The cats that got the cream

But these views could be set to change - at least, if Unilever has its way. Researchers at the company's Ice Foods Centre of Excellence want ice cream to form one of the recommended 'three portions of dairy a day'.

Unilever's Vitality mission is all about projecting a new healthy image for its products to counteract the many negative connotations that consumers place on food these days.

Unilever's product developers hope to tap in to ice cream's inherent healthy credentials: for bone and tooth health from the calcium in milk used to make it; and from fortified additions such as probiotics, prebiotics and omega-3.

With all the work that's been done over the past 20 or so years to reduce the saturated fat content of ice cream, which Unilever scientists say is now at levels of 5-6% compared with 9-10%, they believe ice cream could form a central plank of a healthy diet.

Fortification of ice cream

A lot of research is currently being devoted to sugar reduction. But the future for ice cream will be in fortification, claims sugar expert and Unilever's product development manager at Colworth, Loyd Wix. "Where it is going to move to in the next few years is not so much reducing the negatives as accentuating the positives," he predicts.

Unilever believes ice cream could be used to get kids who won't drink milk to take in the calcium and milk proteins their bodies need.

Take the Unilever's Milk Time (sold as Moo in Asia) ice creams, for instance, which contain probiotic bacteria for gut health and come with milk contents ranging from 38% to 70%. It is a product free from artificial colours and flavours and fortified with calcium to at least 15% of recommended daily calcium intake for children (800mg), claims Unilever.

At the other end of the age spectrum, there are opportunities in women's health, with products designed to boost calcium intake for those at risk of osteoporosis.

Unilever conducted a trial last year, which it claims showed calcium uptake in the gut to be as good for an ice cream as it is for milk. This year it is conducting another randomised controlled trial on bone health.

By reducing negative and boosting positive nutrients, Unilever's scientists hope to get acceptance from the regulatory authorities that will allow it to make positive health claims for its ice cream in future.

And that's why Unilever is currently devoting a lot of research effort to reducing the levels of sugar in its ice cream, while continuing to reduce fat levels even further. It is also planning to add more fruit and other functional ingredients.

The trouble is that fat and sugar not only provide those irresistible flavours in ice cream, they also contribute other essential texture and mouthfeel properties by depressing the freezing point at which ice crystals form.

As Sarah Mayes, Unilever's group leader for new technology at its Colworth Science Park, says: "What we are trying to get away from is ice just being a part of the product ... We're using it to innovate and add fun and value."

Take Unilever's ice structuring protein (ISP) development, which is currently going through the EU novel foods approval process. "It's got a lot of potential to help us move into healthier product offerings for sure," claims Mayes. "It's one of many technologies that we use to look at removing sugars and improving the goodies in products, such as fruit purées. It will be one of a portfolio of products."

Formulation rules

Over the years, Unilever has developed a set of rules, which determine how sugars and other carbohydrates, such as prebiotic oligosaccharide soluble fibres, can be used to control sweetness and texture.

"By utilising sugar to capitalise on sweetness but introducing some fibres, some other complex carbohydrates based on starches, we are able to reduce the sugar content without comprising the eating quality," says Wix.

He is confident that, with all the reformulation that is taking place, ice cream has the potential to pass nutritional profile assessments that will allow health claims to made for certain products.

"We have already reduced the fat. Shift what fat is there to healthy fats; cut out the sugars; introduce more complex carbohydrates; soluble fibres - constructed in a nutritionally acceptable way - why not?" FM

Printer friendly version

Email this article to a friend