Press Room
February 9, 2007
German Version Nutrisoft 55 – Reducing trans-fats while enhancing performance
With the global trend towards wellness and health, consumers are becoming more and more concerned about the amount of fat in their food, scrutinizing every gram of fat in desserts and prepared foods like chocolate mousse, ice cream, cake, or even bread. Nutrition experts, however, are just as interested in the different types of fat and their qualities as they are in the amount. Trans-fatty acids, for example, are known to significantly increase the risk of developing heart disease, and as a result manufacturers have tried to reduce the proportion of trans-fats in many products. Now Cognis has introduced a new emulsifier with very low trans-fat content – Nutrisoft® 55. In addition to replacing the saturated standard emulsifier, the new product also increases the stability and quality of prepared foods.
Trans-fatty acids, which are present in partly hydrogenated fats as well as in animal fats (including milk fat and dairy products), can increase the levels of blood lipids, and have also been found to affect the ratio of HDL and LDL cholesterol – a major risk factor for coronary heart disease. Nutrisoft 55 is a distilled monoglyceride based on partly unsaturated vegetable fat, and contains less than one percent trans-fats. As such, it supports the development of prepared foods with very low trans-fatty acid contents, which are more attractive to health-conscious consumers and more acceptable to nutrition experts.
As well as offering excellent health benefits, the emulsifier also enhances the quality and appearance of food. When used in bread or yeast-raised products, for example, it interacts with the starch to improve crumb softness and increase bread volume – both of which significantly enhance the products’ overall appearance, making them more attractive to consumers. Nutrisoft 55 also stabilizes the helical structure of starch: this slows down the staling process, and greatly increases the shelf-life of bread – a major plus point for manufacturers, retailers, and consumers. In ready-to-eat (RTE) mousse desserts, the emulsifier makes for a more stable texture and structure, and increases the product’s volume. To achieve optimum results, Nutrisoft 55 should be used in conjunction with an aerating emulsifier, such as LACTEM (lactic ester of mono- and diglycerides, E472b).
For ice cream, highly unsaturated emulsifiers give the best results for extrusion and heat-shock stability. However, such emulsifiers have an iodine value of 40 or higher which makes them viscous and sticky, therefore difficult to incorporate into the ice cream mix and not practical for ice cream manufacturing. In contrast, Nutrisoft 55 has an iodine value of about 25, and is supplied as an easy-to-handle free-flowing powder – yet still provides superb extrusion and heat-shock stability in ice cream.
A unique combination of performance and health benefits
The development of Nutrisoft 55 is a result of Cognis’ strategy of focusing on wellness. “Nutrisoft 55 helps our customers to offer foods that are very low in trans-fatty acids, serving the global health and wellness trend”, says Andreas Funke, Product Group Manager Food Technology, Cognis Deutschland. “In addition to the health benefits, it is also a very easy and cost-effective way of improving the quality and appearance of prepared food products. As such, it provides multiple benefits for our customers.”
About Cognis
Cognis is a worldwide supplier of innovative specialty chemicals and nutritional ingredients, with a particular focus on the areas of wellness and sustainability. The company employs about 8,000 people, and it operates production sites and service centers in 30 countries. Cognis has dedicated its activities to a high level of sustainability and delivers natural source raw materials and ingredients for food, nutrition and healthcare markets, and the cosmetics, detergents and cleaners industries. Another main focus is on products for a number of other industries, such as coatings and inks, lubricants, textiles, as well as agriculture and mining. The company holds a 50-percent stake in the joint venture Cognis Oleochemicals, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of oleochemicals.
Cognis is owned by private equity funds advised by Permira, GS Capital Partners, and SV Life Sciences. In 2005, Cognis recorded sales of 3.18 billion euros and an Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation, amortization and exceptional items) of 356 million euros.
Image 1: Effect of Nutrisoft 55 in bread and yeast-raised products
The lipophilic moiety of Nutrisoft 55 can penetrate the helical structure of starch. This way, it improves crumb softness and slows the staling of bread
Image 2: Ready-to-eat (RTE) mousse dessert
Nutrisoft 55 combined with an aerating emulsifier like LACTEM gives additional stability to aerated creams or desserts.
Printable images available upon request
Contact
Marion Schlude, Technical Marketing Manager Food,
Cognis Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG
Phone: +49-7303-13 324
E-mail: marion.schlude@cognis.com
Internet: www.cognis.com
Raquel Ark, Corporate Communications Manager
Cognis Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG
Phone: +49-2173-4995-464
E-mail: raquel.ark@cognis.com
Internet: www.cognis.com