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Trans-fat and cholesterol free ice-cream

Country of Origin: Singapore
Reference Number: TOSG20180108003
Publication Date: 8 January 2018

Summary

A Singapore research institute has developed a healthier alternative to the regular ice-cream that contains only half the amount of fat content of the regular ice cream. The low fat formulation, registered under the Singapore Health Promotion Board's (HPB) the Healthier Choice Symbol (HCS) programme can be consumed by all age groups. 

The institute seeks to partner SMEs/MNEs - Food & Beverage (F&B) manufacturers, catering companies or healthcare institutions through a licensing agreement.

Description

Ice-cream is one of the most preferred desserts and snack items across the globe. In spite of it being considered as a mature market, it is one of very few segments within the dairy industry that has witnessed steady positive growth year-on-year for the last five years with the trend expected to remain the same for the next five years. 



However, with increasing awareness towards health and wellness, there is a shift in the consumer paradigm toward healthier food choices. This has led to the rising demand for processed foods with potential health benefits and nutritional values.



One of the major challenges that is faced by the food & beverage (F&B) manufacturers is meeting the consumer requirements of ice-creams that is low in fat content. While companies have been successful in developing formulations and products with reduced fat content, they are not always successful in mimicking the organoleptic characteristics of the regular ice-creams. 



Most of the ice-creams with reduced fat content have a chalky mouth feel and gritty texture and are not stable for longer duration of time. This inability to retain the organoleptic characteristics in low-fat ice creams has made their adoption a challenge among consumers, despite its perceived health benefits. 



To address this issue, the Singapore research institute has developed a low-fat ice cream that can be consumed by people from all walks of life. The low-fat formulation contains only pure vegetable oil, unlike the commercial variants that use blended vegetable oils. The innovative formulation is also able to address the issues of organoleptic characteristics and the developed product is characterised by a well-acceptable mouth feel and meets the texture and stability requirements while still being categorised as an ice cream product.



This ice-cream can be considered as a healthier alternative to regular ones as it has only 6% fat content, which is almost half of that of regular ones. This formulation makes it eligible to support claims of “trans-fat free” and “contains no cholesterol” in its product label. The low-fat version is also registered under the Singapore Health Promotion Board's (HPB) the Healthier Choice Symbol (HCS) programme and can be tagged as “less than 200 kcal” per serving.  



The research institute is keen to establish partnerships with industry players (food & beverage manufacturers, hospitals/healthcare institutions e.g. healthcare institutions and institutional catering companies). 



The type of partnership sought can be a licensing agreement where the partner could license the technology for further development and introduce it as a new product to their customers or patients.

Advantages and Innovations

The low-fat ice cream is devoid of both trans-fats and cholesterol. With its reduced fat and calorie content and halal certification, the product is suitable for people of all ages. Its HCS certification allows it be served in school canteens, hospitals and elderly/ nursing homes. The product can also be potentially adopted by the F&B industry as a healthier alternative to regular ice-creams.

Stage Of Development

Available for demonstration

Requested partner

The Singapore institution seeks to work with SMEs/MNEs or hospitals/healthcare and other institutions in a licensing agreement partnership.



The partner sought could be a food and beverage manufacturer, catering company or a hospital/healthcare institution.



Under a licensing agreement:

The partner could license the technology for further development and introduce it as a new product to their customers/patients.