Meat Mimic

A new line of textured soy protein flakes has been added to an already impressive line. Cargill’s Prosanté™ textured soy protein flakes help food manufacturers create a protein-complete replacement that completely mimics meat’s natural structure, texture and chewing properties. Additionally, the flakes do not have the off-flavors normally associated with standard soy protein products. Instead, they absorb the natural flavors of accompanying ingredients. Applications best-suited for Prosanté textured soy protein flakes include: ground meat patties, meatballs, nuggets and other ground meat systems (raw and cooked). Cargill offers three basic sizes of the flakes, which also hydrate faster in cold water than minced, textured soy, allowing for faster production mixing schemes. Cargill Texturizing Solutions, www.cargilltexturizing.com

Blue Study

A new study confirms that wild blueberries outperformed two dozen other commonly consumed fruits like apples, bananas, grapes and strawberries. New research published in the current issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry shows that wild blueberries have the highest cellular antioxidant activity of the 25 fruits tested, as well as the highest total phenolic content and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC). Wild Blueberry Association nutrition advisor Susan Davis, M.S., R.D., advises choosing brightly colored fruits and vegetables with an emphasis on berries. According to Davis, berries are naturally rich in anthocyanins, protective plant compounds responsible for the deep blue color of fruits like wild blueberries. Anthocyanins have potential antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects and are being studied for their possible preventative role in fighting cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s and other effects of aging. Wild Blueberry Association of North America, www.wildblueberries.com

Assurance of Quality

One company has decided to be proactive regarding the melamine crisis in China and how it affects the food industry worldwide. Solbar Industries Ltd., Israel, reaffirms its commitment to producing unadulterated specialty soy protein products in its two facilities, Ashdod (Israel) and Nigbo (China). The company’s Solbar Ningbo Food Co. Ltd. is wholly owned and managed by Solbar, Israel. All quality assurance procedures are in accordance with the strictest standards, developed over 20 years as a market leader in the world of soy proteins. Solbar Industries Ltd., +97288632111, www.solbar.com

Weight Off

A new functional ingredient with promising properties for weight reduction has been discovered. Cognis, a worldwide supplier of innovative specialty chemicals and nutritional ingredients, and InterMed Discovery (IMD), an emerging, natural product lead-discovery company, today announced that Cognis has exclusively licensed an anti-obesity product candidate from InterMed Discovery’s advanced discovery pipeline of functional food ingredients. This transaction is the first to follow the cooperation agreement signed by the two companies in March this year. Scientists at IMD, using IMD’s advanced discovery platform, pioneered the unique natural product and qualified its promising weight-reducing properties through preclinical in vivo studies in several obesity models. As this ingredient has already shown initial safety and efficacy in animal studies, Cognis will now be able to set up first human studies very rapidly. This will allow a significantly shorter time-to-market. Cognis, 800-328-6199, www.cognis.com

Sensational Sensing

A new water-activity meter is purported to take five minutes or less to produce a water-activity reading that is accurate to +/- 0.003 aw. AquaLab Series 4, from Decagon Devices Inc., is the industry’s fastest and most accurate water-activity machine, the company claims. In the Series 4, AquaLab serves up that same, speedy accuracy in a redesigned package that offers flip-top convenience and beefed-up data-compliance options. The new Series 4 sports a complete body redesign, making it easier to see the sensor and to keep clean. Previous options like internal temperature control and volatiles capability are still available, and the volatiles sensor has now been completely integrated, so users can measure either normal or volatile samples without changing the sensor head. The Series 4 also sports a larger data screen and comfortable navigation buttons.  Decagon Devices Inc., 509-332-2756, www.decagon.com

Breakthrough in Emulsification

A new, breakthrough alternative to chemical emulsifiers is now available. Panamore, from DSM Food Specialties, is a natural, clean-label ingredient that delivers improved dough tolerance, performance and efficiency in a cost-effective and sustainable way--maximizing the performance of any flour type to ensure total batch consistency. Panamore responds to the challenges faced by bread manufacturers today and guarantees results. An enzyme preparation produced by Aspergillus, Panamore has a dual-action on the polar lipids naturally present in flour to unlock and maximize their emulsification properties. In this way, the product conditions the dough and softens the crumb in situ, offering the same or even better effects than the DATEM (diacetyl tartaric acid ester of mono/diglycerides) or SSL (sodium stearoyl lactylate) and providing optimal volume and crumb structure in the finished product. It also eliminates the impact of seasonal flour variation and adapts to different bread fermentation requirements--challenges that, until now, could not be solved in one simple step. DSM Food Specialties, www.dsm-foodspecialties.com

Healthy Base Camp

Scientific organizations around the world, including the World Health Organization, have called for drastic reductions in the sodium content of processed foods, recommending an overall reduction of 50% in the next decade. At the same time, groups such as the American Heart Association are encouraging consumers to limit their fat intake to guard against diseases such as arteriosclerosis and obesity. Advanced Food Systems has developed Chef-Ready® Stock Bases, which enable food developers to simultaneously reduce costs, as well as fat and sodium levels, without sacrificing taste or rich, satisfying mouthfeel. The bases can be used to make reduced-sodium and/or reduced-fat seasoning blends, soups, sauces, gravies, fillings and marinades for tumbling or injecting. They provide the full flavor and mouthfeel profiles of chicken, beef, turkey, seafood and a variety of vegetables. Chef-Ready Stock Bases contain up to 25% less sodium and are significantly lower in fat than traditional bases, allowing for the development of foods that appeal to today’s health-conscious consumer. Advanced Food Systems Inc., 800-787-3067, www.afsnj.com

The nutraceutical industry’s charity, Vitamin Angels, has this year reached 7 million children suffering from malnutrition around the world, but says more support is needed to consistently address malnourishment. The group, which encourages and coordinates dietary supplement donations from the industry, says it is “at an urgent impasse, when it comes to providing nutrition to children in need worldwide.” An intricate part of solving the worldwide hunger problem, Vitamin Angels has surpassed its goal of reaching 4.5 million children, but they insist that a wider net of awareness needs to be cast in order to elevate Vitamin Angels’ impact and bring them closer to solving the problem of malnourishment in children under the age of five. For more information about Vitamin Angels or to make a donation, visit www.vitaminangels.org. pf