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Food TechnologySmart and modern ingredients

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Learning objectivesL

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To understand what smart and modern ingredients are and why they are used in food manufacture.

To learn about the different types of smart and modern ingredients.

To understand about the role of microbiology and enzymes in food manufacture.

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Smart ingredients do not occur naturally. They have been developed through the invention of new and improved processes (new technology). They are natural ingredients that have been changed in some way to behave differently (such as a starch that thickens without being heated).

Modern ingredients are ones that have been recently introduced because of new technology. They are natural and have not been changed to behave differently. Probiotic yoghurts could be described as a modern ingredient and quorn is another one.

What are smart and modern ingredients?

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to make food behave in a certain way – i.e. to keep the sauce in a ready meal runny when cold

as an alternative ingredient – for example, as a meat analogue or a fat replacer

to improve the nutritional content of the food – for example, the fortification of breakfast cereals

Why are smart and modern ingredients used?

Smart and modern ingredients are used by food manufacturers:

Examples of such ingredients are artificial sweeteners, alternative proteins, fortified foods, chemically-modified starches, fat replacers, physically-modified starches and genetically-modified foods.

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Starches are the biggest group of smart materials available to food manufacturers today. These smart starches are called modified starches. They can be chemically or physically modified:

What are modified starches?

There are over 300 modified starches which are used in sauces, meat and dairy products, salad dressings, snacks and drinks, fruit fillings and preparations, baked products and sweets and even pet foods and animal feeds. Very few of these starches are available to consumers.

Sauce flour is physically modified during milling so that it does not clump together in lumps when you make a sauce.

Thickening granules are chemically-modified maize starch which can be added to hot water without lumps being formed.

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Chemically-modified starches are the biggest range of smart starches. They are modified by chemical treatment such as oxidation and hydrolysis (oxygen and hydrogen atoms are added to starch molecules) to behave in all sorts of ways.

Chemically-modified starches

They stay viscous (runny) when the product is chilled.

They prevent synerisis (water leaking out of the sauce) during freezing.

They remain unaffected by acid or sugar – i.e. they do not go runny when acid or sugar are added.

They remain stable during processing.

They have mouth feel properties during processing.

They provide a source of NSP (fibre) without the disadvantages of using wholemeal flour.

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Most physically-modified starches are pre-gelatinized starches. They are pre-cooked.

Physically-modified starches

Starch is heated up in liquid until it gelatinizes (thickens).

The mixture is cooled and spray-dried into tiny granules.

The granules are used in instant foods where ‘cooking’ does not happen but where just hot or cold water is added and the food is instantly eaten.

What foods can you think of that use this instant starch?

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Food manufacturers use modified starches that give the texture of fat – the rich, creamy and oily-like feel. They are fat mimetic starches and are used in low-fat dressings, sauces, soups and gravies as well as in ice cream, other frozen desserts and dairy products.

There are a wide range of low-fat spreads available to the consumer which contain less than half fat. If you look at the label, you will see that the main ingredient is water (and air!). They cannot be used in cooking, since the water will evaporate and the air will disappear when heated.

What are fat replacers?

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Lots of development is going on into sources of protein that do not involve animals, either for economic reasons or because some people do not want to eat animal products.

New protein foods which often have less fat than meat are now available to the consumer:

What are new protein foods?

tofu

texturized vegetable protein (TVP)

quorn.

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How is quorn made?

Quorn is a mycoprotein. It is a tiny fungus that is continuously fermented in towers as tall as Nelson’s column.

Nutrients are continuously fed into the fermentation tower. The fermented liquid is filtered and drained off.

The fermented liquid is passed through a centrifuge to remove the water and leave a paste.

The paste is mixed with extra ingredients, formed into different shapes and finally steamed so that it retains the right shape.

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Properties of quorn

It has a texture similar to chicken and breaks

down in the mouth during chewing just like meat.

It lacks flavour but absorbs surrounding flavours well.

It is high in protein and low in fat. It is a

good source of B vitamins.

It contains more fibre than meat

but still only quite a small amount.

It is not suitable for vegans as egg white

is used in the process.

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How are tofu and TVP made?

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Properties of textured vegetable protein (TVP)

It has a very bland flavour but flavourings can be added

to it or it can be cooked with distinctive flavoured foods.

It can be extrudedto resemble the

shape and textureof meat.

It is high in protein and fibre and low in fat (it

has a high biological value). It can be high in sodium.

It is used to add bulkto food products as

it is inexpensive compared to meat.

It is fortified with vitamin B and iron.

It can be dried, frozen or chilled.

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Properties of tofu

It is a soft semi-solid food and has a smooth texture.

It is also available in ‘silken’ form to replace

cream cheese or yoghurt in desserts, sauces or dips.

It can be plain, marinaded or

smoked.

It is high in protein and quite

high in fat.

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New protein foods quiz

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In the past, fortification was used to prevent or treat a nutrient deficiency or illness – for example, iodine was added to salt to prevent goitre and vitamin D was added to milk to prevent rickets.

Today, fortification is used to replace nutrients lost during processing and to optimize health.

What is fortification?

White flour is fortified with B vitamins since these are lost during processing. It is given the same vitamin B content as found in wholemeal flour.

Vitamins A and D are added to margarine so that it has a similar nutritional profile to butter.

A lot of products (breakfast cereals, drinks, biscuits and cereal bars) are fortified with a range of different nutrients.

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Columbus eggs are special eggs that contain more of the fatty acid, Omega 3, than ordinary eggs. Most people do not get enough Omega 3 which is essential for a healthy heart (oily fish such as mackerel is also a good source of Omega 3). The hens that lay Columbus eggs are fed on lots of seeds and greens – similar to the natural diet of wild fowl years and years ago. The yolks of Columbus eggs contain less saturated fat, more polyunsaturated fat and a lot more Omega 3 in comparison to normal eggs.

Fortified products

Fibre-rich white bread contains a modified starch which is resistant to being broken down into glucose in the stomach. The starch is called novolose and is only available to food manufacturers. It can be used in all sorts of baked products, snacks, cereals and even drinks!

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There are lots of beneficial health claims made by probiotic food companies. However, more research still needs to be done to prove some of the claims.

Probiotic products have been made available by new technology and claim to contain ‘friendly’ bacteria which help with digestion. They are often supplied as yoghurts and drinks.

What are probiotic products?

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Sweeteners are additives but also smart ingredients. They have been created by technologists to fulfill a new purpose:

What are sweeteners?

Intense sweeteners such as saccharin are 300 – 500 times sweeter than sugar weight for weight.

Some food products also need the bulk which sugar provides so a bulk sweetener such as sorbitol is used. Sorbitol has reduced calories but does brown when heated.

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All living things are made up of genetic material.

Nature has always changed the genetic properties of living things by mutation and natural selection.

Now modern scientists can alter the genetic make-up of cells to change their properties.

For example, a crop wheat could be made more resistant to disease by transferring certain characteristics from wild wheat.

Life savers or Frankenstein foods? You decide.

What are GM foods?

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Some genetic engineering is done for economic reasons – the crop will grow bigger or faster and so make more money.

GM crops may be useful to poorer countries if they need less water or are more resistant to pests and diseases.

Some genetic research is for medical developments such as new vaccines or cancer treatments.

It may be possible to make biodegradable plastics from plants to reduce the amount of fossil fuels used and to help the environment.

Why are foods genetically modified?

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Enzymes are proteins which speed up chemical reactions such as digesting food.

Chymosin is an enzyme extracted from the stomach of calves and is added to milk as rennet to make cheese.

An equivalent enzyme can be made from genetically-modified micro-organisms such as yeast.

This means the cheese which is produced is suitable for vegetarians and as a result fewer calves are slaughtered.

Genetically-modified enzymes

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So, it’s a good thing then?

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Smart and modern ingredients quiz

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Key pointsK

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Smart and modern ingredients are used by food manufacturers as an alternative ingredient; they are also used to make food behave in a certain way and to improve the nutritional content of food.

There are many different types of smart and modern ingredients: modified starches, fat replacers, new protein foods, fortified and probiotic products, artificial sweeteners and GM foods.

There are many advantages to GM foods as well as many disadvantages.