USDA Creates Body-Friendly Fat Substitute
The Agricultural Research Service of the USDA has created a new dietary fat substitute that some scientists say may be good for the heart. Introduced at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in Boston, the new ingredient, to be marketed as ''Nu-Trim,'' contains high concentrations of beta-glucans. These are soluble fibers found in oats and barley that are known to lower LDL (''bad'') cholesterol and total cholesterol—factors which have been linked to heart disease.
Nu-Trim is designed to meet FDA requirements for food products that can be advertised as good for the heart, according to chemist George Inglett, Ph.D. of the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Peoria, IL who created the product.
"I originally set out to make oat bran more widely available in food products," says Inglett. "Although the Federal Register recognizes that oat bran and oat flour contribute to heart-healthy food, you have to get 3 g of beta glucan a day to meet the requirement. I think there are few people who could consume that much in a day."
Genesis of a Fat Substitute
Inglett has worked on oat- and barley-based fat substitutes for the past 10 years and has developed two previous ingredients, Oatrim and Z-Trim. Currently, Oatrim enjoys wide use in the food industry while Z-Trim is in the process of being licensed. Neither of these ingredients, however, qualifies for a "heart healthy" label.
"Oatrim is an enzyme hydrolized oat flour," says Inglett. "Nu-Trim is made from a non-hydrolyzing process that uses thermal-mechanical shear."
This process first "explodes" the cells of the oat endosperm in order to break it up to the point where it becomes flowable. Once this is achieved, centrifugation can remove the oat's cellulosic components.
"These are the components that limit the use of the oat barn," says Inglett. "They make products spongy and gritty and non-cohesive."
After the cellulosic material is gone, the remaining material is either drum-dried or freeze-dried to a free-flowing powder.
Formulating with Nu-Trim
Incorporating Nu-Trim into food products is easily achieved with standard processing equipment. A general rule-of-thumb is that 10 g of Nu-Trim and 90 g of water will replace 100 g of oil. In many products, the powdered Nu-Trim and an appropriate amount of water can be added directly to the formula to achieve the desired texturization. Another option is to premix the ingredient with water to form a creme of the desired viscosity.
"You may have to heat it up or agitate it to achieve the uniformity you want." says Inglett. "If you're baking, you don't want to go through that, so you just mix it with the dry ingredients then add the liquid ingredients."
David Busken of Oak State Products, Inc.—a Wenona, IL-based cookie coprocessor—reported at the ACS meeting on how well Nu-Trim performed in his company's products. He said the addition of Nu-Trim gave the cookies extra body and added mositure. Nu-Trim's primary benefit, however, is that it could help to transform treats like cookies, cakes and creamy desserts into low-calorie, high-fiber foods, according to Inglett.
Currently, Inglett is working to get the technology for Nu-Trim licensed by suitable manufacturer. He hopes it will make a rapid move into the marketplace and indicates that several large ingredient suppliers already have expressed interest.