Heirloom cocoa! What is that?

Chocolate industry is one of the high profile industries that supply cocoa bean based confectionery products liked all over the world. However a close look at the industry reveals that cocoa bean is a pretext to sell more sugar and fat to a consumer community which does not seem to have any clue regarding the real quality of chocolate that reflects the magnificent delicate flavor of good cocoa beans. The industry in its frenetic rush for making more and more money also ignored the flavor aspect. In stead it was making products with attractive labels like bitter chocolates, hand crafted chocolates etc. Its R & D activities in agronomy were concentrated more on yield and the beneficial health attributes as per some published scientific reports because of the presence of flavonols in the original unprocessed beans. This trend seems to be changing after efforts by some major players to analyze the flavor profiles of different cocoa beans grown and evolve or discover new varieties that can yield raw materials with better flavor make up. Here is a take on this new development that can be expected to enrich the chocolate market with high end products with comparatively higher prices.  

"That's why leaders in the industry have created the Heirloom Cacao Preservation (HCP) initiative. It's a joint effort between the Fine Chocolate Industry Association and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Research Service, and an outgrowth of the booming artisanal chocolate business. The program is utilizing the industry's most discerning palates, along with genetic analysis, to identify—and hopefully preserve—the fine-flavored cacaos of the world. HCP's purpose is to increase the availability of quality cacao and encourage farmers to grow it in a market that's currently overwhelmed by flat-taste, high-yield varieties."The chocolate industry has lost sight of its fundamentals, which include flavor," says Mark Christian, founder of the C-spot, a go-to website for chocolatiers and passionate connoisseurs, who is involved in the initiative. "Most chocolate people don't know good chocolate."Founded in 2011, HCP has so far designated seven "heirloom" cacaos in the world, with provenances in Belize, Costa Rica, Hawaii, Bolivia and Ecuador. The panel of tasting judges is made up of  prominent figures in the chocolate industry, including executives from Guittard Chocolate, Scharffen Berger and Valrhona. They review the historical, cultural, botanical and geographical makeup of each cacao. But most importantly, they are adding one last innovative metric: genetic profiling. "We're going to enter the next wave of chocolate," says Christian. "Chocolate has yet to be data-driven." Actually, corporate chocolate giants such as Lindt, Hershey's and Mars have long had an interest in genetics—but mostly as a tool for preserving and propagating cacao beans that consistently provide the highest yield and can withstand drought and diseases. And the USDA's Agricultural Research Service, the Cocoa Research Center in Trinidad and the International Cocoa Collection of the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center in Turrialba, Costa Rica, all have ongoing programs to analyze and catalogue general data on cacao genetics. But the HCP endeavor is a completely different type of project, one that prizes quality over quantity. It's the first systematic effort by the chocolate industry to look at genetics in terms of flavor. Historically, when the industry identified a tree with a high bean yield, cacao farmers would propagate that variety by taking cuttings of a mother tree and grafting them onto a less desirable type of cacao tree, a process known as cloning. For example, a high-yield bean might be grafted onto the rootstock of a more disease-resistant tree, creating a variety that could more effectively keep up with the industry's demands. Two of the most popular high-volume, fast-producing varieties are CC-N51 in Ecuador and Cacao Mercedes in West Africa, which can both conceivably produce fruit in as little 18 months after being grafted. But cacao of this pedigree is generally low quality when it comes to taste and better suited for bulk production of cocoa butter and cocoa mass critical for making Snickers but a detriment when it comes to crafting a quality bar with few ingredients. Until recently, agronomists claimed there were only three varieties of the Theobroma cacao tree: Criollo, Forastero and Trinitario. But in 2008, Juan Carlos Motamayor, a tropical agronomist for the USDA's National Clonal Germplasm Repository and lead scientist of cocoa genetics at Mars Incorporated (makers of M&Ms, Twix, Milky Way and many other candies),published a study in the journal PLOS One that upended industry beliefs. His team conducted genetic analysis on samples from the three known species. After comparing DNA snippet patterns, they discovered 10 distinct cacao genotypes. A few years later, most believe the number is probably much higher, says Lyndel Meinhardt, a research leader at the Agricultural Research Service's sustainable perennial crops lab. The Mars research, he says, accounted for samples from only a handful of germplasm banks and collections in the world, and didn't represent cacao genotypes still out in the wild that have yet to be discovered. Meinhardt is helping to build a genetics database of cacaos known to have the finest flavors and has already genotyped HCP's first heirloom samples. The current count is 14 types of cacao, but that number is expected to grow—the USDA continues to make efforts to locate more diverse botanicals in unexplored areas of the Amazon."

The above approach by the industry to collectively take up common industry interests for research and development is indeed welcome. The individualistic research then can be devoted to creating unique products with exciting features in competition with each other. For example if a new cocoa variety is discovered with high health attributes by the collective research, individual companies can use the same to create their own branded products which can be promoted with their own resources. Other industries also can use this strategy to create a pool of basic knowledge as a foundation upon which individual branded products can be built. In India the idea of industry cooperation research institutions resulted in setting up several of them but its success was not some thing that is worth mentioning. Probably these were not well conceived and industry also must bear some responsibility for the failure of such attempts as there was very little confidence on the ability of scientists to work wholeheartedly for the industry. The example of the cocoa industry is a model that should serve to guide such future collaborative scientific efforts, nationally as well internationally. 

V.H.POTTY
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OMEGA-3 OILS-CONSUMER"S DELIGHT BUT PROCESSOR"S HEAD ACHE!

The discovery that some unsaturated fatty acids like omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids are essential in the diet for maintaining prime health and avoiding diseases like CVD and Cancer has changed the human perception regarding consumption of edible fats in the daily diet. Added to this there is a widely held belief that saturated fats and trans fats are not good for health bringing about radical changes in the composition of food products developed and marketed by the industry during the last one decade. Though Flax seed, Olive oil are sources of essential fatty acids, fish is the over whelming favorite of nutritionist as well as health experts as the long chain Omega-3 present in this source namely DHA is more efficient in bestowing the benefits attributed to this nutrient. As there is a significant population in the world which do not consume fish and since a few plant sources have smaller levels of Omega-3, the search for an alternate source with high omega-3 has been going on for some time ending up with some Algal strains capable of producing them under right media conditions. Here is a take on this interesting development that forebodes well for the food fortification programs of the industry.    

"Fats tend to be less than cooperative in food processing. This can make the move to healthy fats somewhat complicated. In beverage formulations, for example, it's the nature of fats not to mix with water, making it difficult to fortify drinks with omega-3 fatty acids. But in food formulations, unsaturated fats are more fluid at room temperature and oxidize more readily than saturated fats. With omega-3s the darling of healthy oils, other hurdles have to be overcome. "Fats with high unsaturation, as is the case of the long-chain fatty acids DHA and EPA, are delicate compounds that can degrade and cause off-flavors and aromas that are undesirable," says Ruben Abril, director of international ingredient formulations and technical support for DSM Nutritional Products (www.dsm.com), Parsippany, N.J. "However, if these fats are handled properly and added in the food production process using a systematic approach, the final fortified product will taste and smell as we expect them to taste and smell. DHA/EPA-fortified milk will taste like milk if it is consumed directly or if it is used as an ingredient to prepare other foods, and it will have the added advantage of now containing DHA and/or EPA omega-3s." DHA comes primarily from fish. This severely restricts its usage as the aroma and flavor are strong, reminding consumers of their last fishing trip. While microencapsulation technology and better processing threw the door open for wider use of fish-sourced omegas in foods and beverages, some promises of neutral aroma were still proving hard to keep. The increased use of the alphalinolenic acid (ALA) form of omega oil from flax oil has proven successful, but ALA does not completely convert to DHA in the body and that's the form with the greatest health benefit. Fish oil DHA is actually a modification of the shorter-chain omega-3 fatty acids ultimately derived from algae and research led to the discovery of algae that produced the longer chain DHA directly. This form has the advantage of providing the desired health components as fish oil without the negatives of aroma associated with that source. Algal omega oil is often referred to as vegan DHA. DSM provides life's DHA brand, an omega derived solely from algae. Several different milk producers have launched products enriched with algal DHA in the past few years. "I've seen the growing trend in the fortification of foods with DHA/EPA, and it will continue to grow," adds Abril. "Long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids are extremely important fats scientifically proven to help support eye, brain and cardiovascular health at all stages of life."

Being unsaturated in nature Omega-3 oils are highly vulnerable to oxidative rancidity and food formulations containing high water like milk and beverages, product development can be a nightmare. But with newer technologies like encapsulation and emulsification it is possible to incorporate Omega-3 into any food product during the manufacturing process. Algal Omega-3 is practically odorless, unlike fish oils and can be incorporated with no evidence of its presence to the consumer. This development is especially relevant to a predominantly vegetarian country like India with sizable population shunning fish and soon Omega-3 fortified foods may make their presence on the supermarket shelves in the country.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

SPICY FOODS-DRAMATIC SURGE IN POPULARITY

Is it the influence of the emigrating Indians or the increasing intrusion of Mexican foods, that is responsible for the wide spread use of spices in a country like the United States? Indian presence is so ubiquitous now that there are Governors in some states and many elected representatives in some of the local, state and federal legislatures hailing from India and naturally the cultural practices of this country are bound to be disseminated and imbibed by the Americans, though the process may be very slow. Added to this there are thousands of Indian restaurants serving Indian foods to a wide clientèle, further popularizing Indian foods. The "hot" Mexican foods promoted largely by Taco Bell and Chipotle chain restaurants, have carved out a niche for them selves and no wonder spice consumption is soaring in the US. High quality spice powders and blends exported by companies boasting of ISO, HACCP and SAP systems naturally boosted the confidence about the safety of spices amongst American consumers. Though McCormick may not admit its Indian connections, it is a fact that a major part of its raw materials is procured from India. Recent collaboration with Eastern Condiments in India is obviously intended to meet the increasing demand for spices in that country.

"McCormick estimates in the '50s the average American spice drawer had 10 spices. Today the number's grown to 40. "People consume almost a billion pounds of spices a year," McCormick's Lori Robinson said. Twenty-five years ago it was half that. Spice experts say it's the melting pot that's producing spicier meals. As the country becomes more diverse, tastes change. "The cayennes and habanero sauces and spices, the things that really burn their mouth," said Alfonso Rivera, manager of El Centro Restaurant in New York City. Meals that used to be seasoned with salt and pepper now include everything from allspice to za'atar. During a five-year period, the amount of paprika imported into the United States rose from roughly 27 million pounds per year to almost 55 million pounds. Ginger has gone from 62 million pounds to almost 94 million pounds"..

Advent of oleoresins manufactured from a variety of spices has opened up new applications in processed meat products and Super Critical Fluid Extraction technology ensures that almost 100% of the culinary properties of raw spices is captured without any modification. Unlike spice powders, oleoresin emulsions enable the industry to have precision in recipe development and manufacturing with sustainable uniformity. Another reason for the spice portfolio becoming a main stream kitchen fixture is because of their health promoting value with spices and condiments like Turmeric, Ginger, Cinnamon etc becoming proven health protective ingredients. It may be prudent for a country like India to be eternally vigilant to protect its market through strict safety monitoring and stringent export regime.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

UBIQUINONE ''THERAPY' AND GRAPEFRUIT JUICE

Food-drug interaction is a fascinating field of study and the quantum and quality of information available in this area are limited though there has been an explosive growth of drug industry during the last two decades. While new drugs have to undergo extensive human trials before approval for marketing, many drug like substances reach the market in the form of GRAS supplements with very little oversight regarding their use and consequences on the consumer. How these supplements interact with other food constituents/ingredients is a Grey area calling for studies to ascertain their effects. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ 10) supplements which are now being marketed are not easily absorbed in the intestine and grapefruit which has a cocktail of biochemical substances is found to have beneficial effects in increasing absorption of CoQ.

"CoQ10 has properties similar to vitamins, but since it is naturally synthesized in the body it is not classed as such. Our ability to synthesise the compound peaks at the age of 20 and amounts in our body decrease rapidly after we pass the age of 40. With chemical structure 2,3-dimethoxy-5-methyl-6-decaprenyl-1,4-benzoquinone, it is also known as ubiquinone because of its 'ubiquitous' distribution throughout the human body. The coenzyme is concentrated in the mitochondria - the 'power plants' of the cell - and plays a vital role in the production of chemical energy by participating in the production of adenosince triphosphate (ATP), the body's co-called 'energy currency'. There is an ever-growing body of scientific data that shows substantial health benefits of CoQ10 supplementation for people suffering from angina, heart attack and hypertension. The nutrient is also recommended to people on statins to off-set the CoQ-depleting effects of the medication. Other studies have reported that CoQ10 may play a role in the prevention or benefit people already suffering from neurodegenerative diseases".

While many of the claims may or may not stand strict scientific scrutiny, the scientific findings on CoQ absorption cannot be brushed away and grapefruit happens to be one of the well known "health promoting" fruits that has many other properties beyond facilitating CoQ absorption. CoQ-grapefruit complimentary relationship can be an interesting area for further studies, especially to identify the chemical constituent responsible for this phenomenon and the mechanism involved. Grapefruit may also have positive role in facilitating utilization of other hard to absorb nutrients also which needs to be looked into.

V.H.POTTY

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COCONUT OIL-WHAT IS THE REALITY?

Coconut oil was viewed with contempt during the last few decades because of its alleged role in CVD and other saturated fat related disorders. Vested interests promoting soybean oil, rapeseed oil, corn oil, rice bran oil and others of western origin built this myth, probably to subdue the economies of countries like India, Sri Lanka and Philippines where major production of coconut oil takes place. During the last few years diligent efforts by food scientists have unraveled the extra ordinary health attributes of coco nut oil consumed for centuries in Asia. Virgin coconut oil (VCO) is a much sought after plant triglyceride and thanks to a few leading processors safe and high quality oils are available internationally at competitive prices.

"VCO is rich in medium chain fatty acids, particularly Lauric Acid. Lauric acid is the same fatty acid found in mother's milk that provides immunity to babies. Among the benefits of VCO Virgin Coconut oil are it promotes weight-loss by increasing metabolism, boosts the immune system, it has anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties and it has good moisturizing properties as well. Using virgin coconut oil can help you with thyroid problem, make your skin glow, reduce weight and reduces cholesterol. With all the health, nutritional, and beauty benefits that you get from Virgin coconut oil, there is no doubt why this has been hailed as the miracle oil. It is said to prevent and cure many sicknesses that are almost impossible to heal. Being a healthy oil, it could help decrease viral load of HIV patients, could improve insulin production and thyroid function, it could reduce the risk of diabetes complications, and could even fight heart disease which is the leading cause of death. Virgin coconut oil improves the performance of the digestive system that can make a person lose weight. In addition, VCO may also solve skin problems like acne, pimples, black heads, eczema, psoriasis, or as simple as dry skin".

Thanks to the stupendous efforts by the Coconut Board under the Ministry of Agriculture, GOI, coconut cultivation is expanding steadily and most of the diseases affecting the productivity are under control. If even a fraction of what is claimed is true, there is every justification for intensifying the R & D efforts further on coconut oil through sustained inputs of critical resources. There may be even a case for setting up an exclusive multi disciplinary research organization under the Board to take this onerous responsibility.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

OMEGA-3 FATS-FOOD INDUSTRY'S NEW "DARLING'!

The critical role played by long chain Omega-3 fatty acids in maintaining good health, especially brain development, is well established. During pregnancy the intake of this nutrient by the mother and after the birth, intake by the child till the age of 3 determines the pace of brain development. Solid foundation for a healthy and productive life is laid during this time. Subsequent intake has only marginal effect but still necessary to prevent degeneration of neural cells. Major source of Omega-3 fatty acids has been several species of fish but those not habituated to eat fish will have to depend on a variety of foods containing smaller levels of these nutrients or short chain Omega-3 acids like ALA. Lately algae is becoming a good source of long chain Omega 3 acids and commercial technology is now available for large scale production for food fortification.

"The science relating to the health benefits of omega-3 gets stronger and stronger," Ruess stated. "Suppliers have overcome a lot of the technical hurdles for handling omega-3 oils and have progressed in producing various forms, which can be used successfully in a wide range of end-products in foods, beverages, supplements and infant formulas." Analysts estimated the global consumption of marine and algal omega-3 ingredients for 2008 at 71,452 tonnes. North America came first at 26,948 tonnes, Asia-Pacific came second at 21,145 tonnes, followed by the European Union (EU) at 13,596 tonnes and other countries at 5,762 tonnes, AP-Food Technology reports."The [consumption] growth rate has averaged 30-40 per cent annually during the last few years. We still expect significant growth in the next several years," said Frost & Sullivan analyst Chris Shanahan. There is strong and growing scientific evidence on the health benefits of EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic)-based omega-3, he said".

Indian food industry will be keenly looking forward to pure, odorless and concentrated Omega-3 fatty acid preparations for enriching a variety of processed products without tainting them. Such products, if and when available, can be a boon to the Indian consumer, most of them depending on diets containing low levels of Omega-3 acids. Alga, being not considered as non-vegetarian, can be acceptable as a source which will enable food industry to include"green dot" on the label signifying its vegetarian pedigree.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com