Premix Production and Fortification Brought to you by

Premix Production and Fortification Brought to you by:

Developing New Products • Developing new product formulation takes a lot of time. Parameters include understanding the customer’s needs, the end user, pricing and more. In addition, the processing method and type of packaging material must be considered before the product development team can work on the final product profile.

Understanding the Variables • Successful use of technology such as fluid bed encapsulation must take into account dependent variables such as homogeneity, particle sizes and solubility of ingredients. • Creating stable nutrients ensures bioavailability in the body. It is important to evaluate the morphology of the particle size to be homogeneous, the solubility rate and the ability to blend well at the production site to ensure every serving size delivers the proper amount of each nutrient.

Marketing Premixes • The ability to deliver customized premixes relies on technical and marketing support. This is applicable for not only premixes to the food industry, but also formulations supplied as granulations for tablets and capsules. • Premixes are niche product lines that have been promoted since the 1970 s, notably in the U. S. food market. They are formulations that contain multiple ingredients that can save the customer money and time.

Advantages • Premixes supply the exact quantities required for production with no tailings of excess material, which saves costs. • Accountants may also like the premix concept since material comes in the door and go quickly to production with little or no inventory hold costs. • With a premix, all ingredients are included and arrive at the same time.

Ensuring Consistency • Premixes offer greater consistency and address issues surrounding product taste and texture early in the development stage, as well as eliminate any chance of error during the manufacturing process where missing a small amount or incorrectly weighing an ingredient may cause a potential deficit of that nutrient and a possible recall.

Adding Active Nutrients • The average premix formulation contains at least 10 to 14 active nutrients and three to six functional ingredients or carriers. • Some formulations can contain more than 30 active nutrients and carriers.

Fortifying Foods • Food fortification or enrichment is the process of adding micronutrients (essential trace elements and vitamins) to food. It can be a business decision for health benefits to provide extra nutrients in a food, or it could be a public policy requirement to reduce dietary deficiencies. • Fortification requires no change in food habits, does not change the characteristics of the food or taste, if formulated right, and has readily visible benefits. • Fortification of foods and beverages is gaining popularity as consumers seek healthy foods not just in natural products outlets, but also in grocery stores and convenience stores

Folate Fortification • The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently published the Second National Report on Biochemical Indicators of Diet and Nutrition in the U. S. Population. The report emphasizes the impact of mandatory folate fortification on reducing folate deficiency to less than 1 percent of the population.

Looking Forward • There is a continuing need to improve the nutrition of Americans. Food and beverage manufacturers can fulfill this nutrient gap with fortified products targeted to specific subpopulations segmented by age, sex and ethnicity. • The addition of shelf-stable micronutrient blends derived from commercially viable, bio-based technologies can meet consumer expectations of low food costs, protect our environment and improve health of generations to come.