Liga Milkbreak
Nutrition manager:
Jacqueline van Schaik, Kraft Foods Nederland BV
Less saturated fat in Liga Milkbreak
Part of LU’s mission is to create healthy snacks. The composition of the biscuits is therefore constantly monitored and adjusted to changing recommendations and standards.
Since 1998 LU has been improving the composition of Liga Milkbreak. The reason was that the Netherlands Nutrition Centre had included the biscuit in the red group: consume in moderation, infrequently. It contained too many unhealthy fats.
Therefore many improvements have been made over the last 10 years.
LIGA MilkBreak now contains 35% less saturated fat in comparison to the average milk biscuits on the market. The sugar content over the years reduced by 25% and the percentage of fibre increased by 55%.
The first step was to reduce the trans fat content to less than 5% of the total of fat content. Therefore the quantity of trans fat was reduced by 96%. After this was accomplished it was considered how Milkbreak could be further improved nutritionally by, for example, reducing saturated fat. Where previously coconut oil was used, currently sunflower and rapeseed oil are used. These oils contain less saturated fat and more monounsaturated fats.
Preserving crunchiness proved to be a separate technological challenge. The liquid milk filling must be hardened off before the biscuits are wrapped. The square biscuit with a real milk filling is meant for children from 4 to 8 years. When they are on the go, it is nice to have a snack every now and then, for example when they are at school. It than should not be the case that at the time the snack is eaten, the filling has become liquid. The biscuit should therefore not lose its crunchiness and that has technically been achieved.
Thus, the challenge of this innovation was to keep the taste, structure and storage life. More than two years have been spent finding out what was technically possible and what was not. The solutions have been found through adjusting the ingredients, adding new ingredients and adjusting the production process.
Liga Milkbreak
| History | 1985 | 2006 | 2007 | 2009 |
| Saturated fat/100 g | 12 % | 7,9 % | 7,9 % | 6,7 g |
| Trans fats/100 g | 2.5 % | < 0.1 % | < 0.1 % | < 0.1 % |
| Fibre/100 g | 2 % | 2 % | 3.1 % | 3.1 % |
| Sugars/100 g | 28 % | 24 % | 21 % | 21 % |
| Sodium/ 100 g | 450 mg | 330 mg | ||
| Kcal per biscuit | 100 (22 g) |
94 | 91 | 90 (20,4 g) |
Milkbreak is a good source of iron, calcium and vitamin B6.
Key points:
- LU has clear objectives and constantly applies the same concept in order to innovate
- The appearance and the crunchiness of Milkbreak created a separate technological challenge
- Liga Milkbreak meets the criteria for responsible snacks
- Innovating = making adjustments in the choice of ingredients and/or the technological possibilities.
