Lallemand grows encapsulated probiotics suite
its range of encapsulated probiotics as it looks to expand the
range of functional foods, supplements and pharmaceutical
applications into which it can be formulated.
Novel food applications including salads, vegetable salads and sandwiches have been highlighted as well as yoghurts, bars, cereal products and chocolate. Lallemand's Swiss-based technical product manager, Nadine Renard, told NutraIngredients.com products incorporating the ingredient were expected on-market by year's end. The development is more about embellishing the Canadian supplier's offerings than providing a raft of new health benefit innovation, as the strain - Lactobacillus casei Rosell-215 - offers similar functionality as its predecessors, namely gut health and immunity benefits. "We chose Lactobacillus casei Rosell-215 because there is very strong documentation backing its health benefits," she said. "Our clients have different needs in terms of formulation and functionality and so we need to be flexible with our offerings." While the health claims might be similar, varying probiotics differ in their reaction to formulation into different food matrixes, another reason for range expansion, Renard said. Lallemand, part of Lallemand Group's Nutrition and Health Division, calls its heat-and acid-resistant encapsulation technology Probiocap. It was first applied in 2001 to Lactobacillus Rosell-52 and Lactobacillus Rosell-11 and Bifidobacterium Rosell-175 have since followed. "All our Probiocap strains show excellent survival under the harsh conditions linked to industrial and digestive processes," Renard said. "High acidity, high temperature (close to 100 per cent survival at 50° c), and compression." Renard said the strains demonstrated shelf-life of a year in most food matrices with potential of up to two years in certain cases. Lallemand will continue to offer the ingredient, like the others in the suite, in "non-protected" form. These less refined forms are primarily targeted at the food supplements market and cost 10-15 per cent less than the Probiocap versions, Renard said. A Probio'Stick allowed probiotics to be consumed in supplement form without the addition of water. "Probiocap probiotics have allowed for the successful development of innovative food supplements like Probio'Stick that can be taken at any time of the day without the need for water, or long shelf-life probiotics contained in food products like cereals, cereal bars or chocolate," Renard said. The company said Lactobacillus Rosell-215 had "been shown to express lactose-degrading enzyme ß-galactosidase and, thus, can promote lactose digestion. It is also able to degrade inulin and has shown some immunomodulatory potential."
