CEREAL products are extremely popular in many countries. In recent years the market for breakfast cereals alone has shown an average growth rate of around three per cent per annum worldwide. That is not surprising, because muesli, cornflakes and the like fit in perfectly with the continuing trend towards health and wellness products -especially if they are fortified with additional nutrients. Individual solutions By creating tailor-made premixes, SternVitamin helps cereal manufacturers develop fast-selling novel products. From muesli bars through filled breakfast cereals to cornflakes there is a wide range of cereal products that require very different production methods. So besides the specific attributes of the products, and their nutrient content, the production process plays an important role in fortification. "In the case of filled breakfast cereals -for example chocolate cushions -the nutrients can be worked into the filling or alternatively into the cereal shell. If the vitamins and minerals are to be integrated into the chocolate paste, several factors have to be taken into account: the compounds must not react with other ingredients, but at the same time they must dissolve readily. Fortification of the basic paste is a less complex matter," explains Sonja Postel, applications technologist with SternVitamin. With respect to basic pastes, however, there are still certain parameters that have to be taken into account. When cornflakes and similar products are to be fortified, it makes a difference whether the vitamins and minerals are to be added to the basic paste or to the coatings that may be sprayed on later in the production process. In the case of muesli bars, it is possible to work the micronutrients into the dry materials or the binder. Which of the two variants is the more suitable will depend on criteria, such as the amount of vitamins and minerals to be added and the production plant to be used. End product quality In the case of minerals, in particular, the choice of the raw materials has a considerable influence on the quality of the end products. The compounds must not react with other ingredients, but they should be soluble nevertheless. With iron alone there are major differences. In the case of vitamins, sensitivity to heat is a major problem. In order to prevent loss of efficacy the nutrients may be added after the heating process, or the vitamins can be suitably over-dosed to compensate for losses caused by heating. When choosing vitamins and minerals, the applications technologists make sure that the nutrients selected are readily absorbed by the body. That is no easy matter, because there are a great many different compounds of the individual minerals alone. Moreover, the minerals that are taken up easily by the body generally react readily with other ingredients too. The fine art is to find the best compromise for each individual application. The premixes in the SternMin CR and SternVit CR series are designed to exclude the possibility of interactions between their own constituents and with other ingredients of the product. These premixes guarantee precise dosage and homogeneous dispersion of the nutrients in the end product.
Close co-operation with customers When realising ideas for new products, SternVitamin cooperates very closely with its customers' development departments. "Although we offer a diversity of standard premixes, each customer usually gets a tailor-made product. In particular there is a great demand for premixes containing B vitamins, calcium and iron -in other words nutrients that are especially important for children. But fortification with vitamin E is often requested too," Ms Postel says. Of course the percentage of the desired micronutrients can be adjusted to meet national requirements or the customer's individual wishes
Nike Air Max 90
iConnectHub
Access
Login/Register
Supplier Login
