Evolution in every bite

Nature’s very own enzymes are increasingly making food products healthier, safer and more appealing. Juices, cooking oils and fats as well as dairy and bread products are just some of the products that enzymes are making better.

The shear variety of enzymes makes them an invaluable tool in so many applications. Novozymes, the biotech-based world leader in enzymes and microorganisms, is continuing to advance biotechnological innovations to bring about better products and healthier lives.

Found in nature
Enzymes are found in every living organism from humans to plants. They are the fundamental tools of nature. Enzymes in the stomach, for instance, ensure that food is cut into tiny particles and converted into energy in the body. Wherever one substance needs to be transformed into another, nature uses enzymes to speed up the process.

Enzymes are the miracle workers of both nature and modern industry. Novozymes' biological solutions are used in the production of thousands of products you use in your everyday life - from the beverages you consume, to the food you eat and to the clothes you wear.

More goodness in juice
Beverages such as fruit and vegetable juices is one category of foodstuffs that is more healthful thanks to enzymes. For example, enzymes used in the production of carrot juice draw out more beta-carotene from the carrots. Beta-carotene, the bright-coloured pigments of many fruits and vegetable, is converted into vitamin A in the body. Our bodies then receive an immune system boost and more antioxidants, important for the healthy development of our bodies.

Similarly, enzymes extract more antioxidants from apples, berries and grapes. Most berries and grapes contain anthocyanins, which are antioxidant flavonoids that promote health benefits in the body. Antioxidants have anti-inflammatory properties that protect blood vessels and lower the severity of allergic reactions. They are also thought to protect against neurological diseases.

Additionally, enzymes extract more natural colour from vegetables like tomatoes during the production of tomato-based products. Not only are these and other products healthier, they also retain a more natural colour and appearance.

This also has positive implications for a wide range of novel fruit-based products. Any such new foodstuff prepared with enzyme-treated fruit will be more natural, tastier and contain health-promoting effects thanks to increased antioxidant properties.

Slimming cooking oil?
The Japanese, known for their traditionally healthy and low-fat cuisine, have been enjoying the benefits of healthy cooking oil. Thanks to enzymes, a new cooking oil with proven fat-slimming properties has been developed.

The oil’s principal ingredient of diacylglycerol (DAG) is absorbed by the body without resynthesising into a neutral fat in the blood as is the case with conventional oil. Long-term use of the oil actually prevents increased body fat and fights obesity.

Other oils, too, like olive oil are made better thanks to enzymes. Just like with fruits and vegetables, enzymes extract more antioxidants from the olives being pressed into oil. This not only improves the oil’s natural storage stability but also enhances its taste and flavour due to a more complete extraction.

Trans-fat free
The production of vegetable fats and oils for food involves altering fats’ melting properties to allow them to be used in foods such as confectionery and breakfast cereals. Oils and fats have to be processed so that, for example, chocolate does not melt in the hand but rather in the mouth.

Novozymes has worked hard with making enzymatic interesterification a cost-effective reality. This process permits the replacement of partially-hydrogenated oils in foods like margarines and shortenings with interesterified oils, which do not contain trans fats.

Trans fatty acids, suspected of causing health risks, are already banned in food products in Denmark and other countries. US food labelling laws will soon require all trans fats to be labelled, making enzymatic interesterification even more attractive.

Until recently the technology was not widely used due to the high cost of the required enzyme, but now enzymatic interesteri?cation is a cost-effective alternative to both chemical interesteri?cation and hydrogenation. Furthermore, enzymatic interesterification minimises the use of water, raw materials and energy. Its associated processes emit no air pollutants.

Milk – for everyone!
Milk is an important source of energy, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals, in particular calcium. Almost all infants are born with the enzyme lactase, giving them the ability to digest lactose, the predominant carbohydrate in milk. However, the ability to digest lactose is reduced in early childhood for most people in the world.

The frequency of lactose-intolerant people is dependent on geographical and cultural backgrounds. Only a few percent of some populations in Europe, for instance, develop lactose
intolerance. In contrast, close to 100% of populations in Africa develop it. On average, approximately 70% of the world population is not able to digest lactose.

By treating milk and milk-based products with a lactase, the inherent lactose is degraded into a mixture of mainly glucose and galactose. Lactase-treated milk and milk-based products can be digested by virtually everyone without the adverse effects.

As a result of the hydrolysis of lactose to galactose and glucose, milk naturally becomes sweeter. As an added benefit for flavoured milk products, this allows for a reduced amount of sugar and flavourings to be added to all kinds of milk-based products.
Better baby foods
Approximately 25% of all babies suffer to a larger or lesser degree of food allergies. This makes choosing the right infant formula critical for the baby's health and growth. Novozymes has developed and patented processes that permit the production of low-allergenic milk protein formulas in a way that secure the low-allergenicity and good palatability of the infant food formulas.

Also, amylases and glucoamylases are used in the production of grain-based baby food formulas. By pre-digesting the starch of the grains with amylases, grain-based porridges are made easier to digest for the baby. As an added advantage, the glucoamylases sweeten the formulas and reduces the need to add sugar.
Natural alternatives in breads
Enzymes also act as natural alternatives to chemical additives in the food and beverage industry. Consumers are increasingly aware of what products contain and often prefer natural ingredients and processes when possible.

In the baking industry, enzymes are widely used as natural alternatives. For example, enzymes replace chemical emulsifiers, which are used to improve overall bread quality and facilitate the production processes. Also, some emulsifiers also have a strong acidic off-flavour, which can be eliminated with the use of enzymes.

Other enzymes solutions have replaced carcinogenic flour additives banned in most countries around the world. Novozymes works closely with bread producers to create enzymes that replace traditional bread ingredients without any loss of taste, appearance or freshness to the finished products.

Healthier starchy foods
Enzymes are also promising other advantages. Novozymes is working on an enzymatic solution to reduce the formation of acrylamide. Acrylamide, a suspected carcinogen, forms in starchy foods, such as French fries, chips or crisps, biscuits and breakfast cereals that have been baked, fried or toasted. It also forms in roasted coffee.

Novozymes is developing an asparaginase, an enzyme that reduces the formation of acrylamide in these baked goods and fried snacks. In fact, asparaginase appears to be one of the most promising means to reduce acrylamide without affecting the food’s taste.

Endless possibilities
Increasingly, consumers are becoming more health conscious and demanding healthier and health-enhancing products from food stuffs producers. Producers are striving to meet these consumer demands while improving their overall production efficiencies. Thankfully, nature’s own enzymes are making all this possible.

The future promises consumers a larger variety of healthier and tastier food products. Novozymes continues to stay abreast of timely health-related issues and consumers’ food demands and create enzymatic solutions to meet these. The possibilities are truly endless.

Novozymes is the biotech-based world leader in enzymes and microorganisms. Together with its customers, it continues to develop innovative enzymes solutions to enhance business, provide a cleaner environment and create better lives for everybody.