Key Interview: Rousselot Target Protein Enrichment Using Gelatin

19 Jun 2017 --- Widely used in the production of food, gelatin offers manufacturers across all categories an unrivaled set of functionalities. Rousselot’s range of products includes gelatin, hydrolyzed gelatin, as well as gelatin solutions facilitating innovation. 

The most recent addition of hydrolyzed gelatin at Rousselot is ProTake which can act as a replacement to improve texture and flavor, while serving as a bulking agent due to its excellent water retention properties. Rousselot have developed several prototype recipes using ProTake, with its high protein content, ProTake is an ideal natural ingredient to boost protein levels or to reformulate your product with less fat and/or sugar.

“Reformulating foods to achieve a clean label claim can present technical and formulation challenges,” Ellis Brouns, Rousselot Global Marketing Manager tells FoodIngredientsFirst. “Ingredients, such as gelatin or hydrolyzed gelatin, have proven to offer multiple functional and nutritional benefits while complying to the requirements of clean label claims.” 

“If you look in general at the opportunities with gelatin, there are a lot of important trends that it covers,” claims Brouns. “The ingredients itself is clean label, naturally sourced, it has no additives, E numbers, or chemicals – so it really is a great ingredient that answers to all the above.” 
 
“We are seeing that protein enrichment in particular is very topical at the moment,” she notes. “Our product ProTake, perfectly fits within the protein enrichment trend.”

“Texture is also another trend to mention,” adds Brouns. “We know that people want to enjoy food and they take great pleasure in the textural experiences of food. If you talk about foods, you talk about taste, taste is based on two different pillars, the flavor itself and then secondly the texture. We are seeing more and more that texture is becoming important and gelatin plays a vital role in this. Gelatin is a great texture enhancer, but also because of its textural properties it gauges a perfect release of flavor and a pleasant texture and mouthfeel.” 

“Consumers look for texture as well as flavor,” she states. 

Where do you see most growth potential for an ingredient like gelatin? “Traditionally, gelatin is used frequently in confectionery and that will not change. Texture and taste can really be experimented with in confectionery.” 

“Another area where we see growth is in fact the nutraceutical market,” she claims. “There is potential in this area to supply gelatin in different dosage forms for this market, for example, in gummy formats. That is certainly an area that we can further explore.”

“When you discuss nutraceutical supplements you are also addressing how gelatin creates the shell in the nutraceuticals for the supplement. Gelatin is more commonly playing a much more important role here,” she says. 

Gelatin is an ingredient that offers a lot of functionality, so it really does offer different potential depending on the application. “For example,” says Brouns, “in a gummy, the gelling functionality is very important to warrant a satisfying taste experience. As gelatin melts at body temperature, it melts in your mouth; meaning you will have a pleasant taste and overall eating experience.”

“We have developed a gelatin, specifically for high temperatures, because we were experiencing a lot of issues with melting candies at high temperatures. This new gelatin is heat resistant,” Brouns states. “That’s also an example of a texture performer. This is a common problem that exists with high temperature, but with gelatin you can solve this.”

How do you ensure sustainability through this ingredient? Brouns replies: “We manufacture the gelatin from raw materials all suitable for human consumption. In the end it is using a product from aspects of the meat industry which otherwise would be waste. So this contributes to our circular economy and ensures that the products we use are sustainable.” 

“Rousselot are continuously working on reducing our energy and carbon footprint, we know that it is important and we care about our the future of our planet,” she explains.

“One benefit of using gelatin is that not only is it a hydrocolloid, it is also a protein.” Brouns notes: “it has 18 amino acids, and is a very nutritional and functionally beneficial ingredient.” 

“It is also appealing to the health conscious consumer who also wants to enjoy food,” she adds. 

“That is where we believe gelatin stands out as a differentiator in this space. It offers a lot of functionalities to various products.”

“Gelatin is a trendy ingredient which we believe, helps consumers enjoy food,” Brouns says. “It is traditional ingredient but also very important in many food categories. You cannot imagine a life without gelatin in food, if you were to take gelatin out of a formulation there would be a lot of tough challenges.” 

“As a company, we are looking for opportunities in new applications or changes in current applications, to ensure that it fits with the trends of today’s consumers.”

“We believe gelatin has a bright future ahead,” Brouns finalizes. ”It has a strong legacy in the past but also for the future.” 

Rousselot will be exhibiting their protein enrichment recipes at the IFT Food Expo in Las Vegas later this month. 

by Elizabeth Green