At Frontline Food Consultants and Engineers, you get complete consulting solutions for fiber-enriched food development and manufacturing. In the area of healthy food formulations, we assist you in minimal processing from a source such as oat bran, psyllium husk, or, inulin, up to the point of developing product recipes that will satisfy the escalating consumer consciousness for functional foods. Product Development and Fiber Integration Services help you achieve the right blend of fiber in your food products – bakery and snacks, breakfast foods, snacks & beverages, or cereals, without compromising on taste or texture.

We also have Ingredient Sourcing and Supply Chain Optimization services to assist you in your quest for the right natural and organic fibers. Our R & D team can work with you to create more exciting new fiber-enriched product portfolios such as gluten-free or low carb relevant to the latest trends. Regulatory Compliance and Nutritional Labeling Service helps to satisfy your consumers and deliver fiber-rich products of appropriate safety and nutritional value on the label. The Packaging Solutions developed by us helps to retain the freshness and shelf life of fiber-enriched foods thus ensuring consumers get to see them in the best possible state.

What is Fiber Enriched Food?

Fiber-enriched foods are therefore products that include added dietary fibers that are formed from natural sources such as grains, fruits, and vegetables, or legumes. All these fibers are incorporated into foods such as baked products, beverages, cereals, and snacks, to enhance their nutritive value, particularly in human digestion. This first starts with choosing the right type of fiber for a product: soluble fiber is inulin or pectin which dissolves in water and creates the feeling of gel while insoluble fiber, provided by bran or cellulose does not dissolve and adds to the diet volume. While preparing formulated foods, fiber is added to the food content in the right proportion, without compromising the appearance, taste and texture of the food. Fiber addition may have an impact on the mouthfeel/moisture characteristics which triggers changes in other formulation factors.

It is important to note that there are many unique equipment used in food production that is related to fibrous type of product. The applicators are used to blend & distribute fibers into dough bases, batter or liquid-based systems. Depending on specific needs, snacking or breakfast cereals, extruders can be highly useful in shaping the food product and incorporating fiber. Some ingredients in fiber-enriched baked products require the use of baking ovens or drying equipment for texture, and moisture contents. Scales and fillers apply several processes such as portioning that is applicable in fiber-enriched ingredients or finished products. Last but not the least of the machinery used is the sealing and packaging that slows down its expiry and retains the nutrients of the product and then labeling machines ensure that the fiber content and nutritional claim made about the product is true.

Fiber-Enrichment Process Steps

  • Ingredient Selection: Select from a variety of dietary fiber-rich food products including oats, barley, legumes, fruits, vegetables and specialty fibre supplements including inulin and psyllium husk.
  • Formulation: Create meals that meet the fiber requirements of the World Health Organization maximums and minimums without compromising flavors, textures, and the final presentation to the consumers of the meals.
  • Processing: Include strategies for incorporating fiber into one or more food items; for instance, heat and shear methods including baking or extrusion, or blending.
  • Testing: Performed nutritional and sensory assessment to analyze the compliance of the product with standard nutritional values and consumer taste.
  • Packaging: Select the packing material which retains the fiber contents and enhances the freshness of the products.
  • Distribution: It is therefore important that storage and transportation procedures be followed to the later to enhance product quality.

Tools and Equipment

  • Mixers and Blenders: The mixer is used for blending fiber ingredients with other ingredients in a food product.
  • Extruders: For manufacturing fiber rich confectionery products and for puffed snacks cereals and pasta.
  • Baking Equipment: Fiber-enriched baked products bakery equipment including oven and proofing cabinets.
  • Packaging Machines: Fiber-enriched products require aseptically produced and efficient sealing and protection.
  • Quality Testing Equipment: For characterization of fiber content and texture-property attributes.

Types of fibre enriched products

Fiber-Enriched Bread

  • Ingredients: Whole wheat grain, bran, and husk, water, fresh yeast and salt.
  • Process: The main processes that align with this company include; Mixing, kneading, proofing, baking, cooling and packaging.
  • Benefits: Promotes digestive health, has beneficial effects on satiety and is also nutritious.

Fiber-Enriched Cereals

  • Ingredients: Whole grain products, bran, dried fruits, nuts, natural sweeteners.
  • Process: These processes include; Washing and Drying, Blending and molding, shaping and forming, and packaging.
  • Benefits: Instant meals, has a positive impact on digestion, high in fiber content.

Fiber-Enriched Snack Bars

  • Ingredients: Grains, particularly oats, nuts, seeds, fiber-based dried fruits and additives such as inulin, and chicory root fiber.
  • Process: Manufacturing processes include; blending, molding, even baking or cooling and packing.
  • Benefits: Convenient, calorie-friendly, good for gut health.

The Production Process

Market Research and Analysis

  • This area requires an appreciation of consumer preferences and dietary trends since manufacturers need to design tasty fiber containing products. This involves developing an understanding of the market, using data surveys and focus group discussions with clients in order to identify opportunities and threats.
  • In the following part, the selection of ingredients and the formulation to be adopted will be presented.
  • The identification of high quality fibers and definition of the right formulations that will provide the right textural and functional properties and nutrients is a significant aspect of the process.

Prototyping and Testing

Further pilot scale trials involve testing of new recipes and the various ways of processing in order to enhance the organoleptic properties and to ensure that the fiber levels are not negatively affected.

Quality assurance compliance

Fiber-enriched products should have to go through regulatory requirements for safety, nutritional and qualitative aspects. Mandatory use of quality control procedures is recommended as a way of managing the quality of produce that is being churned out.

 

Packaging

Preservation of fiber-enriched products calls for proper packaging and this is considered important in the process. The packaging should guard the product from moist, oxygen and light and should be convenience in addition to enhancing the shelf life of the product. Key packaging materials include:

  • Flexible Packaging: Non-reinforced and reinforced plastic films and foils for applications where a combination of low weight, low cost, and very good barrier properties are required.
  • Rigid Packaging: Bottles made from glass or plastic or metal cans, making the product long-lasting and have a very long shelf life.
  • Paper-Based Packaging: Sack and carton made of kraft paper, cardboard and usually coated or laminated to increase the barrier properties.