Top Editors ... Functional foods: the Taste Factor

Title: Functional foods: the Taste Factor
Date: 10/10/2007
Autor: By Lynda Searby

Taste is key to product acceptability, yet it is not always straightforward to
formulate functional foods that deliver on flavour as well as health

Demand for functional foods continues to rise and many market estimates point to them commanding around 5% of the total global food market in the next five years. With such rosy forecasts, it is easy to see why fortification of products with minerals, vitamins, omega 3s and other healthy ingredients will continue to be top of
many food manufacturers’ NPD agendas.
But while functional foods might be a marketer’s dream, they can equally be a product developer’s nightmare, as Mark Fanion, communications manager with US custom premix manufacturer Fortitech, explained: “There are numerous challenges to overcome in order to address both the consumer’s need for healthy products and the manufacturer’s need for delivery systems free from formulation issues such as appearance, taste, texture and flavour.
“Certain nutrients are not very soluble so you have to select the correct format to avoid sedimentation, for example. Others may give a bitter aftertaste, or be light and/or heat sensitive. In addition to the correct choice of ingredient, proper particle size and other chemical properties should be considered during the R&D phase.”
Fortunately, a range of technologies, from microencapsulation to chelation, micropulverisation, stabilisation and taste masking flavours, are making life easier for product developers.
Austrian firm GAT Food Essentials, for example, has developed a proprietary microencapsulation technology (multiple microencapsulation by in-situ polymerisation) for creating liquid functional ingredients.
“The microcapsules are composed of a water-in-oil-in water emulsion that is surrounded by a shell; the balance of the phases together with the shell protects the encapsulated ingredient from oxidation, degradation, and from tasting and smelling in any food or beverage application with a pH of above 3.6,” explained Stefan Thueringer, business development and marketing manager at GAT.”
Mr Thueringer pointed out that the technology can be applied to any active ingredient that is water soluble, oils and oil suspensions.
One oil, however, which isn’t so straightforward, is omega 3, as the encapsulation system doesn’t fully mask its taste and smell. GAT has overcome this issue by partnering with Denomega Nutritional Oils, a Norwegian producer of taste- and odour-free fish oils.
“Denomega uses oil from cod that stores all of the omega 3 oil in its liver; this is a very clean oil compared with fish body oils where the entire fish is pressed and the oil needs to be cleaned up,” said Mr Thueringer.

Taste issues
BASF is another ingredient firm that has worked to overcome the taste
issues associated with fish oils. The German company supplies longchain omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) derived from fish oil.
These are very sensitive molecules due to their double bond structure.
They are easily oxidised and, if left unprotected, develop a strong fish taste and other off-flavours.
BASF says it avoids taste problems by using only top quality fish oil to minimise the presence of oxidation products. To protect PUFAs and mask their inherent fishy taste, BASF offers them in an encapsulated powdered form. The stability of PUFAs is increased by adding antioxidants during encapsulation and by coating the encapsulated particles.
For its new range of omega 3 containing food systems for dairy products, Frutarom has drawn on new technology, which is said to prevent the oxidation that causes the off flavours and aromas in the end product. Frutarom’s Food Systems with omega 3 are ‘all in one’ preparations that enable dairy companies to produce functional
products that it claims offer a taste delivery comparable to that of their conventional dairy counterparts. To inspire new product development using its new dairy food systems with omega 3, Frutarom has created several application concepts such as lemon flavour yoghurts, and yoghurt drinks with a latte macchiato flavour.
At the Vitafoods exhibition in Geneva in May, Ocean Nutrition was demonstrating
its delicious tasting fish-sourced, omega 3-containing product concepts such as ice cream and fruit compôtes. The company has patented the Powder-loc microencapsulation technology – the result of over seven years of development work, which it uses to produce Meg-3 Omega 3, an ingredient that is said to provide the
health benefits of omega 3 without detriment to the taste or smell of the finished product. Meg-3 is also designed to withstand high processing temperatures, including pasteurisation; homogenisation and extrusion.
Powder-loc uses double shell protection, which keeps both the EPA and DHA components of the omega 3 locked into the microcap and keeps the smell and taste of the fish out of the food product. It is supplied as a free flowing, dry powder that can be incorporated into any production facility without the mess or smell often associated with fish oil products, according to Ocean Nutrition.
Cargill also chose Vitafoods for the launch of its new omega 3 food ingredient, which it says can be incorporated into products at levels of up to 150mg per serving with no discernible change in the flavour or shelf life of the finished product.

Vitamins
Vitamins are another group of ingredients that present problems for formulators of functional foods. Vitamin E, for example, is sensitive to oxygen, heat and light; Vitamin C is unstable due to the presence of oxygens and metal ions; and Vitamin B1 is unstable when subjected to heat, sulfites and high pH values.
Such issues are not insurmountable though, according to LycoRed, an Israeli firm with expertise in premixes containing vitamins and other functional ingredients.
LycoRed recently developed a vitamin formulation for Materna Big, a powdered milk drink for children that contains 23 vitamins and minerals, probiotics and fibre and comes in chocolate, strawberry and banana flavours.
LycoRed said it met the dual demands of nutrition and taste by selecting the highest quality vitamins and masking the unpleasant vitamin/mineral taste in a formulation which offers improved solubility and an extended shelf life.
In another project, LycoRed helped Israel’s Neviot to enter the near-water category with Neviot+, a flavoured near-water fortified with Vitamin B.
“We had to develop a means to fortify mineral water without affecting the taste, clarity or colour,” said LycoRed marketing director Udi Alroy. “This required a special formulation that improved the solubility of the vitamins.”
According to Fortitech’s Mr Fanion, functional beverages – particularly those with organic, natural or energy-boosting ingredients - are one of the main growth engines driving the functional foods market. He lists the ‘indemand’ ingredients for functional drinks as taurine, caffeine, antioxidants and lycopene, as they ‘fulfill the desire of consumers for added energy and healthier options’.
Other ingredients poised for growth include fibres, proteins, soy isoflavones, CoQ10, plant extracts and probiotics.
“The challenge for manufacturers is incorporating these ingredients and other nutrients into beverages while avoiding the bad taste, sedimentation and other consequences that often result from ingredient interaction,” said Mr Fanion.
Prototypes that Fortitech has developed to demonstrate how custom nutrient premixes can be incorporated into beverages include a fortified Piña Colada-flavoured slush, which delivers calcium, niacin, and Vitamins A, B6, B12, C, D3 and E.
The company is proactive in developing custom formulations for a range of functional foods. Cactus flavoured energy/immunity boosting ice cream with guarana, green tea extract, Vitamin B1, B2, B6, B12, biotin, folic acid, niacin, panthothenic acid, Vitamin C and zinc, and chocolate, blended with more than 15 essential vitamins and minerals, are just two of the concepts Fortitech has shown at recent food industry exhibitions.

Flavour
From a flavourist’s perspective, there are two approaches to improving taste in functional foods and beverages. The first is blocking undesirable notes by using base formulations and then adding selected flavours.
However, according to Synergy, the flavour arm of Carbery, this method is unsuitable for some ingredients, notably very bitter ones.
In these cases, manufacturers look to ‘confuse’ the palate by working with notes or tastes already present in the product, says the company.
For example, by adding chocolate or citrus notes – tastes associated with bitterness – the bitterness of the ingredient is complemented by the flavouring.
Synergy says soya is one ingredient that often requires masking. Applications work to-date in beverages and non-dairy ice creams has included development of fruit and vanilla flavours. Many manufacturers find it extremely difficult to make vanillas which are compatible with soya. However, Synergy has developed a very simple vanilla flavouring for use with soya with no beany notes. Synergy also offers particular expertise in masking whey protein notes. The bitterness of whey protein is usually masked with vanilla, chocolate, coffee and caramel flavours, whose smooth, round notes offset the taste of the protein itself.
The other major group of flavours used in whey protein applications is fruit. Here, the natural acidity of the fruit, such as malic acid or citric acid, deceives the senses into associating the bitterness with the fruit, rather than the protein.
Danisco has chosen the Brazilian rainforest as the source of inspiration for its superfruit addition to a new range of convenient and high quality flavours. Brazilian açai berry is known as a powerful source of nutrition, filled with antioxidants, amino acids, essential fatty acids, proteins, iron, fibre and other vitamins and minerals. Danisco’s
açai berry flavours are designed to provide the taste delivery necessary to create a delicious product and mask the slightly metallic taste of the raw fruit.
According to Danisco, the açai berry has a sweet, pleasant flavour, which is slightly reminiscent of chocolate. It can give a juicy, tropical touch to dairy, ice cream beverage and confectionery products.