Here is this week’s roundup of news and new products and ingredients—including awards, new protein ingredients and more.
News
DuPont Nutrition & Health revealed the winners of its 12th annual Knowledge Award competition at the Prepared Foods New Products Conference in Florida. The Knowledge Award competition nurtures innovation by challenging food -science students across the country to apply their food-science knowledge and creativity to practical product development aimed at today’s consumers. Top honors and $10,000 went to a seven-member team from the University of Georgia for their Southwestern Breakfast Egg Muffin, a high-protein muffin with vegetables and whole grains. Team leader Meredith Meyer accepted the prize on behalf of her team. For the first time ever, the winning product concept was recreated for conference attendees to sample.
Second place ($5,000) was awarded to a team from Clemson University for Betterave Waffles, vegetable-packed frozen waffles. And another team from Clemson took third prize ($2,000) with Liatiko, home-style grape salsa.
The field for this year’s competition was one of the largest ever with 30 entries from 13 universities. The prevailing trend reflected in nearly all the prototypes was the health and well being of consumers. “In the concepts submitted, the students demonstrated an impressive ability to apply their food-science knowledge to the challenge of offering options that are both nutritious and appealing," observed Cathy Miller, director of innovation, DuPont Nutrition & Health, and one of the Knowledge Award coordinators.
Maypro Industries, a global supplier of specialty nutritional ingredients was selected as a National Animal Supplement Council (NASC) preferred supplier. Maypro’s proprietary branded ingredients that are provisionally NASC-approved are: AHCC® — a unique, cultured mushroom mycelia extract that enhances immunity; Champex® — an extract derived from champignon mushrooms that reduces odor and helps eliminate toxic substances; Oligonol® — a patented, low-molecular-weight polyphenol extract from lychee fruit and green tea that supports healthy aging; L-92™ — a patented, powdered food ingredient produced from sterilized cells of a proprietary strain of Lactobacillus acidophilus that helps with the health of the skin, nose, and eyes and ProDURA™ — a unique strain of spore-forming bacteria that assists with gastrointestinal and digestive health.
The fisheries that supply Omega Protein's marine ingredients products have been recognized for their sustainability by a recently released report from the non-profit Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP). The report, which gives high ratings to the Atlantic and Gulf menhaden fisheries, and the highest possible rating to the Antarctic krill fishery, is the latest in a series of official and independent evaluations to find that the marine ingredients provided by Omega Protein, and its subsidiary Bioriginal Food & Science Corp. (Bioriginal), come from responsibly managed sources.
The SFP report, "Reduction Fisheries: SFP Fisheries Sustainability Overview 2015," evaluates global fisheries targeting "low trophic level" species such as menhaden, herring, and anchoveta. It rates these commercial fisheries according to a range of categories, including, whether or not they have adopted precautionary management, whether they follow expert scientific advice, and by the health of their stocks.
On these metrics, Omega Protein's primary marine ingredients—Antarctic krill, and Atlantic and Gulf menhaden—come from among the top-ranked sustainable fisheries in the world.
New Products & Ingredients
Nordic Naturals introduced Ultimate Omega 2X, which utilizes the company’s new omega-3 fish oil—80-percent concentrated and 90+ percent triglyceride form—for superior potency and absorbability.
“We are very excited to be able to utilize our new oil in a product this powerful," said Marci van der Meulen, national retail sales manager for Nordic Naturals. “Because the oil achieves such a high level of concentration, just two soft gels of Ultimate Omega 2X delivers therapeutic levels of omega-3s—2000 mg of EPA and DHA. That’s significant."
With 562 mg of EPA and 438 mg of DHA per soft gel, van der Meulen noted that the product can be tailored to meet a broad range of nutritional needs. “This product is very versatile and convenient," she said. “It’s ideal for anyone who wants more omega-3s in fewer soft gels, whether you’re looking for 1000 mg, 4000 mg, or more per day."
Ultimate Omega 2X is also an excellent choice for those whose doctors prescribe 2000+ mg of omega-3s daily. It offers support for heart, brain, immune health and more. And, like all Nordic Naturals fish oil products, it is in the triglyceride form. Ultimate Omega 2X is also Friend of the Sea Certified, non-GMO, sustainably sourced and manufactured, and free of artificial ingredients.
AIDP unveiled three new protein ingredients:
- Sacha Inchi protein is both ancient and modern, as it is a “superfood" plant native to Peru whose seeds’ oils can be extracted for dietary supplements, with high levels of omega-3 fatty acids and protein. Sacha Inchi is often referred to as Inca nut or Inca peanut.
- Hemprotein is made from hemp seed, which is highly sustainable and a very clean plant protein, as hemp cultivation requires very little pesticides, herbicides or petrochemical fertilizers.
- Wheatein is a gluten-free, 80-percent hydrolized wheat protein that features a white color and bland flavor with slight sweetness, ideal for commercial baked goods as well as bars and pasta.