Report by James Shepherd, Shepherd’s Biscuits Ltd & Julia Skinner, Food Technology Centre
A Covid Recovery Challenge Fund project in association with Welsh Government
Project Description
The biscuit industry is founded upon recipes which include high levels of sugar, carbohydrates and calories. This project looked to explore and develop new methods for producing lower sugar and lower carbohydrate biscuits which taste every bit as good as their traditional high-sugar, high-carbohydrate equivalents.
The aim of this project is to not only create a high quality, low-carbohydrate biscuit but also to share the ingredients and knowledge which can be applied by the wider Welsh bakery industry.
Synopsis
A sugar tax has been implemented for soft drinks and could potentially be imminent for biscuits, cakes and confectionery.
When, or what form it may take, is less understood – but some in the industry predict that the Government may begin financially penalising manufactures of high-sugar foods. It is hard to argue against the need for regulation given the general declining health of the nation and the inextricable links between poverty, poor diet, obesity and chronic illnesses such as Type 2 diabetes. Problems are being shored-up at great expense to the NHS and the whole nation.
It was this mixture between business planning and a genuine will to improve the nutritional properties of its products that caused the directors of Shepherd’s Biscuits Ltd to begin looking for solutions. What they wanted to achieve was a biscuit with less sugar and less carbohydrate without affecting the flavour, texture or quality, and without resorting to high-potency artificial sweeteners.
Initially, a target of 20% less sugar and 30% less carbohydrate was proposed. However, it became clear very early on that reducing carbohydrate in a biscuit and replacing with high fibre ingredients transforms that product into something that is no longer a biscuit. Replacement with protein is possible but that was not the aim of this project. Commercial biscuits are available which have replaced high-carbohydrate wheat flour with almond or coconut flours, but these are overly high in fat. Therefore, a 20% reduction in sugar became the primary aim.
Various solutions were trialled over the course of the project. One of the simplest solutions can be to re-proportion the ingredients already present to lower the sugar level, which, when carried out in increments, can achieve public acceptance as taste buds adjust to a lower perception of sweetness. Another route is to substitute sugar with polyol ingredients such as maltitol, but total substitution is required unless energy can also be reduced by 30%, and these high polyol levels then require a laxative warning.
The most favourable outcome of the project was the development of a blend of five ingredients which have, so far, reduced sugar by up to 30% with no noticeable effect on biscuit appearance, aroma, flavour or mouth-feel. This replaces part of the sugar with a precise combination of inulin (primarily from chicory), fructose, maltodextrin and a natural flavouring. Alternative soluble fibre products, such as those derived from corn or sugar beet, can also be used.
Sensory analysis and sampling have shown that in biscuits made with the sugar-replacement mix there is no discernible difference to the original recipe. We have also successfully applied the mix to other applications, including sponge cakes, with equally acceptable results.
Shepherd’s Biscuits intend rolling out the new recipe into their products. The ingredients and nutritional tables will be updated, but there will not be any claims or mention made to the fact that sugar has been reduced. This is because reduced sugar foods tend to have a perception of inferior quality and poorer taste. Shepherd’s Biscuits will continue to make excellent quality biscuits that have an equal perception but just happen to contain less sugar.
When trialling the new recipe, the additional ingredients added an estimated 5% to product cost, which is relative to the economy of scale, but is an ongoing concern with the sugar and carbohydrate replacement ingredients generally being more expensive. The availability of some ingredients can be an issue, particularly to smaller bakeries facing large minimum order quantities.
Large ingredient manufacturers should be encouraged to increase their range of reduced sugar mixes, to include sugar replacing blends alone, in addition to application specific mixes. This will help bring down cost and make it easier for bakeries, allowing a good proportion of sugar to be stripped out of cakes and biscuits sold in Wales and provide more choice to consumers. The long-term effect of this on the health of the population and reduction in costs to the NHS could be significant. It may also help Welsh bakeries stay one step ahead of any potential future sugar tax.
Whilst the project has delivered a single-hit R&D and PR campaign to spread the knowledge and benefits of what has been uncovered, continued drip-feeding and reminding to relevant businesses and stakeholders is required to get the message across about the need to reduce sugar in baked goods. What is clear from this project is that solutions do exist to reduce the amount of sugar in our favourite sweet treats – but the success of implementing the solutions now needs to be driven across the manufacturing industry, supported by both academia and Government.
Project Need
It is widely known that obesity is bad for our health. This project aligns with the Welsh Government’s ‘Healthy Weight Healthy Wales’ strategy, a long term plan to prevent and reduce obesity in Wales (source: https://www.gov.wales/healthy-weight-strategy-healthy-weight-healthy-wales). The coronavirus pandemic further increased the public’s awareness of obesity and diabetes as those with these conditions appeared to be more susceptible to significant health complications from contracting Covid-19 (source: https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-021-11546-6).
The UK Government reports that overconsumption of calories is one of the most significant contributing factors in becoming overweight. Figures show many adults are consuming 200 to 300 extra calories a day above recommended daily guidelines, with children who are already overweight consuming up to 500 calories more than they need every day (source: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-obesity-strategy-unveiled-as-country-urged-to-lose-weight-to-beat-coronavirus-covid-19-and-protect-the-nhs#:~:text=Living%20with%20excess%20weight%20puts,of%20the%20general%20population).
Unfortunately, products marketed as “diabetic” or low-sugar have a reputation of being significantly inferior in taste to “full-sugar” high-carbohydrate equivalents – they are also often no better for the consumer’s health (source: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng28/ifp/chapter/diet-and-lifestyle).
The challenge is to reduce sugar and carbohydrate intake and the solution is to make healthier snacks that taste every bit as good as the unhealthy options. The aim of this project is not only to create a range of low-carbohydrate biscuits, but to create and share the ingredients and knowledge which can be applied by the Welsh bakery industry to create high quality products which also happen to be lower in carbohydrate and sugar, though not necessarily marketed as such.
By developing biscuit ingredients, methods and recipes which are high quality and lower in sugar and carbohydrate, we will be contributing to an improvement in the health of the nation and, consequently, reducing pressure on the NHS from lifestyle illnesses.
Currently lower carbohydrate products are split into two niche categories: low-sugar “diabetic” goods – often made with poor-tasting artificial sweeteners; or high-protein bars marketed to the health and fitness markets. There is a clear gap in the market for healthier baked goods for everyday use.
Furthermore, it is likely that there could be further legislation in the near future against high-sugar, high-carbohydrate foods, by expansion of the UK Sugar Tax. Acting pre-emptively to develop low-carbohydrate baked goods will give a massive market advantage.
Next Steps
The project team suggest the following as being the next steps, facilitated and led by Welsh Government where possible, to enable the roll-out of reduced sugar recipes across Wales:
1. Improve access to affordable sugar replacement solutions – encourage ingredient companies to produce sugar replacement mixes to meet anticipated demand, allowing smaller bakeries to use a mix as easily as current bags of sugar. This is probably the keystone to unlocking the potential of this project. Currently, most bakeries simply order sacks of sugar and use the required volume in the recipe. One of the suggested sugar substitution mixes requires purchasing a further four ingredients and careful weighing. If a large ingredient manufacturer could produce sacks of, for example, a “20% reduced sugar mix” – it would remove that complicating barrier for bakeries. Mass production of the mix would also likely reduce the cost. Furthermore, smaller retail 2kg bags of mixes could be created for sale in shops for home baking.
2. Continued dissemination and knowledge sharing – in alignment with Priority Area 1 of the Healthy Weight Health Wales initiative for 2022-2024, which aims to shape the food and drink environment towards sustainable and healthier options, continued drip-feeding and reminding to relevant businesses and stakeholders about the potential to reduce sugar in baked goods is required, to spread the knowledge and benefits of what has been uncovered. The Food Innovation Wales hub can be used to freely provide best practice advice and information to Welsh companies, which would be particularly relevant if the sugar tax scheme is extended. What is clear from this project is that solutions do exist to reduce the amount of sugar in our favourite sweet treats – but the success of implementing the solutions needs to be driven from the highest level.
3. Recipe reformulation trials for client specific bakery products – Project HELIX is a Welsh Government funded initiative to support manufacturers via the three food centres: Food Technology Centre at Llangefni, Food Centre Wales at Ceredigion, and Zero2Five Food Industry Centre at Cardiff. The knowledge developed in this project can be applied with the expert technical advice available together with well-equipped product development facilities at each centre, to develop reformulated, reduced sugar recipes suitable for a wide range of bakery products. New products can be further validated by sensory analysis and consumer trials. Product analysis can be used to support any potential nutritional claims.
For further information or to request a copy of the trials report, please email James Shepherd: james@thebiscuitproject.com