Reformulating Kids’ Breakfast Foods Will Be A Challenging Undertaking

By Alison Matalanis, Nerac Analyst

Kids love sugar. From breakfast cereals to treats after dinner, children naturally gravitate to colorfully packaged sweets, supported by engaging television ads. But after years of following this strategy, major food companies are taking another approach. Childhood favorites such as sugary breakfast cereals are being reformulated to meet self-imposed limits for sugar and fat. The task of reformulating poses some serious challenges, if it can be done at all.

Why the focus on products aimed at kids? A survey that the National Center for Health Statistics conducted between 1963 and ’65, reported that 4.2 percent of children ages 6-11 were overweight. When the survey was repeated in 2003-’04, the percentage had risen dramatically to 18.8 percent. Although many causes are associated with childhood obesity, food companies are taking the lead to discontinue marketing products high in sugar and fat to children.

The Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative
In November 2006, the Council of Better Business Bureaus and 11 of the largest, most influential food companies launched the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative. Cadbury Adams, Campbell Soup, Coca-Cola, General Mills, Hershey, Kellogg, Kraft, Mars, McDonald’s, PepsiCo, and Unilever agreed that at least 50 percent of their advertising to children under 12 would focus on good nutrition or healthy lifestyles. The companies agreed to stop advertising products in elementary schools and reduce the use of interactive games, toys, and licensed characters for products that do not conform to the initiative.

They also agreed to come up with individual plans detailing how they would meet these guidelines. Kellogg, under the threat of a lawsuit by the Center for Science in the Public Interest and the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, submitted some of the most stringent guidelines for this initiative. The company said it would not advertise a product to children under 12 unless it contained less than 200 calories per serving, 0 grams of trans fats, 2 grams or less of saturated fat, 230 milligrams or less of sodium, and less than 12 grams of sugar, excluding sugars from fruit and dairy sources. As a result, Kellogg will not advertise some of its most popular cereal brands: Apple Jacks, Cocoa Krispies, and Fruit Loops to children unless these products can be successfully reformulated. To perform such a monumental task, here are just a few things to consider when reducing sugar in cereals, snacks and baked goods.

Sweetening the Deal
Sugar has a number of functions in bakery and snack products. In addition to sweetness, sugars acts as a bulking agent, reducing water activity. Sugars contribute to color development and delay starch gelatinization, allowing time for the product to expand before a stable structure is formed. The FDA has approved five high-intensity sweeteners for sugar replacement: aspartame, saccharin, acesulfame-K, neotame, and sucralose. With the exception of aspartame, these sweeteners can withstand the high temperatures used to manufacture baked goods and snacks. Since high-intensity sweeteners are hundreds of times sweeter than sugar, bulking agents such as maltodextrin or dextrose are often added to create sweetener blends with improved dispersion and water binding properties.

Sugar alcohols or polyols are another sugar replacement. Common polyols include mannitol, isomaltose, sorbitol, xylitol, maltitol, and lactitol. Sugar alcohols are not directly absorbed by the body but instead move into the intestine where they are fermented by bacteria in the gut. Depending on the type of polyol, caloric values are reduced to between 0.2 and 2.6 calories per gram compared to sucrose at 4 calories per gram. Unlike high-intensity sweeteners, sugar alcohols have similar or slightly reduced sweetening power compared to sucrose. Frequently, a polyol is blended with a high intensity sweetener to improve functionality and flavor.

Sweet fibers such as polydextrose and oligofructose present another option for food scientists looking to replace sugars with a less caloric ingredient. In addition to replacing sugar, polydextrose is also a fat replacer.

The Trouble with Substitutions
But replacing sugar is more complicated than just achieving the same level of sweetness with a sugar substitute. Browning reactions such as Maillard browning and caramelization are substantially reduced when sugars are replaced with high intensity sweeteners or sugar alcohols, impacting both texture and flavor. The addition of either polydextrose or oligofructose may enhance color development in sugar-free baked goods by providing a source of reducing sugars for these reactions.

Aftertaste is another problem for many of the available sugar substitutes. Most high-intensity sweeteners impart at least some bitterness. Aspartame and sucralose are particularly noted for tasting less bitter than either saccharin or acesulfame-K. At high levels of substitution, polydextrose and oligofructose are also noted for their bitter aftertaste. Sugar alcohols tend to have a similar taste profile when compared to sugar, but several of these alcohols create a cooling sensation when dissolved in the mouth.

Lastly, textural changes following substitution may pose serious challenges for the food product developer. Without sugar, starches and proteins in the mixture will form a set structure at lower temperatures. Since the crust is the most exposed surface to heat, the crust will set first, inhibiting gas expansion. Thus, baked goods with sugar substitutes tend to have a denser, less expanded structure. Selection of the correct bulking agent can rectify this problem by binding water and delaying structure setting.

Do the Right Thing
Intense pressure from consumer groups, the media and the government are causing major food companies to change the way they market to kids. This change represents a major opportunity to create ingredients and products that are healthy and kid-friendly. Kellogg—and many of its competitors—has a formidable challenge ahead of it. The risk of consumers rejecting reformulated favorites is a real concern. Yet, Kellogg is wise to take on this task and confirm its commitment to the health and well-being of consumers.

If products cannot be reformulated, they will not be marketed to children. Still, they will remain an integral component of Kellogg’s product line. Perhaps Kellogg has the best of both worlds with options for reformulation, traditional formulas and opportunities for new products with a healthier image. In any event, Kellogg and the other 10 companies that joined this initiative realize that something must be done to curb childhood obesity. The Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative is a good first step towards combating this epidemic.