COLDZYME

Conceptual Framework: A large portion of infant foods consists of products based on raw materials whose main component is starch. Starch is a mixture of two glucose polymers: amylose and amylopectin. Amylose is a linear molecule in which glucose monomers are linked by α-1,4-glycosidic bonds, while branching points are linked by α-1,6-glycosidic bonds. The hydrolysis of starch by the digestive system of mammals, as well as by a range of natural amylolytic microorganisms, occurs through the combined action of enzymes collectively called amylases.

Starch in Infant Foods – The Problem: During infancy, the digestive system is not fully developed. Therefore, the consumption of starchy foods can lead to reduced energy intake and digestive disturbances. A new technological trend addressing this problem is the partial pre-hydrolysis of starch using amylase mixtures. This process is expected to reduce viscosity and increase the sweetness of the final product while simultaneously enhancing the absorption of energy and nutrients by the infant. Additionally, it allows for a reduction in added sucrose, as the resulting oligosaccharides, while helping form elastic structures, also increase the hypoglycemic profile of the final product.

Currently available enzymes are amylase formulations from mesophilic fungi suitable for food use (GRAS – Generally Recognized As Safe). Their use in pre-hydrolyzing infant foods presents challenges that have hindered their widespread application. Since their hydrolytic action is not adapted to the starches of cereals used in infant foods, it is not possible to achieve the desired pre-hydrolysis profile and the corresponding rheological and sensory characteristics of the final product. Furthermore, these amylases have significant thermal stability, making their deactivation after pre-hydrolysis difficult, requiring high temperatures that increase costs, residence times, and degrade the final product. Incomplete deactivation, which is often inevitable, causes significant problems: since the product remains aqueous and at relatively high temperatures during production, the amylases can reactivate, directly affecting the rheological properties (viscosity reduction) on the production line. Similar issues also occur during preparation of the infant food by the consumer.

Objective of COLDZYME: The collaboration of the company with academic partners in the COLDZYME project aims primarily at the development, production, and evaluation of “tailor-made” psychrophilic amylase mixtures suitable for infant foods. For this purpose, a series of amylolytic enzymes will be produced and studied, and their activity will be evaluated on rice flour substrates used by the company. The aim is to produce an optimized amylase mixture and determine the optimal operating conditions in relation to the desired rheological and organoleptic characteristics of the final product.

The enzymes will be sourced from psychrophilic microbial genomes and metagenomes from cold environments, with the additional central goal of achieving innovation beyond the current technological state. Specifically, the final products should not exhibit residual amylolytic activity in the subsequent stages of the production line or during reconstitution of the final product. That is, the amylases should be fully deactivated at temperatures near or below the starch gelatinization temperature.