Protein bar prototypes at IFT17
Whey protein may ensure bars retain an indulgent, cohesive texture.
 

LAS VEGAS — Companies turned to protein bars to display the benefits of their protein innovations during IFT17, the Institute of Food Technologists’ annual meeting and food exposition, which took place June 25-28 in Las Vegas. Milk, whey and egg provided the protein.

IFT17 event featured several other ingredient innovations centered around baked foods: enzymes for gluten-free bread, banana flour and Non-GMO Project verified ingredients.

Rembrandt Foods, Spirit Lake, Iowa, introduced Rempro 8090, an extension of its Rempro line. The egg protein isolate is de-flavored, which means it has no egg or sulfur notes. Besides protein bars, other potential applications could be refrigerated beverages.

Rempro 8090 is a “Generation 2” ingredient when compared to Rempro 8000, said Jonathan Spurway, vice-president of marketing and optimization for Rembrandt. Rempro 8090 offers benefits in taste, formulation ease and clean label, he said. Rempro 8090 also will work in products designed for diets such as paleo and dairy-free.

Milk Specialties Global, Eden Prairie, Minn., introduced Barsoft 5000, a soy-free line of protein ingredients composed of whey and milk protein isolates. The ingredients are designed to provide texture, sensory experience and extended shelf life in high-protein and nutrition bars. Barsoft 5000 has been shown to reduce browning and hardening over the shelf life of a bar, according to Milk Specialties Global.

Arla Foods Ingredients, Viby, Denmark, has developed Nutrilac PB-8420, a whey protein that has been shown to ensure protein bars retain an indulgent, cohesive (chewy) texture for 12 months or more in ambient storage conditions. The ingredient is derived from cows’ milk. Arla Foods Ingredients showcased the new ingredient in a 28% protein apple and coconut bar.

ICL Food Specialties, St. Louis, sampled a high-protein, low-sugar granola bar that featured a binder system with such ICL Food Specialties products as Bekabake EF W, Bekaplus Cal-sistent calcium fortification and Mag-nificent magnesium support.

Protein bar prototypes at IFT17
Dairy protein may be used in binding systems that may reduce sugar in bars.
 


The bar showed how a combination of dairy protein, inulin/chicory root and sugar may combine to form a binder system that reduces the amount of sugar, said Sharon Book, Ph.D., senior food technologist, bakery applications. The Bekaplus Cal-sistent calcium and Mag-nificent magnesium provided fortification without impacting texture or flavor, she said. The bar contained 10 grams of protein per 35-gram serving.


Enzyme assistance in gluten-free

DSM, Delft, The Netherlands, has introduced a range of baking enzymes designed for gluten-free bread and other wheat-free applications. Sensory panel tests performed in May demonstrated gluten-free bread baked with the new enzymes resulted in softer, moister and more cohesive bread, according to DSM. The enzymes also may be used in other applications, including corn tortillas, rye bread and spelt bread.

NuBana – a new banana flour

International Agriculture Group (I.A.G.), Mooresville, N.C., promoted two new functional fruit flours in its NuBana green banana flour line. NuBana N100 delivers the processing benefits of a native, cook-up starch, and NuBana P500, a pregelatinized flour, thickens in cold water and may replace hydrocolloids and stabilize fruit systems.

Bananas are classified according to their ripeness, said Rhonda Witwer, vice-president of marketing and business development for I.A.G. Entirely green bananas, those at stage 1, have a starch content of 70% to 90%. As bananas ripen, starch is converted into sugar. The starch content in stage 5 bananas is about 15%.

NuBana flour is produced when starch content is at its highest. The NuBana flour contains 75% to 80% amylopectin and 20% to 25% amylose, a ratio that is similar to the ratio in dent corn or potatoes.

“This plays out into interesting functional properties,” Ms. Witwer said. “For example, NuBana N100 has very long chains of amylopectin, with unique viscosifying activity where it behaves like a lightly cross-linked modified starch.”

Clean label wheat protein isolates

MGP Ingredients, Atchison, Kas., has introduced Arise 8100 and Arise 8200, both Non-GMO Project verified, to its Arise line of wheat protein isolates. The ingredients offer such benefits to baked foods as enhanced dough strength and elasticity and a way to supplement weak flour characteristics for added volume.

“Our innovation team continues to respond to consumers and food designers who want the option of being able to select clean label products,” said Mike Buttshaw, vice-president of ingredient sales and marketing.

Arise 8100 is the clean label equivalent of Arise 5000, which has a processing aid that may not be perceived as clean label, said Ody Maningat, Ph.D., vice-president of research and development and chief science officer. The L-cysteine in Arise 8100, unlike the L-cysteine in Arise 5000, is derived from a vegetarian, non-bioengineered/non-G.M.O. source.

Arise 8200 is the clean label equivalent of Arise 6000, Dr. Maningat said. The L-cysteine in Arise 8200 also is derived from a vegetarian, non-bioengineered/non-G.M.O. source.