Course:FNH200/Assignments/2023/Earth's Own Unsweetened vs Regular Almond Milk

Brief Introduction

Earth’s Own is a Canadian brand which promotes plant-based diet. This brand is specially popular among individuals who are shifting to more sustainable dairy-free products full of organic ingredients such as almond milk, oat milk, and soy milk. We will explore Earth's Own Almond Milk which has a creamy and rich almond taste, furthermore it is gluten-free, non-GMO and vegan. This dairy-free milk comes in different flavours such as vanilla, chocolate, and salted caramel and also there is an unsweetened version.

Unsweetened vs Original Almond Milk

Unsweetened Nutrition Facts & Ingredients vs Original Nutrition Facts & Ingredients

Unsweetened vs Original Almond Milk

Ingredient lists

Earth's Own Original Almond Milk
Almond Base (filtered water, almonds) Cane sugar Sea salt Gellan gum Locust bean gum Sunflower lecithin Natural flavour Vitamins and minerals (calcium carbonate, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D2, riboflavin, vitamin B12, zinc gluconate)

Earth's Own Unsweetened Almond Milk
Almond Base (filtered water, almonds) Sea salt Gellan gum Locust bean gum Sunflower lecithin Natural flavour Vitamins and minerals (calcium carbonate, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D2, riboflavin, vitamin B12, zinc gluconate)

Role of Substitutes & Additives

Fat Substitutes

There are no fat substitutes

Sugar Substitutes

Cane Sugar

Cane sugar is a sugar substitute for granulated sugar as it is minimally processed, it contributes to the flavour of almond milk by sweetening it.

Additives

Gellan Gum

Gellan Gum is a water soluble, polysaccharide additive that is often used as a stabilizer, emulsifier, and thickener in liquids. Gellan Gum is good to used in warm gels because it can withstand high heat.

Locust Bean Gum

Locust bean gum turns into a gel-like substance when mixed with water. It is an additive used to stabilize or enhance the thickness of a food product. Plant-based milk often lacks the naturally occurring fat featured in cow-based milk, therefore, locust bean gum is used to mimic the thick texture to satisfy consumer demands.

Calcium Carbonate

Calcium Carbonate is an additive that is a pH adjusting agent, because it can be used to regulate the acidity or alkalinity of foods such as fruit juices, pastes and preserves.

Tricalcium phosphate

It is a substitute of calcium phosphate and it is utilized to avoid calcium deficiency. It is an anticaking agent which prevents food particles from lumping and improves fluidity.

Riboflavin

Riboflavin is a water-soluble vitamin that acts as a colouring agent. It appears as a “yellow to orange-yellow, crystalline powder” that is mainly used for colouring of various food products.

Sunflower lecithin

Sunflower lecithin is a good alternative to the more common soybean lecithin. It is a natural emulsifier, suspending fats and oils and keeping them from mixing with other substances.

Labels

The following table shows the detailed description of the information found on the labels.

Requirements	Original Almond Milk	Unsweetened Almond Milk
Common Name	Earth’s Own Original Almond Milk	Earth’s Own Unsweetened Almond Milk
Bilingualism	English and French	English and French
Country of Origin	Vancouver BC, Canada	Vancouver BC, Canada
Data Marketing and Storage Instructions	Best consumed within 7-10 days of opening. Keep refrigerated. Freezing is not recommended.	Best consumed within 7-10 days of opening. Keep refrigerated. Freezing is not recommended.
Name and Principal Place of Business	Vancouver BC	Vancouver BC
Legibility & Location	All information is located at the back of the carton and is easy to read	All information is located at the back of the carton and is easy to read
Net Quantity	1.89 Litres	1.89 Litres
Nutrition Facts	per 1 cup (250 mL): calories - 80 fat - 3 g carbohydrates - 13 g protein - 1 g cholesterol - 0 mg sodium - 150 mg	per 1 cup (250 mL): calories - 35 fat - 3 g carbohydrates - 1 g protein - 1 g cholesterol - 0 mg sodium - 130 mg
Irradiation	Products are not irradiated so it is not on the labels	Products are not irradiated so it is not on the labels
List of Ingredients and Allergens	Produced in a facility that also processes tree nuts and soy follows strict allergen management protocols	Produced in a facility that also processes tree nuts and soy follows strict allergen management protocols
Sweeteners	Cane Sugar	x
Food Additives	Gellan Gum, Sunflower lecithin, Locust bean gum	Gellan Gum, Sunflower lecithin, Locust bean gum
Additional label details	Non-GMO, vegan, carrageenan free, dairy free, soy free, gluten free	Non-GMO, vegan, carrageenan free, dairy free, soy free, gluten free
Claim and Statement	The information mentioned above aligns with regulatory requirements stated in Lesson 4. The packaging contain a list of ingredients, nutritional facts, calories, storage and expiry details and further details are mentioned for both.

Compare and Contrast

Similarity: There are many similarities between both products. For example both of them contain almond base, gellan gum, sea salt, sunflower lecithin, locust bean gum, natural flavour, vitamins and minerals. Moreover, both products are preservative-free and instead pasteurization method is utilized, this accounts for the relatively short shelf-life of 7 to 10 days.

Difference: Earth’s Own Almond Milk (Original) has cane sugar (13 g sugar), and Earth’s Own Almond Milk (Unsweetened Original) does not have cane sugar (0 g sugar). Cane sugar makes the original version sweeter than unsweetened version, which also accounts for the difference in calories, the unsweetened version has 35 calories per 1 cup (250 mL), whereas the original contains 80 calories per 1 cup (250 mL). Moreover, the original version has 9 g of carbohydrates whereas the unsweetened version has 1 g per 250 mL.

References

This Food Science resource was created by Course:FNH200.