Bakers get assistance to avoid placing all their eggs in one basket amid volatile market
The global egg production industry has undergone massive volatility in the past five years, placing pressure on the baking industry – and cake manufacturers, in particular.
Outbrteaks of avian flu in Mexico, America and Asia between 2013 and 2016, followed by the Fipronil scandal in 2017 and a Salmonella scare earlier this year have all taken their toll, causing dramatic fluctuations in supply levels and prices.
As such, egg replacements are growing in popularity, and according to Arla Foods Ingredients, its Nutrilac whey protein egg replacers were used to substitute as many as 300 million eggs last year.
The company expects to record higher levels of demand through 2018.
Security of supply and stable pricing
To capitalize on the demand for a price-stable egg substitute with similar properties to egg, Arla Foods Ingredients – a 100% owned subsidiary of Arla Foods – created a range of Nutrilac whey protein egg replacers.
Now, bakers are guaranteed security of supply and stable pricing, thereby having greater control over raw material costs.
Furthermore, sensory evaluations have shown that Nutrilac egg replacers will not adversely affect product quality, but could actually improve it.
Application tests were conducted replacing 50% of the eggs used in a pound cake with the whey-based Nutrilac solution and a standard whey protein concentrate (WPC).
Results found Nutrilac performed better than WPC on all counts, scoring higher than the reference cake for homogeneity, resilience (springiness), fragility and mouthfeel.
Nutrilac kept the cake moist and more elastic, which for consumers means the cake will feel fresher for longer, and created a crumb that is less fragile and more resilient, meaning the cake is easier to slice and remove from the tin.
This leads to the potential processing benefits of increased stability and reduced waste.
Calculating the costs
To show bakers how much they could save by substituting some of the eggs they use with whey proteins, Arla Food Ingredients developed an online calculator.
“The benefits of Nutrilac whey protein egg replacers mean that bakers don’t need to put all their eggs in one basket,” said Aparecido Silveira, Industry marketing manager for Bakery at Arla Foods Ingredients.
“They can better protect themselves against the unpredictability of the global egg market and, in doing so, harness the application and quality gains that our proteins deliver.”
