Artinia Fiber Sustains the Crunch in Breakfast Cereal

The primary outcome benefit of Artinia-fortified breakfast cereal was the enhanced functional performance of the cereal by lowering its solubility, therefore creating “less sogginess”.

8 Aug 2012 --- Stratum Nutrition, a Novus International Business focusing on nutrition through functional and specialty ingredients, has conducted research programs independently and in collaboration with the Wenger Technical Research Facility in Sabetha, KS and the Food Processing Center at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln to investigate their Artinia specialty fiber in extruded breakfast cereals – with remarkable sensory and physical characteristics.

The primary outcome benefit of Artinia-fortified breakfast cereal was the enhanced functional performance of the cereal by lowering its solubility, therefore creating “less sogginess”.  The higher the inclusion rate of Artinia in the extruded cereal, the higher the porosity, and thus, the Textural Peak Force, i.e., the “crunchiness” was improved, which is a highly desirable attribute.

Artinia was incorporated into extruded breakfast cereal, tested against positive (beta-glucan fiber) and negative controls (no added fiber). Artinia showed to be an easy “drop-in” ingredient, as it did not cause any handling or processing issues during blending, pre-conditioning, extrusion or drying. Sensory evaluations included appearance, flavor, texture, crunch vs. sogginess over time in milk, along with physical characteristic analysis.

Artinia score sheet results for sensory and physical characteristic showed better or equal performance compared to the positive and negative controls in all areas. The quality of the Artinia final product had greater acceptability and resembled commercially available products.

In addition to these functional benefits in cereal, Artinia as a specialty fiber has unique health benefits.  Artinia has been shown in clinical studies to help reduce oxidized LDL-cholesterol as a way to support healthy arteries and overall cardiovascular health.  Within breakfast cereals, Artinia provides an opportunity to develop products with added functionality and health benefits.