Gummies help vegans get their vitamins

Washington: Worldwide, millions of people follow vegan and vegetarian diets for religious, ethical, environmental, or economic reasons. While these diets have purported health benefits, they can also lack essential nutrients, such as vitamins B12 and D3, if not well-planned or supplemented correctly. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Food Science and Technology have packed a strawberry-flavored […]

Washington: Worldwide, millions of people follow vegan and vegetarian diets for religious, ethical, environmental, or economic reasons. While these diets have purported health benefits, they can also lack essential nutrients, such as vitamins B12 and D3, if not well-planned or supplemented correctly.

Now, researchers reporting in ACS Food Science and Technology have packed a strawberry-flavored gummy with these vitamins, formulating it without any animal products so vegans and vegetarians can reach their recommended daily allowances (RDA).

Some essential vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin B12, are found exclusively in animal products, while others can be obtained from other sources.

One solution could be to put them into emulsion-filled gels, such as gummy candies. Previous researchers have shown that pectin, a plant-based polysaccharide, can be used as a gelling agent in animal product-free foods.

So, Samantha Pinho and colleagues wanted to see if they could use only plant-based ingredients, such as pectin, to produce a gummy candy enriched with vitamins B12 and D3 that would be acceptable to consumers. To develop this into a suitable food product, the researchers added a natural strawberry flavour and moulded the gel into half-inch-wide candies.

In sensory tests, 120 untrained panelists gave the gummies high scores for taste, colour, aroma and overall acceptability.