INGREDIENTS
Cosun Beet Co., Ingredion, Matsutani Chemical Industry, and Samyang Corp. have announced a new consortium to help bring allulose to the EU and UK markets and support allulose’s nutritional labeling as a carbohydrate. The new consortium is called the Allulose Novel Food Consortium (ANFC).
Allulose is a naturally derived rare sugar with 10% of the calories of standard sugar. It provides about 70% of the sweetness of regular sugar (sucrose) and has a similar taste profile. Allulose is authorized as a food ingredient in many countries worldwide, including Japan, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, and the United States. It is also under regulatory evaluation in several other countries and regions. In addition, allulose is FEMA (Flavor Extract Manufacturers Association) GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) for use as a flavoring in beverages and milk products. ANFC’s members believe that a single, joint, proprietary EU and UK novel food application could accelerate the approval process, yielding time and cost savings for members.
ANFC’s next goal is to petition for the exemption of allulose from sugar labeling in the EU/UK market.
Companies seeking approval of allulose in Europe who are interested in joining the consortium are encouraged to contact Shigehiro Hayashi at Matsutani ([email protected]).
Supplier News
Formulators of plant-based cheese alternatives understand that plant-based proteins function differently than dairy proteins, according to specialty ingredient supplier Innophos. But identifying the underlying mechanisms that influence protein interactions and developing strategies for improving plant-based protein functionalities can be challenging.
To address such challenges, Innophos built a technical database to help identify the right combination of plant protein (e.g., pea, fava, and potato) and emulsifying phosphate salts for various applications. In addition, the company developed a white paper to discuss factors that affect the protein interactions and to offer solutions from its database with the potential to help formulators optimize the taste and texture of plant-based cheese. The white paper includes practical examples such as a pea protein isolate case study that showcases improvements in a product’s moisture content, shredability, and melt properties with the addition of Innophos Texture-Melt NM69.
The white paper, “Cheese Substitutes: Formulating with Plant-Based Proteins,” is available for complimentary download on the Innophos website (innophos.com).
Product Briefs
INDUSTRY UPDATES
BENEO announced a multimillion-dollar investment program for the coming years to expand capacity for its prebiotic chicory root fiber production sites in Pemuco, Chile, and Oreye, Belgium. The first step will see more than $33 million invested. The program will ensure a significant capacity increase of more than 40% of BENEO’s global chicory root fiber production to meet rising customer demand and drive further growth within the market. The work on both production sites is beginning this year.
Batory Foods has acquired DMH Ingredients, a food and beverage ingredients distributor, along with its sister company, Naturestock Foods.
Kemin announced that it broke ground on a new manufacturing site in Verona, Mo., to produce clean label ingredients. The new facility, scheduled to open in March 2023, will be a state-of-the-art production plant for Kemin Food Technologies – Americas to manufacture its Proteus portfolio of patented, clean label protein ingredients for meat, poultry, and protein-based applications.
Merit Functional Foods, a solutions-based plant protein company, announced that its new 94,000-square-foot facility in Winnipeg, Manitoba, is fully scaled to supply pea and canola proteins.
RoundTable Healthcare Partners has established Everwell Health Holdings LLC, a new consumer health and wellness functional ingredients platform. Concurrently, Everwell Health announced its acquisition of Nutrition21, LLC, an active nutrition ingredients leader, as its first investment. Everwell Health will actively pursue partnerships and business development opportunities with additional functional ingredient companies and will focus on amplifying investments in clinical studies, new product development, marketing, and sales.
T. Hasegawa USA announced plans to open a 60,000-square-foot facility in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., in March 2022. The new facility will augment T. Hasegawa’s manufacturing resources in the U.S. market by 50% and expand the company’s capabilities in sweet flavor production and technology.
Florida Food Products (FFP) announced that it will acquire Comax Manufacturing Corp., a provider of clean label flavor solutions focused on the beverage and nutrition markets. As part of the FFP family, Comax will continue to operate its Melville, N.Y., manufacturing facility, and develop industry-leading formulations in its Marlton, N.J., R&D facility.
Global Organics is proud to recognize its longtime partner, Natíve, for becoming the first Regenerative Organic Certified sugar producer. Regenerative Organic Certification was created to leverage and bring together existing high-bar certifications for environmental protection, animal welfare, and fair trade. USDA Certified Organic, an already rigorous standard, is the baseline requirement. Regenerative Organic agriculture increases soil organic matter and sequesters carbon, ensures ethical treatment of animals, and provides fair conditions for farmers and workers.
Comet Bio, a manufacturer of healthy and sustainable ingredients, announced an investment with RE Energy to build a dedicated manufacturing facility in Denmark. RE Energy will upgrade and expand its existing facility in Kalundborg to supply over 4 million kg of Comet Bio’s Arrabina prebiotic fiber annually. RE Energy will operate the new facility under the supervision of Comet Bio.
EverGrain Ingredients, a barley fiber and protein ingredient company backed by Anheuser-Busch InBev, highlighted its sustainability efforts at Food Ingredients Europe in November 2021. The company engaged Netherlands-based Blonk Consultants to independently validate its assertion that it can offer protein and fiber ingredients (EverVita barley fiber and EverPro barley protein) with materially lower greenhouse gas emissions, land use, and water use when compared with most other conventional ingredients. EverGrain also partnered with The Carbon Underground on its Adopt-A-Meter initiative and committed to funding the restoration of 1,000 meters of land on behalf of the show’s attendees.
AlgiSys BioSciences announced that it has retained Peakstone Securities to raise $45 million in Series B capital to fund its initial commercial plans being driven by global customer demand for eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) omega-3 fish oil substitutes. AlgiSys is a biotechnology company that can sustainably and economically produce natural, non-GMO, fish-free ingredients rich in omega-3 fatty acids and aquatic plant-based protein, all suitable for a wide spectrum of B2B products. AlgiSys can deliver the highest and purest concentrations of EPA directly from algae through a highly scalable heterotrophic fermentation process. Its heterotrophic fermentation process is an environmentally clean production system with no pathogens or contaminating elements diminishing ingredient quality.
RESEARCH
Matcha is a type of green tea produced by drying and grinding tea leaves into a fine powder. With its earthy, umami taste, it’s proving to be not only a flavor, but also a nutritional source of polyphenols, vitamins, minerals, fibers, caffeine, and L-theanine.
A human study published in Science Direct showed that Ceremonial Grade Organic Matcha Powder helped ease mild stress-related cognitive decline and improved reaction time among young adults. For this placebo-controlled study, researchers recruited 42 participants aged 25 to 34 years who consumed 2 g of ITO EN’s ceremonial grade matcha daily for two weeks.
The researchers found that participants who consumed matcha daily had higher attentional function than the placebo group, leading them to conclude that the interaction between caffeine and theanine, naturally present in the matcha, has a positive effect on cognitive function in young adults during or after stress conditions.
ITO EN’s ceremonial grade matcha, available from Taiyo and partner NutriScience Innovations, is especially ideal for matcha-flavored nutritive protein powders and ready-to-drink beverages, smoothies, bars, and teas. “We are currently experiencing strong interest for Ceremonial Grade Organic Matcha in the following categories: ice cream, dairy products, smoothies, energy drinks, protein drinks and shakes, cookies, cakes, bites and bars, and chocolates,” says Derek Timm, technical sales director, Taiyo International, adding that spice companies are also showing interest.