IFT16 News Wrap-Up: Sweeteners, Clean Label, More

The 2016 Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting & Food Expo in Chicago, July 16-19, brought a wave of new ingredients and solutions focusing on creating cleaner labels, nutritious products with less sugar and more nutrients such as fiber and protein, and exciting flavors.

Petiva Introduces Natural Sugars

At IFT16, Petiva™ introduced a line of natural sugars that have all the goodness of sucrose (natural, versatile and tasty) without GMOs, simple sugar calories, chemicals, soy, gluten, dairy or additives: Honeytose™ (a sugar present in honey); Nectarose™ (a complex sugar present in nectar); and Caneose™ (a slow release sugar present in sugarcane).

Honeytose has no impact on blood sugar or insulin levels, and is a free-flowing crystalline sugar. Nectarose is an ultra-low glycemic index (GI) sugar (68 percent lower GI than glucose). Nectarose is a complex sugar that takes 300 percent longer to break down than simple sugars. Consistent blood glucose that Nectarose provides reduces cravings and also reduces incidents of hypoglycemia. Nectarose is a clear sugar syrup. Caneose is a slow release ultra-low GI, low-sweetness sugar. The free-flowing crystalline sugar provides 300 percent longer-lasting energy than sugar without extra calories, Petiva reports.

With properties similar to sugar, Honeytose and Nectarose offer similar characteristics, texture and functionality, and can readily replace sugar in almost every application including desserts, beverages or baking. Like sugar they are stable under range of temperature and pressures, brown during baking, depress the freezing point when making frozen products and are highly soluble.

All ingredients contained in Honeytose (allulose), Nectarose (trehalulose) and Caneose (isomaltulose) are GRAS (generally recognized as safe) by FDA.

Blue Diamond Almond Flour, Almond Flavors

Blue Diamond Almonds Global Ingredients Division showcased the benefits of its almond flour in artisan and commercial bakery products during IFT 2016 in Chicago.  

The company has three almond flour options available:

The company also showcased new almond flavor concepts at IFT 2016, including mesquite, maple, hot ginger, salted caramel and honey roasted, emphasizing opportunity for bar formulators to add flavor and diversity to products.

“Bar manufacturers face a host of challenges creating products for consumers with rapidly evolving preferences who want great-tasting products with a healthy halo," said Jeff Smith, director of marketing for the Blue Diamond Almonds Global Ingredients Division. “Formulating bars with flavored Blue Diamond almonds adds to the taste, texture, total protein and nutrition content of the final product. The nutritional benefits, sensory attributes and versatility of almonds make them an ideal ingredient choice."

Bell Flavors & Fragrances Showcases Spark Trend

Bell Flavors and Fragrances highlighted flavors from one of its Spark™ trends, “The Well-Traveled Kitchen: India." This trend features flavors that are intoxicatingly aromatic with mysterious boldness and exotic versatility. Capable of running the gamut from savory to sour and spicy to sweet, the unique contrasting tastes of India can create new comfort foods for consumers.

The company showcased:

MGP Earns Non-GMO Project Verified Status

MGP Ingredients, Inc. announced the company’s food grade starches are now designated as Non-GMO Project Verified. Verified status is also in place for several of the company’s wheat proteins.

Currently, 22 MGP products are Non-GMO Project Verified. 

Non-GMO Project Verified Wheat Starches include Fibersym RW, FiberRite RW, GWS™ 1600, GWS™ 8900, Midsol 1, Midsol 4, Midsol 46, Midsol 1020, Midsol Adhere, Midsol Krisp, Midsol 50, Pregel 10FC, Pregel 40, Pregel 46, Pregel Adhere 2000, Pregel 10 and RM50™.

Non-GMO Project Verified Wheat Proteins include Optein, Arise 8000, FP™ 300, FP™ 600 and Vital Wheat Gluten.

“Our Non-GMO Project Verified initiative represents a significant technical, manufacturing and quality assurance investment for MGP," noted Mike Buttshaw, vice president of sales and marketing. “It speaks to the strength of our commitment and leverages the market demand for non-GMO, which climbed to $200 billion in sales in 2014 and is expected to reach $330 billion by 2019, according to Packaged Facts."

Ingredion Addresses Trends

Ingredion Incorporated featured three interactive innovation stations, each focusing on one of three top food trends:

Bunge Unveils Non-GMO Project Verified Milled Corn Ingredients, Oils

Bunge introduced Non-GMO Project Verified milled corn ingredients and Non-GMO Project Verified oils at IFT16. Bunge also featured its broader collection of non-GMO products, including ancient grains, rice, gluten-free breadings, and puffed and expanded snacks.

The company’s Crete, Nebraska, facility is Non-GMO Project Verified, and its Danville, Illinois, facility, the world’s largest dry corn mill, is currently undergoing project verification as well. To support its non-GMO footprint, Bunge has contracted with farmers for non-GMO acres surrounding both facilities.

In addition to milled corn ingredients, Bunge also offers a scalable supply of Non-GMO Project Verified canola and soybean oils, under its Whole Harvest brand. These oils are expeller pressed and minimally refined, which makes them ideal for clean-label applications.

Consumer-driven Prototypes Feature U.S. Dairy

The U.S. Dairy Export Council® (USDEC) demonstrated how food and beverage manufacturers can create on-trend products using U.S. dairy ingredients at IFT16. The three prototypes contained a variety of dairy ingredients, including U.S. permeate, dairy proteins, Greek-style yogurt and cheese, to achieve a unique set of taste, nutritional and functional benefits. The prototypes included:

“Our prototypes were carefully crafted to show how U.S. Dairy can be incorporated into a variety of applications to achieve formulation needs and create products that consumers crave," said Vikki Nicholson, senior vice president, global marketing for USDEC.

AAK’s Fats & Oils Solutions

AAK offered live baking demos at IFT16 to showcase its latest fats and oils solutions developed to address the industry’s current formulation challenges, with efforts focused around non-hydrogenated (“non-hydro") solutions for bakery and confectionery applications.

Some prototypes featured at IFT included a savory flatbread (featuring Cisao® 7831, non-hydrogenated flakes that are incorporated to improve flakiness of baked products without the traditional roll-in process), iced shortbread cookies (with include Cisao 8312, a pliable shortening with a texture that allows for better machinability and better process tolerance, and Cisao 8315 in the frosting to deliver a well-structured icing which sets fast), and cookies and cream bites (featuring Illexao® CB 58, cocoa butter equivalent).

AAK announced at IFT that “AAK now offers non-genetically modified (non-GMO) vegetable oil solutions, including non-GMO, identity preserved soybean oil. AAK is undergoing third-party verification with the non-GMO Project, whose core requirements are traceability, segregation, and testing of high-risk ingredients at critical control points," said Terry Thomas, President, AAK USA Inc.

Amelia Bay’s On-trend Tea, Coffee Formulations

Amelia Bay featured tea and coffee formulations showcasing tea and coffee trends at IFT16, including:  organic matcha green tea with pineapple and mango; premium brewed organic sweet black tea; premium brewed organic unsweetened tea; and organic cold-brew coffee with caramel.

Beyond addressing flavor trends, John Harper Crandall, vice president of sales, Amelia Bay, noted Amelia Bay recently invested more than $3 million dollars for equipment that “has allowed us to increase our capacity and enabled us to offer an even higher level of quality and technical expertise than before."

Fibersol Celebrates Decade of Growth

ADM/Matsutani LLC celebrated the 10-year anniversary of their joint venture. The partnership between ADM, Matsutani Chemical Industry Co., Ltd and Matsutani America, Inc. supports the worldwide sales and marketing of Fibersol®. Ten years later, this collaboration continues to contribute to the success of the Fibersol line of soluble dietary fiber and to grow, together.

The companies also showcased prototypes formulated with Fibersol, including a “Fiber Shot" beverage (10 g fiber per 3 oz serving), “Fiber Gummies" (featuring Fibersol-2L, a liquid version of Fibersol-2), a “Fiber Nougat Bar" (5 g fiber, 11 g protein and 6 g sugar, and featuring Fibersol-2L and Fibersol-2) and a “Sugar-Free Slushy" (featuring Fibersol-2AG).

Kemin Food, Beverage Solutions

Kemin explored how manufacturers can keep food and beverage products “fresher, safer, longer" at IFT1.

Courtney Schwartz, senior marketing communications manager, Kemin Industries’ Food Technologies Division noted the company showcased a cracker prototype, which allowed attendees to “experience firsthand how our GT-FORT™ plant extract line protects the cracker’s taste and texture, preserving its sunflower and soybean oil components—as well as its seasonings for a fresh, flavorful taste."

Other solutions showcased at IFT16 included:

Prinova Showcases Better-for-You Trends

Prinova utilized its exclusive partnership with PureCircle to feature the latest in marketing trends associated with natural sugar reduction, and the best ways to market reformulated stevia products at IFT16.

Prinova demonstrated recent methods marketers are using to communicate these healthy changes and showcased corresponding demos formulated with PureCircle’s newest stevia sweeteners and flavors. The demos included: clean-label blackberry soda (natural flavors, reduced sugar and no artificial sweeteners on the label); high-protein, reduced-sugar strawberry banana smoothie (with stevia and 50 percent less sugar and 10 g protein per serving); “free from"-label natural peach ready-to-drink (RTD) tea (sweetened with stevia, plus natural flavor and color); and stevia naturally sweetened lemon yogurt (includes “next generation" stevia with low sugar, no artificial sweeteners and natural flavors).

Ashland’s Texture, Sensory Measurement Techniques

At IFT16, Ashland Food Scientists Mary Jean Cash and Jo Anna Popielarski, in collaboration with Lee Stapleton from Sensory Spectrum, spoke at a technical symposium that will outline the role of descriptive analysis in documenting and differentiating the texture of beverages and showed how this data can be combined with instrument analysis to complete the formulation of consumer-preferred products with sensational texture. The moderator for the technical session was Ashland Food Scientist Julie Masker.

“Sugar adds to the viscosity of beverages,” said Maxine Weber, global marketing manager, nutrition, Ashland. “With less of it in a finished formulation, the sensory experience is often compromised.”

Ashland offers specialty ingredients, services and measurement techniques, along with expertise in hydrocolloids to consumer beverages. “Products such as Aqualon™ 7HOF cellulose gum provide a consumer-pleasing sensory experience in both carbonated and non-carbonated products. This hydrocolloid modifies viscosity to give the perception of full body mouthfeel in formulas containing little or no sugar,” Weber said.

The array of new ingredients and information shared at IFT16 highlights several trends impacting the industry, including clean label, functional beverages, gluten-free, sweeteners and nutritionally enhanced snacks and bars. If you're looking for more insight into these categories, join us at SupplySide West 2016 for the following education opportunities: