Michael Gusko, spokesperson for the company, told BakeryandSnacks.com that its new bran - Softbran Don Minus - is based on the selection of special wheat varieties with softer bran.
It is “produced from this wheat through a special milling process followed by a careful cleaning process,” he explained.
Gusko said that the bran, which has the same dietary fibre as the conventional type, can be used to fortify bread for toasting and breakfast cereals but also products that, prior to this, have not typically been enriched with bran due to the negative taste resulting including cakes, cookies, morning goods, cereal snacks, pasta, and pies.
The supplier stressed that products for elderly people and children in particular could benefit from Softbran Don Minus, as it does not have the rough and bitter taste of traditional bran.
Formulation
In terms of formulation requirements, it can be used in combination with mild wholegrain flour and Gusko said that “Softbran Don Minus can replace conventional bran one by one. It’s a ‘plug and play’ solution.”
The end product’s visual properties with the desirable visible bran spots, however, remain the same, said the supplier.
The bran, which Kampffmeyer developed for a branded cereal manufacturer, is offered at a premium price which is slightly above the price for standard refined wheat flour, added the spokesperson.
The company said that sensory panel participants, during the testing phase, reported that a bread for toasting enriched with 5 per cent Softbran Don Minus was “aromatic, slightly nutty and with a fresh wholegrain taste”, while the panel noted that the equivalent product with 5 per cent conventional bran was “neutral, plain, scratchy, spotty, slightly sweet and musty.”
Mycotoxin load reduction
Apart from the taste benefits, Gusko pointed out that the microbiological status of the bran has also been enhanced.
“Softbran Don Minus has a 50 per cent to 70 per cent reduction of mycotoxins particularly Deoxynivalenol (DON). While the absolute level depends on the harvest conditions, currently we can prove that the DON level is below 300 (μg/kg),” he commented.
Permitted maximum levels of DON are regulated by Commission Regulations (EC) No 1881/2006 setting maximum levels for certain contaminants in foodstuffs including 750 (μg/kg) for cereals, cereal flour, bran, and germ intended for human consumption, and 500 (μg/kg) for bread, pastries, biscuits, cereal snacks, and breakfast cereals.
Bran benefits
A report from Harvard last year showed that increased intakes of whole grains, and bran in particular, may reduce the incidence of hypertension in men.
Data from over 30,000 men participating in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study indicated that increased intakes of whole grains are associated with a 19 per cent lower incidence of hypertension.
The researchers, led by Alan Flint from Harvard School of Public Health, reported their findings online in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. “These findings have implications for future dietary guidelines and prevention of hypertension,” they wrote.
High blood pressure (hypertension),defined as having a systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) greater than 140 and 90 mmHg, is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) - a disease that causes almost 50 per cent of deaths in Europe, and reported to cost the EU economy an estimated €169bn ($202bn) per year.