According to some reports India is the world’s largest malt based drinks market with big players present here. In India malt based beverages are also called health drinks as they are fortified with nutrition and used to enhance the taste of milk. Malt has always been a part of the diet of growing children and the elderly as a nutritious supplement. Malt is used as a dietary supplement in a low-protein diet as it contains more than 30 essential minerals, elements and vitamins including folic acid important for pregnant women and the foetus.
The definition of malt extract also demonstrates the malting process. “Malt is the product obtained from germinated barley. Barley is first softened after cleaning by steeping with water and then allowed to germinate under controlled conditions. The germinated grain then undergoes the stages of drying, grinding, extracting, filtering, and evaporating, to produce Malt Extract with 78 to 80% solids content.” Malting allows the starches in the grains to change into sugars, such as glucose and fructose.
Types of Malts
In food processing various types of malts are available in the form of extracts, syrups, liquid or dry, enzymatic or non-enzymatic, dark or light coloured. Most people buy and use malts according to the flavour and colour, enzyme systems, texture, and eye appeal in the finished product. malts are popular as they are nutritious and are easy to digest as they contain digestible carbohydrates, low sucrose content, proteins, vitamins, minerals, enzymes that are broken down. Malts also have a distinctive flavour and are selected for their nutritious content.
Malt Syrup and Malt Extract are terms used for the thick and sticky water extract of germinated barley or other cereal grains. Malt Extract and Malt Syrup are brown, sweet, gluey liquids which may or may not contain diastatic enzymes. Malts can be used in foods with no limitation other than good manufacturing practices.
Malt powders are called diastatic and nondiastatic. In diastatic malts active enzymes transform starches into sugars and this powder is used when baking bread. Nondiastatic malt powder has no active enzymes, and is commonly used in malt drinks for enhancing flavour. It can contain sugar, colours and other additives.
Malted milk is a dry gruel made from a mixture of malted barley, wheat flour, and whole milk, which is evaporated until it forms a powder.
Malted whiskies are made from a fermented mixture of malt and water. When produced by a single grain at a single distillery, a malted whisky is called single-malt.
Food products that have malts
Malts are used by many segments of the food industry and are used according to their solid content, enzymatic activity, colour, pH factor, ability to reduce sugar level, protein, ash and microbiological profiles. Malts are used in cereals, baked foods, biscuits, bagels, some varieties of bread rolls, waffles, pancakes confectionery, soya milk and other beverages, infant foods, ice-cream, chocolate based foods, vinegar and even in pet foods and pharmaceuticals. Generally vitamins, hot extracts, cod liver oil, powdered milk, vegetable fats, medicines, and various tonics are added to malt. Ice-creams and yoghurt are enhanced by adding malt to them.
Packaging
Health drinks need to be packed in hermetically sealed tin containers or glass bottles or other moisture-proof containers – such as rigid containers made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE) or containers made from flexible packaging material such as laminates of paper, polyethylene and aluminium foil. Most of the brands in India are packed in HDPE or polypropylene (PP) material or glass jars.
FSSAI standards for malt food products
Food Safety and Standards (Food Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011 has separated Malted Milk Foods from Malt Based Food Products and has separate standards for each group.
Malted Milk Food means the product obtained by mixing whole milk, partly skimmed milk or milk powder with the wort separately from a mash of ground barley malt, any other malted cereal grain and wheat flour or any other cereal flour or malt extract with or without addition of flavouring agents and spices, emulsifying agents, eggs, protein isolates, edible common salt, sodium or potassium bicarbonate, minerals and vitamins and without added sugar in such a manner as to secure complete hydrolysis of starchy material and prepared in a powder or granule or flake form by roller drying, spray drying, vacuum drying or by any other process. It may contain cocoa powder. It shall be free from dirt and other extraneous matter. It shall not contain any added starch (except starch natural to cocoa powder) and added non-milk fat. It shall not contain any preservative or added colour. Malted milk food containing cocoa powder may contain added sugar.
Standards for Malted Milkfood according to FSSAI
Parameter | Malted milkfood without Cocoa powder | Malted milkfood with Cocoa powder |
Moisture | Not more than 5 per cent by weight | Not more than 5 per cent by weight |
Total protein (N x 6.25) (on dry basis) | Not less than 12.5 per cent by weight. | Not less than 11.25 per cent by weight |
Total fat (on Dry basis) | Not less than 7.5% by weight | Not less than 6% by weight |
Total ash (on dry basis) | Not more than 5% by weight | Not more than 5% by weight |
Acid insoluble ash (on dry basis) (in dilute HCl) | Not more than 0.1 per cent by weight | Not more than 0.1 per cent by weight |
Solubility | Not less than 85% by weight | Not less than 80% by weight |
Cocoa powder (on dry basis) | Not less than 5.0% by weight | |
Test for starch | Negative | |
Bacterial count | Not more than 50,000 per gram | Not more than 50,000 per gram |
Coliform count | Not more than 10 per gram | Not more than 10 per gram |
Yeast and mould count | absent in 0.1 gm | |
Salmonella and Shigella | absent in 0.1 gm | |
E.Coli | absent in 0.1 gm | |
Vibrio cholera and V.Paraheamolyticus | absent in 0.1 gm | |
Faecal streptococci and Staphylococcus aureas | absent in 0.1 gm |
Malt Based Foods or Malt Food means the product obtained by mixing malt (wort or flour or malt extract) of any kind obtained by controlled germination of seeds (cereals and/or grain legumes), involving mainly steeping germination and kiln drying processes with other cereal and legume flour with or without whole milk or milk powder, flavouring agents, spices, emulsifying agents, eggs, egg powder, protein isolates, protein hydrolysates, edible common salt, liquid glucose, sodium or potassium bicarbonate minerals, amino acids and vitamins. It may contain added sugar and/or cocoa powder and processed in such a manner to secure partial or complete hydrolysis of starchy material in the form of powder or granules or flakes by drying or by dry mixing of the ingredients. The grains, legumes and their products used in preparation of malt shall be sound, uninfested and free from insect fragments, rat excreta, fungal infested grains or any other type of insect or fungal damage.
Standards for malt foods are as follows
(a) Moisture – Not more than 5 per cent, by weight
(b) Total Protein (N x 6.25) (on dry basis) – Not less than 7.0 per cent, by weight
(c) Total ash (on dry basis) – Not more than 5 per cent, by weight
(d) Acid insoluble ash (in dilute HCl) – Not more than 0.1 per cent, by weight
(e) Total plate count – Not more than 50,000 per gram.
(f) Coliform count – Not more than 10 per gram.
(g) Yeast and Mould Count – Not more than 100 per gram.
(h) E Coli -Absent in 10 gram.
(i) Salmonella and Shigella -Absent in 25 gram
(j) Alcoholic Acidity – Not more than 0.30 per cent. (expressed
as H2SO4) with 90 per cent alcohol (on dry
weight basis)
(k) Vibrio cholera and
V.Paraheamolyticus – absent in 0.1 gm
(l) Faecal streptococci and – absent in 0.1 gm
Staphylococcus aureas
meera says
Hi ,
We have our product baked (non-fried) rice chips .
we want to retain the moisture of the rice chips . so which ingredients can be used to retain the moisture and keep it fresh and crunchy even after adding salt and sugar and the seasoning powder for taste.
pl note that the product is baked .
and it has a shell life of 5 months .
so please help us .
thanks & regards,
meera
+91 7767978654
INDIA