Food Product Design: Concepts - June 2005 - Reducing Costs While Improving Quality

June 2005

Reducing Costs While Improving Quality

By Cindy HazenContributing Editor

In the early days of my food-development career, an ingredient salesman played a cruel trick when he told our purchasing manager that I insisted on using a new, expensive ingredient rather than the one in stock. As the salesman explained how well the old one would work, the manager's face reddened. "I knew it!" the manager exclaimed as he slammed his fist on the desk.

He'd just been told not only what he'd long believed, but what he most wanted to hear. After all, the purchasing department is happiest when managing the fewest number of ingredients, and if ingredient-happy technologists would toe the line, his job would be easier.

It's not that simple. We reach for the ingredients that work best in a given product. The practical-joker salesman was simply playing with an age-old departmental dispute and most likely could have gotten the same reaction in any company.

A technologist must maneuver through other departmental dilemmas. Add a sales-driven marketing department pushing one product among a bench full of rush development projects, throw in a plant manager desperate to solve a perceived ingredient-driven glitch in processing, and you have a recipe for pricing mayhem.

In the rush to produce product, the real goal -- cost optimization -- might linger like the New Year's resolution that never becomes more than an item on a to-do list.

Not only are development and manufacturing processes riddled with missteps that can impact the bottom line, but ingredients can change. Commodities are subject to price swings. Supplier competitiveness can reduce margins, as can the entry of more manufacturers into an ingredient market. The market is constantly changing, so it can be beneficial to periodically check formulations for efficiency.

Setting basic strategies Donna Demestre, senior food scientist, Newly Weds Foods, Horn Lake, MS, says that when given a formula for cost reduction, product designers have to consider if they must match the label. "If I don't have to match the label, the first thing I do is look at the high-priced items in the formula," she says. These include things like dairy ingredients, certain spices, flavors or colors, and dehydrated vegetables and fruits. For a product with a high level of cheese powder, the first step is to "see if you can reduce them or replace them with flavors, concentrated flavors," she continues. "There's a lot of other high-priced items. Jalapeño-pepper powder is a very expensive item. You see if you can replace it with a flavor and then use different carriers based on what your profile is -- be it a whey powder if it's a dairy item or maltodextrin if it's a savory item."

Matching the label declaration provides fewer options. "If you don't have free reign, the next thing you would do is just look at your ingredients in general," Demestre says. "It's amazing how many competitors can match each other's product at a lower cost and come up with pretty close to the same identical flavor profile as well as label."

When performing cost analyses, look at the ingredient's role in the product. "Sometimes production or R&D personnel will 'Band-Aid' the problem they are having with a food product," cautions Tonya Armstrong, senior applications scientist, Grain Processing Corporation, Muscatine, IA. "They are out in the production facility and having an issue with stability of a product, and they will add extra stabilizer to the batch. Twenty years later, it is the same formula but you've got several gums and starches in it because they tried to fix it that way instead of looking at the system and trying to optimize the stabilizer blend."

Some product revamps, such as lower carb, reduced fat or reduced calorie, might provide an opportunity to lower costs. Armstrong suggests maltodextrin and corn syrup solids as part of a fat-replacement system to give mouthfeel, less sweetness and clean flavor. "They can be used in conjunction with other ingredients to do that, which is beneficial and also a cost saving if they can replace an expensive ingredient with a lower-cost ingredient," she says. "This can be helpful even if it is a partial replacement."

Flavor optimization The uninitiated might take a quick glance at a formula's ingredient costs, gasp at the price of a flavor and declare it the price-driving culprit. The experienced technologist knows that often formulas contain flavors at such low levels that their contribution to the formula's cost might be minimal. Moreover, they might be saving money by replacing higher-priced ingredients, such as cheese.

"First of all, the food technologist has to start from the beginning and check his formulation," says Mariano Gascon-Figueroa, flavor lab director, Wixon, Inc., St. Francis, WI. "Does the product contain a high amount of proteins, starches or fat? Any food technologist that has tried to flavor soymilk has found out that after adding the flavor, it has disappeared or it is altered in a different way." Why? Some proteins and carbohydrates bind flavors; the degree depends on the flavor type, on amount and composition of the proteins, as well as the presence of ingredients such as lipids or polysaccharides he notes.

Secondly, it's important to choose the right flavor for the product. "It is well known that chocolate has the ability to mask the soymilk protein flavor and provide a smooth flavor profile," Gascon-Figueroa continues. "Food technologists have had a more-difficult time trying to get flavors such as vanilla and fruit flavors to come through."

Product designers should also look into which step of the process the flavor is added. "Where the process permits it, the addition of the flavor is in the last few steps to avoid flash-off," Gascon-Figueroa notes. "Is it water-soluble or oil-soluble? Flavors use solvents to carry the flavor delivery through the process. Sometimes, changing the solvent may help to minimize the loss of flavor. Dry or liquid flavors? Sometimes changing the flavor to dry helps to optimize the flavor and minimize the losses."

Whether or not the finished product will be refrigerated or frozen also comes into play, says Gascon-Figueroa. "In a frozen cooked-rice product, the starch retrogrades returning to a partially crystalline structure similar of the raw starch, then water is released (syneresis) and the texture becomes more firm," he explains. "Heating reverses retrogradation, so this is normally not a problem in rice products that are consumed hot and, therefore, a traditional flavor works well. However, it will be an issue if the product will be eaten cold, which in this case the amylose and amylopectin from the retrogradation can bind with the flavor components; therefore, the addition of an encapsulated flavor is recommended."

Frozen products, notes Cozy Helm, vice president, R&D, Wixon, Inc., if stored under the proper temperatures and with the proper protective packaging, will tend to hold flavor well. "Most of the concerns come with the processing prior to freezing -- the time that the product is held at elevated temperatures in heating or baking," she says.

It's equally important to consider the way product designers combine flavor components. "The food technologist has to add the flavor in the right way," Gascon-Figueroa cautions. "A typical breaded product consists of various layers. All the different parts of the coating system are subjected to different conditions. Because the outer layer (breading) is more prone to the effect of heat, light and oxygen, it is wise to build the flavor in the inner layers where the flavor is more protected. In other words, the flavor can be added to the marinated meat instead of to the bread crumbs."

Using flavor enhancers is another trick of the trade. "This great type of flavors can help to extend the flavor perception without a significant increase in cost," says Gascon-Figueroa. Wixon has a line of flavor modifiers. "These flavor technologies rely on enhancing or diminishing the perception of sweet, sourness, bitterness and saltiness," he says.

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is perhaps the best-known flavor enhancer. "MSG has long been known as a flavor potentiator by increasing the umami flavor of savory products," Helm says. "However, this may not be considered to be a label-friendly ingredient." She stresses that having the correct amount of salt, sugar and/or acid can help to maximize the impact of the added flavor: "Adding flavor or spices at below the threshold where they can be identified as the specific flavor or spice can give pleasing background notes that may maximize the characterizing flavor."

Then there's choosing between a natural or artificial flavor. Natural flavors are typically more expensive. However, in certain instances, the use levels are so low they don't significantly impact finished-product cost. "Natural flavors can also flash off to a greater extent when heated," says Helm, "thus requiring higher usage levels."

A flavor's format can also impact cost. The rule of thumb is that liquid flavors cost less than dry flavors, says Gascon-Figueroa. "Liquid flavors are normally a blend of flavor ingredients in the proper solvent, while dry flavors are usually spray-dried on a matrix of modified starch and maltodextrins, which involves an extra process and yield factors, and therefore, are more costly," he explains. "Encapsulated flavors, other than spray-dried, are flavors made with extrusion technology that offers better retention of volatile top-notes and are even more-expensive products since they have the extrusion process and low-yield issues."

Spice extracts can be expensive. "Oils and oleoresins are very costly, but again, they're like a flavor," Demestre says. They are so concentrated it takes very little to provide a lot of flavor. "Someone who's inexperienced might say, 'Oh, $30 a pound, I'm not going to use that,' but you use such a small amount; it's a very big cost saving if you can go that route or use those as flavor components. In the dry area, anything that's dried is expensive. Anything you have to spray-dry usually adds cost to it anyway. If you take a jalapeño-pepper slurry and dry it, it's going to run the cost."

The objective in flavor optimization is in controlling flavor release. "The ultimate goal is to release the flavor at the time of consumption," Helm notes. This is, however, easier said than done, she says. The key is to design flavor systems according to the process to minimize flavor loss before the product is eaten.

So how can designers develop a cost-conscious product? "My recommendation," says Gascon-Figueroa, "is to flavor the product by 'building blocks.' Going back to my example of the breading product, flavors can be added to coated products by a combination of spices, seasonings, flavorings and flavor enhancers. While ground spices and flavors can be used more effectively to maximize flavor potential, encapsulated flavors will deliver maximum impact while staying protected from heat and moisture. Lastly, flavor enhancers will help to linger and extend all the flavors, in general."

Choosing cheeses In a variety of applications, from frozen casseroles to snack foods, cheese is a distinguishing ingredient. The developer faces more-involved choices than selecting Cheddar or Monterey Jack. In addition to flavor, color, texture, and functionality are equally critical. Does the cheese melt appropriately? Is oiling-off minimal? Is browning excessive? Process-cheese choices can dial-up the desired attributes, often at a cost saving. Functionality of the typically expensive, natural cheeses is limited.

"The most-exciting cost savings occur when a developer considers the merits of a pasteurized-cheese ingredient," says Pamela Schoenster, associate principal scientist, Kraft Food Ingredients, Memphis, TN. "These products are designed to offer the flavor and functionality of standard-of-identity process-cheese ingredients. The process-cheese and pasteurized-cheese ingredient options offer cost savings over natural cheese, but another advantage is in the unique functionality that these products offer. These cheese ingredients are available in a number of on-trend flavor profiles and melt-restriction varieties. This allows the developer to create products with unique, functional character that is reproducible and offers consistent quality."

The best way to maximize cost savings is to approach a supplier and explain the goals and expectations of a project. "It is important for the technologist to consider as many ingredient options as possible," Schoenster says. "Many times, the best-tasting, most-cost-effective solution is one containing ingredients from different categories, such as a pasteurized-cheese ingredient plus cheese powder plus cheese flavor. At Kraft Food Ingredients, we refer to this approach as a 'cheese solution.' To achieve the most interesting optimization, all ingredient options should be considered."

The developer should be prepared to answer several key questions: What is the project objective? Are there any ingredient restrictions? Are there any special nutritional hurdles? Does the product need to be kosher or halal? Does the product have to match a specific ingredient line? Is there a cost target on the project?

Working closely with a supplier can greatly improve cost optimization. "This may be seen in an overall reduction in raw-material cost while maintaining high flavor impact and/or cheese identity," Schoenster says. "Another way proper selection of a cheese-ingredient solution may influence overall cost is in ease of manufacturing and improvement of efficiencies. In other words, you have chosen the right cheese for the job at hand. At Kraft Food Ingredients, we believe very strongly in the benefit of a 'cheese solution' approach. This approach greatly benefits the customer by utilizing a combination of ingredients to achieve the best flavor and/or functionality at the lowest cost. So the use of flavors in combination with a pasteurized cheese ingredient will, many times, give the best, most-authentic profile while reducing cost."

The cost of color Colors can carry a high price tag so maximizing color is important to reducing cost. The color chemist can suggest the most-appropriate color for a given system. Susan Brunjes, color chemist, Sensient Food Colors N.A., St. Louis, says it's important to consider many different factors. Is there a means of adequate dispersion of pigments or solubilization of dyes to get maximum effectiveness from the chosen color additive? What is the most-appropriate delivery system for the product and the process, a liquid versus powder versus specialty dispersion? The chemist can help determine the optimal strength for a batch size. It's also important to consider the ease of use for production operators. Lastly, stability testing in application should determine the most-suitable color-additive option. "Thorough evaluation of the above factors can be helpful in determining the most cost-effective color additive option for the product," she says.

In general, synthetic colors tend to be less expensive on a cost-in-use basis than natural colors "However, the cost-in-use of synthetic colors is generally so very low that even if you multiply by a factor of 10, it's not cost-prohibitive," Brunjes says. "Additionally, when choosing a color for a food or beverage application, it is important to consider stability and shade options as well. Choosing a color based solely on cost may result in a product that does not exhibit optimal color stability or desired shades."

Use the optimal form of the color at the production and processing stage, "whether the color form is a liquid, powder, granules, suspension, emulsion, diluted or co-dried product," says Byron D. Madkins, director food and beverage development and applications, Chr. Hansen, Inc., Milwaukee. "For example, if a powdered form of the color is the least-expensive form of a colorant to use, does it truly provide a cost savings? The powder may be dusty, easily airborne and require additional time for cleanup, which can add cost indirectly. The optimal form of the color is the form that is the most convenient to be used at the plant level and mixes-in best for the given food application. All of these things ensure batch-to-batch consistency, optimal batch/processing times and minimal cleanup, which optimize the overall cost of the product." A "value-added" color product may cost more than a corresponding cheaper form, but may provide overall savings and better cost control in the end.

Color formulation is also critical. For example, if the color is a liquid, says Madkins, "can it be more concentrated to provide a cost-in-use savings? On the other hand, if the colorant is diluted with a diluent or into a carrier, would the mix and/or processing times be decreased? Some of the more-difficult applications, at the plant level, are dry-blending applications and products that are emulsified or contain more than one phase." Dry-blending typically uses very concentrated colors at low rates, often making it difficult to ensure that the color is mixed uniformly he notes. "With products that are emulsions or contain both an oil and water phase, for example, it can often be difficult to ensure that the color is incorporated into the product consistently batch to batch to provide the desired final shade," he cautions.

Extractives such as paprika, annatto, and turmeric work as natural colorants. "These are generally selected for their technical properties, and their use is generally not cost-prohibitive," Brunjes says.

Anyone who has worked with paprika-colored seasoning blends, knows that they might fade. Many factors can affect color stability. The most-common factors to consider when choosing a color are pH, heat, light, processing conditions, possible interactions with other ingredients and regulatory requirements, Brunjes explains. "An example of products where color may be difficult to control would be those applications that are fortified with vitamins and minerals, since the vitamins or metal ions present in the product could accelerate color degradation," he says.

Water is a critical ingredient. It is important to ensure that the water is purified or filtered, free of ions, trace metals, etc., Madkins says, "as these can definitely interact with color to cause problems." Besides ingredients that have oxidizing or reducing properties, such as calcium, iron, and ascorbic acid -- even microorganisms in dairy products -- can cause the color to break down. "It is important to be aware of the stability of the color(s) in a given application, and you need to be aware of store lighting conditions," he continues. "The type of packaging used becomes critical in order to ensure the product is suitably protected from environmental factors, such as light and oxygen."

Often, combinations of natural and synthetic colors can provide optimal stability and performance in the finished applications well as ideal and/or unique shades for the finished product.

When trying to achieve a more-intense shade, it can be more effective to adjust the ratio of color components rather than increasing the overall color usage rate. "For instance, to achieve a darker green shade that is a combination of FD&C Yellow 5 and FD&C Blue 1, we can increase the amount of blue and decrease the amount of yellow while maintaining the same overall usage rate, instead of increasing both components at the current ratio," Brunjes suggests.

Cashing-in with hydrocolloids With so many stabilizer options, it can be difficult to choose the most cost-effective product for a system. The choice might be as simple as corn starch -- or a more-expensive, highly modified starch. Some applications might require a small addition of a gum. For cost and quality optimization, take care in to create the best system, because it can be a challenge to reformulate for cost reduction.

"I don't feel that one starch can easily replace another unless you're looking at pure corn starch," Demestre cautions. "Each one has its own characteristics or its own specialty. You have to really evaluate your system. You have to look at how much cross-linking and how many other things are involved that drive the price of that starch. Do I really need a freeze/thaw-stable product? Does it need to go through 50 freeze/thaw cycles? Can I use a starch that only does 10 and that would be a lower-cost starch, potentially?" Some products can get by with corn starch -- for example, snack seasoning. "Why would I put in a modified food starch," she asks, "when corn starch would work so well?"

If the product is not subjected to freeze/thaw cycles or steam-table abuse, corn starch may work well in certain applications. Demestre notes that it's particularly suited to rice or pasta seasonings or powdered-sauce mixes. "When you cook rice or pasta, the starches are leached out of those products, as well," she says. "Sometimes a simple corn starch will work. Corn starch is an instant thickening starch. All you're trying to do is not only flavor it, but on a pasta specifically, you're trying to thicken-up the sauce mix with it."

Designers must examine all product parameters to determine what type of starch they need. "Corn starch is best for something you're going to eat right away," notes Demestre, "or it's used as a drying agent, like in the snack -- basically, it helps adhere and dry." For a product that's expected to sit any length of time, she recommends cross-linking and other types of modified food starches to help hold stability.

Aside from choosing the most cost-effective starch, it's equally important to maximize functionality. "As far as modified food starches go, optimizing the starch cook and using the appropriate amount of starch can often save money," says Armstrong. "Corn-syrup solids and maltodextrins can be used to help replace sweeteners and give more body and viscosity and can act as fillers, depending on the application."

Overstabilization is the dearth of cost efficiency, and in some cases, quality. "In bakery fillings, if the starch cook is not completely optimized, you may have an overstabilized product," Armstrong says. "For example, people use starch-and-gum combinations, and often they use way too much starch and gum and could get by with less of it and still have a stable, clean-flavored product."

Other bakery applications that are often overstabilized include sweet goods, such as layer cakes. "If the cake is overstabilized with starches and gums, it can tend to cause shrinkage, tunneling and poor textural quality," says Armstrong. "They might get by with using one starch and one gum that might give them a better textural property and longer shelf life.

"The same could be said in a sauce or gravy application," Armstrong continues. "If someone's using a couple different starches and a gum, they might be able to cut it back to one starch or one gum or a combination of those at a lower level. It's going to save money and make a cleaner-tasting, more-stable product if it's processed properly."

Freeze/thaw stability can test the strength of a stabilizer -- and often the developer's patience. "It's important to pick a starch that has good freezer stability: the ability to handle being frozen and thawed and reheated," Armstrong advises. Picking the proper starch and cooking it correctly can help keep costs down. If one starch does not give the textural properties desired in the application, product designers can add a small amount of gum for body and mouthfeel.

In a sauce or gravy, maltodextrins and corn-syrup solids are inexpensive additions that can improve the body of the product without adding more-expensive solids. "But you don't rely on the maltodextrin or the corn-syrup solid for the stability of the product," Armstrong cautions. "It would be there as an ingredient to help change the texture of a sauce. A lower-DE maltodextrin tends to give you a higher viscosity and a creamier mouthfeel." She recommends a 5- or 10-DE maltodextrin. "You have to watch the amount of maltodextrin or corn-syrup solid that you put in the application," she continues, "because it does affect the starch hydration and the gum hydration in a sauce."

Maltodextrins and corn-syrup solids are especially useful in more-expensive beverage systems. "We do quite a bit of applications work in the sports and nutrition area," Armstrong says. "I know that in some of these higher-end beverages, if they are looking to improve the dispersion of a protein or a vitamin and/or mineral premix, maltodextrins function very well, depending on the particle size, to help disperse those expensive ingredients and also bulk-up the system. If you are looking for something to fill a package, you can pick a particular maltodextrin and particle size for that package, and this might help reduce costs and make the product more functional."

Maltodextrin is used in sports and nutrition products to provide carbohydrates. Maltodextrin has a clean flavor and is a good energy source. "At the appropriate levels in a sports drink, maltodextrin will not cause stomach cramps," says Armstrong. Product designers can add an 18-DE maltodextrin to sports drinks at a concentration of 6% to 8%.

Resistant starches are a unique breed of ingredient. Technically a starch, they behave as fiber. "One of the big benefits or differences compared to traditional fiber is the low water holding," says Steve Ham, director of marketing, specialty ingredients, MGP Ingredients, Inc., Atchison, KS. Other benefits include the sensory properties of neutral flavor, white color and smooth texture, and those help distinguish it from traditional fiber.

"As far as applications, it goes into a very diverse line of products including white pan bread, tortillas, pizza crust, cookies," says Ham. "You have many applications where you wouldn't think there would be fiber. With the low water holding, it's possible for processors to formulate for products where water-holding might be critical." This includes foods where crispness is desirable, such as in a cracker or waffle.

Wheat-based resistant starch is an example of cost reduction based on delivery. Ody Maningat, vice president, application technology and technical services, MGP Ingredients, describes the several types of resistant starch: "The cost reduction that we've been reporting from MGPI is really that the resistant starch that is wheat-starch based gives a higher fiber content than the other resistant starches. For example, the wheat-based and potato-based resistant starch delivers 70% to 80% dietary fiber whereas the others deliver 30% to 60%. When the producer wants to use a certain level, they definitely will have some cost savings using a resistant starch that delivers a higher fiber content."

The other benefits of wheat-starch-based resistant starch include taste and texture for bakery products, continues Maningat. "It's a natural additive because of its compatibility with flour," he says. "Appearance-wise, you don't even perceive that it's high fiber because of the small particle size, whereas a conventional bran will give you the dark coloration and even some sort of a bitter note."

Unlike starches, maltodextrin or corn-syrup solids, formulas generally use gums in fairly small amounts. Nonetheless, they are commodity items subject to such market whims as climatic changes and political stability. For example, market fluctuations related to gum arabic, derived from the acacia tree in Senegal, have caused purchasing departments to press R&D to find more price-stable products.

In response, Cargill Food & Pharma Specialties, has developed EmCap(TM) modified starches. Wen Shieh, Ph.D., manager, applied science & support, Hammond, IN, describes this ingredient as derived from corn with a lipophilic group. "The ingredient can be used in beverage emulsion and/or beverage cloud and spray-dried flavor to replace gum arabic," he says. "A one-to-one replacement is a general practice. Depending on the market price of gum arabic, usually 40% to 60% cost saving is achievable. This ingredient provides several benefits, such as consistent quality, easy to disperse into the solution, no shortage of supply and competitive price with similar or better functionality than gum arabic."

Replacing the protein Sodium caseinate is another expensive ingredient that Shieh says can be replaced with EmCap. "The ingredient can be used in nondairy creamer or coffee whitener to replace sodium caseinate," he notes. "In most of applications, one part of EmCap can replace one part of sodium caseinate and can still provide the same functionality. At least 50% to 60% cost saving can be achieved by using modified food starch." Sodium caseinate, a derivative from milk protein, is sensitive to the pH range of the food system. "At acidic condition, food modified starch will provide a much better emulsion stability," he says.

Other ingredient replacements, notes Maningat, can also save money -- but keep a close eye on quality. "One area where cost reduction has an adverse affect on quality is the area of protein substitution," he says. "The food industry uses proteins from different sources," such as dairy, soy, wheat and eggs -- and they can be expensive, especially nongrain ingredients.

"One of our cost-reduction projects is to replace egg white or egg protein and also milk-based protein like sodium caseinate," continues Maningat. "We've found that, in chemically leavened bakery products, we can completely replace sodium caseinate with our wheat protein isolate and our specialty wheat protein concentrate. In another case, we were able to replace egg protein with our partially hydrolyzed wheat gluten and wheat protein isolate."

Combinations of protein, notes Ham, bring different pieces to the replacement puzzle. "Bringing them together is a more-effective solution in many cases." He suggests using two different types of specialty proteins: one that would aid in foaming and one that would aid in strength and binding. "In-house lab data shows that for an egg-protein replacer," he continues, "the combination of MGPI's partially hydrolyzed wheat gluten and wheat protein isolate give good foaming capacity and good emulsification capacity."

According to Ham, product designers can use this wheat gluten and wheat protein isolate as a partial replacement for egg whites in pasta to maintain textural firmness. "There are other properties, like helping to reduce surface stickiness of the cooked pasta," he notes. "It can be used through different processes. For example, a traditional, dried, in the package pasta would usually use negligible amounts of egg whites, so it's a similar deal if you jump up to harsher processing conditions, like retorting or canning, and then use higher levels of egg whites. That's where a lot of these projects are driven to partially replace egg white and help drive down some cost while maintaining the texture. Our wheat-based proteins are a great fit for a wheat-based product like pasta."

Pricing of wheat proteins has been fairly stable. "Sometimes, if prices are spiking a little bit, we may field additional calls to start some projects with customers," Ham says. Depending on the formulation, it's possible to save up to half of the protein costs by replacing other types with a wheat protein.

Soy proteins are priced similarly to wheat, but that doesn't mean they can be used interchangeably. "There are different places you can use wheat or soy," says Russ Egbert, director of protein research, ADM, Decatur, IL. He notes that when a product designer is trying to select a protein, they need to ask themselves: "What are the functional properties of that protein in that food system, and what proteins do we have available that could replace that? When you're looking at adding value to a food product, you're looking for situations where either from a functional aspect or from a nutritional aspect you can bring something that other proteins may not."

Egbert points out that soy protein allows a health claim on reduced incidence of cardiovascular disease if the product contains 6.25 grams of soy protein per serving of a product, is low in fat and meets the general health-claim requirements.

From a nutritional perspective, notes Egbert, soy protein is an especially cost-effective protein for bringing balance to formulations. "In certain applications, it can be used to either substitute part or all of the milk protein," he says. "Those would be in various dairy applications -- in yogurts, processed cheese, sour cream, frozen desserts. It can be used in baked goods. In fact, baked goods is one of the areas where especially soy flours have been used to replace nonfat dry milk. It's really a cost-effective replacer for various proteins, whether it be dairy proteins, meat proteins or egg proteins in certain cases. Many times, it may not be a 100% substitution, but it may be a partial substitution."

In some cases, the functionality of the soy protein adds significant improvements to the product. In nutrition bars, for example, adding certain functional isolated soy proteins can extend shelf life by preventing moisture migration.

When product designers add soy to processed-meat applications, they can achieve cost savings and textural improvements, partially by permitting better water retention. "In a ham-and-water product, you can actually increase the overall functional properties of the product and make it more sliceable," Egbert says.

In ice cream and bakery applications, sometimes a combination of dairy proteins provides the best cost savings without diminishing quality. All-dairy substitute blends can provide the same functionality of nonfat milk, notes Jon Buhler, president, Hilton House Foods, Inc., Wichita, KS. "In bakery, in many cases, it's to replace high-heat nonfat as opposed to low-heat nonfat," he says. "It's primarily a cost-savings tool, and the other thing it does is, if manufacturers are buying nonfat and, say, whey powder, and mixing those together, we provide a product that has those mixed together already in one bag in the proportions needed for their application so they only have to inventory one item. We may save several cents under the cost of nonfat dry milk."

Opportunities for cost cutting while simultaneously improving quality can come in many forms. Once a manufacturer has determined any big-picture parameters -- specifically any items that cannot change during reformulation, such as labeled ingredients and/or branded sensory characteristics -- designers can work with a better-defined arsenal of tools to see how to best trim the fat, possibly by adding or replacing ingredients.

Fine-tuning any ingredient-sourcing and processing procedures can also help this process. For example, working with a supplier's applications group, notes Ham, can help get the best cost savings and optimum formulation.

At the end of the day, whether retooling an existing formulation or starting from scratch, steadfast product designers can find numerous ways to develop cost-effective, high-quality products when armed with the right perspective and the most-relevant, up-to-date information.

Cindy Hazen, a 20-year veteran of the food industry, is a freelance writer based in Memphis, TN. She can be reached at [email protected] .

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