Promitor Resistant Starch is First ‘Promitor’ Branded Fiber From Tate & Lyle

12/06/07 Tate & Lyle has announced the launch of Promitor Resistant Starch, the first ingredient to be marketed under its new Promitor range of dietary fibres. Promitor Resistant Starch will help manufacturers add more fibre to baked products and snacks (including cereal, crackers, cookies, bread and pasta), with no impact on taste or texture. Resistant starch is a starch that “resists” digestion and acts as a dietary fibre. Harvey Chimoff, Director of Marketing, Americas said, “A typical diet in the US and Europe does not meet the daily recommended intake of fibre and this may be linked to low consumer expectations surrounding the taste and texture of high or added fibre products. Our research shows that consumers clearly understand that fibre can be good for their health. But we also know that the consumers’ eating experience must be about the product they’ve chosen not the fibre that’s in it.”

Promitor Resistant Starch is promoted as a prebiotic fibre that is well-tolerated and has a low glycemic response. Depending on legislation, it can be labelled as a corn starch/starch and may be suitable for products making a “natural” claim. Manufacturers can also use the Promitor logo front of pack to highlight its inclusion.

Jim Miller, Director of Product Management, Americas, said, “Promitor Resistant Starch is a step change in resistant starch technology. Other resistant starches do not survive well in extreme process conditions. Because of its superior process stability, Promitor Resistant Starch can be used in smaller quantities to deliver better results. This means Promitor Resistant Starch is cost-efficient and has less impact on the formulation than other products currently on the market.”

Promitor Resistant Starch also has very low water holding capacity, making it easy to formulate with when substituting for wheat flour in low moisture systems such as crackers and cookies. Promitor Resistant Starch has the added benefit in fried goods of reducing oil pick-up by 15-20%, which means fewer calories and less fat in the end product. Tate & Lyle’s department of Health and Nutrition Sciences has worked with Leatherhead Food International to determine the prebiotic properties of Promitor Resistant Starch. This formed part of a wider research programme which includes a series of clinical studies on the Promitor range of fibres in partnership with a number of leading internationally recognized experts on fibre and health at various academic institutions. Tate & Lyle will be developing a range of soluble and insoluble dietary fibre ingredients under the Promitor brand, which can be used in a wide variety of applications.

Newly developed product formulas with Promitor Resistant Starch include corn chips, snack crackers, corn puffs, sandwich cookies and crisp chocolate chip cookies. Fibre is a key ingredient in the bakery, beverage and dairy ENRICH prototypes, the functional ingredients service launched by Tate & Lyle at the start of the year. Resistant Starch has shown a positive prebiotic index via the method of Paffram, Gibson and Rastall, 2003