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Consider these 5 top dietary supplement ingredients to boost food and beverage products
There is an increasing demand for functional ingredients in the food industry, such as turmeric, goji berries, microalgae, hemp protein and omega-3s. These ingredients offer various health benefits and can be incorporated into diverse food and beverage products.
7 Min Read
At a Glance
- Consumers are increasingly seeking foods that support their well-being, leading to a demand for functional ingredients.
- Ingredients like turmeric, goji berries, microalgae, hemp protein and omega-3s can enhance the health benefits of products.
- They offer various health benefits and can be incorporated into diverse food and beverage applications.
Consumers continue looking for foods that support well-being, which leaves marketers and developers with a need for ingredients that can boost a product’s health halo. What better place to find these novel ingredients than the dietary supplement aisle? Savvy consumers already connect these ingredients with a health benefit. Read on for a handful of ideas for formulators, and be sure to check out the December future of food tech digital magazine for more related content.
Turmeric
John Kathrein, senior account executive for Applied Food Sciences (AFS), calls turmeric (Curcuma longa) the “golden goose” ingredient because of its bright, golden appearance and increasing popularity. As a spice, it is commonly used in South Asian cuisines. In ayurvedic practices, turmeric’s medicinal properties are well recognized due to the inherent curcuminoids, therapeutic compounds attributed to supporting arthritis and other ailments.
Smaro Kokkinidou, principal scientist at Cargill, describes turmeric’s flavor as having earthy, musky and bitter notes. “It is fat soluble and has a distinct color,” she said, adding, “The latter two attributes could create challenges when trying to incorporate it in aqueous-based beverages, for example.”
Kathrein agreed the botanical can be insoluble, but that many high-quality ingredients are available that allow for solubility without any carriers or emulsifiers. “A high-quality extract can replace pressed turmeric and provide more consistency and less microbial contamination potential,” he noted. “The levels fully depend on the specific application and project’s features. For beverage applications, we provide a highly water-soluble turmeric extract that is easy to formulate with.”
AFS also offers an encapsulated turmeric extract. “This technology improves the flow in production lines, as turmeric powder tends to cake and clog the lines.” Reduced staining and easier cleanup are additional benefits. Additionally, the company sells a high-quality curcumin extract with 95% curcuminoids.
Green Source Organics (GSO) sources both conventional and organic products. Its white turmeric has been decolorized to eliminate the high propensity for staining. According to company president Lawrence Blitz, “Currently the white colorless turmeric seems to be our most novel and sought-after turmeric.”
The product line also includes turmeric powder, turmeric oleoresins and curcumin extracts in 3%, 25%, 50% and 95% concentrations.
Turmeric can be used in a wide variety of applications, meaning food could be the ideal vehicle for ingesting this healthful spice. A Johns Hopkins article suggested dietary supplements contain higher active concentrations than can be consumed in food or beverages, but that too much turmeric can be harmful as it can increase the risk of kidney stones. But there’s another reason turmeric is best delivered in a food system — curcumin is not readily bioavailable. Studies have shown that pairing curcumin with piperine (a substance in black pepper) increased bioavailability by 2,000%. That combination is definitely food-worthy.
Goji berries
Along with antioxidant benefits, goji berries (Lycium barbarum) provide a deep red to pink color to a variety of foods and beverages. The ingredient is commonly offered whole or in powders, and can be found in nutrition bars, granola, novel baked goods, smoothies, fillings, dairy products, ice creams, sports nutrition beverages and nutritional supplements. Blitz noted, “We recently had a company serving mixologists (aka bartenders) goji powder for specialty cocktail garnishes.”
Depending on the format, the flavor of goji berries may be mildly sweet. Kokkinidou cautioned they can also be tart and sour with a bitter aftertaste. “They require the right sweetness intensity and temporal profile to deliver a balanced flavor profile,” she said.
Microalgae
Over 500,000 strains of microalgae exist. Yonatan Golan, Brevel’s co-founder and CEO, explained that microalgae are difficult and expensive to produce and have a strong sea-like flavor. As a result, microalgae are mostly used as supplements in small doses; however, a breakthrough is enabling microalgae to become a main ingredient in food applications well beyond being a supplement or low-concentration additive. He maintained that a unique proprietary technology has allowed the company to “significantly reduce costs, extract the protein in its pure form without any flavor or color, and maintain and even increase the high quality and full-amino acid profile.”
Brevel’s marine protein is derived from the Chlorella microalgae strain. Golan described it as nonallergenic with a full amino-acid profile and high digestibility. “Naturally, chlorella contains 40%-60% protein, which is unrivaled by any other plant source,” he said. It can be incorporated in plant-based dairy, plant-based meat, beverages, pastries and more. Blitz added Brevel’s product can be added at concentrations exceeding 10% and even up to 15%, compared to the current content rate of just 1%-2%.
Hemp protein
Hemp is a low input, fast growing, high yield crop. Sustainability and a neutral sensory profile are a couple of reasons its use is growing, especially in dairy alternatives such as cheese, creams and milk. A hemp protein, PurHP-75, produced by AFS, appears in extruded meats, textured vegetable protein and extruded snacks. “It will perform well in a high- or low-moisture extrusion process,” Kathrein added. “With the high-water holding capacity, it will hold form in alt-meat formulations. Also, this hemp protein will seamlessly provide high nutrition in an extruded puff snack.”
PurHP-75 has 75% protein with a protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS) of 0.63. Lysine is the limiting amino acid.
GSO’s hemp powders come in various protein levels from 70-20%. “The lower end of the scale provides higher fiber content with the prebiotic component, and the higher levels are to meet protein RDAs [recommended dietary allowances] for everything from analogue meats, sports nutrition products and bakery segments,” Blitz said.
Omega-3s
Fish oil is a popular supplement because of the potential health benefits of omega-3s. Justin White, Nuseed’s global commercial lead for human nutrition, said, “Every cell in the human body requires omega-3 for optimal function, and DHA [docosahexaenoic acid] is especially supportive of heart and eye and brain health.” But supplements containing fish oil often have a fishy taste and can bring on an unpleasant burp-back. Fish such as salmon are a natural food source, but some consumers may perceive sustainability as an issue.
Sustainably derived from canola crops, Nuseed’s Nutriterra is being formulated in salad dressings, beverages and yogurt. “We see a lot of potential in plant-based seafood too, as Nutriterra can deliver DHA nutrition from a truly plant-based source,” White said. He added it can also be used as a suitable drop-in for any oil application.
The ingredient’s unique omega-3 composition includes DHA and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) levels similar to some marine oils, double the ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) of conventional canola, and small amounts of other long-chain omega-3s. Nutriterra is approved for food uses in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with regulatory approval pending in the U.S. and other key markets.
Managing flavor
While plant-based functional ingredients are trending, Kokkinidou cautioned they sometimes come with undesirable effects on flavor. “Bitterness, astringency, metallic notes, chalkiness and earthy undertones are just a few of the unwanted elements that may need to be addressed. The key is finding masking solutions that provide a neutral profile and work in harmony with — or even enhance — the finished product’s planned flavor profile.”
But added costs may be an unexpected consequence. “Typically when we use flavor modifiers to manage off-notes, we’re also forced to bump up expensive characterizing flavor loads because everything gets muted,” she said. When a natural sweetener is in the mix, she recommended using EverSweet + ClearFlo. This stevia product helps manage off-flavors from other ingredients used in formulation, including earthy and beany notes from plant-based proteins. At the same time, she said it enhances many characterizing flavor profiles, including light, fruity notes and rich, chocolatey tones.
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