Toll Manufacturing Minute with CPS: Functional Foods

Welcome to the Toll Processing Minute with Custom Processing Services! Each month we’ll sit down with an in-house expert to get their take on different aspects of toll processing — from best practices and processes to industry trends, current headlines, and more. Join us for short, thought-provoking conversations with Custom Processing Services team members for insights only experienced toll processors can deliver.

In this episode, Willow Slusser is back to discuss toll processing for functional foods.

Watch the episode now:

Jen Lepore: Welcome. Glad you're here. I'm Jen Lepore, Marketing Team Coordinator at Custom Processing Services, and today we have Willow Slusser, who's one of our business development managers. She and I are going to talk a little bit about toll processing for functional foods. So to give our audience some context, let's start off with a brief description or definition of functional foods.

Willow Slusser: Sure. Functional foods are foods that provide health benefits. They contain bioactive compounds, which have positive effects on the body, and they can also reduce the risk of disease as well.

Jen: Okay, so can you provide some examples of this?

Willow: Sure. So, I guess I'll start with the characteristics first. There are four different characteristics that I would categorize for this. One would be, it could be a natural product, but it could be processed. So, there are some processed foods that have been enhanced with nutrients or bioactives. Then, the health benefits—so that's a big characteristic, right? These are components like vitamins, minerals, fibers, antioxidants, and more, and then just our basic everyday diet requirements. And, to wrap it all up, it's scientific evidence that supports those health benefits. Examples of this would be our fruits and veggies, which provide vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants; whole grains, which offer fiber and nutrients as well; fortified foods—like many cereals are fortified now—and then probiotic foods. This is like added live bacteria for your gut health. There are also nuts and seeds; everyone’s on a kick with different nut flours and substitute peanut butters. These provide healthy fats, protein, micronutrients, and then there's fish with Omega-3s, which are also great for you.

Jen: So, we're going to go into the toll processing role. What role does a toll processor play in helping manufacturers develop these foods?

Willow: Sure. It’s a lot of specialized processing. Whether it be milling, blending, extraction, or classification, we're providing all of those expertise areas. R&D support is a big one, especially when companies are first developing a new product and they want to try, you know, multiple different formulas. There's process optimization—so increasing efficiency, increasing yield, ensuring good quality, and flexibility with scaling. For example, during the trialing portion, being able to scale up or down depending on what their needs are at the time, and then just cost efficiency in general. Especially when you're starting up a whole new line, a lot of companies don't want to invest in specialized equipment right away, so that's always a good option for us to play on.

Jen: So how are the nutritional benefits of functional ingredients maintained during toll processing?

Willow: That would be through controlled processing conditions. Temperature and moisture control are huge. This prevents any degradation that could happen. Some components are sensitive to light, so we'll put them in specialized packaging as soon as processing is done, so they aren't exposed to any light. Our humidity-controlled stations limit moisture because moisture can degrade certain bioactive ingredients. This is also important for trialing and process optimization in general. Knowing what parameters the equipment needs to be at allows us to have tight control, especially for things like micronization, where understanding what the equipment can do and being able to adjust is crucial.

Jen: You bring up a good point, and it leads into my next question. Why is particle size reduction so important for these applications?

Willow: Yeah, that's a great question. It improves quality, functionality, and consumer experience. For consumer experience, nobody wants to have a drink mix with chunky granules and that grainy feeling in their mouth. So it's super important for texture and mouthfeel. For blending, homogeneity is critical, especially in drink mixes where specific percentages of each component are added. If it's not homogenous, you're not getting the nutrients that the label tells you you're supposed to be getting. There's also enhanced bioavailability. When you micronize, you're exposing more surface area, which increases solubility and absorption in the body. Additionally, there’s stability and shelf life to consider as well. Smaller particles tend to stay in suspension longer, which is important for suspensions or dispersions. Larger particles tend to drop out. Increased reactivity is another benefit, which specifically improves the effectiveness of probiotics.

Jen: Is micronization and nano-sized particle reduction common?

Willow: Oh, absolutely, yeah. Especially when you're looking at certain particle size distributions. The more uniform that is, the better quality product you have.

Jen: That kind of takes us into achieving particle size reduction. To achieve their particle size reduction goals, what type of services does a functional food manufacturer look for in a toll processor?

Willow: In general, various types of milling, right? We have jet milling, wet milling, and mechanical milling, depending on what particle size is needed for that application. Having all of those options is really nice because it provides flexibility. Homogenization is another big one, whether wet or dry, using blenders and high-dispersion mixers. Many people also use classification in functional foods, which involves sorting particles by size and density, resulting in a very narrow particle size distribution. Quality control is another key aspect—having a variety of testing methods like laser diffraction or sieve analysis, and being able to customize processing, is crucial, especially when it’s a multi-step process.

Jen: How might a toll processor’s R&D experience help manufacturers with process validation and scaling to full production?

Willow: Just the knowledge that you can gain because we handle so many different materials. Often, we'll have customers come to us wanting to mill a similar material, so we have a solid starting ground. A good background and knowledge in different areas can really help.

Jen: Obviously, we're talking about food processing, and with the strict FDA regulations in play, what type of certifications does CPS hold to ensure compliance?

Willow: We are cGMP certified, which standardizes procedures, production, documentation, and quality control, reducing the risk of errors and contamination. We also have ISO 9001, which is our quality management system that covers all aspects of production from start to finish. This certification also includes continuous improvement and is very customer-focused. Depending on the application, we have HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) certification, which focuses on food safety, food safety management, and control of hazards within production. We also have FSSC 22000, a food safety system certification that ensures high levels of safety and quality for food products. Additionally, we have product-based certifications such as organic, gluten-free, kosher, and halal. Organic certification maintains the organic nature of the product, gluten-free ensures safety for consumers with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, and kosher and halal certifications ensure religious compliance.

Jen: Thanks for stopping by, Willow, and thanks to you for watching. Be sure to subscribe to our blog to get the latest episodes of our shows, news, and insights from our team of experts. We'll catch you next time.