Galactooligosaccharide Food Ingredient for Sugar-Reduced Taste and Texture
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing food products struggle to reduce sugar content while maintaining taste and texture, and artificial sweeteners do not provide the same texture as sugar, with consumers also avoiding such ingredients.
Innovation Solution
A food ingredient comprising 20-40% milk protein, 35-55% lactose, glucose, and galactooligosaccharide mixture, produced by enzymatic conversion using beta-galactosidase, followed by heat treatment to replace skim milk powder and sucrose, retaining taste and texture.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If sugar content is reduced in food products, then health benefits improve, but taste and texture deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The invention combines multiple functions into a single ingredient: GOS provides sweetness and prebiotic benefits, milk proteins contribute to texture and mouthfeel, and the specific composition (20-40% milk protein, 35-55% sugar mixture with 70-90% GOS) integrates these components to simultaneously deliver health benefits and maintain sensory quality without relying on traditional sugar
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the chemical composition parameters by replacing traditional sugar (sucrose) with galactooligosaccharides derived from lactose polymerization, and adjusts the protein-to-sugar ratio to optimize both health benefits and sensory properties, transforming the ingredient profile while maintaining functional performance
2Quantity of substance
If artificial sweeteners are used to replace sugar, then sweetness is maintained, but texture contribution is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses a composite material system combining GOS (for sweetness) with milk proteins (for texture), where the interaction between these components creates a synergistic effect that provides both sweet taste and desirable texture, overcoming the limitation of artificial sweeteners that only provide sweetness
3Quantity of substance
If GOS is produced by beta-galactosidase polymerization of lactose, then prebiotic ingredient is obtained, but yield is below 50%
Solution Approach 1:
The invention performs preliminary concentration of lactose in milk before enzymatic polymerization, creating optimal substrate conditions that enhance GOS production efficiency and final concentration in the product
Solution Approach 2:
The invention optimizes enzymatic reaction parameters including temperature (50-65°C), pH, and reaction time to maximize GOS yield and concentration, achieving higher prebiotic content in the final ingredient
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Achieves reduced sugar content with similar taste and texture, contributing prebiotic GOS, and avoids artificial sweeteners.
Implementation Method 1
adding a beta-galactosidase to the composition, wherein the beta-galactosidase is one or more enzymes with enzymatic activity of enzyme class EC 3.2.1.23, which catalyses the hydrolysis of terminal non-reducing beta-D-galactose residues in beta-D-galactosides
Implementation Method 2
as well as transgalactosylation by transferring a galactose moiety of a beta-D-galactoside to another sugar molecule
Implementation Method 3
heat treating the composition after step c) at a temperature of 70-150°C for 10-150 seconds
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a food ingredient comprising galactooligosaccharides, a way of producing it and cocoa and/or malt beverage products comprising the ingredient. The food ingredient is produced by adding a beta-galactosidase to a composition comprising non-fat milk solids including lactose. The food ingredient may be used e.g. in cocoa and/or malt beverage products to reduce fat and/or sugar without detrimentally impacting sweetness, taste and/or texture.