Out of the fat, into the fire?

November saw the climate turning distinctly chilly for food manufacturers who are looking to reduce the fat content of their products, with big price rises in hydrocolloids and the other specialist ingredients that act as fat substitutes.

In some cases, the chief culprit is the rising cost of energy. For example, Beneo Orafti, the world's biggest supplier of chicory-derived inulin, announced in August that November would herald a 25% price hike across its range. "The price increase is driven by the price of oil and energy. Our production process is relatively simple but it requires a lot of energy," says marketing manager Tim van der Schraelen. "Even now that the short-term price of oil is coming down, we still need to see what will happen. For now we think our pricing strategy is correct."

For other products, the main driver is the spiralling cost of raw materials. For example, FMC Biopolymer supplies seaweed-based alginates and carrageenans, as well as wood-pulp based microcrystalline cellulose. The company announced in October that November would find it imposing a rise of at least 15% across its portfolio. "The bulk of the price increase is probably raw materials. Seaweed costs have gone up a lot in the last year because of increased demand and specific weather issues," says FMC's Gerard Lynch. "It's quite a unique situation, some of which is likely to be short-term. So some of the immediate increase is likely to go away, but the price will not drop back to its previous level."

In spite of this, the global growth in hydrocolloids is predicted to run at 3-4% until 2011, according to business intelligence company, SRIC, and many suppliers still expect their fat replacement offerings to match or even exceed that.

Inulin manufacturer Sensus expects strong growth in dairy, bakery and cereal segments in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, for instance, while National Starch highlights wider inflation and rising milk prices as an opportunity to accelerate the growth of fat substitutes in the dairy market in particular.

Juliette Maliska, market development technologist for dairy at National Starch, says: "Dairy prices rose significantly last year and have yet to normalise, having a knock on effect on milk fat users. This puts pressure on the industry to view fat replacement from a cost-saving perspective."

She adds that there are distinct geographical differences in the key drivers for growth: "The need to replace milk fat is present in every dairy segment, especially desserts, ice cream, fermented products and processed cheese, and is a key concern for manufacturers in western, central and eastern Europe."

Paul Sheldrake of Avebe says that some markets offer significant scope for adding extra creaminess. Avebe markets a range of potato starch-based texturising products, including its latest offering, Etenia.

"There's a strong trend for low fat across Europe, but in some sectors such as yoghurt, the large number of low fat products already available make the market almost saturated. In markets like Germany, where people like indulgent yoghurts, Etenia can be used to make standard products more indulgent."

According to Alice Pegg, head of food reformulation at Leatherhead Food International (LFI), yoghurts and other cold products are often the most successful when it comes to fat replacement. Ready-to-eat desserts and dressings such as mayonnaise are among the most appealing, although they are still distinguishable from their full-fat equivalents when eaten side-by-side. When it comes to more-complex, cooked products, however, Pegg says that successful fat substation can be much more difficult to pull off.

"Pastry is a really, tough nut to crack," agrees Alison Knight, European technical development manager for bakery at National Starch. "Fat plays such a functional role that it is very difficult to replace. In short-crust pastry, fat coats the flour and stops the development of gluten, which gives products the tender texture consumers expect. If you take the fat out, gluten develops, creating a tough, unpalatable product. In puff pastry, fat forms a physical barrier between the layers. Remove the fat and there's nothing to hold the layers apart, resulting in a product with poor lift."

On the other hand, Knight says that low-fat cakes are much more successful. "The Holy Grail is to find a fat replacement solution that offers the same sumptuous eating experience as full fat versions. With N-Dulge FR co-texturiser, we feel we have achieved this for cakes."

Pegg says that the key for manufacturers is to understand their products thoroughly and think about exactly which roles the fat is playing within the matrix. For example, a typical fat replacer might only mimic fat successfully when it takes up water and forms a gel, but that water could be driven off during cooking, destroying the texture. Factors such as microbial safety can also be affected, because the low-fat product will have a higher water content, which is more bug-friendly. Flavour can be another issue, because many key compounds are fat soluble rather than water soluble, or the flavour release profile may be different as the low-fat product breaks down in the mouth.

"You have to ask what the fat is doing. Only then can you look at which of the fat replacers can perform the same functions," Pegg points out.

The reality is that it's often a compromise, and many foods will need a combination of ingredients to make a low-fat product successful. This situation is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future, since the goal of a 'one-size-fits-all' fat replacement product is remote. The medium-term future of novel fat substitutes is more about formulation expertise and clever combinations, rather than looking for entirely new systems.

For example, Dow Wolff Cellulosics recently developed an innovative version of its established Methocel food gum that enables bakers to ditch trans fat-containing hydrogenated fats in favour of healthier liquid oils, such as rape or olive oil. These oils cannot reproduce the texture and taste of semi-solid fats on their own, but Dow claims that they form an excellent healthy substitute when suspended in a Methocel-based emulsion.

"To replace trans fats, formulators have often turned to substitutes high in saturated fat, such as palm oil or animal fats, which do not bring a positive impact to the food product's nutritional profile," says Stephanie Lynch, global market manager, food and nutrition, Dow Wolff Cellulosics. "This emulsion technology is an important step in helping formulators to develop trans fat-free baked goods."

Avebe's Etenia is another product that draws on some pretty nifty development work. Avebe worked with experts at DSM to develop an enzymatic process that could produce the functional characteristics they were after while retaining the labelling advantage of being able to call the product 'starch' rather than 'modified starch'.

"With most enzymatic processes the enzyme breaks the starch down into smaller molecules, but with Etenia it actually increases the molecular weight, so it's still starch," says Sheldrake. "There's nothing like it on the market."