it was found that the glycerin level must be increased to 9% (from a control of 5%) in order to produce a bar with a similarly soft center to the bars made with polyols. Increasing glycerin to 9% of the formulation did decrease the hardness but the elasticity (chew) remained high (Figure 2). This produced a bar with a soft initial bite that became quite chewy. Bars made with polyglycitol/maltitol solutions were soft and easy to chew. How do I know which Corn Products Specialty Ingredients product to use in a nutritional bar formulation? Corn Products Specialty Ingredients offers several products that enhance a nutritional bar s performance or function, taste and texture, and shelflife stability. Depending on the needs of the nutritional bar formulation, the appropriate ingredient is available. The Corn Products Specialty Ingredients Applications Research and Technical Service (ARTS) laboratory is available to help you with your formulation work and to help you choose the right product or product combination. The following is a guideline to some of the benefits that each Corn Products Specialty Ingredients product imparts to this application: MALTISWEET Maltitol Syrup NF - available in concentrations from 75 to 85% solids calories/gram on a dry basis - 70 to 80% as sweet as sucrose - provides cohesion, texture, plasticity and humectancy HYSTAR 5875 Maltitol Syrup % as sweet as sucrose - provides cohesion, texture, plasticity and humectancy implied warranties of noninfringement, merchantability, or fitness for a particular purpose are hereby disclaimed Ingredion Page Incorporated 4 of 5

5 MALTISWEET CM40 Crystalline Maltitol calories/gram - low laxation potential of 100 grams/day - 90% as sweet as sucrose GLYSTAR Polyol Solutions - non-crystallizing combination of sorbitol, glycerin, and/or propylene glycol (other ratios of glycerin:sorbitol are available) - contains only 14% water so is useful in formulations that can not allow for high water content of other polyol solutions - better taste than straight glycerin STABILITE Polyglycitol and HYSTAR Polyglycitols - provides varying degrees of elasticity and hardness to centers - provides less stickiness than typical maltitol syrups SORBO Sorbitol Solution USP/FCC calories/gram on a dry basis - 60% as sweet as sucrose - pleasant cooling effect - better static humectant than glycerin (hydrates more slowly at high relative humidity and retains moisture more effectively at lower relative humidity) MALTISWEET, GLYSTAR, HYSTAR, SORBO and STABILITE are registered trademarks of Corn Products International, Inc. To illustrate how to use Corn Products Specialty Ingredients products in a nutritional bar, a sample formulation for a high protein bar is included in this bulletin. For assistance formulating other types of nutritional bars, please contact the Corn Products Specialty Ingredients Applications Research and Technical Service (ARTS) Laboratory. No matter what the formulation, using a polyol can improve the nutritional bar and make it more cost effective for the manufacturer and more attractive to the consumer. Please contact Corn Products Specialty Ingredients for assistance in developing your nutritional bar formulation and in choosing the right ingredients. Additional technical literature and product specification sheets for all Corn Products Specialty Ingredients products discussed in this bulletin are available upon request. Formulation High Protein Nutritional/Meal Replacement Bar Ingredients: % Crisp Rice 11.0 Canola oil 4.0 MALTISWEET CM40 Crystalline Maltitol 6.0 MALTISWEET B Maltitol Syrup 44.0 Whey Protein Isolate Milk Protein Isolate Flavor, other inclusions as desired Procedure: 1. Heat MALTISWEET B to about ºF with mixing. 2. Turn off heat, add canola oil and mix. 3. Pre-blend milk protein isolate, whey protein isolate and MALTISWEET CM40 Crystalline Maltitol, then add with mixing. 4. Continue mixing approximately 5 minutes, add crisp rice, then mix until thoroughly dispersed. 1 Alacen 895 Whey Protein Isolate and TMP Milk Protein Isolate are registered trademarks of NZMP (North America), Santa Rosa, CA. implied warranties of noninfringement, merchantability, or fitness for a particular purpose are hereby disclaimed Ingredion Page Incorporated 5 of 5