The Institute of Food Technologists Annual Meeting + Food Expo took place in Chicago, Ill. from July 17 to 20.
Food in Canada was at the show where more than 1,000 exhibiting companies highlighted or launched myriad products.
If you missed it, here’s a roundup of just a few of the products we saw. Look for more coverage in upcoming enewsletters.
And in case you were wondering, next year’s IFT takes place in New Orleans from June 11-15.
• Sensient Flavors LLC highlighted many of its sensory solutions and colour science.
Of its superfruit flavours, the company highlighted cranberry, an astringent red berry flavour, and mango, a ripe and sweet tropical flavour.
The company also highlighted what’s next in flavours. Some new flavours include baobab, a fruit native to Africa, which is high in antioxidants and vitamin C; caja, which is native to Brazil and has a high carotenoid content; chinotto, a small citrus fruit thought to have originated in China and used as the essential flavour component in Italian bitters; lulo, which is native to South America and is a member of the nightshade family.
But what the company predicts will be the next superfruit is the maqui. Maqui is found in South America and has a high antioxidant content. Its flavour profile is a rich berry, floral and grape.
In beverages, Sensient has created a portfolio of selective extracts called Sensient Natural Origins. The portfolio gives the natural flavour and aroma profiles of the original botanical material and offers manufacturers advanced flavour systems that can deliver an authentic taste of the botanical from which it is derived.
The company also highlighted its Salt Enhancers. Sensient says its portfolio of natural flavour systems allows for a 25 per cent to 35 per cent reduction or more of sodium per serving, depending on the application.
Also on display was the DairyBoost Premium Dairy Flavors. DairyBoost is a family of natural dairy flavour systems. The product portfolio includes cheese, milk, cream, and butter flavours.
The benefits of DairyBoost include a healthier finished product, premium, naturally enhanced flavour, insulation from fluctuating dairy costs, fast turnaround times on new creations and modifications and increased stability across processing, storage and preparation methods.
The DairyBoost flavour systems can be used in savory, bakery, sweet and beverage applications.
www.sensientflavors.com
• Yakult Pharmaceutical Ind. Co. Ltd. has been researching microorganisms that are beneficial to human health, especially the helpful microorganisms that contribute to the health of the gastrointestinal tract.
The company highlighted its Oligomate, which promotes the growth of Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus, a helpful microorganism found in the human intestines.
The company says Oligomate is also extremely resistant to acid and heating during food processing.
Oligomate consists of galacto-oligosaccharides, which makes ß-galactosidase act on the lactose.
The main component of Oligomate is galactosyllactose. Oligomate also contains several oligosaccharides species (disaccharides, trioligosaccharides, tetraoligosaccharides, 4’-GL) and lactose, glucose and galactose.
Oligomate is also recognized as GRAS (generally recognized as safe).
Oligomate can be used in dairy products, beverages, sweets, desserts, frozen desserts, breads, jams, processed meats, fish cakes, tofu and honey products.
www.yakult.co.jp/ypi/
• VeriVide Limited from the UK highlighted its DigiEye.
The company explains that the DigiEye is a digital colour imaging system with many applications for the food sector.
It has been designed to offer industry the ability to consistently and reliably measure colour and appearance using a non-contact method.
The DigiEye system includes a characterized SLR camera, enabling capture of outstandingly detailed images, recording colour data at millions of points. This, combined with a calibrated monitor and printer, provides accurate visual on-screen representation of the product and printed colour accurate photographic images for use as master product standards.
Product images are captured in the enclosed DigiEye Cube, eliminating all ambient light. This ensures the product image is captured in consistent lighting using both angled and diffuse light and giving authentic representations of the product.
The system has the versatility to measure objects as small as a grain of wheat and with a total field of view of around 40 cm x 50 cm, it can accommodate a wide array of food types.
• Jungbunzlauer is a producer of natural and nature-identical biodegradable ingredients. Its specialties include citrics, gluconates, special salts, sweeteners and xanthan gum.
At IFT, the company highlighted its special salts, which comprise a unique range of high-purity organic sources of calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium derived from citric or gluconic acid.
The salts include Monosodium Citrate, Tricalcium Citrate, Trimagnesium Citrate, Tripotassium Citrate, Trisodium Citrate Anydrous, Calcium Lactate Gluconate and Potassium Gluconate.
The company also highlighted sub4salt, one of its specialties products, which are used in food, pharmaceutical and also technical applications.
Sub4salt can help to reduce sodium content by 25 per cent to 50 per cent in formulations without a loss in taste. It offers similar salty taste characteristics, no additional off-notes, easy handling and similar dosage levels.
The company also highlighted Erythritol, one of its sweeteners. Erythritol is a naturally occurring polyol and low-calorie bulk sweetener. This fermentation product has a caloric value of only 0.2 kcal/g. It has a clean sweet taste, a sweetness level that is 50 per cent to 80 per cent of sugar and is less laxative than other polyols.
• GTC Nutrition, a wholly owned subsidiary of Corn Products International Inc., provides value-added ingredients that deliver health benefits and improve functionality in food, beverage and supplement products.
The company showcased its Purimune, a pure galactooligosaccharide derived from lactose that contains a minimum of 90 per cent GOS.
As a prebiotic, Purimune supports immune system strength and overall wellbeing. It’s highly soluble, stable to high heat and low pH, and offers efficacy at low inclusion levels.
Also on display was Nu-Mega, an omega-3, DHA-rich functional ingredient from tuna oil. A patented microencapsulation technology produces stable dry powder for use in a broad range of applications. Microencapsulation protects the omega-3 oils against oxidation and provides a taste barrier, allowing manufacturers to deliver optimal health benefits without marine flavours.
The company also highlighted its Expandex Modified Tapioca Starch for use in gluten-free baking applications. The company says it creates a taste more like wheat-based products.
It improves the appearance, texture and flavour of bakery products, creates a moist and expanded crumb, improves food’s crispy texture in baking applications, reduces the amount of gums needed, extends shelf life and brings out the natural flavour of bakery products.
And the company highlighted Enliten High-Intensity Sweetener. Enliten is a naturally based, low-calorie sweetener obtained from the plant stevia rebaudiana Bertoni, commonly known as stevia.
Enliten has a high content (>95 per cent) of rebaudioside A, the stevia component with the best taste profile and a sweetening power of approximately 300 times that of sugar.
• The Almond Board of California unveiled recent research findings.
For instance, the board found that for the second year in a row consumers pinpointed nutrition as the number one reason to purchase almonds. North American consumers also rank almonds as the nut that delivers the best for being nutritious (48%), balanced (29%) and natural (25%).
The Board also found, from other sources, that 74 per cent of North American consumers report their grocery purchases are healthier than they used to be. And consumers want products that are heart healthy, full of fibre, and trans-fat free – all attributes of almonds.
California Almonds also found that per capita consumption grew 82 per cent from 2000 to 2008; and reported purchases per month increased 94 per cent in the past decade.
Also, almonds are the number one nut in global packaged new product introductions and are among the top two nuts in new product introductions across every major region in the world.
Almond have even surpassed peanuts as the nut consumers report eating most on an ongoing basis and the one consumers rank as the most essential/irreplaceable.
• Dow Wolff Cellulosics Food&Nutrition highlighted its plant-based ingredients that can provide choices for a healthier lifestyle. The company says these ingredients enable the formulation of reduced-fat and allergen-free foods and keep products looking and tasting fresh.
The company highlighted its new Methocel gluten replacement, a gluten replacer that enables the production of tasty gluten-free foods, allowing consumers to satisfy their dietary needs. It also offers consistent dough handling, prevents collapse during baking, controls crumb structure and volume, and keeps products moist. It also avoids gas or bloating effects associated with many other sources of fibre.
The company also highlighted its:
–Methocel fat replacement, a cellulose that helps reduce fat in meat and bakery products by up to 60 per cent, in line with consumer needs and health trends. It enables the substitution of saturated fats or hydrogenated oils by healthy oils such as sunflower, olive or omega-9 oils.
–Clear+Stable, a cellulose gum that thickens and stabilizes acidic food and beverages (even under acidic conditions), keeping them crystal clear. It also protects the valuable proteins consumers want, prevents turbidity, flocculation, sedimentation and phase separation, it means less hydrocolloid is needed in formulations, and it’s available in three viscosity ranges to suit a host of different food and beverage applications.
–Fortefiber, a 100 per cent soluble dietary fibre that can help maintain healthy levels of blood glucose and cholesterol. It also provides consumers with a convenient way to add more fibre to their diets because it doesn’t cause gas or bloating and it can be added to such as sports bars, biscuits, nutritional supplements and desserts.
• Purac introduced a solution, its PuraQ Verdad RV75, that can reduce sodium in products by at least 20 per cent.
The company says PuraQ Verdad RV75 also acts as a natural preservative, can extend shelf life, offers clean label, increases food safety, is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial, enhances flavour and offers listeria protection.
PuraQ Verdad RV75 can be applied in food products where microbiological control is needed of molds, yeast and/or spoilage bacteria. PuraQ Verdad RV75 is a natural ferment derived from various selected food cultures. This liquid fermentation product contains multiple components such as organic acids, peptides and residual sugars. PuraQ Verdad RV75 is a consumer friendly solution as it can be labeled as cultured sugar.
The company also showcased its PURAC FIT Plus, a solution to naturally mask stevia off flavours.
FIT Plus is a natural, high-purity lactic acid with a great clean flavour. It’s ideal for use in low-calorie beverage formulations with Stevia (Reb A).
The company says FIT Plus also provides a lingering, mildly sour taste, improves flavour perception and controls pH.
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