UK – British Food Ingredients Company Synergy Flavours has launched a new ingredient with properties aimed at helping food companies create healthier baked products.

The company says its “next-generation” ingredient effectively replicates the taste and texture of common baked goods while reducing calorie content.

Synergy says its team formulated the new ingredient with the intent of helping food manufacturers easily reduce fat content in their baked goods with minor recipe adjustments.

“We are fully committed to improving dietary health by using our flavor technology and our taste modulation platform to support reformulation of lower-calorie products,” remarks Ian Butler, innovation director at Synergy Flavours.

“This new, innovative technology can help manufacturers in achieving the challenging goal of reducing calories while maintaining the flavor and indulgence that consumers expect.”

When used to make a reduced-fat muffin recipe, tests show that the new ingredient is able to achieve a 37 percent reduction in fat, a 22 percent reduction in saturated fat and a 14 percent reduction in calories.

A sensory panel is reported to have said that the reduced–fat muffin delivered comparable sensory qualities expected of a full-fat bakery product.

The comparison was made between the full fat, reduced fat control and recipe with the solution. Scoring was done based on a criterion that included indulgence, sweetness, creamy mouthfeel and overall aroma.

Synergy’s new ingredient makes traditionally unhealthy products more suitable to low calorie diets which are becoming more popular by the day.

The ingredient follows Synergy’s range of solutions for sugar reduction in biscuits and cookies, which was launched in 2017 and is now expanding in response to consumer demands.

“Taste is still king”

Innova Market Insights reports to 50 percent of US adults are buying baked goods purely for their taste and indulgence.

“Taste is still king,” says the market researcher.

Meanwhile, the obesity epidemic sweeping the US and other parts of the world creates an equal demand for the responsible reformulation of products such as sweet and baked goods.

This presents producers with a challenge, as reformulating products with healthier ingredients cannot come at a sacrifice to taste and texture.

Its highly comparable results with regards to indulgence and taste make a viable healthy alternative to traditional sweet bakery goods.

A growing range of functional products

Synergy’s latest bakery ingredient follows a series of product developments aimed at boosting flavors in functional foods.

The company has been formulating solutions for vegan dairy bases that can bring yogurt and desserts to the plant-based market and vegan proteins for novel flavors like caramel.

An expansion last year also saw the completion of Synergy’s Thai division, growing capacity and allowing the company to produce blended powder flavors and mixes to address the growing demand in Asia for sports nutrition beverages, infant formula and sweet flavored functional mixed drinks.

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