PARK RIDGE, Ill.—Americans snack 2.3 times per day and with the upcoming labeling law changes, egg ingredients will play an important role in the growing snacking and on-the-go culture, according to the American Egg Board.
With the new label changes, consumers will be able to determine what ingredients and nutrients snack foods contain making egg ingredients in new product designs an important part of the snack foods market.
“Key indicators show that increasingly consumers want snacks to be convenient and portable. The impressive sales growth of nutritional and snack bars helps illustrates this," said Elisa Maloberti, director, Egg Product Marketing, American Egg Board.
In nutrition or snack bars, eggs contribute functional properties such as binding or crumb structure and aid sensory characteristics like mouthfeel and texture. In addition, eggs are an excellent source of protein and a good source of naturally occurring vitamin D—both areas that will remain highlighted on FDA’s newly proposed nutrition labels.
“Not only do eggs contain an excellent source of protein, the protein in real eggs is easily digestible and readily available," said Maloberti. “This helps create more nutritious snacks that truly satisfy hunger pangs. And whether in liquid or dried form, formulators can rely on egg ingredients to supply the functionality needed in snack applications while contributing to a clean or more 'transparent label statement.'"