Join the Dark Side

May 2012/Prepared Foods -- Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate offers a new Dutch Dark range of powders that combine an intense dark color with smooth chocolate taste. Available in high- and low-fat versions, the new powders help developers innovate and create new recipes in different applications. For example, high-fat Gerkens Holland DS150 (with a premium dark color) is particularly suited for use in luxurious desserts and ice cream. A Dutch Dark powder’s smooth taste also means there is no need to use sugar to mask the bitterness that can be associated with dark powders. This aids formulas with less sugar. – Cargill Cocoa and Chocolate, www.cargill.com/food/cocoachocolate.

Tranquility That Can be Tasted

May 2012/Prepared Foods -- Harried consumers want to indulge and relax every now and then. Now, food and beverage processors can help them taste those “vacation moments.” WILD Flavors’ new “Vacation Destination Flavors” characterize flavors from local regions as well as around the world. Each flavor is as unique as the destination it represents. New offerings include Cajeta, Tropical Berry, Vanilla Sandalwood, Banana Cream, Malibu Moment, Banana Coconut Cream, Tangerine Tango, Savannah Lemonade, Hawaiian Mango Cream, Italian Blood Orange and Strawberry Guava Cream. These flavors fit a wide range of food and beverage applications. – WILD Flavors Inc., www.wildflavors.com pf

Boost Low-cal Flavor

May 2012/Prepared Foods -- Givaudan knows it’s difficult to balance consumers’ growing concerns about caloric intake, interest in healthier products and the indulgent flavors they crave. Because calorie reduction impacts the mouthfeel, taste and aroma of food products, processors need to rebalance their complex formulas to provide the creaminess, richness and lingering appeal of full-fat products. Givaudan’s new TasteSolutions Mouthfeel program includes a unique sensory language (Sense It Mouthfeel) and advanced technologies to optimize the taste profile of reduced-calorie sweet and dairy products. New Sense It Mouthfeel is a unique tool that breaks cultural and language barriers when describing flavors—forming a key link between consumer desire, product quality and flavorists’ creations. – Givaudan, www.givaudan.com/flavourspf

Improve Mouthfeel, Texture

May 2012/Prepared Foods -- Want to reduce hydrocolloid use, maintain formula system integrity and create a flavor release with great mouthfeel? Gum Technology Corp. suggests processors try the company’s Coyote Brand GumPlete stabilizing systems. New GumPlete systems are designed so the starch and gums work synergistically–rather than compete with one another. Processors also can balance cost savings and product improvement with Hydro-Fi, a new generation of texturizers. A unique combination of Coyote brand hydrocolloids and Citri-Fi citrus fiber, Hydro-Fi improves texture and yield and enhances mouthfeel, says the company. – Gum Technology Corp., www.gumtech.com pf

Clean-label Texture System

May 2012/Prepared Foods -- NOVATION Indulge 3340 is a new clean-label texture system from Corn Products International/National Starch Food Innovation. NOVATION Indulge 3340 helps dairy processors produce a range of healthy and indulgent dairy products on conventional stirred yogurt equipment—and reduce production time and costs. NOVATION Indulge 3340 is ideal for use in indulgent dairy desserts as well as fermented dairy products, such as yogurt and sour cream, where it’s desired to increase the gel strength and firmness of final products while providing clean melt-away and fat-like textural characteristics. It is resistant to high temperature, high shear and low pH, and also is characterized as having good cold temperature stability and providing a smooth, creamy texture. – Corn Products International/National Starch Food Innovation, www.foodinnovation.com pf

“Meat” A Low-sodium Partner

May 2012/Prepared Foods -- Wixon, a manufacturer of seasonings, flavors and technologies for the food, beverage and meat industries, showcased its new, proprietary Wix-Fresh Reduced Sodium System (RSS) at the 2012 AMI Expo. Wixon’s Protein Group has specifically designed RSS for meat and poultry. This flavor modifier can be customized to any meat species or application, including rubs, marinades, seasonings and injection systems. RSS positively impacts flavor without compromising functionality and generates up to 75% reduction in sodium. Officials said Wixon’s AMI menu items all featured the new Wix-Fresh RSS system, which reduces sodium without compromised flavor. – Wixon Protein Group, www.wixon.com pf

Beverage Boost

May 2012/Prepared Foods -- Unveiled in 2011, Grande Ultra Whey Protein Isolate (WPI) is a flexible beverage ingredient formulators can use to fortify protein content in diet, nutrition and sports drinks. Meanwhile, it doesn’t hurt product flavor or create clarity issues, says the company. Grande Ultra WPI also is fat- and lactose-free and may be used in an instant form for on-the-go lifestyle products. Grande food scientists created a test application using Grande Ultra WPI in a dry drink mix that could be added to bottled water. The resulting fruit punch-flavored drink delivered 10g of protein and 5g of fiber with just 50 total calories for a 16.9oz bottle. – Grande Custom Ingredients, www.grandecig.com pf

Rice Fiber Earns GRAS Status

May 2012/Prepared Foods -- SunOpta Ingredients officials said an independent panel of experts approved SunOpta’s rice hull fiber as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) for use in food and beverages. This all-natural, gluten-free ingredient is a highly concentrated source of fiber and can enrich products such as cereals, snacks, nutrition bars, bread and baking mixes. Research suggests that following a gluten-free diet may result in a diet that is low in several essential nutrients, including fiber. As the demand for gluten-free products increases, ingredients that are free of gluten and provide nutritional value will fill an important need. – SunOpta Ingredients Group, sunopta.com/ingredients pf

Exotic Vacation Flavors

May 2012/Prepared Foods -- Consumers want to taste the tropics–without leaving home. Bell Flavors and Fragrances helps deliver taste adventure with new offerings, such as Cupuacu Type Flavor (artificial), Rambutan Type Flavor (natural) and Snake Fruit Flavor OS (artificial). Bell has flavors for any market, including bakery, confections, dairy and savory. It also serves the beverage market, which is world-renowned for setting new flavor trends. This market’s trend-developing position drives Bell’s flavor creation team toward tomorrow’s next big craze. Bell’s beverage application departments consistently develop leading flavor prototypes to continuously push customers’ endless imaginations. – Bell Flavors and Fragrances, www.bellff.com pf

Better Pizza Cheese Processing

May 2012/Prepared Foods -- DuPont Nutrition & Health knows that achieving consistency and reliability is a major hurdle for pizza cheese manufacturers. Every gram of fat or protein and every minute lost during processing have an impact on performance. DuPont’s new CHOOZIT SWIFT (part of the DuPont Danisco range of products) delivers outstanding phage management and consistent, reliable acidification during pizza cheese processing. A concentrated blend of highly active Streptococcus thermophilus cultures, CHOOZIT SWIFT is available in three to six phage-robust, isofunctional starters, designed for direct inoculation in the cheese vat. Because of their identical functionality, the starters enable easy rotation without altering the recipe or process, allowing a consistent quality of cheese from vat to vat. CHOOZIT SWIFT helps manufacturers protect themselves against phage (virus) attacks, which are a constant risk during acidification and can ruin an entire cheese batch. – DuPont Nutrition & Health, www.dupont.com and www.danisco.com pf

Natural Brown Color with Fruit Extracts

May 2012/Prepared Foods -- California’s Proposition 65 added 4-Methylimidazole to a list of potential cancer-causing substances. This means food manufacturers are obliged to warn consumers with a certain warning label declaration. Particularly affected by this law are cola beverages, which are colored using caramel color class IV. Based on natural apple extracts, alternatives can be used to obtain brown color. The brown color of apple extract Herbarom is a result of the oxidation of polyphenolic substances naturally occurring in apples. This effect also can be observed when eating an apple. Herbarom is made from harvest-fresh, de-juiced and carefully dried apples with a color range from medium brown to dark brown. Depending on the apple extract and the concentration used, the coloring of the end-product varies from yellow or golden to a dark brown. Polyphenols are also considered health supportive. Besides the polyphenols, other flavoring components and monosaccharides are extracted during the production process of Herbarom. These components give aroma to a lot of products and round off the taste experience. The coloring profile stays stable in a big pH-value range. Herbarom can be used both for products with a neutral pH-value and for products with a low pH-value. Applications include beverages, confectionery, baked products, condiments, desserts and cereals. – Herbsteith & Fox KG, herbstreith-fox.de  pf

Sugar-like Sweetness at its Best

May 2012/Prepared Foods -- With more consumers looking for natural sweetener alternatives that taste just as good as their health benefits suggest, Jungbunzlauer’s Erylite Stevia seems to fit the bill. With applications as a sugar replacement in food and beverage products, Erylite Stevia has zero calories, no effect on blood sugar level and is palatable, per the company. Switzerland’s Jungbunzlauer, a global food ingredient supplier, has successfully blended the natural sugar alcohol Erylite and Rebaudioside-A, a highly pure stevia plant extract. Erylite Stevia combines the unique benefits of these two sweeteners that fit well together, attributable to their natural characteristics. The result is a natural, zero-calorie sweetener with the excellent taste of complete sugar sweetness and full bulk sweetener functionalities. – Jungbunzlauer, www.jungbunzlauer.com pf

Oil-dispersible Caramel Color

May 2012/Prepared Foods -- D.D. Williamson used its proprietary emulsion technology to develop a new, improved oil-dispersible caramel color. In addition to a 25% increase in color intensity (compared to its previous blend version), the new product demonstrates improved solubility in food and beverage systems containing lipids. Potential applications include compound coatings, seasonings, glazes, batters, dressings, processed potatoes and ready-meals. Food manufacturers may label it “caramel color” on the ingredient statement. – D.D. Williamson, www.ddwcolor.com pf

Cut Calories

May 2012/Prepared Foods -- Company officials say PureCircle has increased production of PureCircle Alpha, a proprietary combination of steviol glycosides that delivers with a clean, sugar-like taste capable of achieving deeper calorie reductions in foods and beverages. The first products sweetened with the new ingredient are expected on shelves this June, just nine months after introduction. In preparation for its introduction, PureCircle’s Global Technical Center developed dozens of ready-to-go formulations across food and beverage categories, including carbonated soft drinks, tea and dairy products. Rigorous testing and sensory evaluation have shown an improved taste and sweetness profile compared with other stevia ingredients, the company avers. – PureCircle Limited, www.purecircle.com pf

Natural Way to Protect Meat Flavor, Color

May 2012/Prepared Foods -- Multisorb Technologies will feature its full line of active packaging solutions for the meat processing industry at the 2012 American Meat Institute Expo, May 1-3, in Dallas. Both fresh and processed meats’ quality and freshness are compromised by exposure to oxygen, leading to rapid degradation. Removing free oxygen from the product packaging will increase product shelflife and naturally retain the color, nutrients, texture and flavor of meats that customers demand. Multisorb will feature FreshCard oxygen-absorbing, multifunctional cards, FreshPax oxygen-absorbing packets and its MAPLOX program, a low-oxygen packaging program for case-ready meats. Multisorb uses a consultative approach through their “Calculations through Operations” program to create an optimized solution for any customer. – Multisorb Technologies, www.multisorb.com pf

BRC Certification for GPC

May 2012/Prepared Foods -- Grain Processing Corporation (GPC) officials said company facilities received certification from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) Global Standards for Food Safety, an internationally recognized safety and quality certification program. GPC’s ingredient manufacturing sites in Muscatine, Iowa, and Washington, Ind., achieved BRC certifications for maltodextrin and alcohol. This assures customers that GPC is committed to consistently delivering safe food ingredients worldwide. GPC joins a network of over 14,000 BRC-certified sites in more than 100 countries. – Grain Processing Corporation, www.grainprocessing.com pf

Need New Product Ideas?

May 2012/Prepared Foods -- The United States Potato Board’s “Fresh Ideas for Frozen Innovation” is a micro site at www.PotatoGoodness.com to help processors develop frozen meals with potatoes. “Fresh Ideas for Frozen Innovation” addresses common concerns regarding the use of potatoes in frozen meals, including the misconception that potatoes don’t fit in a healthful frozen meal. The micro site provides consumer research that indicates although consumers categorize potatoes as a starch, they recognize potatoes also are a vegetable and consider them healthier than other starches. In fact, according to the new USDA MyPlate recommendations, potatoes fit squarely on the quarter for the plate reserved for vegetables; so, potatoes help manufacturers meet consumer guidelines for healthy eating. – United States Potato Board, innovation.potatogoodness.com pf

Boost Chocolate Nutrition

May 2012/Prepared Foods -- Roquette America’s NUTRALYS pea protein provides enhanced nutrition, production efficiency and consumer appeal to products with standard chocolate and coatings.Thanks to its amino acid profile and exceptional dispersibility, NUTRALYS pea protein boosts chocolate’s nutrition profile but doesn’t change its texture, melt character or taste. Roquette officials say users can add up to 16% NUTRALYS pea protein to chocolate without affecting process conditions. Standard temperatures and time used for mixing, refining, conching and tempering the chocolate require absolutely no changes—despite the high inclusion rate of protein. Unlike proteins derived from soy or wheat, NUTRALYS also does not require allergen labeling. Moreover, it’s non-GMO and processed naturally, so it aligns with clean labeling guidelines. – Roquette America, www.roquette.com pf

Cut Costs, Calories

May 2012/Prepared Foods -- Tate & Lyle knows rising commodity prices affect manufacturing costs. That’s why the company developed Beverage OPTIMIZE, a new formulation service to help processors manage sweetener costs and reduce margin pressure in existing products, line extensions and new product launches. Now, food and beverage manufacturers can work directly with Tate & Lyle to reduce calories using the company’s extensive beverage formulation experience and wide portfolio of ingredients—including sweeteners such as SPLENDA Sucralose and KRYSTAR Crystalline Fructose—as well as texturants and acidulants. Tate & Lyle has developed a variety of new prototypes to showcase the great-tasting sugar-reduction capabilities of the Beverage OPTIMIZE service for customers. Prototypes are now available in the following categories: juices, carbonated soft drinks, still drinks and beverage mixes. – Tate & Lyle, www.tateandlyle.com pf

Investing in the Future

May 2012/Prepared Foods -- Quantum Foods, a further-processor of industrial proteins, opened a state-of-the-art Innovation Center on the company’s Bolingbrook, Ill., campus. Officials say the new facility’s flexibility and scale helps Quantum Foods develop, customize and process proteins to customers’ exact specifications. The new center also dramatically impacts Quantum Foods’ total protein product offerings and its ability to adapt them quickly to mass production. Research and development professionals—including chefs, food scientists, engineers and packaging designers—are located in the 8,000-sq-ft center. The Innovation Center includes a gourmet kitchen and executive dining and conference rooms. – Quantum Foods LLC, www.quantumfoods.com. pf