Photo: Orafti Active Food Ingredients |
When the popular press picks up on even a sliver of disagreement pitting one nutritional theory against another, it often turns years of accepted dietary advice on its head. Overnight, what once was good for you becomes bad. No wonder so many weight-watchers toss in the towel.
The situation proves equally confounding to product developers pursuing the latest diet and wellness trend to capture the consumer’s fancy. Yet, amid all the options for improving prepared foods’ healthfulness—from boosting fiber to cutting sugar to designing for satiety—a surprising number of us travel back in time for a strategy that’s weathered the diet wars: fat reduction.
Why trim the fat?
Our understanding of how we gain and lose weight has advanced remarkably, but the underlying equation remains largely a matter of calories in vs. calories out. And fat, with 9 kcal per gram, compared to protein’s and carbohydrate’s 4, “is the single most concentrated source of energy in your diet,” says Lauren Swann, M.S., R.D., president, Concept Nutrition, Inc., Bensalem, PA. “It’s just so easy to add it.”
Judging from current rates of overweight and obesity, that’s likely what we’re doing. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) found the incidence of obesity among American adults more than doubled from 14.5% in 1971 to 1974, to 32.2% in 2003 to 2004. Globally, the International Association for the Study of Obesity (IASO) of the International Obesity Taskforce (IOTF) pegs the world’s number of overweight at 1.148 billion, and obese at 316 million.
When organizations from the American Heart Association to the American Dietetic Association to the USDA advocate limiting fat to 20% to 35% of daily calories, they make a moderate, effective suggestion for losing weight, and one that may improve overall health. “Studies have shown the relationship between low-fat diets and the reduction of cholesterol and coronary disease,” says Allen Freed, president and CEO, Gum Technology Corporation, Tucson, AZ. The Women’s Intervention Nutrition Study (WINS) found that, among 2,437 women previously treated for early-stage breast cancer, 9.8% of those placed on a 15%-fat diet experienced relapse, compared to 12.4% of those on a 30%-fat control. That’s a 24% lower risk for the intervention group, which also enjoyed an average 6-lb. weight loss relative to the control. Whether the weight loss or the low-fat diet accounted for the reduced relapse rate isn’t entirely clear, but either way, the women came out ahead.
Preventing ice crystal formation in reduced-fat ice cream is among the challenges the new generation of fat-replacement ingredients is poised to address. Photo: Danisco USA, Inc. |
To be fair, not all studies shine such positive light on fat reduction. The Women’s Health Initiative Dietary Modification Trial garnered media attention for concluding that post-menopausal women who adopt a low-fat diet may not significantly reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease, breast cancer or colorectal cancer. But the evidence mainly leans in favor of continued fat reduction as part of a larger “lifestyle” approach to health and wellness.
Biding its time
In this industry, what comes around goes around, and even as low-carb and high-protein diets stole the spotlight the past few years, fat reduction as a weight-loss and product-development concept never really went away.
“When you look at label claims,” says Jim Degen, CMC, president of J.M. Degen & Company, Inc., Templeton, CA, a market consulting firm that works with the dried plum industry, “‘low-fat’ is still the second-most frequently used after ‘natural,’ according to Mintel. And that’s been going on for five or 10 years.” In fact, of all “lesser evil” product launches, more now bear low- and nonfat claims than any other distinction. The momentum shows no sign of slowing: While 7.4% of new products in 2001 promoted reduced fat, that proportion rose to 10.4% in 2005, Datamonitor says. Meanwhile, the NPD Group notes that low-carb products account for only 4.1% of new launches, down from 14.1% just two years ago.
What went wrong
Making low-fat’s staying power even more remarkable is that it endured despite disappointing first-generation products. “There was such a rush to market with the initial low-fat products that little time was allowed for sensory evaluation and real experimentation with the ingredients to create the best-flavored products,” says Jenny Norton, food scientist, TIC Gums, Inc., Belcamp, MD. “These low-fat products of the past were nowhere near the flavor, texture or overall eating satisfaction of their full-fat counterparts.”
That gulf between the originals and their slimmed-down siblings testifies to how valuable an ingredient fat is, from balancing and delivering flavor to lending surface gloss to putting the puff in puff pastry and the creamy in ice cream.
“Fat is an incredible texturant,” says Freed. “It has a mouthfeel that is difficult to mimic. It also keeps products feeling moist and fresh— some low-fat products have had problems preventing staleness when fat was removed.” Fat also eases processing, builds structure in baked goods, serves as a precursor to flavor compounds, and binds ingredients in everything from sausages to cookie dough.
Dairy, perhaps the most popular low-fat area, throws up many challenges to low-fat formulation. “One that we deal with on a daily basis is in low-fat ice cream,” says Ariella Gastel, senior business development manager, Danisco USA, Inc., Elmsford, NY. “Because there’s more water in there than fat, there’s a tendency for ice crystal formation, which is a major negative when you’re expecting something creamy and silky. And that goes with many formulations that are low fat: What are you substituting the fat with?
 Ingredients specifically designed to replace butterfat can preserve texture and moisture in reduced-fat baked goods. Photo: Gum Technology Corp. /April Turner |
You’re either substituting it with more water or a number of other things” that never quite measure up to fat. (For a more in-depth discussion of fat’s functions and its replacement, see “Where is Fat Reduction Going?” in the March 1996 issue of Food Product Design.) But, under pressure to get low-fat products to market, formulators had no choice but to shoot first and ask questions later. With fat removal priority number one, its total functional replacement often assumed the status of afterthought. Formulators knew, for example, that fat—whether butter, lard, olive oil or otherwise—contributed characterizing flavors. Those were easy enough to replicate using flavor ingredients. What got lost in translation, however, was that fat is indispensable in carrying, releasing, attenuating, accentuating and in so many other ways influencing a food’s overall profile. It distributes lipophilic compounds when it coats the palate. Without this, a product tastes thin by comparison. Without fat’s flavor-moderating effect, some notes come on with a stronger “attack,” throwing the profile out of balance. Making matters worse, many traditional fat replacers—gums, starches, proteins —mask or bind flavors, and sometimes even introduce unwanted notes of their own.
“Once you took the fat out, there was no flavor carry-through,” Degan says. In fact, he attributes the success of one first-generation fat replacer, dried plum purée, in part to its high malic-acid concentration, which, like fat, coats the mouth “so it tends to potentiate flavor.” It peaks more slowly, as well, which “tends to stretch out the time required to deliver the flavor,” he continues. Some of the flavor deficit was filled not very successfully by sugar. Then everybody started eating more because they didn’t get the satisfaction they were looking for in the full-fat version.
Couple this, Swann adds, with “what escaped into the media was that if you cut back on your fat, it didn’t matter what your calories were,” and low-fat products quickly became a moral hazard. “People got the attitude that they could just cut out the fat and then eat a whole bag of fat-free pretzels in one sitting,” she says. “And no, that’s not going to help.”
Second time’s the charm
Underwhelming product quality and conspicuous weight gain contributed to a backlash that soured consumers on the idea for some time. “The emphasis,” Norton says, “was on the health benefits, and some in industry believed that consumers would sacrifice flavor and palatability for a healthier diet. Those truly dedicated to the low-fat lifestyle accepted this and continued purchasing low-fat products, but those who weren’t as dedicated may have bought a product once and decided not to purchase it again.”So began low-fat’s wilderness years, a period of isolation that afforded product developers room to research and develop more-informed theories of fat reduction. As Norton says: “Even as the low-fat craze died out, there continued to be some interest in reduced-fat foods, so companies took the time to develop better-tasting, high-quality options that consumers enjoyed.”
The changes were less revolutionary than evolutionary, as the ingredients turned to were essentially the same as before. For example, “Lecithin is not a new addition to the bakery industry, but it continues to be highly useful,” says Wendy Erickson, bakery, snacks and cereal technical manager, Cargill, Minneapolis. “Lecithin’s emulsification properties help extend fat in crackers, cookies, bread, donuts, etc.” However, the difference now is that we’re working with these tools more wisely.
“More in-depth knowledge of food ingredients, like stabilizers, flavors, masking agents, and fat mimetics, allows us to take the fat out of the products without sacrificing consumer acceptability,” Norton says. The real advances, she adds, “have been made by combining ingredients to create the desired outcome. Most foods are complicated systems, and the solution for removing fat in each food is different. Many times, a combination of ingredients, like stabilizers, emulsifiers and flavors, can give the desired effect.”
 Readily available low- and nonfat milk offers product developers a head start when formulating reduced-fat dairy products. Photo: Orafti Active Food Ingredients |
We’ve by no means perfected the science, and drawbacks to even the finest-tuned fat-replacement system persist. “One of the primary differences between the replacements and the fat is that there is no universal replacement,” Freed says. In reality, the solution involves a lot more tinkering. “Because of the unique qualities of fat, replacement often requires a two- or three-pronged approach,” he continues. “One ingredient or ingredient combination may be used to get a flaky crust, and another might be used to add body structure.”
Adds Gastel: “After all these years, we’ve just come to understand the intricacies of fat replacement better. We’ve gotten wiser in using mixtures of technologies.” One such mixture is her company’s Cremodan LF IcePro, a blend of emulsifiers and hydrocolloids that, the company claims, controls ice-crystal growth sufficiently to allow for sub-1%-fat ice cream texturally comparable to premium.
Another new dairy-friendly blend of technologies takes advantage of sodium alginate’s reaction with dairy calcium to trap air in foams. In addition to the sodium alginate, this dairy fat replacer contains microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), konjac and xanthan gum. The MCC produces a fatty-textured gel upon application of shear, while konjac and xanthan together lend elasticity. Overall, the cold-setting mixture helps boost suspension and aeration. “We have found that konjac, due to its own unique properties, can, in combination with other ingredients, contribute to the replacement of fatty mouthfeel and product structure,” says Aida Prenzno, laboratory director, Gum
Technology. “These synergies also retain moisture and prevent staleness and syneresis better than their predecessors.” Because the blend’s constituents reinforce one another, the company recommends use levels in the economically low ranges of 0.15% to 0.45% in lowfat dairy applications, 0.30% to 0.50% in cream sauces, and 0.20% to 1.0% in ice creams.
Sarah Landon, R&D chef, Gum Technology, says: “You can maintain the integrity of the structure and the eating quality while removing about 30% to half of the fat” from cookies, muffins, even pie crusts—“foods that are traditionally very high in fat. They still use some butter in the applications, which you need to create that flaky, crumbly texture you want. You’re never going to get the original—at least not this year. Maybe in 10 years we’ll be there. But by taking out some of the butter and replacing it with a different type of moisture from the gums, we’re getting closer to it.”
Go low, not no
It’s no coincidence that so many applications targeted for fat reduction are in the dairy category. “I hate to burst your bubble,” Landon says, “but a croissant is going to be really, really hard to make low-fat.” But yogurt, ice creams, shakes and smoothies, cream-based sauces and dips are almost ideal for successful fat reduction via the current crop of substitution technologies. “There’s a wealth of development in these areas, and new reduced- and nonfat dairy foods are being introduced every day,” Norton says.Part of this has to do with the ready availability of a low- or nonfat starting ingredient: milk. Also, the main hurdle to reducing fat in dairy is restoring the smooth, creamy texture we’ve come to expect—a restoration that’s increasingly within the means of stabilizers and emulsifiers. The exception is reduced-fat natural cheese, whose melting and shredding shortfalls still vex food technologists.
Consumers have started evaluating low-fat foods in general with a transformed palate. Notes Freed: “We have become familiar with the negative aspects of too much fat in the diet—trans fats are all over the news—and we have consciously reduced fats in our eating habits. So we have become more accustomed to low-fat without really being on a low-fat diet. This combination of people not expecting very high-fat products and the introduction of better technologies and ingredients leads toward more acceptance of low-fat items.
“Trying to replace 100% of the fat in a high-fat product can sometimes lead to an acceptable imitation,” Freed continues, “but it will rarely lead to a product that is considered an exact match for the control standard.”
That’s not to suggest that fat-free is a total bust. “The consumer has learned that fat-free isn’t necessarily that good for you,” Landon says. “Your body needs some fat to function; your brain needs it to function. So, if consumers can cut calories and cut fat by choosing a reduced-fat rather than a fat-free option, they’re still feeling good, they’re still getting the satisfaction of the mouthfeel, the flavor and the texture that they want, but without all of the fat and calories.” She points back to the baked goods, up to half of whose fat she’s replaced with the company’s dairy fat replacer, and to no ill effect. Compared to completely fatfree counterparts, “it’s a huge difference,” she says. “With a fat-free scone, you’re going to have something that’s incredibly chewy and really dense. It’ll visually resemble a scone, but texturally it won’t.”
Holistic low-fat
 Reducing the fat in traditional treats typically is more successful than eliminating the fat completely. Photo: Grande Custom Ingredients Group |
“Reduced-fat formulations are only one of several options for weight-loss management,” says Joe O’Neill, executive vice president of sales and marketing, Orafti Active Food Ingredients, Malvern, PA. “Certainly, low-fat formulations are important. However, one has to consider total calorie control, moderate exercise, ingredient selection and portion control.” There’s a lot more we can do than just take the fat out of the food, he says.
O’Neill says the company, which supplies inulin and oligofructose, considers fat replacement “a small part” of its business. “We have ingredients that may partially replace fat in many processed foods and beverages,” he says. “Not only will they give some of the mouthfeel and enhanced creaminess in dairy applications, but will reduce sugar content, too.” Inulin and oligofructose can also mask off-flavors associated with high-intensity sweeteners, “so they’ll bring the whole profile closer to sugar.” And with only 2 kcal per gram, they contribute fewer calories in the first place. “Formulators now have an opportunity of using these ingredients in low-calorie and fat-reduced formulations,” he says. “These all-natural ingredients can be used for their technological advantages, as well as for their scientific and clinically proven benefits. These prebiotic ingredients are zero-glycemic and do not produce an insulin or glucagon release, a factor in weight loss and satiety control.”
“People want to lose weight and they want foods that taste good,” O’Neill says. “They also want them to be healthy and natural. Now that we’re into the era of preventive medicine and a holistic approach to wellness, you really can say that you are what you eat.”
Kimberly J. Decker, a California-based technical writer, has a B.S. in Consumer Food Science with a minor in English from the University of California, Davis. She lives in the San Francisco bay area, where she enjoys eating and writing about food. You can reach her at kim@decker.net.
