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Formulating GLP-1 foods using Citri-Fi citrus fiber
April 9, 2025
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Supplements & Nutrition

Formulating GLP-1 Foods using Citrus Fiber

GLP-1 drugs entered the limelight promising weight loss to handfuls of overweight and/or diabetic consumers. Despite shedding the pounds, consumers also grapple with finding healthier foods tailored to their new diet regime. Two ingredients, fiber and protein, are staple ingredients when formulating GLP-1 foods. This includes upcycled Citri-Fi® citrus fiber, which at low usage levels (<1%), binds water and oil to improve texture, stability and nutrition in a variety of foods like nutritional bars, protein shakes, yogurts and frozen meals.

Another miracle worker pill joined the cluster of weight loss products and services. But this time, the class of GLP-1 drugs or GLP-1 receptor agonists hit the public eye due to its speedy results – shedding the unwanted pounds. GLP-1 stands for glucagon-like peptide-1. This hormone resides naturally in the human body. Not only does it help regulate blood sugar and suppress the appetite, but there are also other benefits which include slowing the digestive process. As a result, people feel fuller for longer.

Several of these GLP-1 drugs hit the U.S. market including Wegovy, Ozempic and Mounjaro. They each have their own physiological mechanism which aids in achieving the end goal of losing weight. However, despite this magic bullet’s weight loss promise and catchy commercial jingles, GLP-1 consumers quickly realized that their previous diet needed to be tailored to their new drug regime. Formulating GLP-1 friendly foods opened the door for opportunities.

The GLP-1 Effects on the Food Industry

Currently, the verdict is out whether this new pharma invention will impact food and beverage sales. Some companies decided to play the wait and see game. While others embraced the market opportunity and launched new products. But why would companies be on edge with this wonder drug?

First off, since GLP-1 drugs slow down the gastric emptying, consumers tend to eat smaller portion sizes. When one does the math, reducing the portion size equates to lower food and beverage sales. Another effect of the drug is that consumers are not reaching for high caloric, low nutrient dense foods like savory or sweet snacks, alcoholic drinks or sweetened beverages. They prefer healthier options. Because of this, GLP-1 consumers are shopping the outer edges of grocery stores looking for whole and nutritious foods versus processed foods. And for those who want healthier versions of their previous diet, they are seeking out GLP-1 foods created specifically with them in mind.

Secondly, this new drug line creates some uncertainty for the weight loss product world. These include products such as nutritional bars, frozen meals, shakes and powdered drinks. Either the companies will need to re-formulate to make their products more GLP-1 friendly or create new product lines specifically targeting this market.

Formulating GLP-1 Foods: Protein and Fiber      

This group of consumers tend to limit their refined carbohydrates and fat intake and focus more on the fortification of the foods. The key ingredients in GLP-1 foods are protein and fiber. The dietary fiber helps consumers feel satiated and aids in healthy digestion. Alternatively, the protein also helps with the feeling of fullness, but, it plays another crucial role in the new diet.

GLP-1 weight loss does not just target undesirable fat. It also leads to incidental muscle loss. And in elders, this can exacerbate a condition called sarcopenia. Therefore, formulating GLP-1 foods needs to incorporate dietary fiber and high levels of protein to help consumers improve their overall wellbeing. In addition, other food ingredients such as biotics, electrolytes and zero calorie sweeteners are other formulating tactics to improve the overall nutritional profile of GLP-1 foods. Sought out foods include eggs, nuts, legumes and unsweetened yogurts.

GLP-1 Ingredients Weigh in Citrus Fiber

Dietary fiber, being a panacea ingredient, comes in various forms. They differ by botanical source, processing methods and composition. Citri-Fi is an upcycled fiber from the citrus juicing industry. The process, which is free from chemical modifications, opens up the fiber to create high water holding and emulsification properties. Because of this dual functionality, Citri-Fi can improve the texture, stability and nutrition of a variety of food and beverage formats.

When formulating GLP-1 friendly food, Citri-Fi can enhance the eating experience while still staying within the consumer diet parameters. For instance, protein shakes are a popular go-to meal replacement or snack for GLP-1 consumers. Citri-Fi citrus fiber, at less than 1% usage, creates additional viscosity and creamy texture without the use of food gums or starches. As a result, the food labeling stays clean.

Dairy products such as yogurts are another preferred food staple due to its innate healthy halo and inherent protein content. In some cases, manufacturers are enhancing yogurts to contain additional protein. At the same time, yogurts suffer syneresis or water separation during storage. Hydrocolloids like pectin, carrageenan, guar gum and modified food starch are typically used to minimize syneresis. However, a clean label option is Citri-Fi citrus fiber. At low usage levels, this citrus fiber binds the water to control syneresis over time. Due to its small granular size, Citri-Fi creates a creamy and thick texture.

Another popular GLP-1 food comes in the form of a frozen meal. Many of these food items rely on dressings and sauces to create a flavorful eating experience. However, the freeze/thaw cycle tends to break down sauces which causes water and/or oil to separate. Citri-Fi, at low usage levels, can bind the water and/or oil to create a stable sauce during heating and freeze/thaw storage conditions.

Besides being a dietary fiber, Citri-Fi is also non-GMO Project certified, allergen-free and gluten-free. There is a USDA certified organic version, the Citri-Fi 400 series, which provides the same benefits as the flagship 100 series. Labeling options include citrus fiber, dried citrus pulp or citrus flour which can be used when formulating GLP-1 foods.

Counting Calories or Counting Days

Will GLP-1 drugs be the blockbuster marvel for years to come? Consumers will be the ultimate barometers when it pertains to the effectiveness of weight loss drugs. It will take some time for these new drugs to be vetted by the public. In the meantime, some food companies that jump on the product development bandwagon may reap the short-term financial payouts. On the other hand, other companies may count the days anticipating a shake-out before investing. For those food and beverage companies willing to take the gamble, ingredients like Citri-Fi citrus fiber are available to shorten the development time, improve the quality and clean up the labels.

For more information, please contact us.

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October 27, 2020
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Fiberstar Blog

Plant-based Yogurts: Top Facts to Know

Today, plant-based yogurts are the next hot dairy alternative trend. However, at the same time, these products encounter many formulation issues. Citri-Fi® citrus fiber's high water holding and emulsification properties help create high quality dairy-free yogurts including minimizing syneresis, thickening texture and improving food labels.

Plant-based Yogurts Bases – Old and New

Years ago, the only non-dairy yogurts found on the grocery shelves ranged from soy to rice based. However, today, this expanded into a variety of options. Other dairy-free bases moving up in rank include: almond, coconut, hemp, cashew and oat. Moreover, plant-based yogurts now reside next to their animal-based counterparts in the grocery store. As a result, this gives consumers an opportunity to try something new or use these products as a gateway to a plant-based lifestyle. In the end, plant milks will provide the segway into dairy-free yogurts. As a result, new plant milk bases such as lupin, flaxseed or sesame seed will cross over into this category.

Typical Issues in Creating Non-Dairy Yogurts

If you make your own yogurt at home, you know that dairy yogurts are relatively easy to make due to the dairy-based proteins innately present in milk. However, making dairy-free yogurts turns into a whole new adventure. The easy part involves fermenting the base but the resulting product typically produces thin and watery textures.

Some issues that arise in creating vegan type yogurts include: poor texture, syneresis or lack of a full-fat mouthfeel. As a result, product developers seek out highly functional natural ingredients to counter quality issues. At the same time, developers resort to using additives to compensate for not having dairy proteins in the food matrix. Due to this, their food label declarations evolve into less consumer friendly versions.

Common Stabilizers used in Dairy-free Yogurts

To create a thicker texture and minimize syneresis, developers typically reach for stabilizers. For instance, in vegan style yogurts, modified starches, pectin, locust bean gum, agar and other gums are added to plant-based yogurts to improve texture and stability. However, each stabilizing system presents its own limitations.

For example, modified starches are excellent in minimizing syneresis but at the same time they create pasty textures. On other hand, developers tend to add stabilizers like food gums. This adds viscosity and smooths out the pastiness but at the same time cause the texture to become snotty and unnatural. As a result, multiple stabilizing ingredients are used which makes the ingredient declaration long and cumbersome. In the end, syneresis remains to be a challenging issue in these type of applications.

Citri-Fi Citrus Fiber Benefits in Plant-based Yogurts

Citri-Fi is produced from byproduct or upcycled material of the citrus juicing process which aligns with dairy alternatives' sustainable and environmental goals. This citrus fiber is created using a patented process which opens up the fiber to provide high water holding and emulsification properties. Because of the intact native pectin, Citri-Fi provides multiple benefits in non-dairy yogurts. These superior features sets this citrus fiber apart from others in the market.

For instance, this natural ingredient between 0.01% and 0.60% contributes to smoother and thicker textures which simulates a full-fat mouthfeel. And, due to the water and oil holding power, this natural citrus fiber minimizes syneresis to create more stable products. Citri-Fi is recommended to be used with starches and/or gums to create high quality plant-based yogurts. And because Citri-Fi’s labeling options include citrus fiber, dried citrus pulp or citrus flour, this natural ingredient resonates well in the natural and clean label markets. Lastly, Citri-Fi is non-allergenic, non-GMO project certified and has no E-number.

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February 20, 2020
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Fiberstar Blog

How to Make Clean Label Yogurt using Citrus Fiber

Citrus fiber can be used to create clean label yogurts due to its highly functional benefits including stability, reduced syneresis, improved mouthfeel and increased thickness.

Yogurt is the one food product that exploded in popularity over the years. Consumers quickly embraced this health halo food regardless of its contents. However, today, the clean label movement is changing how consumers decide on which yogurts to purchase. And seeing that retailers' dairy sections offer wall-to-wall variety of yogurts, it is no surprise consumers are reading labels to determine the best choice. Now, not only do consumers need to be aware of added sugar, but also the number and type of ingredients used in the yogurt. They now desire simplicity and natural options.

Making Clean Label Yogurts

Fiberstar's Citri-Fi® natural citrus fiber is an ideal food ingredient when making clean label yogurts. This natural citrus fiber has high water holding and emulsification properties which provide the stability, reduced syneresis improved mouthfeel and increased thickness in yogurts. As a matter of fact, less is more. Citri-Fi is used between 0.1% to 0.5% depending on the targeted texture. And this natural citrus fiber helps reduce the number of ingredients in the clean label yogurt.

Typical methods include the following: 1) Mix together cream, milk and dry milk to form the base. 2) Slowly add Citri-Fi 100FG powder into the vortex while mixing at high speed. 3) Keep batch lightly agitated to prevent settling until pumped into a pasteurization unit. 4) Cool the mixture down to 43°C and fill into clean containers. 5) Add the culture and incubate at 43°C until pH reaches 4.4 to 4.5 (about 8 hours).

This plain style yogurt contains only seven ingredients including water. And because Citri-Fi's label options include citrus fiber, dried citrus pulp or citrus flour, this fiber resonates well in the clean label and natural markets. Moreover, this natural citrus fiber is a great complement in fruit-based yogurts.

To learn more about Citri-Fi natural citrus fiber in clean label yogurts or other clean label foods, please contact Fiberstar - techsupport@fiberstar.net.

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October 31, 2019
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Fiberstar Blog

Top 5 Things you Need to Know about Clean Label Yogurt

1. Yogurt manufacturers are cleaning up their label.

Yogurt, started its life with simple ingredients during a time where refrigeration and shelf stability was limited. In the past, yogurt textures depended on the natural cultures in the environment and milk type used. Today, there is a spectrum of yogurt textures littered on the retail shelves. This is partly due to the use of varying stabilizers, fruit fillings, processing techniques and dairy bases in addition to the cultures.

Right when yogurt manufacturers had dialed in their formulation and put their processes on auto-pilot, the market shifted. This shift was towards cleaner labels. It is a marvel that consumers are actually glancing away from their smartphones to read food labeling. And using their own biases, they decide what is considered natural or not in a split second. As a result, some of these stabilizers are not as natural sounding to the average consumer after all.

Yogurt may be one of those foods carrying a health halo. However, labeling is becoming king in this market. So yogurt manufacturers took note of the label reading and began to re-formulate their yogurts to serve their target consumer base.

2. Clean label is a global trend hitting all foods including yogurt.

Creating natural sounding labels is not an isolated incident. This clean label movement is prevalent in Europe, North America and Australia/New Zealand. There is also a smattering of demand in Asia, South America and Africa.

Most would assume only highly processed food manufacturers are weeping heavily over the market shift to natural labels. However, food manufacturers are realizing that it affects all foods and beverages in this market. Those manufacturers proactively benchmarking their products’ labels are the front-runners in this competitive scene.

3.  There are a variety of stabilizers used in yogurts.

Varying stabilizer systems are used in yogurts. For instance, some of the common stabilizers include the following: pectin, modified starch, dairy proteins, cellulose gel, locust bean gum, gelatin, alginates and carrageenan. Each stabilizer either alone or in combination provides improved body and texture, increased firmness, minimal separation or syneresis and suspension of particulates like fruit.

4.  There are clean label stabilizers available in the market.

 Since there is no regulated definition for natural or clean label, formulators scramble to understand which ingredients are safe havens. No matter which ingredient comes into question, there is some sort of bias for or against it. Yogurt manufacturers need to understand their target consumer’s label sensitivities. For instance, one stabilizer can be considered natural to one consumer base but not to another depending on the brand.

This is not a testimony saying one stabilizer trumps the other. This blurb is to point out that manufacturers should be aware there is no one size fits all when it comes to selecting clean label stabilizers for yogurts. So suppliers are burning the midnight oil in order to launch new options into the marketplace.

5.  Citri-Fi® citrus fiber in clean label yogurt is an ideal fit.

For those still scratching their heads over this whole ordeal, there is one natural ingredient they should consider – citrus fiber. Although this is not one of the usual suspects when formulating yogurt, there is one feature that rules – clean label. Within the U.S., the USDA approved the following labeling for dairy products – dried citrus pulp or citrus flour.

Ok,  so it is clean label. So why choose citrus fiber in yogurt?

There are several citrus fibers in the marketplace, however, they are not all the same. Citrus fiber’s composition and structure tell the real story behind its stellar functionality. For instance, Citri-Fi natural citrus fiber is created from byproduct of the juicing processing. The patented physical process opens up the fiber to provide high water holding and emulsification properties. Yes! This can provide multiple functionalities in yogurts.

Citrus Fiber Incorporation and Usage

Citri-Fi, a clean label stabilizer, holds onto the water and fat in the system and stabilizes it over time. As a result, this natural ingredient improves the thickness and texture. Less is more when using this natural citrus fiber in yogurt. The recommended usage level is between 0.1% to 0.6%. However, higher usage levels create thicker and creamier yogurts. Citri-Fi comes in a few particle sizes which also helps target specific yogurt textures.

The incorporation process into clean label yogurt is simple. First the cream, milk or any other dairy base are mixed together. This clean label stabilizer powder is slowly added into a vortex while mixing at high speed. The batch is kept lightly agitated to prevent settling until pumped into a pasteurization unit. Once through, the mixture cools down to 43°C and is filled into clean containers. The culture is added and then the containers are incubated at 43°F until a pH of 4.4 to 4.5 is reached. That is about eight hours.

Citri-Fi clean label stabilizer is non-GMO, allergen-free and gluten-free. It has no E-number which is key in certain markets. This natural ingredient is plant-based and vegan. So there is opportunity to use this natural ingredient in dairy-free systems to improve stability, thickness and texture.

 

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