PROJECT RESULTS

Research and Development of Sweet Alternative Desserts

Applicant: 

Connie Tanasichuk

Sweet Alternative Desserts

Grandview, Manitoba  R0L 0Y0

ARDI Project:

#01-499

Project Status:

Completed March, 2007

Report as submitted by Connie Tanasichuk.

I have been in the food service industry since 1987 and established my own successful catering business operating under the name of Bee-Jay’s Country Kitchen.  All foods are prepared in my government inspected commercial kitchen.

In March, 2000 I was encouraged by a friend who was diabetic to produce a food product that was suitable for people on restricted diets, namely diabetics.  With my banquets I also noticed that fewer people were taking desserts because they were diabetic.  So with the encouragement of my friend and family, and knowing that there was a need for a product that didn’t have sugar, I started to do research on diabetes and the food products that were available at that time for people on restricted diets.

I obtained a Blue Box information package from the Food Development Centre in Portage la Prairie and I toured their facility.

Many hours were spent researching on the internet and reading books about the various alternative sweeteners that were available and about the rapid increase of diabetes in our country.  After a tremendous amount of research, aggravation, dedication and 1500 plus man hours, Sweet Alternative Desserts was created.

Other activities of my research were:

• Attending meetings in different communities with the Diabetes Association support group.

• Talking with grocery store managers in the Parkland and researching the stores’ inventory for similar products that I wanted to produce.

• Meeting with the Health Department of the West Region Tribal Council – because diabetes amongst First Nations is rampant.

• Meeting with the Parkland Regional Health Authority’s Diabetes Educator, Kevin Thiele.

All the people and the groups that I met were very supportive in my commitment of researching and the possibility of producing a product geared for people on sugar restricted diets.

Also, as part of my research I attended the following:

• Diabetes Forum in Winnipeg

• The Food and Beverage Show in Edmonton

• The Manitoba Food and Beverage Show in Winnipeg

• The 2001 Western Canadian Conference on the Food Industry in Winnipeg

At this point of my research I decided it was time to put my knowledge into formulating some recipes for my products.

Products were developed to the principles of the diabetes diet, and also to benefit other health conditions such as heart disease and obesity.  This increases its potential marketability from both a disease specific perspective as well as a healthy choice perspective for the average consumer who is conscious for healthy food choices.  Due to the rampant growth of diabetes in our country it opens up a wide market to cover most age groups and genders.  A prime example is now in the aboriginal population.

I developed five products:

1. No sugar added fruit cake.

2. No sugar added fruit cake with dried cranberries/cherries.

3. No sugar added carrot/raisin cake with low fat cream cheese.

4. No sugar added carrot/pineapple cake with low fat cream cheese frosting.

5. No sugar added ice cream.

With all these five products I attended Rural Forum in April of 2001.  I was overwhelmed at the positive response I received from my products.  About 90% of the people that visited my booth were diabetics and wanted to know when my products were going to be available in the cities.  That was a clear indication to me that there was a need and a redeemed market for my products.

Baking was truly a challenge.  Many days my baking ended up in the garbage.  But determination, support from my family and the strong will to produce a final product that tasted good and had widespread appeal encouraged me to continue.  My biggest challenge was to find the right sweetener to make my products palatable.  I wanted to stay away from artificial sweeteners because I wanted to keep my creations as natural as possible.

After many countless hours of product development, I found out that trying to focus on all give products was just mind boggling.  After tremendous frustration, I decided to work with the Food Science Department of the University of Manitoba and applied for an ARDI grant..

I have never looked back.

After a few meetings with Dr. Arnie Hydamaka, Senior Instructor, Food Science Department, and a couple of colleagues from the University of Manitoba, we decided to limit my product development to one item, and was encouraged to try the fruit cake recipes as they would have longer shelf life and be rich in healthy, natural ingredients.

I decided to focus on the “No Sugar Added” Christmas Cake.  As this cake is only marketable seasonally, I decided to introduce the “No Sugar Added” Tropical Fruit Cake which would be marketed year round.  Dr. Arnie Hydamaka provided research on more alternative sweeteners, keeping in mind that I wanted the sweeteners as natural as possible.  The two sweeteners the Food Science Department suggested were maltitol (sugar alcohol) and eridex.

My original recipe was then reformulated to produce a standardized recipe of manufacture.  A standardized recipe of manufacture for laboratory test trails was developed by Alice Kuo and staff at the Food Science Department.  This standardized recipe was to improve product texture by providing more cohesiveness and appropriate moisture levels as well as added sweetness and adjusted flavours.  A key goal in formulation was to include ingredients that were suitable and/or could have advantages in a diabetic diet.

After several months of baking and experimenting with the new standardized recipe of manufacture for the two fruit cakes, the Food Science Department recommended that I continually send in my batch baking for shelf life testing, microbial testing for yeast and mold, and sensory evaluation for flavour and texture.

In the spring of 2006, my standardized recipe of manufacture for both my fruit cakes was complete and ready for manufacture.  In the fall of 2006, the nutritional analysis was completed on both products. 

My husband and I designed the packaging for the cakes.  My husband was also involved with the project as he had built the crates that my cakes are packaged in.

The labels were my original design with approval and support from Alice Kuo and Dr. Arnie Hydamaka.  They felt the labels were unique and promoted my product well.  They assisted me in taking my label design and producing a copy which could be printed on my computer.  This was a tremendous help as I was going to the printers to print my labels, which was costly.

Where Do I Go from Here:

The journey up to this point has been a huge learning experience, and at times overwhelming and frustrating.  Through the years of my product development, Nutter’s Wholesale Foods in Dauphin has been very supportive of my endeavour and have been selling my products through their store.  I have been selling product at our local grocery store, Shop Easy Foods and from my business. I have been invited to promote my product at Rural Forum in April, 2007.  One part of the journey is over and now another journey begins – marketing.  I look forward to the challenge.

Acknowledgements:

Thank you Dr. Arnie Hydamaka, Alice Kuo and colleagues of the Food Science Department, University of Manitoba for all your hard efforts and assistance in making my project and product a success.

This project was made possible due to funding from the Governments of Manitoba and Canada through the Canada-Manitoba Agri-Food Research and Development Initiative (ARDI).

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