PepsiCo and Quadram partner on slow energy release starch for metabolic health

06 Jul 2021 --- PepsiCo, the Quadram Institute and Belgian university KU Leuven are collaborating on research to develop slowly digested starch (SDS) for food product formulation. 

Using the latest scientific knowledge of how different types of starch are digested, the project aims to introduce consumer-focused starchy products that can contribute to health and reduce the risk of developing diet-related disease.

Imran Afzal, R&D senior manager at PepsiCo Europe, tells NutritionInsight: “We seek to build a healthier and more sustainable food system. We are constantly exploring new emerging technologies across a variety of areas, such as slower energy release technology.”

Early stages of development
Currently, the researchers are developing cereal-based starch products, but the technology is at an early stage and is now being robustly tested, Afzal adds.

“We cannot disclose the commercialization timeline at this moment,” Dr. Fred Warren, group leader for Quadram, tells NutritionInsight.

The EIT Food research project is titled “Sustained energy release starchy food products” and is looking into new technologies, novel food processing techniques and ingredients to develop healthier food options.

The researchers produced oat-based cookie prototypes that deliver a high level of slowly digestible starch.EIT Food is the world’s largest Agrifood Innovation Ecosystem supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).

In the first year, the project has produced oat-based cookie prototypes that deliver a high level of slowly digestible starch. 

Now EIT Food has approved support for the second year of the project, where the team will develop oat-based drinkable and spoonable products, creating opportunities for a new class of breakfast products with the added benefits of sustained energy release.

Slowly digestible starch
Not all starch is digested rapidly. Depending on its molecular structure, how it is processed and the food matrix, starch can be classified as either resistant or as SDS. This determines the overall impact on health.

“Slowly digestible starch is more slowly digested in the upper gastrointestinal tract, leading to reduced blood glucose spikes following consumption ,” Warren notes.

“Replacing rich in starch foods which are rapidly digested with more slowly digested starches can have a range of health benefits,” he adds.

Starches and obesity link
Dr. Fred Warren, group leader for Quadram.With 10 to 25 percent of the adult EU population being obese and 10 percent having Type II diabetes, there has been a lot of focus on supporting consumers to eat more nutritious foods, Quadram says.

“Obesity and diabetes are our two main targets, but replacing rapidly digested starches with more slowly digested starches can also have benefits for cardiovascular disease,” Warren explains.

“Moreover, replacing rapidly digestible starches with more slowly digestible starches in the diet can slow down the onset of metabolic syndrome by reducing damaging peaks in blood glucose.”

One way of doing this is to reformulate foods, in particular carbohydrate-rich foods. This is because it is not purely the overall calorific value of foods that defines their impact on health, but also the rate at which they are digested and that those calories are released.

Highly digestible food products, especially starchy foods, are of concern as they may be digested so rapidly that their metabolic effect is comparable to that of free sugars. 

This results in blood glucose peaks and the rapid release of insulin, which is linked to increased risk of Type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease. 

Highly digestible foods also have little effect on satiety and energy levels in the hours after eating, which can result in increased snacking and overeating.

Healthier cookies
EFSA authorizes health claims that may be used on food where the digestible carbohydrates provide at least 60 percent of the total energy and where at least 55 percent of those carbohydrates is digestible starch – of which at least 40 percent is SDS. 

The consumption of these products may contribute to consumers’ health by reducing the post-prandial glycaemic responses, Quadram asserts.

The consortium’s approach is to select starches from different botanical origins and then carefully optimize processing conditions. These include the milling of raw ingredients and their cooking conditions to produce a wide range of products with carefully tailored slow starch digestion properties.

The news comes at a time when carbohydrates are still under scrutiny for their effects on weight gain. A recent study from the US National Institutes of Health suggests that plant-based low-fat diets may result in more significant weight loss than low-carbohydrate diets that include animal products. 

Moreover, keto diets are trending among consumers, with personalization also being key to improved diet and health outcomes.

By Kristiana Lalou