Ingredients helping manufacturers cut down on eggs and butter in bakery production have been rolled out by food companies.
These include an egg-reduction enzyme from Ireland-based multinational Kerry, and protein-enriched fat substitutes from Israeli foodtech start-up Gavan Technologies.
We delve into the details of each new product looking to offer more sustainable, and cost-saving solutions for the baking industry:
Biobake Egr, Kerry
New enzyme system Biobake Egr has been developed by Kerry to address the rising costs of eggs, allowing for a reduction in the quantity used in recipes.
It is described by the company as a versatile, clean, cost-optimised egg-replacement solution that delivers the functional properties of eggs in many different baking applications – and with no change to final product quality.
Jonathan Doyle, Kerry’s enzymes business development lead, said it works by replacing up to 30% of the egg requirement while matching traditional baking performance measures such as volume.
“Consumers are also looking for more ethical label claims in egg-based products, including ‘cage-free’, and Biobake Egr allows bakers to achieve that goal cost-effectively while mitigating volatile egg prices through the switch to a more consistent, lower-cost, natural alternative,” Doyle added.
General inflationary pressures coupled with supply-chain disruptions and avian flu outbreaks are the current main causes of the cost increase in eggs. Solutions to reduce carbon impact are also an important sustainability consideration for manufacturers, driven increasingly by environmentally and ethically conscious consumers. Kerry claims Biobake Egr delivers potential CO2 emission savings of up to 14% when a 30%+ egg reduction is achieved.
FaTrix, Gavan Technologies
Gavan Technologies leveraged its no-waste protein extraction platform to deliver FaTrix, a series of high-performance, plant-based fats. These offer alternatives to butter and other commonly used fats in bakery products that are derived from animals.
Butter has been subject to some of the greatest increases in prices among baking ingredients in the past year.
Gavan describes its FaTrix products as fully sustainable, and clean label, and able to slash saturated fat in recipes by up to 80%.
“Traditionally, pastries have relied on fats derived from animals,” explains Gavan co-founder and CEO Itai Cohen. “Despite the widespread use of vegetable fats as an alternative, they still cannot match the characteristic taste, texture, and smoothness that real butter confers. Replacing animal fat with plant-based oils can create difficulties due to the fluid nature of these ingredients, yet hydrogenated oils are a less-than-ideal solution.”
FaTrix is composed of three natural ingredients, with extracted protein acting as a base upon which plant oil and water are bound. This creates a protein-enriched texturised fat that delivers superior binding and cooking abilities, making it an ideal and convenient solution for food formulators, according to the company.
It is also said to boast a high melting point and fat-holding capacity, which prevents it from leaching during processing or heating, and acts as a carrier for flavours, vitamins, and beneficial omega-3.
Gavan cites results from one of its bakery trials, where FaTrix successfully replaced butter in a soft and airy brioche, yielding a five-fold reduction in saturated fat. “This marks a pivotal achievement for us, as butter has long been considered the irreplaceable key element in brioches,” noted Gavan co-founder Uri Jeremias.
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