In the past, the Dietary Guidelines provided advice for healthy Americans and their eating habits. In the face of the ongoing obesity crisis, however, the 2010 Dietary Guidelines targeted the nation’s unhealthy habits. In the first of our online series on producing new products for satiety and weight management, Baking & Snack interviewed Dave Pfefer, product manager, enrichment/fortification blends, Caravan Ingredients, Lenexa, KS.

Baking & Snack: What role can your ingredients play in producing satiety? Or is there another mechanism in effect?

Dave Pfefer: Grains provide complex carbohydrates which produce a feeling of satiety and help prevent the insulin spike caused by refined grain flours.

We offer many bases and mixes that produce whole grain products. As a member of the Whole Grains Council, we are able to extend the use of these stamps to our customers on qualifying products so that their customers can easily identify products with whole grains.

A variety of cereal and vegetable fibers are used to bulk up foods, absorb water and slow down digestion. Some fiber ingredients such as barley beta glucan form gels in the digestive tract and slow down passage of the food mass so that the consumer doesn’t feel an empty stomach as soon.

Protein extracts, and green tea extract are used for producing satiety as well. Whey protein extract is used to send signals to the appetite center of the brain saying “I’m satisfied and don’t need to eat any more right now.” A purified potato protein extract is used to provide the proteinase inhibitor PI2, which promotes the release of cholecystokinin (CCK) into the blood stream, providing an earlier and longer lasting feeling of satiety during a meal. Lastly, green tea extract contains EGCG (epigallocatechin-3-gallate) which increases thermogenesis, or the oxidation of nutrients to release heat in the body. Converting some of the dietary calories to heat prevents them from being stored as fat. We can incorporate some of these ingredients in our Nutrivan custom pre-mixes.

How do you see this category of foods developing in the next 18 months? What factors will be most important to their success?

I personally see this category of weight management foods booming in the very near future. Obesity in America is rampant, especially among children, and with First Lady Michelle Obama’s initiatives the food industry is starting to respond. Caravan Ingredients is doing its part to help the cause through the development of health and wellness products such as Nutrivan.

What ingredients does your company offer for food products intended to help with weight management?

Caravan Ingredients offers a wide range of custom blended mixes, bases and concentrates which help food manufacturers achieve a desired health benefit in their finished foods. These are all offered under our Nutrivan line of customized vitamin and mineral pre-mixes. We understand that our customers are looking for ways to boost the nutritional profile of their products and we are always willing to work with them to create a customized product that will meet their labeling goals. We have more than 80 years of fortification expertise under our roof, so we understand and take into account the unique processing conditions, shelf life, serving size, packaging and type of product being fortified in order to meet customers' goals.

Editor’s Note: Check out next week’s Operations Update for another installment on Ingredients for weight management. Subscribe today.

Read More on the Subject:
Satisfaction that Lasts
Into the future of weight management
Ingredients for weight management, part 2 with Ody Maningat, PhD, vice-president of applications technology and technical services, MGP Ingredients
Ingredients for weight management, part 3 with Rhonda Witwer, senior business development manager, nutrition, National Starch Food Innovation
Ingredients for weight management, part 4 with Joseph O’Neill, executive vice-president of sales and marketing, BENEO Inc.