Keeping Fat in Check

MCTs are known for their role in helping to maintain weight. NEOBEE[r] Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCTs), available from Stepan Company Food & Health Specialties, enable formulators of confectionery items to enhance the nutritional profile of their products while solving performance problems. Free of trans fatty acids, these MCTs are metabolized more readily than long-chain fats, provide fewer calories per gram and do not accumulate as fat in body tissues. NEOBEE M-5 and 1053 are low-viscosity liquids used as polishing agents, plasticizers, lubricants and carriers for fat-soluble flavors and oils. NEOBEE 1095 can be partially substituted for cocoa butter without impacting the solid fat index or contributing to bloom. The ingredients provide excellent oxidative stability and are free of taste, odor and color. Stepan Company Food & Health Specialties, James Butterwick, 201-712-7642, www.stepan.com

Looking for New Food Ideas?

The IFT is a place where many new ideas are launched. Kikkoman International Inc., a leading soy sauce manufacturer, demonstrated several new “Future Food” applications. The company also showcased its newly updated industrial product guide, The Flavor Handbook: A Reference and Product Guide. Kikkoman would like to make contact with formulators interested in Kikkoman's soy sauce offerings, new Asian sauces, and natural flavor enhancers like NFE-S, or those looking for additional information on the grape seed extract Gravinol. Kikkoman International Inc., Industrial Dept., 415-956-7750, www.kikkoman-usa.com

Improving Health with Tasty Ingredients

Roxlor International is pleased to introduce two new products this year. The first is BeFlora Plus[tm] 20x. This product exhibits the same great taste and formulating properties as the original BeFlora Plus sweet prebiotic fiber, but is 20 times the sweetness of sucrose.

Roxlor's other new item this year is CitriSweet[tm]. CitriSweet is a blend of prebiotic oligofructose, fructose and a revolutionary proprietary sweetening system that utilizes natural flavors and citrus extracts. It is 10 times sweeter than sucrose and is excellent at masking off notes from soy, whey protein, vitamins and minerals. It also can be used solely for its sweetness or to round out flavors. CitriSweet provides a clean, sweet taste to any product. Roxlor International, Robert H. Veghte, 302-778-4166, info@roxlor.com

A Sweet Treat with a Sweet Reward

Many already have heard the benefits of diets high in antioxidants from fruit and vegetables and also understand convenience demands. Wouldn't it be nice to give your consumers both? Degussa Food Ingredients can help you create a fruit snack of high fruit content and added natural fruit antioxidants with the Unipectine[tm] PG series of pectin and the GrapActive[tm] line of grape seed and skin extracts. Degussa Food Ingredients, Erin Chavez, 770-986-6257

Nutrition-friendly Flavors

Today's consumers are extremely demanding and savvy, seeking not just improved nutritional benefits, but also great flavor. Product success depends on inventive ways to meet nutritional requirements and provide on-trend flavors. Kraft Food Ingredients' line of Grill Flavor[r] products provides the largest variety of hydrogenated oil-free Grill Flavors and countless other authentic-tasting, savory flavors that can be used to help reduce fat, carbs, calories or trans fats, making Kraft Food Ingredients the best-tasting solution for nutritional formulation challenges. Kraft Food Ingredients, Mike Veal, 901-381-6543, www.kraftfoodingredients.com

Functional Fibers

ORAFTI offers ground-breaking nutritional and functional properties with the soluble, all-natural fiber RAFTILINE[r] (inulin), RAFTILOSE[r] (oligofructose) and Synergy 1. Healthy benefits include improved calcium absorption, “invisible” fiber enrichment, improved mouthfeel and enhanced gastrointestinal health through prebiotics. RAFTILOSE and RAFTILINE replace fat and sugar in food, beverage and nutraceutical applications without adversely affecting taste or mouthfeel. RAFTILOSE Synergy 1 offers enhanced calcium absorption at lower use levels. Orafti, John Martin, 610-889-9828, www.orafti.com

Versatile Meat Flavo

Beef flavors that mimic real meats cooked with different techniques are offered by Blue Mountain Flavors. The company offers vegetarian, kosher and meat-like flavors that taste and smell like, for example, roasted or fried meats or chicken. These oil-soluble flavors then can be combined with other flavors for a customized flavor or to enhance certain flavors. Blue Mountain's natural flavors can be used for frozen, dry and retort products, and are suggested for use at 1% to 2% levels. Blue Mountain Flavors, 252-522-1544, bluemtninfo@ncfreedo.net

Organic Dairy Ingredients

A new line of USDA Certified Organic ingredients has been launched by Butter Buds Food Ingredients. The products offer one-for-one replacements with the company's regular products--characteristics such as functionality, flavor impact and usage levels have not changed. The organic ingredients are all-natural and highly concentrated, delivering a variety of functional attributes such as improved mouthfeel, masking off-flavors and enhancing sweet and savory flavors, all while helping to control ingredient costs. The products are: Organic High Concentrate Uncolored, Organic Dried Cream Extract, Organic Cream Plus[r] and Organic Cheese Buds[r] Cheddar. Butter Buds Food Ingredients, Bill Buhler, 800-426-1119, bbfi@bbuds.com, www.bbuds.com

More Safety for Sliced Meat

Hormel Foods is one of the first food processors in the U.S. to employ True Taste[tm] technology, what it deems as a “high-pressure technology for extended shelflife and improved food safety for sliced meats.” The process is approved by the USDA and consists of a compression tank filled with pure, potable water and the meat is then uniformly pressurized. “The high pressure kills more types of microorganisms than other common industry processes, including E. coli, listeria, salmonella and many others. It doesn't affect the quality of the meats,” states the company. The meats retain their taste, appearance, texture and nutritional content, and are able to do so for up to “twice as long as other processing methods—without heat or chemicals,” the company assures. The process does not require special labeling. Hormel Foods, Julie Craven, 507-437-5355, www.hormel.com

Chocolates for Cardio Health

Chocolate lovers have a new reason to indulge. Recent studies show that the antioxidants in cocoa are linked to improved cardiovascular function. Danisco Sweeteners' new Mind Body Chocolates have the added health benefits of 1/3 less sugar and fiber for improved digestive health. The candies are made with Litesse[r] polydextrose, a high-fiber, low-glycemic ingredient and new “wellness” combinations of Danisco flavors: Peppermint Ginger Chocolate and Cinnamon Rosemary Milk Chocolate. Samples are available. Danisco Sweeteners, Donna Brooks, 800-255-6837, ext. 2521, donna.brooks@danisco.com

R&D Conference Preview: Session D - Prepared Foods and Meats

Over 100 R&D application sessions designed to help R&D solve formulation issues will be available at Prepared Foods' R&D Conference, September 19-20, 2005, in Oak Brook, Ill. Session D, for example, will present information on ingredients for processed meats and prepared foods meal components.

Here is a sample of sessions to take place on Monday, September 19.

8:30-9:00 a.m. Ingredients for Food Protection
Speaker: Larry R. Steenson, technical applications director, Danisco USA Inc.

9:15-9:45 a.m. How do Phosphates Function in Meat?
Speaker: Eugene Brotsky, technical service manager, meat, seafood and poultry, Innophos Inc.

10:30-11:00 a.m. Optimizing Carageenan in Processed Meat Products
Speaker: James W. Lamkey, global technical manager-meat applications, FMC Biopolymer

1:30-2:00 p.m. Roasted/Grilled Vegetables
Speaker: Abizer Khairullah, director-technology, ConAgra Food Ingredients

2:15-2:45 p.m. Use of Enzymes in Marinades
Speaker: Peter Moodie, director of sales and marketing, Enzyme Development Corp.

For more information, and an updated conference schedule, please visit: www.PreparedFoods.com/PF_RD_Conference, or contact Marge Whalen at 630-694-4347, whalenm@bnpmedia.com.

Dairy & Diabetes Reduction

Harvard University (Cambridge, Mass.) research suggests the consumption of low-fat dairy foods could reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes in men. According to the study of men mostly in their 50s, each increase of one daily serving of dairy foods resulted in a 9% reduction in diabetes risk, regardless of the other types of foods eaten, exercise level or family history of the disease. The researcher leading the 12-year study concluded most men should consume up to two servings daily of low-fat milk, yogurt or cheese.

As noted in prior studies, dairy consumption can prevent insulin resistance, a harbinger of diabetes, but this is the first large-scale study to correlate dairy food consumption with a reduced risk of diabetes. Researchers said more study is needed to see whether the findings applied to women and younger men.

--Prepared Foods' e-newsletter, Volume 7, Issue 19