June 2013 US$39.00 SPECIAL REPORT Beverage Fortification: Enhancing Nutritional Quality & Consumer Appeal Years ago, fortification was implemented in staple items such as flour and milk as an effective strategy to help stave off widespread disease resulting from malnourishment. With today's increasingly savvy consumers looking to glean nutritional benefits in everything from tea and juice to bottled water, beverage fortification has taken on a whole new life. by Cathianne Leonardi and Frank Del Corso Beverage Fortification: Enhancing Nutritional Quality & Consumer Appeal According to the World Health Organization (WHO), food fortification is the practice of deliberately increasing content of an essential micronutrient in a food, so as to improve the nutritional quality of the food supply and provide a public health benefit with minimal risk to health. Historically, foods have been fortified to prevent diseases. More recently in the United States and other developed countries, fortification of foods and beverages has shifted to deliver benefits making the user feel, perform or even look better. This report examines the changing market of fortification in the United States—from one where the main driver is preventing diseases in the masses, to one where the driver is adding function for a niche market. Strategies are also explored for beverage scientists to create great-tasting drinks to meet the demands of this new market. Introduction and History of Fortification by Cathianne Leonardi umans traditionally fortify their bodies with nutrients found in food. We demonstrate increased understanding of nature by modifying H our food supply in favor of desired qualities. Activities including seed selection, propagation and invention of species by artificial selection and hybridization have long been established as beneficial in yielding increasing food supplies required to nourish a boundless growth in population. Embedded in man’s manipulation of food is the ability to deliberately choose fortifications upon identification of dietary deficiencies. Thoughtfully selected fortifications or enrichments One of the earliest have successfully reduced, or in some cases eradicated, ailments records of fortification of noticed scarcity. One of the earliest records of fortification beneficial to the U.S. beneficial to the population was vitamin D in milk. The addition of vitamin D U.S. population was allowed the body to absorb naturally occurring calcium in milk. The combination acted to calcify bone structure, resulting in vitamin D in milk. reduced instances of rickets, a disease in which bones are softened due to lack of calcium absorption. Beverage INSIDER • Beverage Fortification 2 naturalproductsinsider.com Another historic example of improved health of the U.S. population follows Napoleon’s belief that an army marches on its stomach. During the precarious years prior to World War II, the U.S. selective service rejected one-third of all men for military service based on malnutrition. Noted effects of poor diets included pellagra, a dermal disease, that reached epidemic proportions in America's Southern states. To correct this while strengthening the lines of defense, the War Foods Administration issued the first War Food Order requiring enrichment of flour and white bread, effective January 1943. Enrichments of thiamin, riboflavin, niacin and iron led the path to reduction of diseases of malnourishment. By 1949, reported cases of pellagra in the South were lowered from 10.5 to 0.5 percent per 100,000. FDA concluded Our modern society often views these fortifications as quotidian. We accept them because in our short lifetimes, they have always that items enriched existed; they are familiar products of a great generation and rarely with 0.14 mg folic breed controversy. Bracelets, ribbons and 5-kilometer races do not exist in support of finding cures for pellagra or rickets. We have acid could claim a done that by examining nature and our place in it—and acting health benefit, while accordingly for the majority’s benefit. supplements would A fortification that dictates specificity in population segment is folic acid. Diets supplemented with 0.4 mg folic acid retain their levels decrease neural tube defects in fetuses of pregnant women. of 0.4 mg. Conversely, the recommended dose of folic acid negatively operates in elderly populations by masking deficiencies in B12. The conflict presented an opportunity to devise a way to strengthen the progeny of a very particular population while doing no harm to their parents or grandparents. FDA struggled with recommendations for fortifications for years. Considerations ranged from assuming all women to be pregnant to providing folic acid as a supplement once pregnancy was confirmed. Solely relying on supplements discriminated against women of the lowest income level; the item needed to be safely and affordably included in everyday diets. In October 1993, FDA concluded that items enriched with 0.14 mg folic acid could claim a health benefit, while supplements would retain their levels of 0.4 mg. In this instance, the term "nutraceutical" and the nature of selecting sub-threshold supplement level fortifications addressing specific health issues for narrow population sections were born. Beverage INSIDER • Beverage Fortification 3 naturalproductsinsider.com Formulating for Fortified Beverages by Frank Del Corso ortifying beverages with new and different ingredients presents many challenges from stability and taste perspectives. Traditionally, only small F amounts of vitamins or minerals were used to fortify bread, salt or milk, but today’s market demands more from beverage scientists. In order to stand apart from other beverage brands, consumers continually want more things added to their formulations. A complex combination of vitamins, minerals and sport supplements are combined in some beverages today to deliver a multivitamin in a bottle. Other brands choose one main supplement to convey a simpler message to potential customers. In the early days of the new-age beverage boom, small amounts of herbs and vitamins were added for “label romance.” Simple extracts of botanicals were added at very low levels in order to list them in the ingredient line. Since then, there seems to be a shift from the pixie-dust mentality to one where consumers want more research-based and effective doses of ingredients. Many highly purified or standardized botanicals can add bitterness to a beverage, and some minerals such as A complex calcium can add chalkiness. This can present a challenge for any combination beverage scientist trying to add some of these highly concentrated ingredients and still make the beverage taste great. Fortunately, of vitamins, from years working on the bench, any good food scientist has minerals and sport formed a sound strategy to modify taste and combat the lingering metallic aftertaste, bitterness or chalkiness from the addition supplements are of some of these nutrients. combined in some Some beverage technologists use a four-tiered approach to modify taste to create an overall pleasant drinking experience. beverages today to This four-tiered strategy involves reviewing and choosing the deliver a multivitamin right combination of sweeteners, acids, modifiers of flavor and other ingredients (SAMO) in order to modify taste and create in a bottle. great-tasting fortified beverages that meet a marketer’s demand for function. The SAMO strategy to taste modification is a method used successfully in many fortified beverages on the market today. A major factor in the ingredient selection involved in this strategy is the marketing and branding of a beverage. Understanding the positioning of a beverage is the first step in the process of creating it; only when this is fully understood can a beverage developer move ahead with applying this approach. Beverage INSIDER • Beverage Fortification 4 naturalproductsinsider.com Sweeteners Different sweeteners can be used to help shape the taste of fortified beverages. Both nutritive and non-nutritive sweetener options have a place in the taste modification needed for some fortified beverages. Each sweetener has its own taste and sweetness perception. Sucrose (sugar) is considered the gold standard in sweeteners and is given a sweetness value of 1. All other sweeteners are compared to sucrose in terms of their sweetness impact and mouthfeel, as well as how the sweetener impacts flavor perception. The monosaccharide fructose (not high fructose corn syrup), for example, is given a sweetness value of 1.2 to 1.5, so it is approximately 20 to 50 percent sweeter than sugar. However, the flavor and Different types of acids mouthfeel of fructose is somewhat thinner and has a shorter can improve the overall sweetness perception curve than sugar, and so will impact the overall taste of a beverage differently. Fructose can be used to taste of a fortified impart a greater sweetness than one would expect from the beverage by creating a number of calories it provides. Fructose will also impart a clean taste and is a very good choice for a sports drink since it delivers a diverse taste experience fresh sweetness profile that is not syrupy. Non-nutritive, high due to each acid's unique potency sweeteners such as sucralose, aspartame and stevia also have different sweetness and taste perceptions than sugar. Each flavor and acidity profile. high-potency sweetener has its own unique taste perception, as does each combination of sweeteners. Some are better-suited at covering up