Beta-glucans are the perfect solution to enhance snacks by introducing dietary fibre and heart health benefits. By incorporating this plant-based ingredient, snacks become eligible for approved health claims. Make hearts glow with joy and discover how these benefits can be translated into practice!
Most consumers worldwide understand the connection between heart health and overall well-being. For example, 7 out of 10 European consumers show interest in products that support heart health, even if they do not have specific health concerns. As a result, providing snacks with approved health claims presents a compelling opportunity for manufacturers.
To achieve this easily and affordably, incorporating beta-glucans from barley into recipes is key. Barley beta-glucans are viscous, soluble, fermentable dietary fibres with scientifically proven heart health benefits. They enable fibre enrichment and corresponding claims.
Beta-glucans generate a high viscosity, thickening the food and slowing its passage through the gastrointestinal tract. This delays glucose uptake, lowering the blood glucose response. In addition, the high viscosity reduces bile acid absorption, lowering blood cholesterol levels and helping to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.
Snacks enriched with these functional ingredients benefit both consumers and producers. More than 120 scientific studies demonstrate the health effects of beta-glucans from cereals, leading to approved health claims by EFSA, the FDA, and Health Canada.
The BENEO-Technology Centre has developed multiple recipes with beta-glucans that carry high fibre and EU health claims, such as: “Barley beta-glucan has been shown to lower/reduce blood cholesterol. High cholesterol is a risk factor in the development of coronary heart disease”. This claim can be used for foods that provide at least 1 g of barley beta-glucan per portion, with a beneficial effect achieved from a daily intake of 3 g. One such recipe is multi-grain biscuits, offering health benefits along with great taste and texture.
BENEO, a leading producer of functional ingredients, offers barley beta-glucans in the form of Orafti® β-Fit, a clean label, non-GMO, vegan-friendly wholegrain barley flour containing 20% beta-glucan on dry matter. Orafti® β-Fit can be used in a wide range of applications, from baked goods like biscuits, muffins, cookies, and cakes, to extruded cereals. It also serves as a clean label texturiser in dairy and dairy alternatives.
Dr Isabel Trogh, BENEO’s Customer Technical Support Manager, highlights the versatility of this ingredient: “Orafti® β-Fit is a cost-effective ingredient offering technical advantages alongside health benefits. With a neutral colour and taste, it is pH and temperature stable. In some cases, minor adjustments like adding more water may be needed when reformulating recipes, but most applications allow for a simple 1:1 replacement of the original flour, such as wheat flour, with our wholegrain beta-glucan-rich barley flour.”
