Ingredients have the ability to enhance the quality of food and beverage properties in terms of nutritional value, texture, flavour, colour and much more.
With the trends for clean label, sustainability, health and alternatives – such as plant-based dairy and meat – coming to the fore, there has been significant launches made to meet these consumer demands.
FoodBev has round up six of our top ingredients news stories of the year.
At the beginning of the year, Arla Foods Ingredients introduced a new whey protein-based concept for the infant nutrition market, which is designed to support digestive comfort in infants.
Infant formulas generally contain higher levels of protein than breast milk, and, since protein is hard to digest, this can cause gastrointestinal discomfort and other digestive issues in infants. However, Arla claims that by altering the amount and type of protein in formulas, these problems can be reduced.
The new ‘optimised comfort’ formula concept contains alpha-lactalbumin, the most abundant protein in human milk, as well as whey protein hydrolysates, which have already been broken down by enzymes, effectively meaning they have been pre-digested.
During mid-year, Chr. Hansen released a new ‘sweet’ culture for dairy products which reduces the need to add sugar and artificial sweeteners to products.
According to the company, Sweety Y-1 is a culture solution produced using streptococcus thermophilus and lactobacillus bulgaricus cultures, and the ingredient can convert the existing sugars in milk – using more of the lactose to yield glucose – in order to naturally provide a sweet taste.
Chr. Hansen claims that this new culture enables manufacturers to meet these modern market trends and consumer demands by reducing added sugar without compromising the taste of a product.
Swiss chocolatier Barry Callebaut unveiled a new range of products that makes use of the entire cacao fruit, including its beans, peel as well as its fruity pulp and juice, resulting in less waste.
Called Cacaofruit Experience, the ingredients can be used in applications such as juices, smoothies, frozen desserts, bakery and pastry products, and snacks all the way to chocolate.
Cacaofruit Experience products have a fresh and fruity taste and are rich in nutrients such as fibre, protein and magnesium.
In September, manufacturer of healthy nutrition ingredients Frutarom Health launched Organic SoyLife Complex, a new range of organic soy ingredients certified by Certisys.
Naturally rich in isoflavones, a natural compound found in plants and plant-based foods, Organic SoyLife Complex is sourced from the soy germ that sits at the heart of the soy bean. Soy germs are not used in the production of soy milk, so manufacturing of SoyLife Complex both makes use of a by-product and decreases food waste.
“With the introduction of the organic label, we believe we have an ingredient that fulfils many current demands of consumers who are putting increasing value on trust and transparency when making their purchasing decisions,” said Laetitia Petrussa, product manager for Frutarom Health.
2019 saw Holista CollTech and SunFresh Fruit Hub collaborate to develop three key ingredients for the global bubble tea industry, in a move to provide an alternative healthier version.
The companies intend to co-develop three healthier alternative ingredients for tapioca starch balls, sugar syrup and sugar caramel, without altering the taste or texture.
Each ingredient will have a lower glycemic index (GI), which measures a food’s impact on blood sugar, reducing the chance of diabetes, obesity, stroke and heart disease.
In November, Bunge Loders Croklaan (BLC) announced it had created a range of plant-based fats that are designed to mimic the sensory characteristics of meat.
BLC said that both its palm and shea-based fat systems “boast the ability to deliver more bite, a juicy mouthfeel and full flavour”.
The Dutch company said the two products demonstrate capabilities for improving parameters such as firmness, cohesiveness, springiness, and potentially reduce the need for adding emulsifiers, gum-based texturisers, salt and other flavour enhancers.
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024
