Making soy convenient

Soy milk has been part of the Asian diet for centuries and is becoming increasingly popular in other parts of the world, too, being perceived as a
healthy alternative to cows milk. However, as soy milk has traditionally been
produced in small batches in small shops and with a short shelf-life, manufacturers need to look at new production methods if they want to match the
needs of todays convenience seeking consumers. Using the UHT technology will allow for products with shelf-lives ranging from several months up to
a year. Products that will be homogenous and have the right mouth-feel and
creaminess, provided that they contain the right emulsifiers and stabilizers.
By Khoreen New, Senior Application Technologist for Dairy, Ice cream and Soy,
Palsgaard Asia-Pacific.

oy beverages have a history

of over 5,000 years and are
an important source of protein for
many people, especially those
who are lactose intolerant. Soy
milk contains the same amount of
protein as cows milk, hence is often perceived as an alternative to
dairy milk. Besides being a good
source of protein, soy based foods
are also known to provide numerous health benefits, such as:

Lower in fat content, mostly

unsaturated fat with zero
cholesterol
Naturally lower in sugar
content than regular milk
Contain only vegetable
protein
Fewer people allergic to soy
than cows milk
Provide bone health
Promote weight loss/control
Prevent cancers
Prevent cardiovascular
disease

Fact: Soy drinks

Typically long-life, with a minimal amount of soy protein per
serving. These products are positioned more as regular beverages (competing against soft
drinks) rather than milk alternatives. Often, there is little or no
information on soy protein content per serving. Black soy drinks
have also recently emerged in
Asia.

Countries such as China, Japan,

Brazil, USA and Thailand all consume vast amounts of soy based
products - and are likely to continue to do so. As indicated in tables 1 and 2 below, data from EuroMonitor International predict a
very promising growth from 2013
2018, for soy milk as well as soy
drinks. For 2013 alone soy drinks
had a market size of US $ 2 601.4
million, for soy milk it was US $ 4
808.9 million. For a definition of
soy milk and soy drinks, please
see the fact boxes.

SOY MILK

Soy milk is the water extract from

whole soy beans. It is an emulsion
of fat in water containing water soluble proteins, carbohydrate and oil
droplets. Soy milk has traditionally
been produced by small shops daily in small batches. These are sold
daily and have a short shelf-life.
Here the soy beans were soaked,
grinded, filtered and cooked.
Nowadays, a large part of the industrially produced soy milk is
produced by means of the UHT
process and aseptic filling, thereby
obtaining a long shelf-life at room
temperature. This puts a great de-

mand to the stability of the product as a homogeneous product

throughout the entire shelf-life is
necessary for the consumers acceptance of the product. To achieve
this direct as well as indirect UHT
systems may be applied. From a
stability as well as from a sensory
point of view direct systems are
preferred. Direct systems result in
less chemical changes in the product due to a lower total heat load
and extraction of oxygen from the
product in the vacuum chamber.
The indirect system is, however,
often preferred due to lower investment and running costs.

application of emulsifiers and stabilizers in soy milk and soy drinks

is necessary. The products are
emulsions of oil in water and for
ensuring optimal emulsion stability, i.e. reducing creaming, during
the entire shelf-life, not only proper
homogenization but also addition
of selected emulsifiers and stabilizers is necessary. Further, the
stabilizers improve the stability of
the proteins thereby minimizing
sedimentation during storage of
the soy product. The functionality
of the emulsifiers and stabilizers
are described below.

SOY DRINKS

EMULSIFIERS FOR
SOY BEVERAGES

Soy drink is a popular type of beverage in countries such as China,

Brazil, Mexico, Malaysia and Argentina. It contains no less than
1.5 % in protein, and less than
0.5% fat with 5 15% sugar. Unlike soy milk (3 or more than 3%
protein, 1 or more than 1% fat)
which is known as non-dairy milk
alternative, soy beverage is known
as sweet nutritious drink consumed as soft drink.
Whichever UHT system is used,

Table 1:
Countries with a large market size in 2013 for soy drinks
(Source EuroMonitor International)

Name of country

Market size for

2013, US $ mn

Per Capita for

2013, US $

Forecast Growth
2013- 2018 CAGR

China

1 166.6

0.9

5.0%

Brazil

787.7

4.0

6.9%

Mexico

187.1

1.6

4.1%

Malaysia

124.8

4.3

3.4%

Argentina

107.0

2.6

5.1%

Forecast Growth
2013- 2018 CAGR

Table 2:
Countries with a large market size in 2013 for soy milk
(Source EuroMonitor International)

Name of country

Market size for

2013, US $ mn

Per Capita for

2013, US $

Japan

1 056.3

8.3

2.8%

USA

746.3

2.4

- 5.3%

Thailand

403.6

5.9

7.0%

South Korea

367.1

7.3

3.4%

Spain

209.8

4.6

- 4.1%

United Kingdom

201.7

3.2

0.4%

Brazil

184.0

0.9

1.3%

Australia

174.2

7.5

2.6%

Canada

172.1

4.9

- 1.3%

France

160.6

2.5

1.2%

Mono-and diglycerides of fatty

acids are commonly used in soy
beverages. Mono- and diglycerides are emulsifier produced by
the reaction of vegetable fats and
oil and glycerol. The end result is
a molecule with ambiphilic properties, meaning part of the structure
is hydrophilic while other moieties
have a lipophilic nature and consequently it is placed at the interface
between the fat/protein and water
during homogenization, hence fat
separation is reduced. When used
in multiphase systems, the emulsifier will take a position which is
favourable with respect to energy
and minimizing coalescence of the
fat globules.

Fact: Soy milk

Positioned as milk alternatives.
Soy milk is typically fresh/pasteurized, found in chiller compartments, and contain a significant
amount of soy protein per serving. Leading brands such as Silk
(White Wave) contain 6 grams of
soy protein per serving (approximately 250ml) or 2.4 grams per
100 ml. Other brands such as
Alpro Soja (Vandemoortele International NV) contain 2 grams of
soy protein per 100 ml. Vive Soy
(Leche Pascual) contains 3.3
grams of soy protein per 100 ml
serving.
Source:
Euromonitor International

STABILIZERS FOR
SOY BEVERAGES

Stabilizers are water-soluble polysaccharides extracted from land

or marine plants or from microorganisms. Adding stabilizers helps
create the network required to suspend particles, increase viscosity,
and improve mouth-feel. They are
used for thickening and stabilizing
properties. There are many types
of stabilizers available which are
unique in their own way:
Carrageenan, which is derived
from red seaweed, is commonly
used as a stabilizer in soy milk.
The carrageenan forms a helix
with negatively charge sulphate
group. Carrageenans are grouped
into kappa, lambda and Iota carrageenan according to their chemical
composition. To achieve the best
results while using carrageenan,
the filling temperature will have to
be less than 25 oC in order to form
the carrageenan network. This
network wills lose its gel strength if
subjected to high temperature.
Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC)
is becoming increasingly polpular
as a stabilizer in chocolate beverages. MCC is derived from plant
fibres and is often used in combination with carrageenan for synergic effect. With shear, MCC forms
a three-dimensional matrix and is
not affected by temperature.

When suspension of particles is

required, gellan gum is often used.
Gellan gum is produced by fermentation of algae. There are two
types of gellan gum namely high
acyl gellan gum and low acyl gellan gum. Gellan gum form gels in
which particles are trapped.
Pectin, mainly extracted from citrus peels is often used in low pH
beverages. They are used as a
gelling agent, thickening agent and
stabilizer in food.

THE CHALLENGE OF
CHOCOLATE SOY DRINKS

The challenge in getting a stable and uniform soy product lies

in choosing the right emulsifier
and stabilizer blend (E/S), especially in chocolate soy beverages.
Under-dosing / unsuitable E/S
will cause sedimentation whereas
over-dosing will cause separation
and/or gelation. Numerous factors
have to be taken into consideration
when using any E/S blends: The %
of total solid, % of fat, % of protein, % and type of cocoa powder
used all have some effect on the
end product. Beside that, the type
of heat treatment plays a part too:
Pasteurization, ultra high temperature (UHT) and retort are the three
common types of heat treatments
used on soy beverages. Least
heat is used in pasteurization
hence the shorter shelf-life of the

product. Retort will be the harshest

heat treatment to soy beverage.
The dosage of E/S need to be adjusted according to the type of heat
treatment to be used.
Creating a stable chocolate soy
beverage is more difficult than a
chocolate milk as it contains more
fibres. By using a standard carrageenan system, the network will
be not good enough to hold the
cocoa particulates. A microcrystalline cellulose or gellan gum system
will help in creating the network required for such application. Other
factors such as filling temperature
will also have an effect on the stability of the end product. Palsgaard
has developed E/S solutions for
filling temperature suited for both
below and above 30 oC . In addition to the neutral pH soy beverage
(see recipe suggestion in figure 1),
we also have created an acidified
soy drink with a low pH of around
4.0 (see recipe suggestion in figure
3). A refreshing soy drink that can
be flavoured with juice concentrate
such as orange, apple, mango and
many others depending on local
tastes and preferences. As it is a
low pH beverage, please note that
the heat treatment must be set to
110 oC / 4 sec, as low pH and high
heat treatment will cause protein to
be precipate out.

INTEGRATED BLENDS OF
EMULSIFIERS & STABILIZERS

Palsgaard provides blended and

integrated emulsifiers and stabilizer for use in soy beverages. In
integrated blends emulsifiers and
stabilizers are mixed and spray
crystallized. This offers a number
of advantages during production,
such as:

No dust formation
during handling

Without the
right emulsifier/
stabilizer
system

With the right

emulsifier/
stabilizer
system

100% uniform composition

Dispersible at low
temperature

No pre-blending necessary
Free flowing properties

EXTENSIVE
APPLICATION SERVICE

Palsgaard has well-equipped application centers in Denmark, Singapore, Mexico and China that
enable us to work on creating the
right blends for any given market
taking soy milk quality, recipe,
proc
ess conditions as well as
sensory preferences into consideration. Our equipment enables us
to work with as well pasteurized,
UHT-treated as sterilized products
and to make shelf life studies covering the entire shelf life of the soy
beverages. As a starting point, we
often use recipe suggestions such
as those shown in figures 1 - 3,
which we then tailor together with
the customer to meet their exact
requirements.
For further information contact
Senior Application Technologist
Khoreen New at khoreen@
palsgaard.com.sg or Tel: + 65
6468 6905.

References:

1: Euromonitor Soy drinks

http://www.portal.euromonitor.com/Portal/
Pages/Magazine/WelcomePage.aspx
2: Euromonitor Soy milk
http://www.portal.euromonitor.com/Portal/
Pages/Magazine/WelcomePage.aspx
3: History of soy milk and dairy like soy
milk products.
http://www.soyinfocenter.com/HSS/
soymilk1.php
4: On gellan gum
http://www.moleculargastronomynetwork.
com/19-additives/Gellan-Gum.html
5: http://www.soyfoods.org/wp-content/
uploads/2006/11/smstands.pdf

Figure 1:
Recipe suggestion for soy drinks with
neutral pH
Palsgaard RecMilk 122
Soy base (5% protein, 2% fat)

0.20%
45.00%

Sugar

2.00%

Water

52.80%

Composition of solids
Fat

1.00%

Protein

2.25%

Total solids

11.00%

Figure 2:
Recipe suggestion for chocolate soy milk
with neutral pH
Palsgaard RecMilk 131 or
Palsgaard ChoMilk 173
Soy base (5.6% protein, 2.8% fat)

0.20%
53.60%

Sugar

6.00%

Cocoa powder

0.80%

Water

39.40%

Composition of solids
Fat
Protein
Total solids

1.50%
3.00%
13.00%

Figure 3:
Recipe suggestion for acidified soy drink
with low pH*
Palsgaard AcidMilk 372 or
Palsgaard AcidMilk 374
Soy base (5.6% protein, 2.8% fat)

0.40%
22.00%

Sugar

8.00%

Juice concentrate**

6.00%

Water

63.60%

Composition of solids
Fat

0.60%

Protein

1.20%

Total solids

13.00%

* To add citric acid solution for targeted pH

** Please note when processing the acidified
product, to cool down the stabilizer solution
to less than 25 oC before adding the soy base
and juice concentrate (to prevent precipitate of
protein).