Nice Icing
One new icing and glaze stabilizer is a non-concentrated product that can be used in a wide variety of cake icings, donut glazes and other fried products, such as pies and honey buns. Its unique characteristics allow it to be used on both fresh and freeze/thaw products. Mallet’s Stabilite icing and glaze stabilizer line includes its most highly concentrated stabilizer, Stabilgel Plus. It is used at extremely low levels in the production of icings and glazes for snack cakes, honey buns and donuts, and its unique formulation gives bakers a wide degree of versatility in the characteristics of the finished icing or glaze. Mallet & Company Inc., 800-245-2757, www.malletoil.com
Satiety and Blood Sugar Control
Calling natural resistant starch “a weight-loss powerhouse,” recent articles onPreventionmagazine’s website and at MSN.com cite 2008 research showing natural resistant starch helps curb hunger and stabilizes blood sugar--even the day after consumption. The two sites refer to a Swedish study in which healthy people ate bread rich in natural resistant starch, including Hi-maize® natural resistant starch, at dinner and felt less hungry the next morning--compared with healthy people who had consumed plain, white bread at dinner. Unlike any other resistant starch ingredient in the marketplace, Hi-maize, from high-amylose corn, has been shown in more than 70 published human clinical studies to support weight, energy and glycemic management, and digestive health, according to National Starch. National Starch, 800-797-4992, www.resistantstarch.com
Specialty Milk Proteins
One company has announced the further diversification of its dairy ingredients with the introduction of its milk protein line. Milk Specialties Global--Food Solutions’ product offerings are to include Milk Protein Concentrates (40, 56, 70 and 80%) and Milk Protein Isolates (90%), in both instant and non-instant powder forms. In addition to consistency improvements that accompany new technologies, improved protein quality and functionality will also occur. A major advantage of membrane processing, in general, is that it concentrates the proteins in a gentle manner that keeps the native protein ratios intact. More specifically, its Nano Filtration will allow superior control over product characteristics, such as particle size, dispersibility and foaming qualities. Milk Specialties Global (formerly known as MSC), 952-942-7310, www.milkspecialties.com
Catch the Wave
Rising chefs from four of the world’s top culinary schools competed in a contest that showed how appropriate the microwave can be as a means of reheating gourmet meals. The inaugural Cryovac® International Culinary Schools Contest took place Jan. 19-21 and featured student representatives from top schools in four countries. The first prize recipe was Blue Fin Tuna with Achiote Condiment, Pancetta Plenta, from the Universidad de las Americas Puebla. As part of the contest, the four schools each created three gourmet dishes that were packaged and heated in Cryovac® Simple Steps® microwaveable packaging. Sealed Air Cryovac Food Packaging Systems, www.sealedair.com , www.internationalchefscircle.com
The Year of the Panda
A new category of easy meal solutions is now available. Lee Kum Kee™’s Panda Brand™ Ready Sauces offer a range of authentic and popular flavors that are ready to serve in minutes. With no cholesterol and 0g trans fat, they are healthy and delicious. Made with natural ingredients, the sauces also contain no artificial coloring, flavoring or preservatives and will appeal to a rapidly growing market for Asian cuisine. Lee Kum Kee offers easy-to-use products that help consumers make their favorite Asian dishes at home. Premium Soy Sauce and Teriyaki Sauce contain flavors as good and authentic as one would find in restaurants. Lee Kum Kee Inc., 800-654-5082, www.usa.lkk.com
Not in a Bind
BindMax Proteins has developed non-allergen versions of its high water-binding capacity products. Increasingly, meat and poultry processors are moving toward using only non-allergen binders, in order to avoid the clean-up and downtime that occurs when trying to use both allergen and non-allergen binders on the same equipment. BindMax’s non-allergen formulas are made from various combinations of ingredients, including fermented corn syrup, mustard, cane sugar and non-GMO potato starch. Each qualifies as USDA natural, except corn syrup, and can be used to replace milk, soy and sodium phosphate in meat or poultry. BindMax Proteins, 877-543-2463, www.bindmax.com
Calculated Knowledge
Small-to-medium-sized food manufacturers searching for an economical label-generation solution need look no further. LabelCalc®, the only online nutrition analysis tool that instantly generates accurate, up-to-date USFDA-compliant nutrition facts panels, offers an efficient and reasonably priced alternative to other options in the marketplace. While prices for laboratory analysis, nutrition CD-ROMs and third-party consultants can cost thousands, LabelCalc successfully minimizes these costs by utilizing a database of 20,000+ ingredients primarily compiled from USDA Nutrient Laboratory data. LabelCalc, 415-398-4628, www.LabelCalc.com
System Advancements
An innovative approach to increasing yield and significantly reducing cost in meat, poultry and seafood products is now available. Advanced Food Systems’ Actobind® ingredient system partially or completely replaces sodium phosphate, which increased in cost by nearly 100% in 2008. Actobind without sodium phosphate is also label-friendly, because it is all-natural and allergen-free; it is a proven solution for injection, tumbling or other processes in a wide range of end products, from raw marinated to fully cooked and retorted products. Advanced Food Systems Inc., 800-787-3067, www.afsnj.com
Heart Health Supplements
Recent scientific studies have indicated that low doses of resveratrol, a natural constituent of red wine, may have significant heart health benefits. Inverness Medical now offers two new dietary supplement forms of its highly successful Grape Seed product, which contains today’s purest form of resveratrol—resVida™ from DSM Nutritional Products. resVida is highly versatile and ideal for many types of supplement, food and beverage formulations. It meets consumers’ growing demand for safe and effective health products that help maintain an active lifestyle. DSM Nutritional Products Inc., 800-526-0189, www.unlimitednutrition-na.dsm.com
Seen Here First: Confectionery Flavors
The January 19, 2009 issue ofE-dition,Prepared Foods’ electronic newsletter, reported on flavor trends in the confectionery industry. In order to add value to their products, it is important for manufacturers to optimize flavor in their foods and beverages. Currently, there are major changes in food flavor innovation driven by shifts in consumer behavior, notes a report, “Future Flavor Trends in Food,” published byBusiness Insights. An analysis of the growth rate in flavors in new product launches in the confectionery category over the period between 2004-2007 showed no flavors to be growing at a rate of more than 1.1% per year. This indicates that although flavors in confectionery products are changing, these changes are taking place gradually. Dark chocolate is the fastest-growing flavor.
The top 10 fastest-growing flavors are:
* Dark chocolate
* Wafer
* Hazelnut
* Peppermint
* Mango
Overall, the confectionery market seems to be restructuring towards more mature/adult flavors (complex and intense), rather than flavors traditionally aimed at children (sweet, sour and simple). This may be to move away from the dependence on the children’s market and the complex ethical issues surrounding it. Business Insights’ “Future Flavor Trends in Food” provides a comprehensive review of current, new and emerging flavors in the food sector.
To see more on the report, type in “Prepared Foods Exclusive: Flavors in Confections” in the search field on . To subscribe toE-dition, go to and click on “Subscribe to eNewsletter” in the left-hand navigation bar.
