MINERAL FORTIFICATION FOR ALTERNATIVE MILK PRODUCTS

In recent years, healthy nutrition together with alternative milk products is on everyone’s lips. The demand has been rising steadily over the last years.

Of course, dairy products are beneficial for our health as they contain important minerals and proteins. In our nutrition they are the most important source of calcium, which catalyzes healthy bone growth and helps to prevent us from osteoporosis. Additionally, dairy products are main dietary sources for magnesium, zinc, vitamin B12 and probiotics.

But what about the people who are not able to consume milk products for different reasons? This could be due to possible allergic reaction, like lactose intolerance or the choice of a vegan diet as a healthy lifestyle. How should these people cover their daily needs for essential minerals and vitamins?

For this reason, fortified plant-based milk alternatives are becoming increasingly important. These alternative milk products are designed close to the original milk products with regard to optic, taste and nutritional value. But plant based milk alternatives based on e.g. soy, oat, coconut or walnut do not contain as many minerals as cow milk.

To provide the same positive effect on health, milk alternatives need to be enriched with calcium and other minerals. MAGNESIA offers lots of mineral sources for that purpose, that can be added to plant-based alternatives like milk and yogurt. Not only do these raw materials provide a complementary benefit in health claims (Reg. (EC) 1924/2006), they also contribute to bone health, muscle function, immune health etc.

Furthermore, mineral salts act as taste masking ingredients and optimize production processes. They can improve the often bitter taste of the milk alternative product and help to level up the alternative closer to the original dairy product in terms of taste and mouthfeel. Even the pH value can be adjusted by fortifying with minerals.

* in Europe