Gadot develops calcium for fortified syrups, concentrates

Gadocal Extreme was developed in response to industry need for a source of calcium that is fully soluble and does not settle. While ingredients are available that get around this for ordinary beverages, syrups and concentrates pose a particular problem since the dilution ration is low - around 1 to 4-7 litres.

Gadot marketing VP Ronny Hacham called the ingredient a "potential breakthrough for calcium fortification"​.

The patented ingredient is said to dissolve instantly without causing sedimentation at any practical level of fortification, and to provide high bioavailability.

"Now we can help syrup producers target the children market with a healthy image product,"​ added Hacham.

The children's market for healthy products is a particularly hot area right now, as a number of countries have been clamping down on the marketing of sweet drinks and snacks to children, including banning vending machines in schools.

Moreover, it is much easier to persuade a child to consume a good-tasting food or beverage than to take a tablet or capsule.

Beverages are also seeing rapid growth within the functional and fortified sector, and mainstream players such as Coca Cola and Pepsi are making high profile entries into what was once a very specialised area.

Just this week, PepsiCo announce the launch of vitamin-enriched, flavoured SoBe Life Water throughout the US.

As for calcium-fortification, however, there are indications that sedimentation is a problem in some products on the market.

A study carried out at Creighton University and published in Nutrition Today in February 2005 found that the calcium actually available in some soy and rice drinks can be as much as 85 percent lower than the amount on the product label, owing to the mineral settling at the bottom of the pack.