Development of boutique chocolates-Will emergence of such premium products sustain the industry?

Why do people like chocolate products? For their flavor, texture or taste? Probably this is a complicated question and answering it may be as complex as the products themselves! While most kids eat chocolates because of the sweetness and the overall texture and mouth feel, there may be many adults who can be connoisseurs of chocolates looking for some perceived traits which are not easy to be contoured or defined. Think about other beverage crops like coffee, tea or spirits and the consumer expectations can be as varied as the chemical complexity of the products themselves! Coffee tasters, tea tasters and wine tasters are a class by them selves and even to day, despite the tremendous advances made by analytical chemistry, no instrument has been universally accepted as a true tool to take a decision regarding the beverage quality. Probably the reason is that most flavors are made up of hundreds of chemicals with complex molecular structure and even to day 100% identification has not been achieved. Also making the issue more complicated is the relative effect of each component whether minor or major on the flavor bouquet characteristic of each product. This is true with cocoa flavor also. Manufacture of chocolate products has been standardized long ago and there is very little variation in its technology because the technology is highly machine oriented with very little leeway to manipulate. However this seems to be changing with some incisive research being carried out by a few major players in this sector and the result is emergence of specialty premium chocolates with varied bouquet value. Here is a take on this important breakthrough that can boost the bottom line of chocolate industry through marketing value added chocolates with significant flavor differentiation.

If one looks back at the history of beverage industry coffee and tea were the dominating ones with world's consumers vertically divided between the two. According to available data, world produces about 9 million tons (mt) of coffee and 5 mt of tea and this gives one an impression that latter is a poor cousin of the former!  But a relook at this issue will reveal that such a conclusion is too simplistic to accept because the quantity required to make a cup of coffee is three times that of tea and there fore in terms of volume of the beverage consumed tea beats coffee globally. Is it not interesting that per capita annual consumption of coffee is highest in Americas and Europe while Asia and the former Soviet Union countries are predominantly tea drinkers. Where does cocoa fit into this picture? it is well known that coco beans production largely goes for making chocolate products like cocoa mass, compounded sweetened chocolates, chocolate liquor and cocoa powder. It is the cocoa powder which finds its way to beverages like hot chocolates, drinking chocolates and as a flavoring material for candies, confectioneries biscuits , cookies and pastries. Therefore cocoa is never a competitor as a beverage material for coffee and tea. 

Chocolate industry is supposed to have manufactured and marketed about 7.5 mt last year using cocoa beans grown in countries like Ivory Coast, Indonesia, Ghana, Nigeria and a few other countries. The chocolate quality is mostly determined by the variety of beans from which it is made and major chocolate players use the much preferred Forastero variety which predominates the production though Criollo is considered a much superior variety being used exclusively for making premium chocolate products. The third variety Trinitario accounts for a fraction of the cocoa trade. The quality differentiation of chocolate products is mostly based on the variety used, fair trade practice adopted by growers including child labor, environment degradation, safety credentials,eating characteristics and handling modes. The health attributes attached to cocoa flavonoids raised the standing of this crop overnight into a frenetic consumer obsession which was tapped by the industry to churn out the so called bitter chocolates with lesser and lesser sugar and more cocoa solids. However bitter chocolates are appreciated only by a few health conscious consumers and therefore manufacturers have been looking for other USPs for increasing demand for chocolate products. The new line of research is leading the industry to design more niche products with higher price tag. Success seems to have come their way recently when researchers started studying the strains of yeast which are responsible to ferment the pulp in cocoa pods during post harvest processing operations, producing many flavoring materials that impart characteristic flavors to chocolate products.      .    

Thanks to the innovative efforts of Belgian researchers working in close collaboration with the chocolate industry, robust yeast strains have been isolated from the fermenting pulp and using these pure cultures different types of bouquet have been created giving individual personality to them. In the traditional fermentation process mostly carried out near the growing areas, the broken cocoa pods are allowed to get fermented by natural microbes, mostly wild yeasts, to depectinize and generate many artifacts that later impart a complex web of flavors to the final product. By isolating a number of strains and studying their metabolic history the scientists were able to create a pool of strains of yeast which can produce a range of flavors singly or in combination.. This makes it possible to create a new range of boutique chocolates that can match particular flavors in the same way that craft beer, coffee, tea, and wine can. What the team first hoped to do was to find robust strains of yeast that would quickly dominate the others and shorten the fermentation time, allowing cocoa producers better control over the chocolate's taste. It turned out that the different robust strains produced markedly different flavors and aromas. This was despite the fact that the recipe and fermentation process for each one was identical. The team then began to breed the yeast strains and created new hybrids that formed strong flavors that were retained in the final product, instead of getting lost due to their volatility, being trapped in the fat. This means that for the first time, chocolate makers have a broad portfolio of different yeast strains that are all producing different flavors. 

Whoever is not familiar with the range of lactic fermented products from milk? Yoghurt is one of the most accepted milk products consumed widely across the world. Look at the efforts of the dairy industry in converting a simple traditional yoghurt into a multibillion dollar roaring industry through differentiation of the fermentation process using combination of lactic acid bacteria like Lactobacillus delbrueckii, Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidus, Casei etc which can make yoghurts with different features. Same way chocolates also will now be available with varying flavor profiles using different strains of yeast for the primary fermentation process followed by standard processing. Whether  many consumers will be able to appreciate these value added products and willing to pay premium prices for them, however,remains to be seen.  

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

Bio-milk- New bioengineering approach through microbial route

In India milk is regularly consumed as a part of a healthy diet and serves the purpose of providing high quality proteins, minerals and other nutrients. Its importance is all the more critical considering that more than half the population is vegetarians either because of religious taboos or economic compulsions and animal products like eggs, meat, poultry, fish etc are shunned by many. There was a time in Indian history when milk was a scarce commodity produced in limited quantities and distributed through rationing. But to day India is the top ranked country as far as milk production is concerned after the "operation flood" programs initiated by the famous Amul cooperative in Gujarat. While statistically production may be adequate to meet the recommended minimum requirement of each citizen, access to milk is some what restricted because of lack of purchasing power with a significant proportion of the population living in poverty. 

If there is adequate milk available globally why should the scientists waste their time in developing animal milk alternatives which do not depend the cattle? It was understandable 70 years ago when there was a short supply of milk and efforts in India were directed to develop cheap milk substitutes from plant substances like Soybean, Groundnut etc.With more and more information emerging about nutrition and health of milk, both positive and negative, consumers are now better aware about what is good for them and what are to be avoided. Animal milk does pose a few problems for many consumers who are allergic to lactose and others afraid of cholesterol present in milk and milk products. Besides, green house emission is becoming a critical issue because many believe that they are responsible for global warming and the consequences flowing from it. According to WHO dairy farming accounts for about 3% of green house gas emissions and cutting down on milk can alleviate the situation to some extent. These are the driving forces that make scientists look for better alternatives to animal milk.

Why is that scores of brands of milk currently available in the market claiming t be as good as animal derived milk have not succeeded to the extent hoped for? Any "pretender" product seeking to replace the "original", as consumers recognize, should satisfy several quality criteria. These include taste, texture, mouth feel, appearance, flavor and last but the least the cooking properties which are hall marks of real milk. The fact that there is no real challenger yet to the milk, really proves that none of the existing products are satisfactory as far consumers are concerned. This is what is driving more and more scientists with burning innovative spirit to take up the challenge to develop a true milk substitute. 

A recent claim by a group of scientists in the US that they have perfected the technology for making a "real" milk substitute based on genetically modified yeast cells needs careful examination. Prima facie the product appears to be capable of posing a serious challenge to animal milk. But they have to travel a long way before a commercially viable product arrives in the market capable of competing with real milk. According to them the product is "fabricated" from 20 individual components which include water, proteins, enzymes, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals.  They use six key proteins for structure and function and eight key fatty acids for flavor and richness. But instead of using cashews and almonds as is the normal practice to replicate the curdy backbone of conventional milk, their product preparation starts with bioengineering of yeast to produce authentic milk proteins, which will give it the same taste and nutrition as regular milk. 

The backbone of the process is obtaining casein proteins from yeast through genetic alteration. Yeast is genetically modified by incorporating the DNA extracted from cow and after growing the cultures under optimal conditions of temperature and concentration, the resulting milk proteins are harvested for use in their product they call as "Muufri" milk. Plant-derived fats are then put through the biotech process to replicate the flavor and make-up of milk fats, while sugars and minerals like calcium are added separately. The product can be modified to deliver greater health benefits, using an alternate sugar to lactose for the lactose-intolerant, or leaving cholesterol out altogether. To cap it, other types of milk – goat, buffalo, whole, skim – can also be replicated through this process, so claim these scientists.

The million dollar question is whether a GMO product will be readily accepted by the consumers even if t has excellent nutritional credentials. According to creators of this novel product, the GMO yeast does not enter the product as the cells are removed by centrifugation, only the proteins being used in the formulation. Still extraneous proteins originating from yeast can be theoretically present in trace amounts and cannot be entirely ruled out. But yeast is extensively used in brewing and making bread and this probably may rule out any allergic problem consumers may encounter from Muufri milk. Ultimately if compulsory labeling of GMO products becomes a norm, the product will have to declare the same on its label. and how that will affect the consumer response is uncertain.

Any product intended to be marketed against stiff challenges from its competitors must have cost advantage, at least to begin with, before establishing its credibility and wide consumer acceptance. It is here the Muufri may face some problem as the cost pf production using the new technology is estimated to be double that of conventional milk. Though it is claimed that the product needs no pasteurization because it is made from bacteria free components, this may not make much difference in terms of cost of production. If the health claims are substantiated by independent verification, it has the best chance to be positioned as a well being product commanding premium price. Then the business volume will be rather limited posing no threat to the traditional dairy milk business. 

A point which cannot escape our attention is whether the traditional dairy sector will keep quite looking at this development with a sense of apprehension. Already there are indications that the industry is gearing itself for a massive exercise to boost their products in the market as a result of decreasing consumption of milk by American consumers worrying about the health impact of milk consumption. Emergence of the A2 milk as a healthy and preferred product and lower levels of this fraction in American milk products combined with the perception that milk does contribute to obesity will make the task of pushing more milk into the diet of Americans tougher  It here products like Muufri milk will find an opening to reach the family dining table with relative ease.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

"HUMAN" GELATIN-SOUNDS WEIRD?

Gelatin is a relatively minor substance that is used by food, pharmaceutical, photography and cosmetic industries which find this by-product of meat industry a very attractive material with some unique physical properties. As the world use of gelatin is less than 0.3 million tons and many effective substitutes have been developed from plant sources during the last few years, its significance is progressively diminishing though its recovery during slaughter house operations improves the economy of meat industry significantly. Use of gelatin by food industry is not very high because of its association with meat industry, many manufacturers preferring to use plant derived viscosity modifiers which include agar agar, carrageenan, pectin, konjak, guar gum etc..

While 27% of gelatin manufactured comes from animal bones, Bovine hide and Pig skin contribute 28% and 44% respectively. Production is largely concentrated in Western Europe (39%), Northern America (20%) and Latin America (17%). Gelatin is a protein by nature derived by partial hydrolysis of Collagen found in bones, connective tissues, organs, intestines of cattle, chicken and pig but its nutritional value as a protein source is very low. It is predominantly made of two amino acids-glycine and proline, has no tryptophan and is deficient in threonine, isoleucine and methionine. Therefore its value to the industry lies in its functional properties. It melts into a liquid at high temperatures and solidifies on cooling. It forms a high viscous fluid with hot water and can form a gel on cooling. This is the property which makes gelatin an attractive ingredient in many food products.

Gelatin is found in many food products that include Marshmallows, gelatin desserts, low fat yogurts, jams, cream cheese, a number of low fat foods, margarine, jelly base etc. Its properties as a stabilizer, thickener, texturizer, viscosity modifier, fat sparing ingredient are unique and given a choice any processor will opt for gelatin. Recent news that using biotechnology scientists have been able to make gelatin from human cells, if true, may provide a cleaner route for getting a cleaner and more consistent product for industrial use. The quality of gelatin from slaughter house waste is not uniform though there are broad quality ranges and lot of standardization is required before a uniform quality product with assured performance can be offered. Human gelatin, so called because of the use of human stem cells for producing the product, can be of a high quality with assured performance. Biotechnology has been even able to create artificial meat from human stem cells.    

The new technique for making gelatin from human DNA is receiving world wide attention after the reported success of Chinese scientists who were able to insert human genes into a strain of yeast to "grow" large amounts of recombinant.human gelatin. Though the experiments are still at an early stage, some doubts are being raised whether such products derived from stem cells will be acceptable to the industry and the consumer. The reported fiasco of marketing human "breast milk" as a health product in the UK is still fresh in the memory of many people and whether same sentiments may rule when it comes to accepting meat derived from human gene remains to be seen. More important consideration would be whether such products are safe and whether clinical trials are required to be done to confirm their safety.

It is claimed that there is a very high degree of similarity between gelatin that comes from a cow, a pig, and a human and hence the pioneers do not see any health risk to it. The fact that people have been ingesting gelatin for many years does not guarantee that human derived counterpart would behave the same way. It is being pointed out that human-derived gelatin is already in use by the pharmaceutical industry in the manufacture of certain pills and vaccines. Probably the highly controlled production techniques under laboratory conditions may offer a more consistent product than "traditional" gelatin. Also cited is the current practice of using human genes by pharmaceutical firms in the production of human  insulin for diabetics, human growth hormone, and erythropoietin, which is used to treat anemia. Using stem cells for experiments however beneficial it may turn out to be, is a divisive issue with religious connotations and probably such products may never find universal acceptance in all parts of the world.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com