Meal Replacement Shake Powder

A meal replacement shake powder is not a protein powder with vitamins thrown in. It is a compositionally defined food, and the definition is tight. Codex CXS 181-1991, the Standard for Formula Foods for Use in Weight Control Diets, gives the category its legal name — the label name shall be "Meal Replacement for Weight Control" — and sets 200–400 kcal (835–1670 kJ) per meal for a product replacing one or more meals. The EU route is narrower. Directive 96/8/EC was repealed on 20 July 2016 by Regulation (EU) 609/2013, and meal replacements for weight control moved out of the dietetic-foods regime into general food law, where the category is now defined by the conditions of use attached to two health claims in Regulation (EU) 432/2012 as amended by Commission Regulation (EU) 2016/1413. Those conditions became mandatory in full on 14 September 2019. The numbers Thovek formulates to are the 2016/1413 set. Energy is 200–250 kcal (840–1046 kJ) per meal — note that this is a real narrowing from the old 200–400 kcal window and from Codex, and it is the single most common reason an existing formula fails an EU review. Protein supplies 25–50% of the total energy of the product, with a chemical index at least 80% of the FAO/WHO (1985) reference protein; where the index falls below 100% the minimum protein level is raised to compensate. Fat contributes no more than 30% of energy and linoleic acid is at least 1 g as glycerides. Every vitamin and mineral is present at a minimum of 30% of the Annex XIII nutrient reference values of Regulation (EU) 1169/2011 — fluoride, chromium, chloride and molybdenum are exempt from that rule — with sodium at not less than 172.5 mg and potassium at not less than 500 mg per meal. The regulation sets no fibre minimum, on the reasoning that the rest of the diet supplies it; where a buyer wants a fibre claim we formulate to at least 1.5 g per 100 kcal for "source of fibre" or 3 g per 100 kcal for "high fibre". Three base platforms are offered and they are not interchangeable on the allergen declaration. The dairy platform runs whey protein concentrate 80 with milk protein concentrate and is a MILK allergen. The mixed platform adds soy protein isolate and carries MILK and SOY. The plant platform is pea and rice protein, blended to close the amino-acid gaps that either protein leaves alone, and is free of both. One trap deserves naming: MCT powder, the usual fat carrier in this format, is very often spray-dried onto sodium caseinate, which is a milk protein — a plant-platform lot built with the wrong MCT grade will fail a dairy-free audit. Thovek specifies acacia- or tapioca-carrier MCT for the plant platform as standard. Oat and barley-malt carriers are excluded unless a buyer asks for them, so the default blend is gluten-free by formulation and verified by test.