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When grain-based foods manufacturers take out these ingredients, they often turn to enzymes as replacements.
“Consumers are aware that enzymes are necessary for all forms of life and therefore have a positive view on enzymes on labels,” said Troy Boutte, Ph.D., group manager, bakery/fats and oils, for DuPont Nutrition & Health, New Century, Kas.
Clean label is not legally defined, but retailers such as Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe’s have lists of ingredients that they say should not appear in clean label products sold at their outlets, said Jan van Eijk, Ph.D., research director of baking ingredients for Lallemand, Montreal.
Both Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods have ADA and DATEM on their lists of unacceptable ingredients.
“Sometimes baking companies have certain ideas as well — what they don’t want or don’t like,” Dr. van Eijk said.
Ascorbic acid generally is acceptable in simple label/clean label products because it is vitamin C, Dr. van Eijk said.
In bread, the journey to creating simple label/clean label products often means taking out such emulsifiers as DATEM, SSL and monoglycerides, Dr. van Eijk said.
DATEM adds volume to bread while monoglycerides keep bread soft. SSL assists in both volume and softness.
Enzymes such as phospholipases often may be used to replace emulsifiers, Dr. van Eijk said. Amylase enzymes may provide softness to bread. Maltogenic amylases modify starch so the starch does not retrograde during storage of bread.
“With enzymes, we see new developments all the time and new enzymes coming along,” Dr. van Eijk said.
The main enzyme product Lallemand offers for simple label/clean label baked foods is Essential CL 732, Dr. van Eijk said. Essential CL 732 is designed to achieve increased oven spring, mix time reduction, better dough machinability and a more uniform, fine and soft crumb texture.
Lallemand recommends using Essential CL 732 for label-friendly baked foods in conjunction with ascorbic acid and lecithin. Essential CL 732 contains enriched wheat flour and enzymes.
Dr. Boutte said, “There are several types and subtypes of enzymes available for use in grain-based foods. Amylases are used frequently to provide sugar from starch to fermentation. Use of amylases such as the DuPont Danisco PowerFresh, PowerFlex and PowerSoft line also provide a general improvement in quality of products that allows for expanded distribution areas and a more sustainable footprint by reducing food waste.
“Likewise, there are several types of xylanases such as Grindamyl PowerBake 960 and protease enzymes such as Grindamyl PR 46 that improve dough handling. Other enzymes like Grindamyl SureBake 800 contain hexose oxidase, which helps with overall baking performance by smoothing out day-to-day differences in flour quality.”
Cain Food Industries, Inc., Dallas, works with dough conditioners that contain enzymes. Cain’s newest line of dough conditioners TRU CL, CL Freeze eliminates the chemical dough conditioners with the newest enzyme technology.
“New enzyme technologies and the right combination of these enzymes give the bakeries the tools to replace traditional dough conditioners such as azodicarbanomide (ADA), diacetyl tartaric acid ester of mono- and diglycerides (DATEM), sodium stearoyl lactylate (SSL), calcium stearoyl lactylate (CSL), mono-diglycerides and L-cysteine,” Cain Food Industries said. “By eliminating these types of ingredients you simplify your label by sampling adding enzymes.”
ProBlend Ingredients, Inc., Cary, Ill., also offers dough conditioners. Improve-Zyme contains no DATEM, SSL or l-cysteine. It improves volume, dough strength and machineability in all bread and yeast-raised products. Strong-Zyme has been shown to work as a replacement for DATEM, SSL and CSL.
Enzymes may play roles in such areas as acrylamide, snack cakes and cost-savings
Recent innovations in enzyme ingredients have dealt with not only shelf life benefits but also such issues as acrylamide reduction, bug-damaged wheat, gluten cost-savings, modern baking facilities, snack cakes and whole grains.
Reduce acrylamide
The acrylamide issue may rise up again later this year. Acrylamide is a chemical compound that typically forms in starchy food products during high-temperature cooking, including frying, baking and roasting, according to the European Food Safety Authority. A statement of the Scientific Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM) in 2005 noted there may be a potential health concern with acrylamide, which is considered to be both carcinogenic and genotoxic in experimental animals.
The E.F.S.A. has invited food business operators and other stakeholders to submit analytical data on acrylamide occurrence levels in foods and beverages intended for human consumption. The deadline for sending data is June 30.
Suppliers of enzyme ingredients offer options designed to reduce acrylamide levels in foods, including grain-based foods.
Novozymes initially launched its Acrylaway enzyme for use in biscuits and snacks. Last year a study found Acrylaway was shown to reduce acrylamide levels in french fries by up to 50%.
According to Novozymes, the formation of acrylamide involves the amino acid asparagine. When frying or roasting starchy foods, asparagine is converted into acrylamide. By adding Acrylaway, asparagine is converted into another amino acid, aspartic acid, which does not take part in acrylamide formation.
DSM offers PreventASe for acrylamide mitigation in biscuits, crackers and cookie applications. It has been shown to reduce acrylamide levels by up to 90% without impacting dough or finished product characteristics.
Save costs on gluten
Cost-savings is a benefit in two new enzyme products from Cain Food Industries, Inc., Dallas. N’Hance Ultra and N’Hance EOX will eliminate gluten use up to 4% in formulas, according to the company.
Work without gluten
Amylase enzymes work well to retain moisture in gluten-free products, said Brian Fatula, vice-president, baking enzymes for DSM Food Specialties USA, Inc., South Bend, Ind. Using amylases may lead to such benefits as improved texture, a less crumbly product and a more moist product.
Enzymes such as amylases will provide similar benefits in both gluten-containing and gluten-free systems as long as a starch component is present, said Troy Boutte, Ph.D., group manager, bakery/fats and oils for DuPont Nutrition & Health, New Century, Kas.
“Some adjustments may be required due to differences in the types and amounts of starch,” he said. “Other enzymes may provide benefits, but that needs to be explored on a case-by-case basis since gluten-free formulations vary widely.”
Extend shelf life
Engrain, Manhattan, Kas., has developed cereZesl and cereZ Soft product lines that are designed to extend the shelf life of packaged bread and other bread-based products. The specialized blends of enzymes may reduce the staling effect and transform how the bread ages. Research Products, Manhattan, sells cereZesl and CereZ Soft in the United States.
Adjust to high-speed bakeries
DuPont Nutrition & Health recently launched PowerBake 4205, a blend of enzymes specifically designed to produce baked foods in modern, high-speed bakeries, Dr. Boutte said.
“This product was formulated not only to meet the demands of bakers, but also to meet the needs of health-conscious and environmentally-conscious consumers,” he said.
Snack cake interest
Bakers are showing more interest in using enzymes to increase shelf life in snack cakes whereas they used to just use emulsifiers and hydrocolloids, Mr. Fatula said.
Snack cakes tend to have a shelf life of 30 days or more, he said. Enzymes may improve the perception of freshness and moistness in the snack cakes, he said.
DSM offers a CakeZyme line of ingredients. CakeZyme Smart offers benefits in cost optimization, batter viscosity, crumb structure, volume and softness. CakeZyme Sublime releases emulsifiers from fats and lipids in cakes for better shelf life as well as simplified logistics and warehousing. CakeZyme Majestic extends shelf life by combining lipase and amylase technology.
DuPont Nutrition & Health offers PowerSoft cake enzymes based on G4-amylases. They are designed to keep cakes from becoming dry, dull and crumbly during transportation and storage. The types of cakes include sponge cakes and cakes with various sugar-to-fat ratios.
Whole grain considerations
Cellulase enzymes and hemicellulase enzymes may manipulate water in whole grain product, Mr. Fatula said. This benefit may lead to consumers perceiving the product as fresher and the crumb as more silky in the mouth.
When working with whole wheat bread, dough improvers in whole wheat bread may require higher levels of ingredients, including higher levels of enzymes, said Jan van Eijk, Ph.D., research director of baking ingredients for Lallemand, Montreal.
