Chemical engineers from the University of Queensland are finding ways to make low-fat snacks more appealing in texture, following the creation of a new method to analyse potato chips at the four stages of simulated eating.
Professor Jason Stokes worked with a team of flavour scientists, including senior research fellow Dr Heather Smyth, Motif Ingredients’ Stefan Baier and PepsiCo’s Dr Michael Boehm, to simulate the entire eating process, from “first bite, to the break down and softening of chip particles and finally swallowing the clumped mass of chip particles”.
Stokes said a key challenge in the food industry is to reduce sodium, added sugar and saturated fat without sacrificing the taste, flavour, texture and mouthfeel in food and drink.
“Even subtle changes in the composition of processed food and drink can alter the consumer’s acceptability of a product for reasons that are not well understood, which compromises healthy choices,” said Stokes.
Following the results, the researchers developed a lower-far chip coated in a thin layer of seasoning oil containing a small amount of a food emulsifier.
The seasoning oil helped to resemble the greasiness of a full-fat potato chip, while only adding 0.5 per cent more oil to the low-fat product.
Professor Stokes said he had worked with a range of food and drink, and is aiming to continue research in developing areas such as plant-based foods and proteins.
