1163Application of Hydrocolloids in Nutritionally Fortified Cereal Beverage in China

Long HUANG

Changzhou Neober Biotech Co., Ltd. Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province, CHINA

Rice is one of the staple foods for people in Asia. The nutrient deficiency especially for iron, zinc, calcium and B vitamins of some Chinese citizens, has been found due to their dietary habits of eating refined white rice only. In recent years, the author has built and is operating a nutritionally fortified cereal beverage factory in Huai’an City, Jiangsu Province, where is the hometown of the former primer minister, En-lai Zhou. The fine enzymatic hydrolysis technology has been used in the upstream production process, which can make core nutrients of whole grains to be liquefied and obtain delicious beverages without adding sugar. During the formulation development, one of the big challenges was to construct a stable beverage system that can avoid water syneresis due to starch retrogradation, protein precipitation and flocculation during the shelf life up to 6 months. After long-term of laboratory test and factory pilot trials, we successfully solved this problem using the hydrocolloids formula based on the synergistic gelation system of low dosages of xanthan gum and locust bean gum, combined with microcrystalline cellulose which has strong suspension and emulsification capability. The end products with good performance and taste, are quite popular among consumers, especially those with lactose intolerance