Roundtable sheds light on functional F&B challenges amid reformulation push

31 Mar 2022 --- Functional F&B is carving out its own niche within industry, but formulation challenges continue to be centered around efficacy and acceptability. Industry experts speak to NutritionInsight, elaborating on the merits of clean label offerings filled with superfoods versus longer labels packed with functional ingredients.

“Functional F&B is a new category that has been emerging to meet consumers’ increasing desire for health and well-being,” argues Tina Li, chief commercial officer of Beston Global Food Company.

She notes that traditional supplements, which are often in the form of a tablet or capsules, tend to be seen as a “fixer” when there is a specific need, like iron deficiency, for example. In contrast, functional F&B is spurred by consumers seeking accessible, multi-functional alternatives to conventional F&B. 

However, Poshy Zhang, director of R&D center at Angel Nutritech, sees functional F&B simply as a different form of supplements. 

“As long as the dosage of ingredients is enough, the effectiveness is the same. Besides the effectiveness, F&B has more advantages, such as better taste and further convenience,” he states.

Fabian Skärvad, business development manager of Probi’s functional food business, also emphasizes that functional F&B’s efficacy is on par with supplements when it comes to probiotics. 

“We normally recommend day-to-day consumption of probiotics, so if you can find a consumption pattern, say breakfast, supporting your daily intake of probiotics, this is recommended.” Beston Global Food Company has recently launched Trueferrin Time, a line of functional drinks.

Ensuring efficacy
John Quilter, Kerry’s vice president of ProActive Health’s global portfolio, explains that functional F&B’s efficacy also depends on factors like dosage and application. Nonetheless, they can be “hugely” effective in delivering benefits while also meeting a range of other consumer needs like convenience.

“This is partly because of advances in ingredient technology, such as the development of resilient probiotic strains like BC30. This has helped manufacturers meet the growing demand from consumers to see functional ingredients in their favorite food and beverage products,” he details. 

Li acknowledges issues around bioavailability. “In our case, we have identified that acidity causes denaturation of certain functional ingredients. Therefore, the formulation has to balance consumer experience of the drinks, stability and functionality of the ingredients.” 

Safeguarding stability
Stability can be a key challenge in functional F&B. One example is the case of probiotics, which usually used to be fragile and needed refrigeration. 

“However, spore-forming strains like BC30 are resistant to extremes of pH, heat, cold and pressure. Thus, they can be used to fortify a wide range of foods and beverages – everything from peanut butter to teas and coffees,” says Quilter. 

Skärvad also flags probiotic considerations such as growth, survival, viability, stability and functionality in the product. 

“Dairy foods are probably still the most common food carrier to deliver probiotic health benefits, but an increasing number of non-dairy food matrices show potential for delivery of probiotics in new mediums and formats,” he states.  Probiotics can also be combined with other ingredients to create symbiotic benefits. 

Taking matrices into account
Interactions between probiotics and different food matrices can be challenging. Skärvad notes issues can include the efficacy of probiotic bacteria in ambient products, low pH or foods with high water activity. 

In these situations, probiotic CFU levels, unwanted fermentation, and changes in the sensory and taste profile can impact functionality as well as the acceptability to consumers and day-to-day consumption.

“Interactions between probiotics and different food matrices are all different. Probiotics in relation to plant-based mediums such as oat, soy cashew, coconut all have different challenges, and the same goes for different types of fruits or application types,” Skärvad explains. 

Acceptability challenges
Taste is a crucial consideration – at the end of the day, consumers want to enjoy the flavors of their foods and drinks. 

Li points to the example of beverages, where consumers expect the core function to be a drink, not a health supplement.

“Taste would be ranked top desired experience from the product. What makes the drink appeal to consumers is the functional ingredients that it is ‘better than’ the likes of juice or cola,” she states. 

“Food and beverage manufacturers are never going to want to compromise on sensory properties, and many functional ingredients do affect taste and smell,” adds Quilter. 

Reformulation tools
“Sugar-free,” “high-protein,” “fat-free” and “high-fiber” are common claims on food packaging, notes Li Pei, general manager of protein nutrition and flavoring technical center of Angel Yeast. 

“To meet consumer taste expectations, formulators will use sweeteners to achieve ‘sugar-free.’ However, the taste of sweeteners is different from sugar, so formulators are using special ingredients to modify the taste profile of sweeteners,” he explains. 

Using edible yeast as raw material, Angel Yeast has developed a full range of yeast extract and yeast-based ingredients for F&B formulators and provided tailor-made solutions for sweetener modification and off-notes masking.

Meanwhile, Kerry’s TasteSense range includes a large range of technologies to support the incorporation of functional ingredients.

“Many of the ingredients in our ProActive Health portfolio already offer exceptional organoleptic properties. Eupoly-3 DHA, for example, is a range of natural algae-based oils rich in omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which can be used in many food applications,” Quilter explains. Angel Yeast’s ingredients can help mask off-flavors while balancing the overall taste profile.

Clean label appeal
While many functional aspects often come from added ingredients, some F&B can offer intrinsic benefits. 

Li notes that using natural ingredients that are inherently healthy can offer clean label claims, which is appealing to consumers. 

“Products that are seen as inherently healthy are a perfect fit for functional benefits. Cereals, granolas, tea and dairy are all popular vehicles for functional benefits because they’re already seen as healthy and wholesome,” adds Quilter.

Added ingredients hold appeal
However, Li notes that the cost of making products solely from inherently healthy products – without fortification – can come in terms of taste, bioavailability and strength of health function. Skärvad cites other potential issues, including scalability, shelf life and cost.

“For example, milk is recognized as naturally healthy, but for consumers who want milk’s nutrients without a milky taste, the added ingredients of fortified functional F&B would be a better option,” Li explains. 

Quilter points out that products that don’t have that same “health halo” can benefit from the addition of ingredients with functional benefits. One example is a high-protein cookie that combines Kerry’s BC30 and protein in a cookie format for an indulgent treat.   

By Katherine Durrell