The World’s First Cranberry Probiotic Peanut Butter Cup?

May 19, 2016

Article

Cranberry powder acts as a powerful prebiotic source to feed LactoSpore’s beneficial bacteria.

Photo from Fruit d'Or Nutraceuticals

An exciting new concept product showcases how cranberry protein powder can be effectively combined with probiotics in a very delicious way. At last month’s Ingredient Marketplace trade show in Orlando, FL, cranberry supplier Fruit d’Or Nutraceuticals (Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, QC, Canada) handed out samples of what it calls the first-ever organic chocolate peanut butter cup containing LactoCran, a symbiotic combination of Fruit d’Or’s CranNaturelle cranberry protein powder and Sabinsa Corp.’s (East Windsor, NJ) LactoSpore probiotic strain.

As the suppliers began discussing in 2014, cranberry powder acts as a powerful prebiotic source to feed LactoSpore’s Bacillus coagulans MTCC 5856 beneficial bacteria. “The cranberry powder contains carbon and nitrogen, which feeds the Bacillus coagulans MTCC 5856 to give it fuel and provide its energy source,” Fruit d’Or explains in a new press release. Stating that cranberry contains 40%–50% fiber and 20%–25% protein, Fruit d’Or explains that “the combination of fiber and protein creates a tailor-made synbiotic effect.”

As a result of the synbiotic benefit, Fruit d’Or claims testing shows the LactoSpore probiotic “has 200% more activity growth when combined with the cranberry than [a prebiotic substrate like] FOS [fructooligosaccharides].”

Anurag Pande, PhD, Sabinsa’s vice president of scientific affairs, confirmed the synbiotic relationship between LactoSpore and CranNaturelle. “We were pleasantly surprised to see how the cranberry synergistically worked with our probiotic strain, providing greater results than using FOS as a fiber. There seems to be a synbiotic effect when the two ingredients are formulated together. The cranberry fits the requirement of our Bacillus coagulans MTCC 5856.”

So, where did the peanut butter cup idea come from? Stephen Lukawski, director of sales and business development for Fruit d’Or and CEO of RS Specialty Ingredients, said in the press release that it’s a “great-tasting, healthy, guilt-free snack for those consumers looking for an energy boost” as well as digestive support. Each peanut butter cup provides 1.5 g of cranberry protein powder and 2 billion CFU of probiotics.

“We’re taking the peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich story up several notches,” he added. He said cranberry powder is also suited for smoothies, nutrition bars, yogurt, baked goods, and beverages.