Ingredients - Articles and news items

CFIA Rennes is back 13-15th March 2012

Featured news, News / 7 November 2011 / GL Events

Founded in 1997, the CFIA Rennes is back on March 13th , 14th and 15th 2012 for a new edition that keeps all its promises and which is already nearly full.

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Ingredients Supplement (free to view)

Issue 5 2011, Supplements / 2 November 2011 / Lionel Jublot, Supriya Varma

Pushing boundaries of flavour analysis
Lionel Jublot, Project Leader and Flavour Scientist, Unilever Research and Development

Maximising the health benefits of lycopene isomers
Supriya Varma, Food Scientist, Frito-Lay, a division of PepsiCo

Preview of FiEurope and Ni2011 (more…)

From waste product to food ingredient: The extraction of abundant plant protein RuBisCo

Issue 2 2011 / 13 May 2011 / Fred van de Velde, Group Leader Ingredient Technology, and Arno Alting, Project Manager Applied Protein Technology, and Laurice Pouvreau, Project Manager Vegetable – Derived Ingredients, NIZO Protein Centre, NIZO food research

Due to an ever-growing population, proteins extracted from existing agricultural side-streams are of high interest for food processors. RuBisCO, being the most abundant protein in the world, is a very good candidate for food applications. However, up to now, the greenish colour associated with RuBisCO preparations made consumer acceptance very difficult. NIZO food research has developed a simple and up-scalable extraction process for RuBisCO yielding to a colourless protein isolate with a high percentage of undenatured protein (Figure 1). Moreover, the protein isolate displays promising techno-functional properties, such as a high foam volume and stability and a heat-induced gelation at low protein content (two per cent w/w). (more…)

Methods to evaluate enzyme performance

Issue 6 2010 / 15 December 2010 / Sarab Sahi, Principal Research Officer, Baking & Cereal Processing Department, Campden BRI

Enzymes are widely used in the cereals industry to improve processing performance1 and product quality in a range of food products. Industrial baking in particular uses microbial enzymes as processing aids to improve dough properties as well as to improve product quality and shelf-life, and is an area where there is strong growth. Campden BRI is particularly interested in enzymes that have been developed to improve the baking process. Examples of enzymes investigated in research programmes have included xylanases, lipases, amylases, proteases and a number of oxidases. In this respect, Campden BRI plays an important role for its industrial member companies and the wider industry in evaluating the functional improvements from adding enzymes. There is usually only a limited amount of information available in the literature about the effects of these enzymes and it is not possible to deduce from published sources whether this is applicable across all bakery products or how they should be used most effectively. (more…)

Polydextrose: No compromise with taste or texture

Issue 4 2010 / 26 August 2010 / Dr. Jérôme Tauzin, Product Manager Fibres, Tate & Lyle

Polydextrose is a soluble fibre with prebiotic properties that is very well tolerated, has a low glycemic response, is clean-tasting and easy to use. With only one kcal/g, it is also a premium, low-calorie bulking agent used to provide body and texture in reduced-calorie, no added and sugar free foods. Its excellent process stability enables manufacturers to easily develop new and healthier versions of a wide range of foods and beverage products. Polydextrose is a glucose polymer consisting of randomly cross-linked glucose units with some sorbitol end-groups.

Polydextrose functions physiologically as a soluble dietary fibre due to a molecular structure that is resistant to breakdown by our digestive enzymes. It passes through to the large intestine where it is partially fermented by the colonic microflora. Polydextrose provides only one kcal per gram and, because it is fermented relatively slowly, is well tolerated at typical dietary intakes.

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The challenge of clean label reformulation

Issue 1 2010, Past issues / 22 February 2010 / Holly Hughes, Charles Speirs & Sarah Chapman, Campden BRI

With consumers becoming more aware of what is in their diet, there is a growing interest in more ‘natural’ and healthy foods free from additives. The UK food industry is under increased pressure to simplify ingredient lists and remove ‘arti­ficial’ additives from foods. The increasing popularity of the clean label movement within the EU is shown through data obtained by Mintel’s Global New Products Database (GNPD). Between January 2008 and June 2009, the most popular claim made when launching new food and beverages was ‘no additives’ or ‘no preservatives’. This was found on 13,441 products1. In addition, 23 per cent of global food and drinks launches in 2008 featured ‘natural’ or ‘no artificial….’ claims2.

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Ingredients: Modulation of saliva flow, saliva lubricating properties and related lingering perceptions by refreshing water ice consumption

Issue 3 2009 / 10 September 2009 / D. Labbe & N. Martin, Department of Food Consumer Interaction, Nestlé Research Centre

Refreshing in foods and drinks is a perception strongly related to mouth state after product consumption. Oral dryness and roughness are lingering perceptions negatively related to refreshing perception whereas mouth wetting perception is a positive driver of refreshing perception. Since saliva seems to be related to mouth wetting, we explored if salivary flow and saliva lubricating properties could be potential markers of refreshing perception. To reach our objective, we explored on saliva flow and saliva lubricating properties the impact of a water ice consumption optimised to be perceived more refreshing than a standard water ice. As key results, the optimised water ice induced the highest saliva flow rate and saliva production with the lowest friction coefficient. These results were validated by sensory evaluation, showing that the optimised product delivered after consumption the most intense salivating perception. Our finding seems to validate the positive association between refreshing and oral wetting perceptions. (more…)

Breathing new life into hydrocolloids

Issue 3 2008, Past issues / 18 August 2008 / Dr Pretima M. Titoria, Section Manager: Ingredients, Leatherhead Food International

Food and drink manufacturers are under relentless pressure from consumers to produce products that can not only deliver exciting textures and tastes, but can also be healthy and shelf-life stable. This is then reflected in the challenge posed to the hydrocolloid suppliers and manufacturers, who must deliver thickeners, stabilising agents and gelling agents with specific functionalities that can meet consumer demand.

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An evolution of technology, products and applications

Issue 3 2007, Past issues / 4 September 2007 / Phillip Tong, Dairy Products Technology Center, California Polytechnic State University

Centuries ago, man observed that drying in the sun could naturally extend the shelf life of grains and other foodstuffs. Marco Polo, in the 13th century, is reported to have carried dried milk on his trips. Based on these observations man learned to commercialise this process for vegetables and later for dairy foods and ingredients. Nicolas Appert, in the early 1800’s, discovered that milk could be reduced to a third of its volume by evaporation. Later, Gail Borden developed a process for condensing milk by using a partial vacuum to remove moisture from milk and result in a much better flavoured product than by boiling at atmospheric pressure. Because of the perishable nature of milk products, work in the 19th century and subsequently during World War II continued to focus on preservation of this valuable food source. As a result drum drying and spray drying were developed and used extensively for production of milk powders.

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The role of technology in the ingredients sector

Issue 2 2007, Past issues / 23 May 2007 / NF

In the past decade technology has provided an essential function and played an important role in the moulding and development of dairy ingredients.

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Savouring global growth in flavours

Issue 3 2006, Past issues / 11 August 2006 / Jonathan Thomas, Senior Market Analyst, LFI

The international flavours industry is highly competitive, even more so in recent times as the world’s leading food companies become larger and exert more control over their ingredients purchasing arrangements.

In line with this, the flavours sector has itself consolidated, creating larger numbers of flavour giants with more diverse product ranges and greater geographical coverage in order to satisfy the demands of the world’s leading multinationals. There remain a number of significant medium to large flavour houses around the world, with the result that further consolidation in the coming years cannot be ruled out.

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Formulating toothfriendly beverages

Issue 3 2006, Past issues / 11 August 2006 / Albert Bär, Toothfriendly International, Basel, Switzerland

Ongoing discussions about diet and health; calls of politicians and consumers for healthier foods and debates about the benefit of advertising bans and restrictions of distribution, for example in schools, particularly threatens the manufacturers of beverages and confectionery. Such products are often loaded with sugar and are, therefore, destined to be the culprits in newspaper articles about obesity, diabetes and poor dental health.

Forward looking companies launched sugar-free and energy-reduced (‘lite’) confectionery and beverages many years ago. In the candy and chewing gum market, the sugar-free segment is actually the only one that consistently produces positive growth rates. With the positioning of chewing gum as a product that not only does not harm teeth but in fact promotes dental health, this type of confectionery has even acquired a positive health image. Following this example, dental health has now become a sales argument for certain candy products which are marketed with the ‘toothfriendly’ claim (Figure 1) and/or claims about a plaque-neutralising, remineralising or tooth-whitening action.

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Cocoa butter fractionation

Issue 2 2006, Past issues / 23 May 2006 / Dr Gijs Calliauw, Chemical Engineer, De Smet-Ballestra

In the oils and fats industry, there is an ever increasing demand for products with very special physical properties for food applications and this demand propels improvement and new developments in oil modification techniques.The constant evolution in technology and process knowledge makes it possible to modify the textural properties of cocoa butter and extend its applicability.Today, the increased performance of a dry fractionation process can make high-quality cocoa butter varieties (new fractions) widely available and more affordable.

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Pasta: strength and structure

Issue 3 2005, Past issues / 29 July 2005 / Martin G. Scanlon, Nancy M. Edwards and Jim E. Dexter

Every year, in various educational institutions across the globe, students compete to design and build bridges made from spaghetti strands. In most competitions, the winner is that student team whose bridge can sustain the highest load (Johns Hopkins, 2005). Clearly some elaborate design work goes into the creation of these food engineering masterpieces (Figure 1).

However, bridge building is not the only use for pasta! Many nutritious and appetising dishes can be made from various pasta structures, such as spaghetti, lasagna, gnocchetti, manicotti, capellini, fettuccine, etc. For all pasta products, the preferred primary ingredient is semolina – coarse flour made from durum wheat. Pasta can be made from common wheat (bread-making and confectionery wheat), but is perceived as inferior to durum wheat pasta and, in some countries, legislation prohibits the addition of common wheat ingredients beyond a specified small percentage in pasta. Durum wheat was originally cultivated in the Mediterranean where, today, semolina is also used for the manufacture of specialty breads and products such as couscous, bulgar and frekeh. In recent years the proportion of durum wheat used for bread-making has been increasing.

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Adding to the mix

Issue 3 2005, Past issues / 29 July 2005 / Bogdan Dobraszczyk, Senior Research Fellow, School of Food Biosciences, University of Reading

Various ingredients have long been known to have a beneficial effect on baked loaf volume and texture. Ingredients such as fats and lipids, surfactants, oxidants and enzymes are frequently added to bread formulations to give improved product quality by giving better tolerance during processing; improving texture and volume; increasing shelf life or by minimising the natural variability in quality and the effects of different types of milling amongst different wheat flours. Combinations of these ingredients are sold to the baking industry as bread improvers.

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