INGREDIENTS
YOU CAN TRUST
Meet Keith, our co-founder, PhD in Organic Chemistry & Oxford University Researcher
WHAT GOES INTO OUR PRODUCT
Mostly in order of use (as shown on pack).
Our product base is a combination of water and locally sourced, UK oats. Like (probably) all oat products on the market, our oats have been treated with natural enzymes, which brings out their natural sweetness. Much of the sugar in our product comes from these oats. Our oats may contain Gluten through cross contamination.
We add some sugar and salt to help enhance our flavours. After all, this is our raison d'etre. We appreciate some people try to avoid added sugar, however we believe in moderation and we believe that your coffee is worth enjoying. Our sugar content is based on Ready To Drink coffee products, which typically contain ~8g per 100ml. The difference is with those products you have a 250ml serving (20g of sugar). With us, we recommend 50-100ml (4-8g) only.
We use non GMO Rapeseed Oil to add some fat and texture to the product. Rapeseed Oil is high in Omega-3 & 6 fats which can have a positive influence on heart health.
Inulin, or Chicory Root Fibre, is a prebiotic fibre. It can promote an healthy gut and is found in a whole variety of fruit and veg.
Dipotassium Phosphate is a water-soluble salt commonly used in products like ours to help stop 'feathering' when it's added to coffee. This is possible as it is "Basic" by nature, so it helps buffer the acidic pH of coffee to be more neutral. This is beneficial for you too, as too much acidity in the body is known to be problematic: causing issues from tooth decay to fatigue.
We use Natural Flavours in our product, made by extracting compounds from real ingredients to impart delicious flavours. The clever production method allows us to create flavours without allergens (hence why our hazelnut flavour is nut free!). We also use Natural Extracts such as Real Madagascan Vanilla. We're extremely careful to source from ethical suppliers and are looking to ensure the sustainability or this fantastic ingredient, as well as the well-being of those growing it.
What are Beta Glucans? Beta Glucans are found naturally in many foods: from some Mushrooms to Oats. They're fibre, and are known to help lower the unwanted cholesterol, whilst not affecting the good cholesterol. There is also lots of promising studies about the positive effects of Beta Glucans and your immune system.
Our Mono & Diglycerides are 100% sourced from rapeseed oil. We use these in the tiniest amount to help keep our product together and give it a bit of extra creaminess without the need to increase the fat and calorific count. this product has been used for decades in foods such as cakes and breads to ice creams and chocolates.
Guar Gum is extracted from Guar (a plant) beans and is a soluble fibre that has shown to help with many things including IBS. Gellan gum is also a soluble fibre and is found growing naturally on many plants such as lilies. Both of these products are used to help stabilise our product, especially when added to the acidic environment of coffee. We know you may have been tricked into thinking something called “gum” is bad, but there is really nothing to worry about here!
Steviol Glycosides (Stevia) is a natural sweetener extracted from the Stevia leaf, commonly found in South America. We use the tiniest amount of this just to add balance to our taste profile and keep sugar at a nice level. There is also research that suggests Stevia may also offer beneficial effects on health including antihyperglycemic, antihypertensive, antiinflammatory, antitumor, diuretic, and immunomodulatory (Chatsudthipong and Muanprasat, 2009).
Please feel free to get in touch if you have any questions about any of our ingredients: info@bearpawbakery.com
Please note however we cannot give advice on any specific dietary needs relating to a condition (such as diabetes). We advice you to always check with a doctor if you are unsure.
WHY WE MADE THIS PAGE
We get it, there are a lot of scary reports about different ingredients out there. And our ingredients list is certainly a bit bigger than some of the milk alt products on the market.
By the way, most of the reports are fake news, or at least a bending and manipulation of the truth.
For example, we do not use carrageenan, but, the OG report on Carrageenan that has resulted in mass hysteria was about a different type of seaweed (Carrageenan is extracted from Seaweed) being ingested in ridiculously high quantities by a few rats as part of a tiny study, and was heavily discredited years later. Unfortunately, some click bait pirates got hold of this outdated and inaccurate paper years later and decided to make some cash off it. Now, hundreds of thousands of links on the internet are misinformed and spread fear about a natural substance found all over the world.
Additionally to this, there is a huge misconception about many other ingredients, such as Palm Oil. We do not use palm oil. But we're not hating on those that do. Yes, there are issues with Palm, particularly with respect to deforestation, and nutritionally there are for sure better for you fats (though this link (which we do not endorse nor disagree with) suggests some pretty favourable benefits to it). However, there are huge comparable issues with many other products, including Soy and Coconut Oil, that have now replaced palm due to public outrage, but these products have not received quite the same attention. The problem is, there is a smear campaign about something, often driven by pseudo science, or one part of a report that gains wind without the full appreciation and understanding of the situation. This then causes issue for the industry as a whole who have to come up with solutions because people now assume something they are doing is bad (and we're not saying that many organisations aren't doing something bad). There are some excellent organisations out there that work to ensure sustainability is put at the forefront, for example, with Palm the RSPO.