New Technology Adds Fiber to Foods Without Changing Texture

Researchers have developed a new technology that allows them to add more fiber to foods without changing their texture. Fiber has been linked to the prevention of colon cancer by several research studies.

"Until now, adding fiber to foods was difficult because it changed the qualities - particularly the texture and mouth feel - of the food," said Charles I. Onwulata of the Agricultural Research Service's Eastern Regional Research Unit in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania.

Onwulata has filed for a patent on "invisible fiber," which uses milk protein to envelop the fiber and keep it from soaking up water.

"The protein barrier makes the fiber 'invisible' to water. The fiber doesn't pull moisture out of the rest of the food product," said Onwulata. "But the invisible fiber envelope will dissolve during digestion, allowing the fiber to perform its normal function in the gut. This new, encapsulated fiber can be incorporated into food products without changing texture or moisture. Many foods can be modified with the invisible fiber."

The high-fiber foods still taste good while in your mouth, said Onwulata. But, once you've swallowed them, the milk protein begins to dissolve in your gut. The fiber can then absorb water, mostly in your colon.

ARS researchers are also developing ways to increase fiber in fluid foods, including a "dynamic pulse-pressure treatment" process, which uses hydrostatic pressure -- the force applied through water -- to change the moisture, density, and melting properties of foods. The treatment was originally used for making pharmaceuticals.

Other sources: Agricultural Research Service