Functional and Nutritional: Egg
Products Fit the Future of Formulation
July 30, 2007
Introduction
Today’s savvy consumer is seemingly seeking the
impossible: an encompassing combination of flavor,
convenience and a nutritional profile that goes beyond
the traditional listing of vitamins and nutrients. This
staple, timeless ingredient, the egg, fulfills its reputation
as “incredible.”
Introduction
Further processed egg products supply excellent
functionality, and we will detail new research that
shows the functionality benefits of egg products versus
various egg replacers in products such as Angel Food
Cake, French Vanilla Ice Cream and Pasta. This
presentation will show you why egg products in your
formulations are “incredible”.
Introduction
What’s more, exciting new research studies are
uncovering more health benefits derived from egg
consumption. Find out how egg products help you meet
today’s formulation challenges including gluten-free,
weight control or providing energy.
Introduction
And discover the exciting ways that including egg
products can help your ‘label health’ in an era when
consumers expect the foods they eat to help them
reduce dependence on medication for maintaining
proper health.
a little about functionality…
Aeration
When eggs are beaten, air is incorporated, creating a
lighter, more air-filled product.
•Distinct cellular structure from eggs’
leavening action
•Structural framework holds product
together
•Increased volume for lighter foods
•Airy texture and smooth mouth-feel
Coagulation
Heating allows thickening and/or coagulation, converting the
mixture from a liquid state to a solid or semi-solid state.
• Can use both yolks and whites
• Binds products naturally
• Suspends other ingredients
• Gelling agents in custards
• Thickening agents when heated
• Creates texture
• Creates structural stability
Emulsification
The phospholipids, lipoproteins and proteins in egg yolks
enable the formation of emulsions from immiscible liquids
such as oil and water.
•Creamier texture
•Smooth mouthfeel
•Used to fortify whole egg blends to
increase emulsifying action
•No essential differences between
dried whole egg and yolk and
refrigerated/frozen liquid eggs
Coating & Binding
With heat, egg coagulation imparts rigidity causing
mixtures to gel and ingredients to adhere.
•Egg white is an excellent
binding ingredient
•No differences are found in binding
properties of dried whole egg and
yolk and refrigerated/frozen eggs
Humectancy
•Eggs improve cell structure and enable
products to maintain structure during
baking, thus reducing moisture loss
from baked products.
•Egg proteins also bind water, making it
less available for microorganisms to
grow and cause spoilage.
Flavor & Color
• Eggs contain fats which carry
and meld flavors in food.
• Eggs add flavor and enhance
other flavors.
• Egg yolks impart rich color and
are used to fortify whole egg
blends for a deeper color
in baked products.
new research about egg products…
Functionality Research
•Food manufacturers have attempted to partially or
completely replace eggs with low-cost alternatives.
•Eggs are essential for desirable volume, texture and color
in food products because of unique foaming, solubility,
emulsification and coagulation properties.
•The hypothesis is that eggs require more than a simple
1:1 replacement with an egg alternatives to acquire similar
ingredient functionality.
•The research compared eggs and egg alternatives
effectiveness as an ingredient using physical and sensory
analysis.
Functionality Research – Yellow Cake
•Eggs’ multifunctional properties of foaming, emulsification,
coagulation, flavor, and color make them essential in cake
production.
•Texture - was also affected by replacing whole
eggs with other ingredients. Some whole
egg/replacer blends were similar in
springiness on day one but deteriorated after
day one.
•Volume - replacing eggs with a single
ingredient did not produce volumes close to
that of cakes with whole eggs.
Functionality Research – Yellow Cake
•Color - all substitutes were much whiter than the cake with
eggs.
•Palatability - flavor of whole egg control cakes was
significantly greater than of blend variations.
•Sensory data showed that egg replacement blends did not
emulate the sensory attributes of dry whole egg in yellow
cake with significant differences in surface stickiness,
color, and egg flavor.
Functionality Research – Yellow Cake
Significance of Results
•At 100% replacement, no egg substitute used was able to
emulate all attributes of whole egg in a yellow cake
system.
•No replacement exactly emulated whole eggs in all
aspects of volume, contour, hardness, springiness, and
color.
Functionality Research – Pasta
•Eggs are one of the most common ingredients used in
pasta/noodles.
•Egg enhances the formation of a protein network during
mixing and kneading, improving
the cooking quality.
•Eggs give a darker and more yellow
color to the fresh pasta.
•Finally, there is a significant increase in
the nutritional value of pasta containing
egg.
Functionality Research – Pasta
•Whey protein treatments did not process well enough to
sheet the dough.
•However, whey proteins were successfully incorporated
as partial replacements.
•In the 100% substitute noodle formulations, soy flour
exhibited a higher cooking loss.
•Blended alternatives provided a significantly higher water
uptake.
•Color, stickiness and firmness of cooked noodles were
significantly affected by the type substitutes.
Functionality Research – Pasta
Significance of Results
•Whole egg could not be totally replaced with any of the
egg substitutes studied in the egg noodles without some
loss of quality.
•Partial replacement of eggs was competitive in regard to
the physical and sensory properties evaluated.
Functionality Research – Angel Food Cake
•Angel food cake was used as a system to compare and
evaluate the functionality of the egg substitutes relative to
the egg white protein.
•Many of the egg alternatives were able to produce a
stable foam.
•Data showed that not all egg alternatives
that performed well in the foaming study
and could withstand the high
temperatures (375F – 176.6 C /30 min)
required to bake an angel food cake.
Functionality Research – Angel Food Cake
Significance of Results
•Egg protein alternative did not perform as well as the
control in the physical attributes evaluation. The cake
formulated with the egg alternative exhibited a firmer
crust, lower volume and darker color.
•The egg product control significantly out performed the
angel food cake formulated with the egg alternative in all
sensory categories evaluated.
•Consumers indicated that were willing to purchase the
egg product control 2 to 1 over the angel food cake
formulated with the egg protein alternative.
Functionality Research – French Vanilla Ice
Cream
•Many ice cream makers use frozen egg yolks and
powdered egg yolks because the egg yolk solids improve
the whipping ability of the mix.
•Investigations have shown that egg yolks improve the rate
of whipping more if they are
sweetened with 10% sugar before
being frozen.
Functionality Research – French Vanilla Ice
Cream
•The use of egg yolk solids produces the following
beneficial effects:
-Firmer ice cream at a given drawing temperature
-Increased whipping rate
-Less change in percentage overrun
-Improved appearance while ice cream is melting
-Slightly improved texture
-Increased food value
Significance of Results
•81% of the panelists would purchase the control
compared to 36% for the soy-based egg alternative.
new uses for egg products…
Egg Product Marketability
•When it comes to the marketability of egg products, they
provide several important features
-Trans free – virtually free of all trans fats
-Nutrition content and profiling
-Clean ingredient label appeals to consumers
-Superior performance to many alternatives
Egg Product Marketability
• Gluten-Free Products
The number of gluten-free products continues to
increase. The FDA has published a proposed rule
defining “gluten-free”.
Canton Dijonnaise Fondue and Dipping Sauce
• Sports Products
As the popularity of protein bars and other high
protein foods for athletics increases, eggs (whole,
white and yolks in powdered and other forms) can
provide high quality protein for many products.
be energy bars
Egg Product Marketability
• Indulgent Products
Consumers who want to reward themselves
often do so with a culinary treat. Eggs provide
important textural characteristics in indulgent
products such as dressings, ice cream, cakes
and other products.
Pepperidge Farm Tahiti Coconut Cookies
• Breakfast Foods
Research studies show an egg breakfast
increases satiety and reduces energy intake.
Consumers’ hectic lifestyles have made
convenience breakfast foods a “hot” category.
Jimmy Dean Canadian Bacon & Cheese Whole Grain Muffin Sandwich
…and they’re healthy too.
A Lifetime of Health Benefits
Egg Protein
Egg Protein
Choline
Vit-Min
Egg
Protein
Choline
Satiety
Low-Cal
Nutrition
Convenience
Affordable
Egg Protein
Vit-Min
Lutein
Egg Protein
Nutrient Dense
Lifestyle
The Many Positives
• High quality protein
• Vitamins & minerals
• Carotenoids
• Choline
• Satiety, glycemic index
• Affordability
• Convenience
Nutrient Dense Eggs
Two Large Eggs = 155 calories
• 6% food energy
• 20% protein
• 53% essential aa
• 30% riboflavin
• 12% vitamin A
• 16% vitamin B12
• 12% folate
• 12% vitamin D
• 16% phosphorous
• 8% vitamin B6
• 34% selenium
• 8% iron
• 8% zinc
• 6% vitamin E
Nutrition & Seniors
• Require more protein per kg than
younger adults.
• Eggs least expensive source of
high quality protein.
• Nutrient dense foods important
as caloric intake decreases.
• Eggs are easy to cook, chew,
and digest.
Choline: Fetus & New Born
•Choline an essential nutrient
- AI for men 550 mg/day
- AI for women 425 mg/day
•Increased needs during pregnancy &
lactation
•Choline supplements
- increased new neurons
- formation of memory centers
- decreased programmed cell death
- life-long changes in nerve growth
factors and calretinin
Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Normal Vision
AMD
Late-Stage AMD
Eggs & Carotenoids
•Studies indicate that dietary lutein and zeaxanthin help
preserve the health of the aging eye against age-related
macular degeneration and cataracts.
•Addition of 1.3 egg yolks per day to the diets of 11 middleaged subjects:
- increased plasma lutein [38%]
- increased plasma zeaxanthin [128%]
Handelman et al. 1999. Am J Clin Nutr 70:247-251.
Lutein & Atherosclerosis
•Lutein as an antioxidant/antiinflammatory
•IMT progression low in those
with high plasma lutein
•High lutein intake decreased
atherosclerosis in animal
model
•Lutein effects on inflammatory
responses
Eggs & Weight Control
• Low calorie, nutrient dense
• Satiety, glycemic effects
• High protein diets and loss of
fat vs muscle
Eggs & Cholesterol
• Early research into causes of heart disease was faultydidn’t separate saturated fat intake from dietary
cholesterol intake.
•Study at Harvard (including ~40,000 men and 80,000 women*)
showed no difference in total blood cholesterol levels
between eating 1 egg daily and eating <1 egg/wk
• 2006 British Nutrition Foundation have numerous studies
showing that dietary cholesterol can increase serum LDLcholesterol, but the size of this effect is highly variable
between individuals and has no clinically significant impact
on CHD risk.
* JAMA 1999
Eggs & Satiety
•Foods that fill us up can play an important role
in weight management.
•Nutrient-dense ingredients such as eggs are
easy to fit into the diet and into formulated
foods.
•New research suggests starting
with an egg breakfast can:
- reduce hunger
- help reduce caloric intake by more
than 400 calories over the next 24
hours
Eggs & Satiety
•Study published in the Journal of the American
College of Nutrition, the researchers discovered:
- Compared to a bagel-based breakfast of equal weight, the egg
breakfast induced greater satiety
- Significantly reduced the participants’ food intake for the rest
of the day.
•The study followed healthy, overweight women who
were fed an egg breakfast or a bagel breakfast on
alternate days to measure the satiety effects and
subsequent energy (caloric) intake over the next 24
hours.
Eggs & Satiety
•The volunteers eating the egg breakfast reported
greater levels of satiety:
- Consuming an average of 164 calories less for lunch
- And 418 fewer calories than those who ate the bagel breakfast
over the course of the next day
•The higher protein content of the
egg breakfast (5 grams more than
the bagel breakfast) accounts for
some of the sensation of satiety.
Eggs & Satiety
•A spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association
called eggs a ‘nutritional powerhouse.’
-Eggs provide some of the highest quality protein of any food,
as well as being one of the few nondairy sources of vitamin D.
-Eggs are also a good source of the B vitamin riboflavin and
contain varying amounts of a number of other nutrients,
including vitamins A, B12, D and E and folate, and the mineral
iron.
-Other nutrients in eggs, such as
choline, lutein and zeaxanthin, show
great promise in other research to
help combat various maladies.
…and very safe.
Egg Products Are Safe Products
•76 billion eggs eaten annually…more than 30% are
further processed egg products.
•Egg Product Inspection Act (EPIA) of 1970 requires
mandatory continuous inspection of egg product
plants. Prior to this act, a voluntary program existed.
•No reported incidents involving further
processed egg products since Egg
Products Inspection Act of 1970.
•Proper handling helps maintain this
food safety record.
•All egg products are all pasteurized.
Egg Products Are Safe Products
•FDA regulations require qualifying statements when
the terms “no hormones or antibiotics” are declared on
labels for eggs.
- Avian Influenza-free
- No hormones
•When properly stored, processed egg ingredients will
maintain a stable shelf life for months.
…have it your way.
Customization of Egg Products
•Producers can add additional ingredients to tailor
functional properties.
•Can increase lutein or choline, or tailor levels and
types of omega-3 fatty acid content.
•Nutrients that provide a
potential health benefit on
the consumer radar screen.
and finally...
Summary
•All natural functionality
•Beneficial health applications
•Clean label
•Product stability
•Consistent performance
•No risk of contamination
Thank You!
Questions?
Contacts for More Information
• Joanne C. Ivy - President and CEO; joannecivy@aol.com (847) 296-7043; overall management of all
AEB programs and activities; direct supervision of Egg Nutrition Center, egg product marketing, and
administrative programs, information regarding the Board’s policies, industry relations or mission.
• Elisa Maloberti - Director of Egg Product Marketing; emaloberti@aeb.org (847) 296-7043; responsible for
development and implementation of egg product marketing program; responds to technical food and
nutrition questions for food professionals; handles requests for food photography.
• Glenn Froning, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus - AEB Technical Advisor; gfroning@neb.rr.com (877) 4886143; is a world-renown expert on everything about eggs. The author of over 200 scientific publications
and articles on poultry meat and eggs. He also answers the Board’s EGGSolutions Hotline.
• Donald J. McNamara, Ph.D. - Executive Director of the Egg Nutrition Center; djmcnamara@enconline.org (202) 833-8850; is responsible for program development and implementation; administration of
the American Egg Board Research Grants Program; serve as Executive Editor of Nutrition Close-Up and
Nutrition Realities.
• Marcia Greenblum, M.S., R.D. – Director, Nutrition and Food Safety Education; mgreenblum@enconline.org (202) 833-8850; is responsible for researching topics for development of educational materials
on nutrition and food safety.
• Hilary Shallo Thesmar, Ph.D., R.D. - Director, Food Safety Programs; hshallo@enc-online.org (202)
833-8850; responsible for all programs related to egg food safety and food safety education, provides
technical expertise for the food industry and works with federal and state public health agencies.