Enriched barley flour
Beneo has developed a clean label wholegrain barley flour with 20% beta-glucans, which offers unique health benefits, including positive impacts on heart health and blood sugar management.
Orafti β-Fit is on-trend with consumers’ focus on sustainability, with plant-based and wholegrain ingredients being preferred when making food choices.
Consumers are increasingly aware of how diet impacts both short and long-term wellbeing and as a result, there is a growing demand for healthier food and beverage options. Even when they are not suffering specific health problems, 69% are interested in products that promote heart health. So, functional ingredients such as barley beta-glucans offer producers an easy way to create appealing products with convincing front-of-pack communication.
“The exciting launch of our new wholegrain and clean label barley flour, Orafti β-Fit, further demonstrates our expertise and position as a leading provider of functional fibres,” said Eric Nevel, commercial MD, Functional Fibres, Beneo.
“With its convincing health benefits and approved health claims while being also an economically attractive solution, Orafti β-Fit supports our company’s ambition of connecting nutrition and health. We help food manufacturers develop great tasting products that deliver added value in times of tighter consumer budgets.”
Beta-glucans are viscous and soluble dietary fibres that make the food thicker, therefore delaying its passage through the large and small intestines. Their health benefits are backed up by several human intervention studies, but only cereal beta-glucans have approved health claims in Europe and in the US.
Beta-glucans from barley contribute to blood sugar management and cardiovascular health. They lower the blood glucose response and blood cholesterol levels, which lowers the risk of coronary heart disease.
Beneo’s Orafti β-Fit also helps to bridge the fibre gap and can be used in a wide range of applications, including baked goods, pasta and cereals. It can also positively impact texture by increasing viscosity in dairy alternatives.
In keeping with Beneo’s commitment to sustainable business practices, Orafti β-Fit is produced with the use of the entire kernel. There is no waste in production and a 100% valorisation of raw material, with no water resources needed.