The Breakfast of Champions

August 2001

The Breakfast of Champions

By David J. Mauro and Ya-Jane WangContributing Editors

The motto “start your day off right with a good breakfast” has been your mother’s message for years. And as food ingredients are shown to do far more than just build strong bones and bodies, maybe this advice should be taken more seriously.

Although consumer concern about fat intake is beginning to wane, food companies still rate low-fat, fat-free, and reduced-calorie foods as the most important categories to focus on in the next five years. Because a high-fat diet reportedly has been linked with heart disease, and the American Heart Association recommends a daily intake of no more than 30% of calories supplied by fats, consumers realize the importance of low-fat or reduced-calorie foods to healthful living. According to FDA regulation, “low fat” is defined as a product containing 3 grams or less fat per serving, “low calorie” as 40 calories or less per serving and “reduced” as 25% less per reference amount.

Trends in formulatingFat and calorie reduction. When food technologists develop low-fat products, they can start with ingredients that are naturally low in fat without the help of a fat replacer. The finished product, however, usually is unsatisfactory due to the complicated chemical, physical and functional properties that fat contributes to the food system. Fat replacer is a broad term that covers several types of ingredients. Fat mimetics mimic fat through their water-binding properties and fall into three categories: carbohydrate-base, protein-base, or a blend of carbohydrate and protein and other ingredients. Fat barriers reduce the oil pickup during processing by forming a film on the surface of food (e.g., starch and cellulose). Fat extenders are emulsifiers that extend the functionality of fat. Fat substitutes are a group of synthetic fats with properties similar to natural fats, but with less bioavailability, resulting in fewer calories. Examples of these are caprenin, salatrim and olestra.

Food technologists target sugar, in addition to fat, for replacement in reduced-calorie foods. High-intensity sweeteners, such as acesulfame-K, aspartame and saccharin, commonly are used as alternative sweeteners. Sucrose, however, provides not only sweetness, but also functional properties to the finished products, that cannot be replaced by high-intensity sweeteners. Therefore, bulking agents, such as polydextrose and polyols, are used to fill the space.The FDA has approved polydextrose for use in certain baked goods and bakery mixes. In addition to acting as a bulking agent, polydextrose functions as a humectant, formulation aid and texturizer. Polydextrose is a randomly bonded polymer of glucose that contains only 1 calorie per gram compared with 4 calories per gram for bulk sweeteners.

Polyols, or sugar alcohols, are manufactured by hydrogenation of the corresponding reducing sugars. The polyol family includes sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, erythritol, lactitol, maltitol, isomalt and hydrogenated starch hydrolysates (HSH). In general, polyols have sweetness close to sucrose, but lower caloric values (2.4 to 3.0 calories per gram). For bakery applications, polyols can replace total or partial sugar usage and achieve energy reduction. At the same time, polyols can improve crumb color and shelf life, and prevent sugar crystallization. Polyols are noncariogenic but have digestive tolerance and side effects.Fiber, vitamins and minerals. Fiber, vitamins and minerals will also play a role in the way breakfast foods will look, especially in functional foods — foods that contain ingredients that tout specific health benefits. These foods are marketed in Japan and Europe, where they are more widely accepted. The most important of the functional ingredients, based on sales, are dietary fiber, oligosaccharides, calcium, calcium absorption promoters, iron and carotene.

Fiber, as a food ingredient, has had a rocky road since it was first reported as having health benefits. It consists of the nondigestible fraction of food made up of cellulose, hemicellulose, gums and lignin, and these are divided between soluble and insoluble fibers. Based on daily reference values, a “good source of fiber” contains at least 10% fiber, and a “high source” contains at least 20%. Changes in the Nutritional Labelling and Education Act (NLEA) have opened up the door for a number of general health claims. Of the health claims relating to disease allowed under NLEA, several are related to fiber intake.

Depending on the source of the dietary fiber, one can see different physiological effects. One of the more interesting groups of fibers is the oligosaccharides — short-chain polysaccharides of fructose, galactose, raffinose or stachyose. The most common oligosaccharide is inulin, a fructooligosaccharide (FOS) occurring naturally in chicory root, garlic, Jerusalem artichoke tuber and a number of other plants. It is considered a soluble dietary fiber that is not digested in the stomach, but is preferentially fermented in the gut by beneficial bacteria. What are the advantages of FOS over other dietary fibers?

They are completely water-soluble, stable, easily incorporated into processed foods, slightly sweet, do not bind minerals, impart no bad texture or taste, do not cause diarrhea in recommended dosages and require a smaller daily requirement. In high concentrations, FOS forms a gel-like substance that can be used in low- or no-fat food systems.

Vitamins continue to play a significant role at breakfast. As recently as last year, the FDA mandated the addition of folic acid to a number of cereal-based foods to aid in the prevention of neural-tube defects in newborn infants. Foods requiring fortification include bread, rolls and buns; corn grits and corn meals; farina; rice; macaroni and noodle products, including vegetable macaroni and noodles and nonfat milk macaroni products; and all enriched flours, including bromated and self-rising flours. The decision to fortify these products as opposed to other food groups was based on data indicating that nearly 90% of the population eats cereal grains at least once a day. In addition to the aforementioned foods, breakfast cereals can add up to 400 mg of folic acid per serving.

Vitamins A, C, E and beta-carotene, which for a number of years have been added to our foods routinely, have acquired a new popularity. This is due to the link between antioxidant vitamins and free radicals. These compounds have been implicated in a number of clinical conditions and in the natural aging process.

Minerals, like vitamins, continue to play a significant role in food fortification. Calcium, considered one of the prominent functional-food ingredients, is important in maintaining and increasing bone mass. With the understanding of minerals’ functions, the question of their availability becomes important, along with the effects of interactions with other food components.

In the bowlCereals have been a readily available and accepted source of vitamins, minerals and fiber — but what will breakfast be like as research shows the relationships between functional food ingredients and health?

Wholegrain cereals always have been seen as low in fat and a source of dietary fiber, but the amount of dietary fiber present can vary drastically depending on the source. In a 1994 Cereal Chemisty article entitled “Physiocochemical and sensory evaluation of extruded high-fiber barley cereals,” P.T. Bergland et al. showed that both the total dietary fiber and soluble dietary fiber could be improved in rice-based ready-to-eat (RTE) cereals by combining rice flour with ground waxy barley prior to the product’s manufacture. A 50/50 blend of barley and rice increased the total dietary fiber by 4.5% and the soluble dietary fiber by 2.3%. Sensory evaluation of this product showed it to be equivalent to the rice-based product.

Recently, the FDA has allowed the first food-specific health claim for a whole-grain cereal. Foods containing whole-oat ingredients now can make a health claim linking consumption with a reduced coronary heart-disease risk.

Besides a fiber source, cereals are a reliable source for the delivery of vitamins and minerals. Research cited in “Breakfast Cereals and How They Are Made,” published in 1990 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, found that children, teenagers and women who routinely ate RTE cereals at breakfast consumed significantly higher levels of vitamins and minerals than those who did not eat breakfast.Meat-ing breakfast links

As consumers become more aware of the consequences of a high-fat diet, they are more cautious about what is put on their breakfast plate. Because breakfast sausage has an inherently high fat content, around 30%, some consumers seek a reduced-fat version. The simplest way to reduce the fat content in breakfast sausage is to start with a lean (greater than 90% fat free) all-meat formulation; however, the resulting sensory characteristics are not acceptable to consumers. In general, fat provides flavor, mouthfeel, texture, structure, process performance, shelf life and appearance. Higher tenderness and juiciness values are related closely to higher fat contents. Simple fat reduction usually results in a less-than-satisfactory product.

Using water to dilute the fat content in meat is another fat-reduction method. In this case, a binder is required to hold the additional water. Carbohydrate-based fat replacers are used widely in low-fat meat products to provide lubrication, slipperiness, body and mouthfeel. Among all fat replacers for meat products, carrageenan is the most common. Carrageenan, a high-molecular-weight polysaccharide, is approved for use in meat products as a binder and extender. The three different types of carrageenan are iota, kappa and lambda. Iota-carrageenan is recommended in low-fat meat for its gelling, cold-solubility, freeze/thaw and water-binding properties. One theory as to the benefits of carrageenan is the similarity in size and shape between carrageenan particles and oil droplets. Modified food starch, maltodextrins (hydrolyzed starch with a dextrose equivalent less than 20), oat bran and oat fiber, as well as soy protein, also can be used as binders to retain moisture and improve texture in low-fat meat products.

To create visual appeal similar to that of the regular counterpart, rice often is added to give a fat-like appearance in low-fat breakfast sausage. Recently, modified starch has been processed to form gel-like pieces for visual appeal by combining it with other ingredients and by a special processing technique. More development is underway in this area.

Cracking upSince the late 1960s, when cholesterol was linked to heart disease, egg consumption has declined. Scientists have worked on removing the cholesterol and fat from egg yolks while still keeping the yolk’s unique functionality. The most economic ways to strip cholesterol and fat from eggs are the uses of organic solvents, passive trapping, beta-cyclodextrin and CO2 supercritical extractions.

Beta-cyclodextrin, once used in an egg product, is a cyclic, nonreducing oligosaccharide built from seven glucose units through an enzymatic process. The cavity of beta-cyclodextrin is hydrophobic, thus cholesterol can be docked temporarily within the cavity. Upon centrifugation, cholesterol can be removed from beta-cyclodextrin.NutraSweet Kelco, Chicago, developed a CO2-supercritical-extracted egg yolk with 92% of the cholesterol and 74% of the fat removed. Carbon dioxide behaves like water under high pressure. It diffuses through substrates and carries the cholesterol and fat along with it. When the pressure changes, CO2 is no longer able to carry the substances and drops them all. The process can be adjusted to extract only cholesterol and neutral lipids, leaving lecithin, protein and flavor components intact. In a scrambled-egg application, consumers gave eggs with reduced fat and cholesterol similar performance ratings to fresh eggs.

Dairy deliciousMilk. A fat-free, cholesterol-free milk with a cholesterol-lowering property and lowfat milk taste was unveiled in August 1996. Skim milk usually is associated with a watery appearance and bland taste. Milks formulated with oatrim, a fat replacing hydrolyzed oat flour, are said to have the taste and texture of 2% milk or better. The cholesterol-lowering property is attributed to beta-glucan, a soluble fiber and a major component to oat bran. Beta-glucan is an unbranched polysaccharide composed of (1Æ4)- and (1Æ3)- linked beta-D-glucopyranosyl units in varying proportions. Many research studies have shown that beta-glucan can lower cholesterol in hypercholesterolemic patients by increasing the “good” serum high-density-lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol concentrations and decreasing the “bad” serum low-density-lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol concentrations. Cholesterol-free milks with different flavors, such as cappuccino, are expected in the near future.

In Europe, yogurt-flavored milk drinks containing oligosaccharides have been introduced, which, as mentioned earlier, promote the growth of beneficial gut microflora. Oligosaccharides also can be added to skim milk to give it the body of whole milk.

Yogurt. Lowfat, fat-free and sugar-free yogurts now are common on the dairy shelf. Although the reduction of fat is achieved by using lowfat skim milks, additional ingredients are required to give a smooth and creamy texture. Modified food starch, gelatin, carrageenan, guar gum, xanthan gum and locust bean gum often are used to improve texture and water retention. Aspartame, a high-intensity sweetener, provides sweetness and reduces calories. Besides lowfat products, a number of new products have been introduced containing added vitamins.

Other breakfast foodsJuice. Orange juice now comes with more than 100% pure premium juice. Manufacturers now market juice with added calcium or vitamins C, A and E, or fiber. Targeted at children and adolescents, fruit-juice punches contain twice the recommended level of vitamin C and half the level of calcium found in milk to help promote bone growth. In markets outside the United States, new herbal drinks that emphasize general well-being and body balance are gaining popularity.

Liquid breakfast. Due to the fast-paced lifestyle and time constraints of modern society, quick, on-the-run liquid breakfasts are becoming popular. These liquid meals supply a healthful, balanced diet and are supplemented with vitamins and minerals. The main energy source comes from sucrose, a simple carbohydrate, which gives an instant energy boost. Maltodextrin, or hydrolyzed starch (complex carbohydrate), functions as a sustained energy source by slowly releasing energy over a long period of time.

Granola bars. Granola and breakfast bars are convenient and healthful. Nabisco, Parsippany, NJ, has created a reduced-calorie version using salatrim, a structured lipid made of short- and long-chain fatty acid triglycerides that contains only 5 calories per gram currently marketed by Danisco-Cultor, New Century, KS. Because they are absorbed differently, short-chain fatty acids provide fewer calories than do long-chain fatty acids. Desired functionalities are obtained by changing the composition of short-chain fatty acids.

Peanut butter spread. Reduced-fat peanut-butter spread is available now. Some products start with reduced-fat peanuts. The current products use either maltodextrin or corn-syrup solids as fat replacers. Both maltodextrin and corn-syrup solids are hydrolyzed starch products with dextrose equivalent less than 20 and greater than 20, respectively. Maltodextrin and corn-syrup solids impart a smooth texture that mimics the mouthfeel and structural attributes of fat crystals.

What breakfast will be like in the future is hard to say. But listening to mom’s advice about eating a good breakfast may be the best thing that one can do.

David J. Mauro, a carbohydrate specialist in the Center of Expertise Starch for Cerestar USA, received his M.A. in biological sciences from Sangamon State University and his Ph.D. in grain science from Kansas State University.

Ya-Jane Wang, a carbohydrate specialist in the Center of Expertise Starch for Cerestar USA, received her M.S. in food science and nutrition from the University of Minnesota and her Ph.D. in food science and technology from Iowa State University. Questions may be directed to (+33) (0) 1 4143 1924/5.

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