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Exhibitor Highlights from the IFT 2009 Show

July 1, 2009
Watch Diane Toops speak with a representative of the Almond Board of California. Click to watch.

We sent FoodProcessing.com's roving reporters, Foods & Trends Editor Diane Toops and Editor-in-Chief Dave Fusaro, to the show floor at the IFT this year. The following is a list of exhibitors that Dave and Diane thought had some of the most innovative products.

Adding fiber and protein, while providing up to a full serving of vegetables in formulations is a snap with VegeFull, a line of pre-cooked, ready to-use healthy bean ingredients from ADM (www.adm.com). Available in bean powders, grits, refried noodles pieces and quick-prep whole varieties, VegeFull is made from a wide range of beans – pinto, black, small red, navy, great northern, dark red kidney and chickpea beans. These whole bean ingredients are an all natural, non-allergenic, non-GMO, non-gluten source of protein and complex carbohydrates, such as fiber and resistant starch. They are ideal for bakery blends, extruded snacks, salads, soups and dips. 

Consumers are demanding healthier food products, but they have to be versatile, easy to use, look appealing and taste great. The solution from the Almond Board of California (www.almondsarein.com) is almonds in one of their many forms. Almonds are a perfect combination of utility, flavor and exploding consumer demand, and research shows they are linked to heart health and satiety, and almond extracts can act as prebiotics.

Blue California (www.bluecal-ingredients.com) has been at the forefront of the stevia sweetener war from the beginning, and the company still is plugging its 97 percent pure (and above) rebaudioside-A extracts. But new for the show was a highly purified green tea extract, standardized to 95 percent epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). This pesticide-free ingredient is soluble in water has no taste, color or odor, making it suitable for beverages, functional foods and unique personal care products. 

Cargill (www.cargill.com) showed capabilities of rebiana-compatible flavor solutions based on recently patented groundbreaking technology. These flavor solutions are suited for cereal, yogurt, ice cream, confectionary and various beverage applications that can benefit from a natural, reduced calorie product positioning. Prototypes included Blueberry Yogurt, with a 50 percent reduction in sugar thanks to Truvia rebiana; and Sugar Cookie, with 30 percent reduced sugar, great for kid’s products. Branded ingredients showing up in consumer products include CoroWise cholesterol-reducer in Krusteaz waffles and Barliv barley fiber,in a Bolthouse Farms juice drink. 

Dave Fusaro speaks with a member of the EnWave team. Click to watch.

Who’s gonna protect all those IFT Show ingredients from pests? Copesan (www.copesan.com) officials explained their Signature Care program for food & beverage processing plants. Services are handled by independent, local representatives in different parts of the company. Jon Bain showed how pest control can be part of an organic program.

Meeting the demand for traceable, high-quality nutritional ingredients, DSM Nutritional Products Inc. (www.unlimitednutrition-na.dsm.com) introduced Quali-Blends, nutrient blends for food, beverage and dietary supplements. These customized dry and liquid premix solutions enable the reduction of processing, warehousing and quality control costs. Blends encompass vitamins, carotenoids, nutritional ingredients, minerals, nucleotides and novel nutraceuticals. 

Flush with that Innovation Award, EnWave Corp. (www.enwave.com) explained its nutraREV dehydration technology by showing blueberries that had been dried to varying degrees, including a puffed dehydrated berry. The nutraREV process uses 30 percent less energy and reduces capital costs by 80 percent, according to company figures. 

Diane Toops speaks with a member of the Graceland Fruit team. Click to watch.

Ganeden Biotech (www.ganedenlabs.com) was showcasing its GanedenBC30, a patented strain of probiotic bacteria Bacillus coagulans, which research has shown to be effective in supporting healthy immune and digestive systems. Because it’s spore-forming, the probiotic is protected by an organic shell, which means it can survive both manufacturing processes and the digestive process. Ganeden also hosted in its booth Steven Pratt, author of SuperHealth: 6 Simple Steps, 6 Easy Weeks, 1 Longer, Healthier Life, which promotes probiotics and GanedenBC30 in particular.

To meet the increasing demand for better-for-you-ingredients, Graceland Fruit (www.gracelandfruit.com) debuted a new line of infused dried vegetable ingredients, made possible by increased capacity of more than 40 percent and a new dryer. They include broccoli, carrots, sweet corn, green peas, celery, green peppers and red peppers. Infused vegetables (and fruits as well) retain their taste, color and texture and are shelf-stable for more than a year without sulfites or other preservatives. The patented process results in speedy rehydration and excellent cooking performance in bakery products, pasta dinners, complete and add-to meals, shelf-stable meal replacements, side dishes snacks and trail mixes. 

Dave Fusaro speaks with a member of the National Startch team. Click to watch.

In addition to its Innovation Award, National Starch Food Innovation (www.foodinnovation.com) introduced new texture systems and gluten-free solutions. The Precisa Cling (targeted for soups, sauces and dressings) and Precisa Cream (designed for dairy-based foods) systems, the first outputs of the company’s unique Dial-in Texture Technology, can assist food processors in creating consumer-appealing textures and also in reducing the use of costly ingredients while maintaining excellent eating qualities. The company also combined its experience in gluten-free ingredients – primarily corn, tapioca and rice – with its functional flour expertise to create a family of ingredients that help the baking industry produce gluten-free baked goods.

Premium Ingredients International (www.premiumingredients.com) is a leading importer of vitamin C, vitamin B and amino acids. But its lengthy list of ingredients is supplemented by such services as blending, grinding and complete R&D lab services. Featured at the show were stevia/Reb-A, organic rice and whey proteins, organic freeze-dried juice powders, all-natural yeast extracts, nitrate-bonded amino acids and a natural flavor for masking “bitter” aftertaste (especially for Reb A).

Roquette (www.roquette.com) focused on its leading ingredients for nutrition bars, extruded snacks, frozen desserts and confectionary. Nutralys is an all-natural, non-allergenic pea protein. Nutriose soluble fiber adds fiber and reduces sugar. SweetPearl crystalline maltitol is used in formulations to easily replace sucrose, is low in calories and contributes to glycemic control. And Polysorb FM fiber-enhanced maltitol syrups are designed for frozen desserts, nutrition bars and infused fruits to offer an indulgent taste with the benefits of added fiber, and caloric and sugar reduction.

Dave Fusaro speaks with Valley Fig. Click to watch.

SAFC Supply Solutions (www.safcsupplysolutions.com), a Sigma-Aldrich business, recently launched 50 new certified organic products, extending its existing range of 1,700 food ingredients, many of them Halal- and Kosher-certified. The new organic products are certified by the Midwest Organic Services Assn. and will meet both U.S and European organic standards. The company plans to expand its range further later in the year.

With a bumper crop coming in, blueberries should be abundant, stable and economically priced for product developers, according to the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (www.blueberry.org). Consumer awareness of the healthfulness of blueberries has boosted consumption — last year more than 1,300 blueberry-containing products were introduced, according to Tom Payne. Their flavor, texture, shape and color provide fruit identity attractive to health-conscious consumers, plus they’re easy and convenient for formulating.

The versatility of figs was front and center in the booth of Valley Fig Growers (www.valleyfig.com), a co-operative that owns the Blue Ribbon and Orchard Choice brands, but also produces industrial products: soft fig paste, diced and sliced figs, fig slurry, fig balsamic vinegar, fig nuggets and organic fig products. The group claims figs have more fiber than prunes, more calcium than milk and more potassium than bananas.

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