Dehydrated Vegetable Blend for Baked Snack Food

The Back-Story

Everybody knows it’s important to eat your veggies! In fact, in my house, you weren’t allowed to leave the table until you finished your vegetables. My parents were right to insist that I do so; evidence shows that vegetables may reduce the risk of cancer and many other diseases. Unfortunately, most people, children and adults alike, don’t consume the recommended daily intake of vegetables or in many cases, none at all. This could lead to serious health problems; both short and long-term.

The Situation

The Food Source International (TFSI) was approached by a major manufacturer who was looking to develop a snack food providing ½ a serving of vegetables on a per serving basis. The snack food was made up of a bakery base and a filling. The goal was to incorporate the vegetables into the bakery base, without affecting the structure of the base.

The Solution

TFSI collaborated with our customer to identify the desired vegetable medley, with a focus on flavor impact, texture, and label declaration. Then, TFSI converted each vegetable from a fresh to dry basis. Using the dry basis values, we adjusted the formula to meet the ½ serving goal, while maintaining the flavor target. Once this was completed, TFSI targeted a number of custom granulations (-8+40, -10+40, 16-40, etc.) for testing within the base.

The Results

After granulation adjustments and slight changes to the vegetable medley formula, the customer gave final approval. After two subsequent scale-up batches, the product was successfully launched for retail sales. TFSI crafted a custom vegetable solution that provided the desired ½ vegetable serving, performed in the bakery base, and tasted fantastic.