Feasibility of calcium fortification in dairy and soy drinks

Abstract

The global market for bone health foods had been estimated to reach $ 2.8 billion in 2004, and is expected to further grow at 5–10% per annum. As dairy products are the most impor- tant source of calcium in our diet, they have been and still are an ideal food to be fortified with extra calcium to meet nutritional needs by providing larger amounts in one single serving. On the other hand, soy products are consumed as an alternative to their dairy coun- terparts and do not contain significant amounts of calcium. Thus, they are fortified with calcium on a broad basis in order to complement the high nutritional value of dairy products and also to provide calcium to those population groups (e.g. lacto-vegetarians, lactose-intolerant people), who cannot fulfill their daily requirement of this important mineral due to their dairy-free diet. However, the feasibility of calcium addition has to be considered as milk and soy products represent a complex food matrix from the technological point of view. This challenge drives mineral salt suppliers such as Jungbun- zlauer to offer not only one product but rather a range of different calcium salts to be able to tune them to food manufacturers' applica- 24 | Wellness Foods Europe – October/November 2004 tions: tricalcium citrate, calcium gluconate and the new product development calcium lactate gluconate. This article discusses important nutritional, technological as well as economical aspects of calcium in dairy and soy drinks with a focus on micronized tricalcium citrate.