Protein fulfills many roles in our body. It is crucial for building and repairing tissues, allows for signal transmission, plays a vital role in many metabolic reactions and coordinates numerous bodily functions. In addition, proteins also maintain proper pH and fluid balance.
Veganism is on the rise, and with it, the search for new alternative plant-based proteins. Food and beverage manufacturers are looking for proteins to create and enrich new high protein formulations. The choice of protein type mainly depends on the organoleptic properties such as taste but also the price, availability and sustainability are decisive factors. SipaPro-Oat is a perfect candidate to fulfill all those requirements. SipaPro-Oat is an oat protein concentrate that guarantees minimum 56% of proteins, 26,5% of carbohydrates, of which 15% are fibers and 8,5% of lipids.
SipaPro-Oat and sustainability
SipaPro-Oat is a sustainable protein source. It is a by-product from our all-natural, chemical-free production of oat syrups:
We usually start our production process with cereal grains or flour, which is different from the traditional industries which mostly use starch as their starting point. After the initial step, we add water and heat our mixture. We then cool down to a temperature acceptable for the enzymes to perform their hydrolysis. After the hydrolysis, we separate the soluble matter from the insoluble one. The soluble part goes through an evaporation and concentration step and finally results in our oat syrups. The insoluble by-product is rich in protein and fiber. This side stream goes through an enrichment and drying step, which gives us ultimately our SipaPro-Oat protein concentrate. This unique and innovative production process is 100% in line with the organic philosophy. The fact that this process validates all side streams and uses all of the oat components, makes it a fully sustainable protein source.
SipaPro-Oat, a unique nutritional and product profile
In addition to a protein content of minimum 56%, SipaPro-Oat also contains on average 26,5% of carbohydrates, of which 15% are fibers. SipaPro-Oat also contains 8,5% of lipids.
SipaPro-Oat also has a good amino acid profile. It contains, apart from lysine, quite high amounts of essential amino acids compared to other cereals. This is because oat proteins are mainly comprised of globulins, a form of storage protein that is higher in essential amino acids compared to another storage protein called prolamins, which are more predominant in other cereals.
The Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score is 0,59. This is mainly due to the lower amount of lysine found in oat protein. To correct for the PDCAAS, a simple solution pops up: combining with Pea Protein. Pea protein tends to be quite low in Sulphur-containing amino acids (such as the essential methionine and the non-essential cysteine) but is high in lysine. SipaPro-Oat is quite high in methionine and cysteine, but low in lysine. Combining the two gives a perfectly balanced amino acid profile.
SipaPro-Oat is especially high in glutamine. Whilst glutamine is not an essential amino acid, it is considered as a conditionally essential amino acid. It tends to run low in during times of disease or health problems. Adding glutamine to your diet can be quite beneficial. Glutamine is one of the most important amino acids for a healthy digestive tract since it is involved in maintaining the integrity of the intestinal wall. Glutamine is also nicknamed as “the calming amino acid” since it has been shown to reduce anxiety, as well as sugar and alcohol cravings. Studies also have shown that glutamine supports the immune system and is especially beneficial for patients fighting viruses or overwhelming infections.
Improve juiciness
SipaPro-Oat has a good digestibility of 90% and comes with a water holding capacity factor (WHC) of 2,48. WHC is the ability of, in this case, protein to hold on to its own or to added water during processing. An ingredient with high WHC can improve the texture of a food product. It can also be used to improve the juiciness of a food product after cooking.
SipaPro-Oat is a fine, free-flowing, non-sticky, light brown to brown powder that can easily be incorporated into many food and beverage formulations.
SipaPro-Oat, a plethora of applications
Thanks to its neutral and bland cereal taste, which is a significant advantage compared to many other plant-based proteins, SipaPro-Oat is an excellent ingredient for many applications. Applications range from high protein bread and pasta to protein-enriched smoothies and cereal bars to meat alternatives. Why not make an OatBurger for example?
Or how about some high oat protein pasta!
SipaPro-Oat, a clean label solution
The clean label trend continues to grow with consumers wanting more information about what they buy and consume. Besides that, most consumers nowadays ask for transparency from their manufacturers in the form of an ingredient list that consumers understand and with words they can pronounce.
As a result, many consumers base their decision to buy a product based on a clear, clean, and short ingredients list. However, with the latter in mind, consumers still want a great tasting product!
This challenges manufacturers to reformulate some of their original products, but they must do so without compromising on taste, color, texture, and mouthfeel.
Clean label means that a product only features natural and/or organic ingredients grown by non-GMO standards, is the least processed possible, comes from sustainable farming practices, has a low environmental impact, and a short, understandable ingredient list.
Chemically processed foods, also called ultra-processed foods, tend to be high in sugar, artificial ingredients, refined carbohydrates, and trans fats. Because of this, they are a major contributor to obesity and illness around the world.
SipaPro-Oat is a perfect example of a clean label ingredient produced via an all-natural and clean process. You can simply declare it as “organic oat protein concentrate” in the case of our organic version or as “oat protein concentrate” in the case of our conventional version.
Meurens Natural SA, sustainable innovation as a core value
Meurens Natural has been a pioneer in the organic sector and has been focused on producing clean label organic and natural cereal extracts for more than 30 years. With a unique and innovative production process, that is 100% in line with the organic philosophy, that includes five essential steps: milling, hydrolysis, mechanical filtration (our filtration step is carried out completely mechanically, without the use of conventional methods, technical and chemical agents, and without demineralization), evaporation, and packaging, we are able to offer our customers ingredients that are all-natural and organic. As the European specialist in cereal hydrolysis, Meurens Natural is able to hydrolyze a wide variety of cereals using flour and not only starch as in the conventional glucose industry.
The hydrolysis of flour as part of a production process that is clean, simple and environmentally-friendly provides the following advantages: no use of chemical additives as does the conventional industries (such as H2SO4 – sulphuric acid, NaOH – sodium hydroxide, Na2CO3 – sodium carbonate, SO2- sulphur dioxide), no conventional processing methods such as the use of ion exchange resins for demineralizing (refining) sweetened juices or fruit juices, a complete traceability from the raw material up to the syrup, and all characteristics of the processed cereal are preserved to the maximum: taste, color and minerals. This allows for a short, clear, and clean labelling.
Using a wide variety of sugar structures, dextrose equivalents (DE), sweetness, viscosities, colors, flavors, and raw materials, the Sipal ® (organic) and Natu® (conventional) ranges are able to achieve a multitude of objectives for all preparations in the food processing sectors.
Our latest innovations include organic and conventional rice and oat proteins.
Aside from above mentioned examples, we also have organic and natural extracts in our portfolio coming from corn, barley malt and wheat. We also have a wide range of tailor-made ingredients in our portfolio, specially designed to meet different customer needs. Contact us for more information at [email protected] or visit us at www.meurensnatural.com