Food coating company Crisp Sensation’s ZeroFry crust is enabling manufacturers to produce crispy, crumb-coated snacks without the need for any frying. According to the company, ZeroFry is suited to health-conscious consumers who don’t want to compromise on taste. “The coatings guarantee a crunchy sensation and taste as pre-fried products, but allow for a 50 percent fat reduction and a considerable reduction in calories too,” says the company.

       Crumb-coated products are among the most popular snack products globally. Until now, it was only possible to achieve a crunchy outer coating and moist core by deep-frying or, in the case of convenience products designed to be oven-heated at home, by pre-frying using considerable amounts of fat during the production process. However, ZeroFry allows manufacturers of crumb-coated snacks to offer a healthier and convenient alternative.

       “Crumb-coated snacks in general usually have a higher fat content, because deep-frying is needed to get the right textural properties (read: crispiness of the outer layer, and juiciness of the core), and also flavor-wise because fat adds taste. Our ZeroFry solution brings the same attributes that we like about deep-fried products, but without ever needing to deep-fry,” Peter Smees, Project & Business Development Manager at Crisp Sensation, tells FoodIngredientsFirst.

       Christien van Beusekom, Chief Technical Officer at Crisp Sensation, also comments: “Snacking is an emerging global trend, so there is a real need to make snack products healthier without compromising on taste and texture. With ZeroFry, we also tackle the issue of acrylamide in fried products by offering safe alternatives. With this safe solution, snack manufacturers around the globe can easily adjust their range to modern nutrition needs.”

       Customers want to move to a completely non-deep-frying solution, as more and more consumers realize that at-home oven prepared products were indeed deep-fried in the factory, and are in most cases no healthier than traditional deep-fried home products, Smees notes.

       “We receive a lot of requests from customers who want to offer healthier products, with a reduced amount of fat and calories. We finally have a great solution available for them now,” he says. “Also, some clients currently only offer products meant for at home deep-frying but want to start with products meant for at-home oven preparation. These companies sometimes don’t have a deep fryer and industrial oven in their factory. With ZeroFry we have the ideal low investment solution for them.”

       “Manufacturers will have to install an oil sprayer, but this is a relatively low investment in comparison with other types of machinery, such as the industrial fryer,” adds Smees.

       Crisp Sensation also highlights that manufacturers can profit from technical and processing advantages. As pre-deep-frying is no longer necessary, production output is not limited to the capacities of the deep-fryer – often the bottleneck in the production line of crumb-coated snacks, says the company. The existing line set-up can still be used with the addition of an oil sprayer. Neither the production process nor the final preparation requires deep-frying, as ZeroFry crumbed products can be prepared in an oven or air fryer.

       Another benefit is that significant savings on oil, energy and cleaning can be achieved, as well as an increase in production and product safety. For substrates that dont require heating or cooking, this step in the production process can be skipped, reports Crisp Sensation.

       With ZeroFry, the typical Crisp Sensation benefits remain unchanged, says the company, such as their crispy bite, along with a juicy core that does not dry out, and the large variety of preparation methods at home such as oven or air fryer or impingement ovens in food service and even on airplanes.

       The evolution of Crisp Sensation technology has been interesting to follow. FoodIngredientsFirst first reported on the commercial adoption of this technology back in 2010, following years of development.

       In 2014, Dutch manufacturer of snack products Royaan launched the first products made with its breakthrough crumb coating with a comprehensive range of oven snacks under the brand name Kwekkeboom.