Sugars reduced and fibre enriched products with Actilight and Maltilite : Innovation in dairy products and snacks

Transcription

1 Sugars reduced and fibre enriched products with Actilight and Maltilite : Innovation in dairy products and snacks by Dr Anne Wagner, SYRAL, Vice President Innovation, Marckolsheim, France Price, taste, naturality, nutrition and regulation > Todays state in terms of nutritional formulation can be traced to 2001, when the WHO released a report linking 60 % of the yearly worldwide death to chronic diseases including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and obesity. Obesity poses probably one of the greatest public health challenges of the coming years, with particularly alarming trends in several regions, including Europe. Depending on the country, 25 % to 75 % of the population is reported overweight. Obesity and overweight have been related to diets high in energy-dense foods, in saturated fats and sugars, combined to a lack of fibre intake and sedentary life-styles. Actions have been taken by health authorities in various parts of the world as well as in Europe to improve diet and health.two main routes have been drawn by governments & health authorities to push the consumers towards making the healthier choices. The first is to influence consumers using various tools like education or advertisements. The second is to modify traditional food products into functional foods and nutritional improved foods. For that we have today both regulations (1924/2006) and guidelines. If those provide quite a clear, pragmatic even if not easy package to reformulate traditional foods, the consumer view might not be as limpid. The consumer appreciation of foodstuffs remains complex, even though the relation between food and health is today mainly understood. The food choice depends on several factors such as the country of origin, the living style, the individual or family values 4 Wellness Foods Europe May 2008

2 Dietary fibres and polyols Wellness Foods Europe and level of knowledge but also to a certain level of irrationality. When consumers are interrogated on their buying criteria, price is ranked first in 4 out of the 6 countries included in the study (Health focus 2005). Better taste comes as the second most relevant criteria, followed by lower calories, grown without pesticides, natural, lower fat, nutrition. So the challenge is complex: good taste to an acceptable price as much natural as possible, safe and with a good nutritional profile. That is all we have to do while playing with the rules on the regulations. Reformulating with carbohydrates > What is the best strategy to reduce energy through reformulation? In certain kinds of cakes, fat content is about 25 % in weight and the energy made up by fat represents almost 80 % of total energy. For a dessert cream, composed mainly by sugars, these bring the most important part of the energy. This illustrates that there is not a single way to reformulate; one should chose whether to reduce fat, sugars, or both, depending on which one is the most likely to have significant consequences on energy reduction. Reducing sugars (i. e. mono and disaccharides), and sometimes fat, can be achieved by replacing them by other carbohydrates, such as maltodextrines and dried glucose syrups, starches and dextrins, all of them displaying low or no sweetness, or polyols, which bring both bulk and sweetness. Other interesting molecules in the carbohydrates family are fibres, which contribute to lowering the caloric density of food, as they are not digested. Maltitol and fibres for nutritional enhancement > Maltitol belongs to the family of polyols. It is produced by the hydrogenation of maltose syrups, which are obtained by the enzymatic hydrolysis of purified dietary starch. Maltilite is a range of maltitol syrups and powders marketed by Syral. With a low caloric value, Maltilite offers a sweetening power of around 70 %, which is relatively high compared to other polyols. Its nice sweet taste and low cooling effect make it a flavour enhancer. Its rheological properties are close to sugars and traditional glucose syrups. Maltitol is also used for its acariogenicity. Some fibres are also good candidates for sugars replacement. With only 1.5 kcal/g, Actilight has a sweetening power of 30 %, and because it is structurally similar to sucrose, it has a very nice taste. Moreover, Actilight develops a synergy with most of aromas and masks the after-tastes of intense sweeteners. Because Actilight has rheological properties that are similar to sugar s, the process doesn t need to be adapted. Actilight s fructo-oligosaccharides are soluble fibres produced from sugar. They have a glycaemic index of zero and are perfectly suitable for diabetics specific diet. Actilight fibre is distinguished by its prebiotic properties, as it selectively stimulates the growth of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli of the gut microflora, which brings proven benefits on digestive comfort and helps maintain a healthy digestive system. Using either dietary fibres or polyols has proven to be nutritionally efficient, however, attention has to be paid to the laxative effect of these molecules, consequently the global daily food intake has to be taken into an account when formulating. Using 25 % of the daily recommended intake value as a limit in formulation seems to work well. Light ice > In ice, fat and sugars equally contribute to the caloric value. They can be replaced respectively by Actilight and Maltilite. Actilight, associated to a maltodextrin, replaces 75 % of the fat and allows the making of ice which can be claimed fat reduced (Figure 1). Both recipes containing 4 % Actilight are source of fibres. May 2008 Wellness Foods Europe 5

3 The use of Maltilite allows the total substitution of sugar and glucose syrup. The ice cream is sugars reduced (remaining sugars are lactose from the milk powder), no added sugars and also calorie reduced, due to the joint reduction of both fat and sugars. Maltilite has a nice taste that contributes to the perception of the sweet taste, but in some cases, adding an intense sweetener can maintain the sweetening power, which is slightly decreased when a polyol is used as a sucrose substitute. Sugar and glucose syrup traditionally constitute the sweetening formula in ice. Sucrose allows to lower the freezing temperature of the product, which favours the formation of small ice crystals. As for glucose syrup, it imparts a more unctuous texture to ice cream by reducing the proportion of ice crystals. However, reformulation involves no specific change of the process. The viscosity of Maltilite is similar to that of glucose syrup, ( 20 %)* ( 37 %)* 4 ( 69 %)* 1.3 Reference Actilight Maltilite Actilight Calorie (kcal/100 ml) Sugars (kcal/100 ml) Fat (g/100 ml) *compared to the reference Figure 1: Nutritional composition of tested ice Global preference Sweetness Hardness Mouthfeeling Melting in mouth Vanilla aroma Reference Actilight Maltilite Actilight Figure 2: Results of sensory analysis for tested ice making it suitable as a bulking agent. It does not alter the freezing point, and does not cause browning during pasteurization, as polyols are not candidates for the Maillard reaction. A 55 % maltitol syrup (Maltilite 5575) that brings a firm texture is well adapted for choc-ices and bars. The freezing point is not modified in that case. A 75 % maltitol syrup (Maltilite 7575) will better suit ice cream tubs, with a slightly higher melting speed. Sensory evaluation shows that the only statistically significant difference is the mouthfeel with the Maltilite-Actilight recipe de- 6 Wellness Foods Europe May 2008

4 Dietary fibres and polyols Wellness Foods Europe scribed as more smooth and unctuous by the panellists (Figure 2). The reference and Actilight formulations are equivalent. There is a tendency towards higher sweetness and global preference for the test recipes, which is interesting in the case of the Actilight recipe, as it shows that the sucrose level could probably have been reduced too. No important difference on hardness is measured by the texturometer. The Actilight formulation is slightly softer. Europe s leading event for dietary supplements and functional foods No added sugars dessert > In the same way, the combined use of Maltilite maltitol syrups and Actilight allows sugar substitution in dessert. Total sugar sub ( 19%)* ( 31 %)* Reference 3 % 5 % Maltilite Actilight Actilight Actilight Calorie (kcal/100 g) Sugars (g/100 g) Fibres (g/100 g) *compared to the reference 5 4 Figure 3: Nutritional composition of tested dessert Smoothness MAY 2008 GENEVA PALEXPO SWITZERLAND Meet with over 100 international exhibiting companies Join the Distributors Wanted Scheme online Explore the Cosmeceutical showcase Discover all the latest products in the industry at the New Products Zone Experience the Tasting FPE Attend the Vitafoods International exhibition co-located with FPE Global preference* Sweetness* Register now & save 50! (Free exhibition entry and event guide for all advance registrations) Vanilla flavour Reference Maltilite Actilight 5 % Actilight 3 % Actilight Figure 4: Results of sensory analysis for tested dessert ORGANISED BY IIR EXHIBITIONS Co-located with May 2008 Wellness Foods Europe 7

5 stitution by Maltilite allows the no added sugars claim on the label. The product can also be labelled as source of fibres with at least 3 g of Actilight per 100 g (Figure 3). Tests run with chocolate and vanilla dessert have shown that the association of Maltilite and Actilight preserves the sensory properties of the product (Figure 4). The sweetening power is maintained by an intense sweetener. In the no added sugars formula where Maltilite is used alone, it might be necessary to adjust the intensity of aroma in order to keep the same level of taste. However, Actilight allows to enhance the flavour and improves the consumer s overall perception of the product. On the global preference, the two less sweet products are preferred but this might also be a panel bias since the panel is composed of adults while the product is rather targeted towards children. Modifications of the formulation can be made without any changes of the process, and the texture, which is mostly linked to starch, remains similar to the reference. Prebiotic cereal bars > In addition to its nutritional benefits, Actilight is also used in order to add value to foodstuffs by bringing its health benefits, namely the prebiotic effect. For this purpose, Actilight is increasingly used in breakfast cereals and cereal bars, foodstuffs which basically have a healthy image. For example, in cereal bars where Actilight replaces part of the glucose syrup, it enhances aromas and contributes to the specific chewy texture. In addition, it allows the high fibre claim and will promote the balance of the consumer s intestinal microflora. Enrichment at 14 g/100 g has been tested, which means 2 bars would provide a daily intake of 5.8 g fibres, which is enough to claim improved digestive comfort, according to the scientific substantiation of this health claim. Towards healthier habits > The challenge of formulating good tasting products meeting the dietary guidelines has proven achievable. Maltitol and fructans are molecules known for several decades, naturally present in various fruits and vegetables and have been recognised as safe worldwide. Supply chains and productions are well established for these nutrients. They yield good tasting end products and there is no technological barrier to use them. They contribute to lowering sugars in food, while providing carbohydrates and lowering caloric density. About the Author: Dr Anne Wagner graduated from the University of Strasbourg and got her PhD at the Institut National Polytechnique de Lorraine, France, specialising in biochemical engineering, before studying molecular biology at the University College of Galway (IR). She is now Vice President Innovation at Syral, coordinating product development and technical support. She is member of the food law committee at the European Starch Association. SYRAL ZI et Portuaire, BP 32, FR Marckolsheim 8 Wellness Foods Europe May 2008