Consumers are seeking healthier foods in response to current medical and dietary guidelines. Baked products like biscuits, cakes, muffins, brownies and corn bread are all made with chemical leavening agents. Leavening systems have not changed much over the years and typically contain sodium-based ingredients; however, people are seeking foods low in sodium to reduce the chance of hypertension. It is now possible, with a simple change in one ingredient, to reduce the sodium level by 25%, while providing a “good” or “excellent” source of calcium claim, depending on the formula.

Innophos Inc. has developed a leavening acid that has no sodium and contains calcium (18%), a desirable mineral. Cal-Riseº, a direct substitute for SAPP-28 (sodium acid pyrophosphate), is a unique chemical mixture of calcium acid pyrophosphate and monocalcium phosphate-anhydrous. Even at the less than 2% level at which these ingredients are used, the impact on the nutrition facts panel is evident. (See the two Nutrition Facts Panels.) The change on the ingredient statement is not startling to consumers, because they are already familiar with the terms for leavening acids.

One of the challenges and deterrents of changing leavening acids is to do the calculations with the Neutralizing Value (NV), to ensure optimum amounts of soda and acid completely react. Cal-Rise has the same NV, 72, as SAPP—therefore, no calculations are required.

With all leavening, the key to success of the final product volume is having the carbon dioxide produced at the right time. Cal-Rise, like SAPP-28, has a small amount of gas released during mixing, providing batter aeration, with the remainder of the gas produced during baking. Using Cal-Rise as the leavening acid in place of SAPP-28 will result in a baked product with the same finished volume and texture properties.

Other calcium phosphate leavening acids are not the same as Cal-Rise and have less versatility, the company claims. Monocalcium phosphates are very fast-acting during the mixing step and, as a result, produce a smaller volume finished baked good. Dicalcium phosphates are very late reacting and will often crack the surface of the baked good towards the end of the baking step.

Besides volume, texture and flavor are key attributes of any baked product. Springiness and softness will not change when using Cal-Rise, relative to SAPP-28, and it has no aftertaste. Therefore, it does not impact the flavor profile of products.

Cal-Rise, an innovation from Innophos Inc., makes it very easy to make low-sodium health claims in baked goods, while using a highly functional ingredient necessary to achieve final product characteristics. This leavening acid is easy to use, requiring minimal effort from the formulator. Final product characteristics (volume, flavor and texture) will continue to meet consumers’ expectations of quality.  pf

--Sharon Book, Contributing Editor

For more information:
Innophos Inc. • Cranbury, N.J.
John Brodie • 866-631-7394
john.brodie@innophos.com •www.innophos.com