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New Technology Boosts Fiber in Foods
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Charles Onwulata, a food
technologist, prepares ingredients
for high-pressure homogenization,
a process that can increase
fiber content in fluid foods.
(K9309-1)
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Americans fall short when it comes to
eating enough fiber each day. So what are scientists doing to help? They have
come up with a new technology that allows them to add more fiber to foods
without changing their texture, says food technologist Charles I. Onwulata,
who's in the ARS Eastern Regional
Research Center's (ERRC) Dairy Products Research Unit, in Wyndmoor,
Pennsylvania. "Until now, adding fiber to foods was difficult because it
changed the qualities—particularly the texture and mouth feel—of the
food," Onwulata says.
Onwulata has filed for a patent on the new technology, "invisible
fiber," a process that uses milk protein to envelop the fiber and keep it
from soaking up water. "The protein barrier makes the fiber
‘invisible’ to water. The fiber doesn't pull moisture out of the rest
of the food product," he notes. "But the invisible fiber envelope
will dissolve during digestion, allowing the fiber to perform its normal
function in the gut. This new, encapsulated fiber can be incorporated into food
products without changing texture or moisture. Many foods can be modified with
the invisible fiber." |
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Chemist Renee Wildermuth bakes
muffins and cookies containing
"invisible fiber."
(K9310-1)
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Traditionally, food manufacturers
have increased fiber in foods in small amounts to avoid negative effects such
as changes in texture, color, and mouth feel. In foods with high fiber content,
the fiber absorbs water from its surroundings, giving the food a dry texture.
Reducing the water-holding capacity of the fiber improves food quality and
allows more fiber to be added without changing its texture, Onwulata says.
Onwulata and colleagues conducted baking studies to test the moisture level,
protein content, color, and hardness of foods made with invisible fiber and
compared them to recipes with regular fiber. Fiber affects these properties,
and these properties determine consumer acceptability.
The scientists-turned-chefs baked cookies and muffins power-packed with
invisible fiber. The invisible fiber improved the goodies' qualities. |
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Muffins and cookies made with
invisible fiber.
(K9311-1)
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ARS researchers are also working
with industry to increase fiber in fluid foods. They had a cooperative research
and development agreement with Verion, Inc., of Exton, Pennsylvania, to adapt a
"dynamic pulse-pressure treatment" process for the food industry. The
technology, which is patented by Verion, uses hydrostatic pressure—the
force applied through water—to change the moisture, density, and melting
properties of foods. The treatment was originally used for making
pharmaceuticals.
"Scientists have known for a hundred years that high pressure can be used
to process foods," says Onwulata. "Old methods take anywhere from 20
to 30 minutes to pressure-process foods. With dynamic pulse-pressure treatment,
pressure-processed fluid foods like milk or slurries (pastelike fluid that can
pass through a nozzle) can be processed in 1 second—faster than with
anything else that's on the market," he says.
Foods react differently to pressure processing, since they have varying
densities and abilities to dissolve in water. In studies at ERRC's dairy pilot
plant, a small-scale processing facility, scientists tested several food
ingredients, including whey proteins, corn starch, wheat bran fiber, and
cellulose fiber.
They found that pressure treatment modified the molecular structure of the
starches. Pressure-treated fiber had about a 40 percent reduction in its
water-holding capacity. Microscopic images revealed that pressure treatment
packed the fibers into small balls that were impervious to moisture.
"Once these technologies are fully developed and commercialized, the food
industry will greatly benefit from them," Onwulata says. Many companies
are interested in increasing the amount of fiber in their foods as a benefit to
consumers. The recommended fiber intake is 20 to 35 grams per day. But on
average, Americans get only about 15 grams per day. Studies suggest that fiber
decreases heart disease, some cancers, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
Nutritionists still agree that eating a variety of grains, fruits, vegetables,
and legumes is the best way to get fiber. Meanwhile, ARS researchers will
continue to look at ways to boost fiber in other foods.—By
Tara
Weaver-Missick, Agricultural Research Service Information Staff.
This research is part of New Uses, Quality, and Marketability of Plant and
Animal Products, an ARS National Program (#306) described on the World Wide Web
at http://www.nps.ars.usda.gov.
Charles I. Onwulata is at the
USDA-ARS Eastern Regional Research
Center, Dairy Products Research Unit, 600 E. Mermaid Lane, Wyndmoor, PA;
phone (215) 233-6497, fax (215) 233-6795. |
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"New Technology Boosts Fiber in Foods" was
published in the March 2001 issue
of Agricultural Research magazine.
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