Consumers accept fortified chocolate; How labels affect perception

Consumers accept fortified chocolate
Consumers are increasingly looking for easy ways to take in antioxidants, and food manufacturers have answered this desire in part by fortifying products with materials that contain high levels of antioxidants. In a recent Journal of Food Science study, researchers found that consumer acceptance of milk chocolate enhanced with antioxidants from peanut skins was at parity with control milk chocolate.

In the study, researchers extracted phenolic compounds from peanut skins and encapsulated them with maltodextrin to lessen their bitterness. To create a product with the mild flavor of milk chocolate and benefits of dark chocolate, the best estimate threshold of encapsulated peanut skin extract in chocolate was 0.9% (mass/mass) based on the standard method (American Society of Testing Materials; ASTM E-679).

Consumer liking of milk chocolate enhanced by adding subthreshold (0.8% (mass/mass)) inclusion levels of encapsulated peanut skin extract was found to be at parity with milk chocolate as a control. Because peanut skins are a waste product of the blanching process of the peanut industry, the authors say that including these extracts would allow for a value-added use of the discarded skins.

How labels affect perception
Labeling food products as “light” may affect how consumers perceive their taste, according to a study that appeared in the journal Nutrients. In the study, 129 subjects evaluated the same cheese product with different labels. Though the products were identical, those that included health labels were perceived differently.

Cheese labeled as “light” had a lower overall expected and perceived liking compared to regular cheese, and cheese with a “salt reduced” label had a lower expected liking, though no lower liking was found. According to the study, these labels also affected the perceived intensities of the cheese; for example, the “reduced salt” cheese was perceived to be less salty than the control.

“This negative effect of health labels on the expected liking could discourage taste-oriented consumers to even try or buy the product,” the researchers write, and companies “should be aware that taste-oriented consumers could interpret these labels as a warning sign regarding their flavor.”

Regulating safety of cannabis edibles
The cannabis market is like the Wild West, and regulating it at the federal level may be the only way to introduce order, says Tim Wheeler, senior marketing manager for bioMérieux, where he focuses on marketing equipment and reagents used in the preparation and analysis of food samples for microbiology testing.

The cannabis market has been growing as more states legalize marijuana for medical and recreational use. But products containing cannabis, including so-called edibles—cannabis-containing food products—are regulated on a state level, with different requirements for testing, sourcing, and labeling being decided by departments in each state. Edibles include baked goods such as brownies and cakes made with cannabis flowers and chocolate bars and gummy candies injected with an extract.

Because marijuana is a Schedule 1 drug, it also cannot be sent across state borders or put into the mail, meaning that testing labs must be set up locally and driven from field to facility for testing. Since cannabis is a natural botanical product, natural variation across crops occurs, leading to questions about what constitutes a representative sample size. Most companies consider 1 gram standard, partly for the cost; each sample sent for testing is worth about $40.

Wheeler believes that regulations at the federal level are necessary for this industry to truly take off and create safe, consistent products for all consumers, something he predicts will eventually happen. At that point, production could ramp up, and with that, careful, truthful, consistent labeling will be even more crucial as the number of potential consumers rises. A candy bar labeled as 100 milligrams, for example, must state clearly whether that applies to the whole package or individual servings.

“There are still significant challenges and hurdles to overcome before this industry is fully baked,” says Wheeler. “I have more questions than I have answers, frankly, and that’s why I’m hoping for more science.”

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Panelists share entrepreneurial expertise
Focus and flexibility are essential to building a food company from the ground up, according to the food industry entrepreneurs who shared their perspectives in an “Insights From Entrepreneurs” panel at the Chicago Section IFT Suppliers’ Symposium and Expo this fall.

“If you don’t learn to focus, you become mediocre,” said Joseph Slawek, who founded flavor company FONA International nearly 30 years ago. “Most beginning entrepreneurs try to do too much,” he observed, noting that “focus equals power because at the end of the day, you’re building subject matter expertise.” Early on, he said, FONA’s leadership decided to focus its expertise in the areas of beverages, confections, and grains.

Kendra Peterson, founder of chef services company Drizzle Kitchen, has focused her company on healthful meal preparation, with a particular emphasis on addressing allergies. Building a reputation for expertise in catering to clients’ food allergy issues has helped her business solidify its niche in the Chicago marketplace, Peterson said.

Stephanie Lind, who last year established Elohi Strategic Advisors, a consultancy focused on cultivating emerging natural and sustainable brands, observed that finding the right focus doesn’t always happen from the get-go; she refocused her business several times during its first year. “The focus you have when you start may not be the focus you have when you find your groove,” said Lind. “If you see that [new] opportunity, be flexible and pivot.”

Honey appeals for clean label
In line with an increase in the desire for clean label products, about half of consumers say they would pay more for food products made with honey, and 28% of consumers are increasing their honey use, according to research presented by the National Honey Board during its 2016 Editors Summit. Consumers turn to honey because it is familiar and natural, says Keith Seiz, director of strategy for The Arland Group representing the National Honey Board, who notes that 84% of shoppers believe the ingredient to be versatile and useful.

Indeed, honey offers many functionalities. Because of its high level of sweetness, manufacturers can use less of it, and honey also plays well with other sweeteners. In applications with bold flavors, it can round out harsh notes and smooth the flavor profile. In gluten-free products, honey can add moisture and extend shelf life; it inhibits mold growth.

Honey can be seen in a variety of products on the market, including whole grain breads, bars, crackers, and breakfast biscuits; honey works very well in the breakfast daypart, observes Seiz. It is also on the rise in craft sodas, distilled spirits, and beer. Honey is being added to new formats, including packaged tuna, fruit jams, the batter of chicken nuggets and corndogs, and energy products such as EnerBee, an energy drink made with honey and green tea.

News Bites
• Allen Harim announced plans to invest $22 million to build a state-of-the-art hatchery in Dagsboro, Del.

• Angelic Bakehouse reached an agreement to sell to Lancaster Colony Corp.

• Ardent Mills entered into an agreement with Armour Specialty Marketing to produce and sell Ultragrain Pasta into the foodservice and food manufacturing channels.

• The Barry Callebaut Group announced further capacity investments at its American Canyon factory in California.

• Bell Flavors & Fragrances acquired Sillage Aromatique, the fragrance division of Nardev Chemie Pte in Singapore.

• Brynwood Partners announced that its majority-owned portfolio company, Harvest Hill Beverage Co., acquired the beverage manufacturing assets of Faribault Foods.

• Cargill has gained Non-GMO Project Verification for its erythritol, cane sugar, and high oleic sunflower oil. It also inaugurated its Cargill Innovation Center in Colaco, Chile, where experts will focus on developing functional fish diets and studying diseases that affect farmed salmon in Chile and other countries focused on aquaculture.

• The Dannon Co. launched its 2016–2017 Gut Microbiome, Yogurt and Probiotics Dannon Fellowship Grant program, which is open to undergraduate or graduate students or postdoctoral scholars. Click here to apply.

• DuPont Nutrition & Health plans a $100 million expansion to increase probiotic production capacity in the United States by 70%.

• Fortune Magazine and Great Place to Work named FONA International one of the country’s best medium-size places to work.

• Fruit d’Or has formed a relationship with Taiyo to create SunCran, a new branded ingredient that combines Fruit d’Or’s organic cranberry juice powder with Taiyo’s Sunfiber soluble guar fiber.

• Kalsec launched its new website, kalsec.com, which was designed to improve the user’s experience in discovering naturally sourced ingredient solutions.

• Mérieux NutriSciences acquired Theolab.

• Niagara University created a new food and consumer packaged goods marketing concentration.

• PepsiCo announced that it will significantly reduce added sugar across its global beverage portfolio, pledging that two-thirds of its beverages will contain 100 calories or fewer from added sugar per 12-ounce serving by 2025.

• Purdue University launched the Purdue Postharvest Initiative, which involves leading and partnering on projects designed to reduce postharvest loss, improve nutrition, build and enhance agricultural value chains, and foster and support food entrepreneurs.

• The German Sustainability Award Foundation nominated Symrise for the 2016 German Sustainability Award in recognition of its pioneering work in biodiversity and the sustainability of its supply chain.

• Tetra Pak launched a new digital platform, Groundwork, to celebrate innovative ideas surrounding food.

• WACKER expanded its Singapore technical center and opened a new laboratory for food applications.

• Wixon announced that it has made a five-year commitment to donate $250,000 to the construction of the new University of Wisconsin–Madison Meat Science Laboratory.

Melanie Zanoza Bartelme, Associate Editor
[email protected]