FIGURING OUT MY CHEESE WAFER

For this post we are going to focus on food additives and vitamins or minerals containing in my favorite cheese wafers. Below are the nutrition label and ingredients listed in this food:

• Wheat Flour
• Sugar
• Vegetable oil (contains Antioxidant TBHQ)
• Whey Powder
• Cheese Powder (contains Flavour Enhancer Monosodium Glutamate and Disodium-5-Ribonucleotide, Colouring Ponceau 4R Cl 16255 and Sunset Yellow FCF CI 15985)
• Milk Powder
• Soy Lecithin
• Salt
• Sodium Bicarbonate
• Vitamin (A, B1, B2, B6, B12)

1. FOOD & ADDITIVES

Foods: wheat flour, vegetable oil, milk powder, and salt.

Additives: sugar, soy lecithin, sodium bicarbonate, vitamins, whey, and cheese powder.

• Sugar is used as a sweetener so as to provide sweetness.
• Soy lecithin is an emulsifier, allowing smooth mixing of ingredients, preventing separation, and helping the product dissolve more easily.
• Sodium Bicarbonate, commonly known as baking soda, is used as a leavening agent which makes the baked good rise.
• Vitamins such as Vitamin B1 and B2 are nutrients added in order to replace vitamins and minerals lost during manufacturing or processing.
• Whey powder is a stabilizer as well as thickener to produce uniform texture, and increase “mouth-feel”.
• Cheese powder (contains Flavour Enhancer Monosodium Glutamate and Disodium-5-Ribonucleotide, Colouring Ponceau 4R Cl 16255 and Sunset Yellow FCF CI 15985) is most commonly used for flavor value, and provides color to colorless food.

2. VITAMINS

• Vitamin B1 (also known as Thiamine), is a water-soluble B vitamin. Since thiamine easily dissolves in water, a significant amount of the vitamin is lost when cooking with water. According to the NIH, thiamine is important for energy metabolism and, therefore, in the growth, development, and function of cells. Vitamin B1 can be found in many foods including yeast, whole grains, nuts, beans and pork. According to the NIH, a deficiency of vitamin B1 leads to weight loss and anorexia, short-term memory loss, muscle weakness, and cardiovascular symptoms.

• Vitamin B2, which is commonly known as Riboflavin, is an essential element of two coenzymes: flavin mononucleotide (FMN) and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD). These coenzymes help the body break down proteins, carbohydrates and fats to produce energy. Furthermore, riboflavin is also crucial to cellular function, growth, and development, and  red blood cell formation. Riboflavin is primarily found in eggs, meat, poultry, seafood, dairy products, and vegetables such as spinach and mushrooms. Deficiency of riboflavin is rare in developed countries because it is a vitamin found in many common foods. However, riboflavin deficiency can cause skin disorders, hyperemia (excess blood), swollen, cracked lips, hair loss, reproductive problems, sore throat, itchy and red eyes, and degeneration of the liver and nervous system.

3. CARBOHYDRATES

Sugar is coming from the sugar. Glucose (simple sugar) is the main sugar contributing sugar to this wafer. Below is the glucose molecule:

Fibers are coming from wheat flour (I guess there is not much in this product so it is not listed). It is soluble fiber.

There are 24 calories from carbohydrates in one serving. Each gram of carbohydrates contains 4 calories, and one wafer has 6 grams of carbohydrates. Therefore, 24 calories in this wafer are contributed from carbohydrates.

References:

• Thiamine: https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Thiamin-HealthProfessional/
• Riboflavin: https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Riboflavin-HealthProfessional/