The past two decades have seen an increase in the interest of health-promoting ingredients and chemicals from natural products.

One example is soy and its derivatives, which have enjoyed a significant number of new product introductions and opportunities for improving health.

Another example is a new generation of products and applications derived from citrus fruits. Citrus contains a number of raw materials that have a wide variety of applications. Fiberstar holds an exclusive worldwide license for patented biotechnology concerning citrus pulp that was developed at the University of Minnesota. Citri-Fi™, the branded GRAS food ingredient, is able to bind water at much higher rates than comparable products and makes an exceptional fat replacer in a wide variety of foods. Citri-Fi can be used to replace up to 50% of the fat in a product without changing the taste, texture, volume or cost. The replacement of fats in products with Citri-Fi can then reduce saturated fats, trans fats and calories. (See chart “Muffin Nutritionals.”) Additionally, Citri-Fi can either maintain or improve certain desirable characteristics of the food such as taste, texture, mouthfeel and volume.

Citri-Fi also improves quality and freshness of foods through its ability to bind moisture. Specifically, it reduces syneresis of water and/or oil in such formulas as meat fillings, sauces and foods that must be thawed. By adding and binding water in these formulas, it is sometimes possible to increase moistness, improve yields and extend shelflife. Additionally, it is possible to retard moisture migration—resulting in a more uniform product—and reduce ice formation in frozen food products.

The Citri-Fi product line consists of six different products, each produced for a specific benefit. Citri-Fi 100 products are extremely effective fat-reducing agents that also help manage moisture and emulsification characteristics. Typical applications include cinnamon rolls, muffins, white bread/buns, donuts, salsa and meat fillings. Citri-Fi 100 is also able to add structure to finished products such as pie/tart shells and cracker-type products without making them tough. Citri-Fi 100FG is a fine granulation product aimed at moisture and oil management for applications such as smoothies, coleslaw and salad dressings. This product also can be used for strengthening and reducing breakage. Citri-Fi 100M40 is the microgranulation particle size that is focused on moisture management and fat replacement for such products as hot dogs, bratwurst and salad dressings. Citri-Fi 200 is manufactured with guar gum added and is used when moisture management, syneresis control and/or emulsification are the objectives. Its uses include fried pie, sweet dough and pie filling. Citri-Fi 200FG, the finer granulation product, is used primarily for cream fillings, ice creams, beverages and salad dressings. Citri-Fi 300 FG contains xanthan gum and lends superior emulsification properties over the other types of Citri-Fi.

For more information:
Fiberstar Inc., Willmar, Minn.
Ron Collins
817-448-6308, R.Collins@Fiberstar.net, www.fiberstar.net