Cereal Foods Coatings with Nutrition and Flavor

Cereal Foods Coatings with Nutrition and Flavor
In the early days if the breakfast cereal industry, pioneer manufacturers depended in consumers to liven up the flavor of cereal in their bowls by topping off their flakes, granules, shreds, or oat meal with sugar or honey and more sophisticated flavor and texture additives, such as blueberries, nuts, or maple syrup.

The list was limited only by the consumer’s imagination. However, it was not long before these variations gave birth to prepackaged product extensions starting with presweetened flakes or puffs and continuing with more complicated products, such as fruit-filled shredded grain biscuits.

Also, the need to nutritionally fortify cereals soon arose, as consumers began to view cereals as a complete meal rather than part of a well-rounded breakfast including eggs, meat, and juice. Further complicating the process in some cases is the need to add water to flake products or remove it from them to maintain a proper moisture level and thus ensure good texture and freshness over an extended period of time.

As new generation cereal products were developed and the demand for them increased, new production technique evolved. In many cases these new generation cereals were and are using an existing product as the base (flakes, puffed grains, or shredded biscuits).

As coating systems were added to existing production lines to produce consistently coated cereals, application techniques that worked effectively at flow rates of 10-20 lb/min were found to be inefficient at flow rates of 80-100 lb/min.

Flavors and additives such as vitamin powders incorporated prior to processing are subject to deterioration due to the high pressures and temperatures in processing the cereal itself.

If they are to be incorporated before processing, it is therefore necessary to oversupply flavor and nutritional additives or furnish additives capable of withstanding these processing conditions. In either case the net effects are higher production costs and inconsistent quality.

If the process permits, flavors and additives may be applied after extrusion, flaking or baking to bypass these intense conditions and thus avoid losing their initial flavor and effectiveness.

Additionally, processing and ingredient costs can be more strictly controlled by eliminating both the over application of additive and the varying rate of loss during processing. Flavor and sugar applied topically also dissolve and disperse more quickly and thoroughly in the milk than additives mixed within the cereal piece, thereby presenting a more intense flavor profile.
Cereal Foods Coatings with Nutrition and Flavor