Carna4 has fielded several inquiries by customers questioning the effect of cooking temperatures on the probiotics and enzymes in our food.  Consumers wonder how hot our oven is, and if nutrients are destroyed in the heat.   The common belief that heat destroys vitamins, probiotics and enzymes at 120 degrees Celsius is based on studies involving two variables that are not part of the Carna4 production process: the use of synthetic nutrients, and the process of cooking with extremely high temperatures and pressures, known as extrusion. Carna4 employs neither of the above, and as a result, the nutrients in our whole food ingredients remain largely intact.

Laboratory analyses of Carna4 by leading food science R&D firm Mortec Scientific Inc. has proven that the authentic nutrients in Carna4 survive our gentle baking process for two specific reasons:

1)  All of the nutrients in Carna4 are supplied by whole food ingredients, not test tubes. The vitamins, probiotics and enzymes naturally found in food have been proven to be much more stable and resistant to temperature than their synthetic counterparts. Furthermore, gentle processing can actually have a beneficial effect on the bioavailability of certain nutrients. For example, according to Lichtenstein Russell (2005), gentle cooking of foods “may improve the bioavailability of micro- nutrients such as thiamin and iodine by destroying certain antinutritional factors (e.g., goitrogens, thiaminases)” and can also “enhance the bioavailability of thiamin, vitamin B-6, niacin, folate, and carotenoids by releasing them from entrapment in the plant matrix” (p. 354)

2)  Carna4 is made in small batches to ensure precise temperature control during baking. Our process involves cooking for a short period of time at moderate temperatures with no added pressure. We heat the nuggets until they reach an internal temperature of 194°F, which is the minimum requirement set by the European Union (which has the toughest standards) in order to get an effective pathogen kill. We then back off the temperature immediately, leaving most of the nutrition still in the food and bioavailable.

The important thing is that every batch of Carna4 is quarantined and analyzed before it is released. Since Carna4 uses whole foods to provide all of its nutrients, 3rd party laboratory testing is used to ensure that our food ingredients have provided Carna4 with our minimum nutrient guarantees. And we provide all this with no synthetic ingredients or additives in any form.

If you have any questions about the information we have provided please contact us at info@carna4.com.