Depending on the formula and serving size, it may be possible to achieve a label claim of “good” using just a whole grain base—for example oatmeal with its approximately 12% fiber. But most formulations would require fortification with a high-fiber ingredient.
Tonya Armstrong, senior applications scientist, Grain Processing Corporation (GPC), Muscatine, IA, suggests adding corn bran to bar applications in the form of extruded pieces or directly into a bar center. In an extruded piece, like a puff, an upper limit of 40% corn bran can be achieved. “The puff could be put in a bar as a good fiber source,” she says. “The corn bran would work well in chocolate, peanut butter, raspberry or other fruit-flavored bar centers. We’ve done a chocolate–peanut butter bar where the corn bran is in the center of the chocolate-coated bar.”
GPC’s corn bran is 75% minimum insoluble fiber. “It holds up very well during processing. The amount of fiber put into the formulation will come out as the same amount of fiber in the finished product,” says Armstrong. “A lot of people may use it in combination with a soluble fiber, because they want the combination of soluble and insoluble fiber in the formulation.”
When working with corn bran, it’s important to add more water to the formulation. “It soaks up to 3 ml of water per gram of corn bran,” cautions Armstrong. “The additional water that is added to hydrate the bran will help ensure a good formulation with the fiber.”
The ingredients that bind
Soluble corn fiber can be used successfully to replace part of the sugar in the bar binding process. Tate & Lyle, Decatur, IL, has used this ingredient at a 10% weight basis of total product, which is equivalent to nearly 25% of the weight of the binding syrup alone. The binding syrup constitutes about 40% of the weight of the total product. This soluble corn fiber has 2 kcal per gram and “adds dietary fiber with prebiotic properties,” says Lisa Sanders, nutrition scientist, Tate & Lyle. “It also can be used in conjunction with bars with added vitamins to help increase the overall health profile of the bar, while simultaneously adding humectancy for a soft, moist and chewy bar.”
Adding maltodextrins to the formula can help with moisture retention. Armstrong recommends adding a lower-DE maltodextrin (9 to 12 DE) to improve water holding or softness. Higher-DE maltodextrins (13 to 17 DE) can be used to impart a crisper texture to a bar. GPC offers a line of instant modified starches that can also be used to help improve moisture retention. Armstrong notes this starch has recently been used in an oatmeal-raisin bar.
A low-viscosity modified starch can help bind a bar together. “We have a pre-gelled modified food starch which has a very low viscosity, so you can put more of that starch into solution to make a film or act as a binder,” Armstrong says. “It works really well in high-solid systems. If you’ve got a 70%-solid syrup you’re using for the glue of the bar, you can still put in 2% or 3% of this starch, and it will hold the bar together without affecting the viscosity of the syrup.”
Sugarbeet fiber is available in ingredient forms like powders and flakes. “The dietary fiber content is about 75%, of which one-third is soluble,” says Ramakanth Jonnala, Ph.D., project leader in cereal science, International Fiber Corporation, North Tonawanda, NY. “The powdered form increases the softness of bars, whereas flakes help in brittleness. Fiber flakes help in substituting nuts or other high-price ingredients.”
Jonnala recommends sugarbeet fiber as a processing aid for incorporation of probiotics, as well as for fiber enrichment. However, he cautions that “higher amounts of this fiber may cause a gritty texture in bars. Very high water absorption may cause bar hardening in later stages.” Typical use would be 3% to 6%.
Natural oat and potato fibers are tan-colored, naturally bland and odorless, and offer unique functionalities when used in food bars. These are “good for extrusion or co-extrusion processes, as fibers are shear-resistant and withstand relatively high temperatures,” Jonnala says. “Their high water-holding capacity provides humectancy in finished products. They stabilize the fiber network during processing, and they prevent the formation of undesirable crystals from chocolate or cream fillings in bars.” Moisture migration from syrups to the fibers may make the finished product hard, he warns.
Purely functional, concentrated fibers include cellulose, wheat fiber, bamboo fiber, sugarcane fiber and cottonseed fiber. Most contain 99% fiber. White wheat fiber contains 94.5%. They can provide potential savings in processing and manufacturing costs.
“They are odorless fibers from a natural source,” says Jonnala. “These fibers can act as flavor and nutraceutical carriers, and are suitable for encapsulation of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants in nutraceutical or healthy bars.”
From a technological standpoint, they improve water-binding and retention during processing and in the finished bars, as well as improve the structure-fiber network that can provide strength and reduce breakage. Additionally, they can increase the shelf life of certain types of food bars and reduce tackiness in sticky bars.
“At very high levels of usage, hardening and increased chewiness of finished bars may occur during storage due to moisture migration from other systems,” advises Jonnala.
Weighing in
Some consumers reach for bars as part of their plan to lose or maintain weight. Patrick Luchsinger, marketing manager for North America, Lipid Nutrition, Channahon, IL, suggests adding conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) to bars. He believes this is the first health ingredient targeted at the weight-management concerns of consumers. “The health benefits of our CLA on body composition include reducing the amount of body fat and increasing lean muscle,” he says.
CLA triglyceride oil or powder can both be used in nutritional bars. “The CLA powder is best utilized when mixing with dry ingredients,” says Luchsinger. “The triglyceride oil is best suited for mixing with binding mixtures in bars.” A full daily dose of CLA is 3 grams per serving. CLA can be added at a full dose or half dose to bars.
CLA can also replace existing fat in bars, notes Luchsinger, “without altering the formulation to any great extent. The triglyceride oil and powder forms have a ‘clean’ taste, meaning that it will not affect the flavor profile of the end-product in food applications.”
Careful selection of fortifying ingredients may bring the bar marketer closer to the goal of supplying a product that’s not only distinct from competitors’ products but also builds consumer loyalty. Chaudhari believes bars are an unbeatable category, and the most-convenient form for the delivery of nutrients: “Overall health and wellness within the consumer mindset, as it relates to their purchasing decisions, will greatly influence what gets put into the grocery cart during a trip to the local supermarket. With today’s on-the-go lifestyle showing no signs of slowing down, the overall bar category should continue to grow in popularity.”
Cindy Hazen, a 20-year veteran of the food industry, is a freelance writer based in Memphis, TN. She can be reached at
cindyhazen@cs.com
.