Healthy eating and chocolate - a contradiction in terms?

Wednesday, 29 October 2008

With the healthy eating message really starting to make an impact on consumer buying patterns, we ask whether indulgent foods, such as chocolate, can fit into the ‘healthy’ sector Chocolate contributes the largest value share in the total European confectionery sector, and by 2011 the total European chocolate market will reach a value of $35.3bn (24.8bn Euros). Running alongside our love affair with chocolate are concerns around healthy eating. Healthy eating is much more than just a ‘flavour of the month’ – it represents a real shift in consumer expectations and demands, and manufacturers are responding to this. For example, the recent Innova Database report (New Products Trends Worldwide, January 2008) states that ‘low cholesterol, more wholegrains and antioxidants, and low in sodium are the top claims for 2008 among food manufacturers’. Chocolate in general has increased in popularity as a flavour from being in 3.5% of healthy confectionery product launches in 2005 to 4.2% in 2007, with milk chocolate specifically in around 3.9% to 4.0% of healthy confectionery over the past three years. The market has grown by combining elements of health (such as whole and natural ingredients with functional health benefits) with indulgence (such as chocolate or caramel) providing ‘the best of both worlds’ for consumers looking for a treat without the guilt. Similarly, the Grocery Manufacturers’ Association Industry Report on Health and Wellness shows that in the last five years food companies have introduced more than 10,000 new and reformulated products. These contain more wholegrains and fibre, reduced calories and lower sodium, sugar and fat levels. Can chocolate be healthy? Sweetness is an emotionally powerful experience – it is the only basic taste associated with pleasure and enjoyment. It is also fundamentally associated with chocolate – perhaps the most typical of indulgence foods. Traditionally, the source of chocolate’s sweetness has been sugar, a full carbohydrate containing 4.0kcal/g, which is readily absorbed by the body and provokes a rapid rise in blood glucose levels. Healthy eating concerns are inspiring some consumers to manage their food energy intakes more carefully, and adopt a measured consumption of sugared products. It follows that consumers are also becoming better informed about which sweetness options in food are most closely associated with a healthier lifestyle, and will look to manufacturers who can provide them. But can this really apply to indulgent foods such as chocolate? Can ‘healthy enjoyment’ still taste good? Sugar-free chocolate is not a new concept, but previous formulations have not made the grade on taste. The problem has been in the essential conching stage that occurs near to the end of the chocolate manufacturing process, after the addition of ingredients such as sweeteners and cocoa butter, to the chocolate liquor. Few sugar alternatives are capable of withstanding the sustained high temperatures (up to 80°C) that are required during the conching process to evaporate bitter cacao volatiles from the chocolate mass, assuring a good tasting product. Creating good-tasting sugar-free chocolate One alternative that can ‘stand the heat’ of conching is Cargill’s Maltidex maltitol, a polyol (sugar alcohol) made by hydrogenating maltose obtained from starch. Over many years of formulation development at the Cargill Confectionery Application Centre in Vilvoorde, Belgium – where Cargill Sweetness tailors its wide range of polyols for each and every application – Maltidex has proved itself to be one of the most versatile sugar alternatives. Crystalline Maltidex as an alternative to sugar in chocolate already offers many characteristics associated with healthy eating patterns, such as a lower Glycaemic Index (35 compared with 653) and only 60% of the calories. It resembles sugar extremely closely in taste, functional properties and ease of working, to the extent that it can be substituted into most sugar-based formulations and applications on a cup-for-cup basis, and it is as stable as sugar in process. However, Maltidex possesses only 60% of the calories in sugar (officially 2.4 kcal/g in the EU), and like all polyols it is safe for teeth because it is not fermented in the mouth, as accredited by Toothfriendly International (www.toothfriendly.ch). Because Maltidex has such a high relative sweetness, it requires no added high-intensity sweeteners and can be substituted into sugar-based chocolate manufacturing process with only small adjustments. More calorie reductions Cargill works to create good tasting chocolate options with varying levels of calorie reduction by working with synergistic combinations of Maltidex maltitol and Zerose erythritol options. This provides a palette of sweetness ingredients for getting closer to the original sugar profile but with a meaningful reduction in calories. Zerose is made by the fermentation of sugar by a commonly found micro-organism, and possesses some truly unique characteristics compared with other polyols. Principal among these for confectioners is the fact that it has been shown to contribute virtually zero calories to final food formulations, and has a zero Glycaemic Index. This makes it a useful sugar alternative for the growing number of people with diabetic and pre-diabetic conditions. Like Maltidex, it is recognised by Toothfriendly International as being safe for teeth. Working with Zerose in chocolate Zerose displays a taste profile very similar to sugar, can be easily substituted into existing manufacturing processes and, crucially, it also shares with Maltidex the ability to withstand the high temperatures required for effective conching in the chocolate manufacturing process. The cooling effect of Zerose naturally benefits mint-flavour chocolate, or can be masked effectively with the addition of fibre. Cargill expects to see a increase in uptake of Zerose across Europe since the requirement from 15 February 2008 for EU Member States to formally recognise Zerose erythritol as an ingredient that is permitted for use to quantum satis levels in numerous food applications. But, will it sell? So, we know that it is possible to produce good tasting sugar-free and reduced-calorie chocolate, but is there really a market for such products? The answer is undoubtedly yes, says Cargill. As the healthy eating messages start to make an impact on consumers, manufacturers are responding by targeting indulgent/permissible consumption occasions, reformulating products to be ‘better-for-you’, and launching new products with added health benefits. Dark chocolate, for example, has for several years been linked with health-promoting characteristics. Cargill’s market analyses indicate that, while consumers are aiming to reduce their calorie intake, they are not prepared to cut back on snacks, making a reduced calorie chocolate an attractive proposition for this demographic group. By combining Maltidex with Zerose to create a good tasting low calorie chocolate, manufacturers now have an opportunity to directly address the healthy enjoyment trend, developing genuinely ‘better for you’ products that can still meet consumer expectations of how indulgence should really taste.

 

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