Every day consumers push for more and more healthy options on grocery store shelves. Childhood obesity, an increased diabetic population, and the high prevalence of obesity in society are drivers that are steering food manufacturers to look for new ways to look for ways reduce the amount of sugar in their products.
Reducing the sugar in products is no easy feat. As Fiberstar explained in a recent blog, “Sugar not only complements other ingredients to produce mouthwatering flavor, but it also provides some functionality in certain foods. For example, not only does the developer need to adjust the sweetness and flavor, but they also have to add functional ingredients to improve the texture and stability over shelf-life.”
Yogurts, spreads, ice cream, and plant-based foods all face these challenges. High sugar fruit preparations rely on ingredients like pectin to provide the gelling texture and stability. To create that texture, pectin requires high Brix or high sugar concentrations and low pH. With reduced sugar fruit preparations, a different added pectin is required to provide the same gelled textures. On the other hand, stability may be compromised.
Fiberstar Citri-Fi® 100 Citrus fiber offers another alternative. The natural fiber contains high amounts of native pectin. The intact pectin provides a gelling texture in reduced-sugar foods with some processing adjustments. The Fiberstar website goes on to explain, “Moreover, due to the citrus fiber’s high surface area, this clean label ingredient binds water to improve stability over time. In the end, this new technology helps developers create products with cleaner nutrition labels or improves Nutri-scores by lowering the sugar content.
Citri-Fi’s labeling options include citrus fiber, dried citrus pulp, or citrus flour which resonate well in the natural and clean label markets. Citri-Fi is non-GMO Project Certified, allergen-free and gluten-free.”
Contact your Skidmore representative for more information about Citri-Fi® 100, and the rest of the Fiberstar product line.
