Evaluation of rice flour for use in vanilla ice cream.

The effects of varying concentrations (2, 4, and 6%) of 2 types of rice flours (RF 1 and RF 2) on the physicochemical properties and sensory characteristics of vanilla ice cream samples were assessed at different fat levels (0, 4, and 10%) and storage conditions (control vs. heat-shocked). Fat and total solids were measured as well as hardness, viscosity, and melting rate. Eight trained panelists conducted descriptive sensory analyses of the samples at 0 and 7 wk. The 2% rice flour level and to a certain extent the 4% usage level generally improved texture while affecting to a lesser extent the flavor characteristics of the samples compared with the control. The RF 2 generally had a more significant effect than RF 1, especially on the texture attributes. Although the rice flour reduced the negative impact of temperature abuse on textural properties, the samples still deteriorated in textural properties (more icy) under temperature abuse conditions. In addition, rice starch does lower perceived sweetness and can have a "flour flavor" at high usage levels. The use of rice flour appears to be most advantageous for low fat ice cream samples.

Position of the American Dietetic association: fat replacers.

It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that the majority of fat replacers, when used in moderation by adults, can be safe and useful adjuncts to lowering the fat content of foods and may play a role in decreasing total dietary energy and fat intake. Moderate use of low-calorie, reduced-fat foods, combined with low total energy intake, could potentially promote dietary intake consistent with the objectives of Healthy People 2010 and the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans . The obesity epidemic in the nation has been attributed to energy imbalance, mainly because of increased food consumption and/or sedentary lifestyle, or both. Evidence suggests that lowering total energy intake along with a reduction in total fat intake can have a substantial impact on body weight and risk of chronic diseases. Fat replacers are used to provide some or all of the functional properties of fat, while providing fewer calories than the fat being replaced, and are used in a variety of products, from baked goods to frozen desserts. Fat replacers can be effective only if they lower the total caloric content of the food and if the consumer uses these foods as part of a balanced meal plan. Consumers should not be led to believe that fat- and calorie-reduced products can be consumed in unlimited amounts. Fat replacers are most useful when they help with calorie control and when their use encourages the consumption of foods delivering important nutrients.

Technical constraints in the development of reduced-fat bakery products.

The present study was funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, its aim being to identify the technical barriers to the development of reduced-fat alternatives for bakery products. Using National Food Survey (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, 1998) statistics on dietary consumption within the home, biscuits, cakes and pastries were identified as contributing significant amounts of fat to the population's dietary intake. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with contacts in the technical community of the baking industry, who were usually working in technical and new-product development functions. A discussion guide was developed to cover the main lines of enquiry. The companies selected were ingredient suppliers (eight), manufacturers (twelve) and retailers (four) and so represented each step of the food supply chain. In brief, results showed that current labelling rules were too stringent, and constrained development of reduced-fat bakery products. Products with lower fat levels are harder to make due to altered handling and processing properties. Their quality is usually poorer than standard products, particularly for flavour, texture and mouthfeel. The perception of freshness is reduced and product shelf-life may consequently be shorter. For the product developer, there are relatively few ingredients that can be used in place of fat, and knowledge of how they work is limited, which inhibits product development. There is no identifiable source of technical knowledge in this field. Consumers perceive reduced-fat bakery products to be of lower quality and are generally unwilling to pay higher prices than for standard products.

Effect of milk fat, cocoa butter, and whey protein fat replacers on the sensory properties of lowfat and nonfat chocolate ice cream.

Lowfat and nonfat chocolate ice creams were made with 2.5% of milk fat, cocoa butter, or one of two whey protein-based fat replacers, Dairy Lo or Simplesse. Polydextrose was added as required so that all formulations contained the same amount of total solids. Ice cream was stored at a control temperature of-30 degrees C. Hardness, viscosity, and melting rate were measured by physical methods. Trained panelists conducted descriptive sensory analyses of the samples at 0, 6, and 12 wk. Attribute ratings were analyzed by analysis o variance with least significant difference mean separation and orthogonal contrasting. Data were also analyzed by multivariate analysis of variance with canonical variate analysis. Consumer acceptance (n = 50) did not differ among the fresh ice creams (wk 0). Ice cream containing milk fat had less intense cocoa flavor and was more resistant to textural changes over time compared with the other ice creams. Simplesse was more similar to milk fat than was Dairy Lo in its effect on brown color, cocoa flavor, cocoa character, and textural stability but was less similar in terms of thickness and mouthcoating.

Role of fat replacers in diabetes medical nutrition therapy.

Foods with fat replacers have the potential to help people with diabetes reduce total and saturated fat intake and may therefore, in time, reduce the increased prevalence of dyslipidemia in type 2 diabetes. However, for these foods to have any potential benefit to people with diabetes, people with diabetes must learn to use them appropriately. People with diabetes should receive self-management training on how to identify ingredients that are fat replacers on labels, how to use the food label to determine serving sizes, and how to incorporate these foods into their food/meal plan, along with the selection of a wide variety of nutritious foods. Health professionals and people with diabetes need to keep current with the ever-changing market-place, available food products, and growing body of scientific literature. Additional research is needed to assess the impact of the use of fat replacers on the macronutrient content of the diet, metabolic parameters related to diabetes, and potential health and nutrition benefits for the person with diabetes.

Development of substituted fatty acid food composition table for the use in nutritional epidemiologic studies for Japanese populations: its methodological backgrounds and the evaluation.

Results of dietary assessment are influenced by quality of food composition tables used for nutrient calculation. The Japanese food composition table has considerable missing values for fatty acid compositions. Substitution is often used for filling missing values. We examined reliability of the following 4 major substitution methods using available values of arbitrarily selected 83 sets of foods from the published fatty acid composition table of Japanese foods: by a different part of the same specie, by a similar specie, by a same specie in the United States' Department of Agriculture food composition table, and by recipe. The mean correlation coefficients of food pairs were 0.97, 0.96, 0.84, and 0.80 respectively. Next, we substituted fatty acid compositions for the 794 missing foods using the 4 substitution methods, and developed the table with 1245 foods including those listed in the original (non-substituted) fatty acid composition table. Lastly, we calculated fatty acid intake levels with the original (non-substituted) and the developed (substituted) tables using 28- or 14-day dietary records of 211 men and women as a sample data, and compared the results. The intakes of all five fatty acid groups increased. The increase was most marked in saturated fatty acids (26% in men and 31% in women in crude values). As a consequence, polyunsaturated to saturated fatty acid ratio decreased from 1.15 to 1.01 in men and from 1.13 to 0.96 in women. The use of the developed fatty acid food composition table may increase the reliability on nutrition-disease association in future nutritional epidemiologic studies for Japanese populations.

Summary of the symposium establishing the safety of fat and macronutrient substitutes presented at the 33rd annual meeting of the Society of Toxicology, San Diego, California, March 13-17, 1994.

Macronutrient substitutes (MNS) are food ingredients designed to replace the organoleptic and/or functional properties of macronutrients such as fats or sugars in processed foods. Because they may be consumed in large quantities daily, traditional methods of safety evaluation are inappropriate. Conventional safety factors cannot be used in extrapolating animal data to humans due to the limitations of administering very large doses of MNS to animals. The proper evaluation of the safety of MNS involves appropriate studies in animals and humans including comparative biodispositional studies, genotoxicity and cytotoxicity studies, reproductive and developmental studies, mechanistic studies, digestive and fermentation studies, nutritional studies, and studies involving humans with special focus on gastrointestinal function. Guidelines for the proper conduct of human studies were presented and these include the use of competent investigators and IRB-approved protocols and the use of adequate numbers of healthy male and female volunteers. Postmarketing surveillance is the final step in the safety evaluation process for macronutrient substitutes. It was concluded that MNS should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Overview of olestra: a new fat substitute.

Olestra is a mixture of hexa-, hepta- and octa-esters formed from the reaction of sucrase and long chain fatty acids isolated from edible oils. Olestra has properties similar to those of traditional triglycerides but is not hydrolyzed by pancreatic lipases and, therefore, serves as a noncaloric replacement for fats in the diet. The safety of olestra has been established in over 100 studies in seven different species of animals, with confirmatory safety data coming from approximately 75 human studies; consumption of olestra at levels typical for savoury snacks does not result in reports of gastrointestinal problems in humans. This is consistent with the results of studies of the physiological and morphological effects of olestra in animals and in humans. It is anticipated that olestra will be available in Canada in the near future. Patients will soon be asking their physicians about its use. This article provides an overview of olestra.

Is the low-fat message giving people a license to eat more?

In the past decade, technology for modifying the fat content of foods has progressed and led to the development of highly palatable low-fat foods. Many Americans believe that weight loss can be accomplished by eating an ad libitum low-fat diet, and the development of highly palatable foods that are low in fat provides welcome additions to the food supply. However, in order to maintain high palatability, some of these foods have added sugars and other energy-bearing substances resulting in some low-fat foods which remain high in energy content and are energy-dense. Using such products as substitutes for higher-fat versions of foods is likely to bring about only small reductions in energy intake. A better strategy to reduce energy intake is to consume a low-fat diet made up of low-energy density foods such as fruits, vegetables, and other foods high in fiber and complex carbohydrates. Such a diet may include fat-replaced foods which are also reduced in energy since, for weight loss, a sustained reduction in energy intake is necessary. This can be best accomplished by eating a balanced diet not only low in fat content but also lower in energy.