Healthy Ingredients
As well as its functional benefit during the manufacturing
process, fibre can also increase consumer appeal as gut health becomes more of a focus. It is suggested that we consume 28 grams of fibre every day, but actual consumption is far below recommended levels due to a perceived lack of products with fibre. “By fortifying confectionery products with fibre, manufacturers can help consumers to increase their fibre intake without significantly altering their diet and make their products more appealing.” We ask Holger Brack, Food Engineer MSc, Head of Product
Technology Lab and Applications at WDS, why he believes healthier confectionery is a growing trend, he responds: “Nutrition is a basic need and is primarily based on origin, upbringing, life milieu, traditions and religion, and thus less on activity and need. We are born with an affinity for sweets. The consumption of sweets takes place out of emotional impulse, mostly in the form of enjoyment or a personal reward. “Due to the general creeping loss of exercise and the
parallel increase in digital communication in our daily and professional lives, far fewer calories are consumed per day today than in earlier times. The result is an increase in body weight and obesity,” he explains. “With the knowledge of the negative consequences, this
worrying trend has triggered a counter-trend in the food and confectionery industry. This is increasingly supported by the industry, advertising and also by the population, says Holger. “The transparency of calorie and energy information, the return to natural raw materials and the reduction of carbohydrates, especially sugar, have led to the development of completely new products that are much healthier from a
16 Kennedy’s Confection February 2023
nutritional point of view and have less of an effect on the sugar metabolism. Sweets do not have to be unhealthy!”
Plant based ingredients Many confectionery products are composed exclusively of vegetable raw materials. However, raw materials of animal origin are found, for example, in fruit gums with gelatin. “As a binder, gelatin is largely responsible for the elastic structure. However, it can be replaced by other vegetable binders such as pectin, starch, agar or carrageenan. In chocolate, the milk components are often replaced by almond products, for example. Milk-based whipping agents are increasingly being replaced by pea protein with an equivalent degree of aeration,” says Holger. The share of vegan products is strongly increasing. “Nature
offers numerous alternative raw material sources, which, with the application of a target-oriented technology, delivers amazing results,” he adds. The market share of vegan or vegetarian products, some of
which also include dietary supplements, is growing steadily. A downturn is not to be expected. “Consumers have become more critical, so that nutrition tables and ingredient lists are increasingly read. In times of climate protection, fair trade and sustainability, the health aspect is increasingly being considered when snacking,” says Holger. With the still voluntary Nutri-Score on some foods as a guide to a balanced diet, the pressure on the confectionery industry to reduce the sugar content and improve the natural raw material characteristics is also generally increasing.
KennedysConfection.com
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