IFT 2018 debut: Omya’s functional and nutritional calcium carbonate

27 Jul 2018 --- At this year’s annual IFT Food Expo (July 15-18) in Chicago, Omya presented its Omyafood range, which consists of tailor-made calcium carbonate particles for powdered protein and vitamin premixes. The ingredients act as flow aids and anti-caking agents for the sports nutrition and vitamin supplement industries.

Omyafood provides powdered sports nutrition products and vitamin supplements with multiple benefits. Speaking to NutritionInsight’s Robin Wyers at the show, Adrian Jager, Director of Market Development & Innovation at Omya, further explains the versatile particles:

“It’s something that caters to the growing sports nutrition market and it can be used in vitamin premixes,” he says. “It provides not only nutrition and calcium for these applications but also functionality. The functionality is highlighted in the flow-ability of powder.”

The functionality comes with the improvement in texture. “Milk protein powder without the flow aid can cake quite easily. But if you add the Omyafood product, then you can see how the flow-ability of the powder is improved.”

Further, the minerals offer a carrier functionality of up to 55 percent loading capacity for vitamins, flavors and other actives. Interestingly, this also includes oils: “Omnyafood is a functional mineral based on calcium carbonate and has a surface area out of tricalcium phosphate so it has a high surface area and high porosity so it can also absorb liquid vitamins so that it can act as a carrier. You can also load liquid oils on to it and transform them into a powder,” Jager explains.

However, the minerals are also touted as offering not only functional benefits but nutritional too, with its calcium content being about 40 percent. This makes it the most concentrated and highly bioavailable source of calcium on the market, according to the company and as such, it can be used as an efficient fortification agent, allowing calcium-related claims to be made.

Omyafood also offered its Omya-Cal mineral at the show. The mineral is sourced sustainability in California, certified organic and available in a variety of sizes, according to the company. Further presented in the company's portfolio was includes chicory root and agave fibers, organic agave syrup as a natural sweetener, hydrocolloids and gums, cocoa powders, plant-based replacements for glycols and glycerin, natural excipients, natural colors, functional extracts, proteins, and natural foam control agents.

The combination of its proprietary mineral solutions with the ingredients from the distribution portfolio enables Omya to develop holistic solutions that hope to fit current market trends and consumer demand.