Foaming and fat replacer ingredients

Obesity is a major health challenge facing the UK. The main factors are a combination of diet and lifestyle. There is a wealth of evidence to show that consumers will not choose healthier foods and drinks that have inferior taste and mouthfeel to the less healthy equivalent. Thus delivering less energy dense products with the same taste and flavour that consumers expect, along with lifestyle changes help reduce incidence of obesity. Food emulsions and foams in which the fat is mixed with air or water to form small droplets or bubbles are a way of reducing the fat content but maintaining the mouthfeel. Ingredients that allow smaller stable foams and emulsions will help reduce the fat content further. Some modified proteins have been shown to be highly effective in both stabilising oil in water emulsions and producing highly stable foams. This project will evaluate a range of commonly available proteins that have been modified, in a controlled way to improve their emulsifying and water binding properties in oil/water emulsions delivering potential fat replacement. The modified proteins will be screened for the functional properties, evaluated in product formulations and tested for their sensory delivery in model products. The most promising candidates will be incorporated into low fat , clean label, aerated foods as a way of reducing the fat content whilst maintaining the product eat experience.