NEW PRODUCTS
IFF launched four new cultures under its YO-MIX PRIME series destined for yogurt manufacturers. The new cultures join YO-MIX PRIME 800 and 900 in helping dairy manufacturers solve a range of production challenges. IFF developed the first YO-MIX PRIME series to offer full acidity control, delivering products with premium texture, stable pH, and consistent quality through shelf life. The new YO-MIX PRIME 801 and 802 cultures in the freeze-dried format, as well as YO-MIX PRIME 830 and 840 cultures in frozen format, offer consumers the ultimate mild taste experience. The cultures have the ability to control acidity and enhance sweetness perception, allowing manufacturers to formulate yogurts with less added sugar.
Omya has developed an anti-caking agent for safe and easy powder handling and processing. Omyafood 120 is based on functionalized calcium carbonate particles that have undergone a patented recrystallization process to create a new mineral composition and structure. The advanced non-nano mineral offers high porosity, high moisture-binding capacity, and reduced mechanical interlocking.
Yemoja, a marine ingredient startup, announced that it is developing a red microalgae ingredient for medium-rare plant-based burgers and steaks that mimics the red juices of real meat without harming animals or the planet and without the need for artificial color additives. The company discovered that this marine ingredient, when combined with other derivatives from the same Porphyridium strain of algae, can provide a nutrient-packed medium for rendering the sensory characteristics of juicy meats for use in plant-based meat and cultured meat products. In addition to providing the initial red pigment to raw plant-based meats, the patented microalgal heme also browns up nicely when put to the sizzle, congeals like real meat juices, and provides a nutrient boost.
DIET & NUTRITION
A new study funded by the Almond Board of California showed that a morning snack of almonds (compared with a common high-carbohydrate option) helped keep blood sugar levels more stable and trimmed the number of calories eaten over the course of the day. In fact, participants who ate the almond snack reported consuming about 150 fewer calories (on average) over the course of the day. If sustained, this calorie deficit could theoretically result in approximately a pound of weight loss per month.
In the study of 100 New Zealand adults aged 18–65 years, participants ate either at least 1.5 ounces of unroasted almonds or a calorie-matched sweet biscuit snack. Both snacks accounted for 10% of total daily calorie intake.
“Our results showed how eating almonds as a snack in the morning resulted in participants spontaneously consuming fewer calories over the course of the day,” said lead researcher Rachel Brown, a professor in the Department of Human Nutrition at the University of Otago, in a press release. “Also, our study showed that almonds tempered the post-snack blood sugar response,” she continued. “This is important because consistently high blood sugar levels after eating a snack or a meal may be associated with increased risk for heart disease and for death from all causes, whether a person has type 2 diabetes or not.”
REGULATION
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced in a letter of enforcement discretion that it does not intend to object to the use of certain qualified health claims regarding the consumption of magnesium and a reduced risk of high blood pressure (hypertension), provided that the claims are appropriately worded to avoid misleading consumers and other factors for the use of the claim are met.
The FDA responded to a health claim petition submitted on behalf of The Center for Magnesium Education and Research. After reviewing the petition and other evidence related to the proposed health claim, the FDA determined that the totality of the scientific evidence supports a qualified health claim on the relationship between magnesium and a reduced risk of high blood pressure in conventional foods and dietary supplements.
The following qualified health claims for conventional foods and dietary supplements are included in the FDA’s letter of enforcement discretion:
“Inconsistent and inconclusive scientific evidence suggests that diets with adequate magnesium may reduce the risk of high blood pressure (hypertension), a condition associated with many factors.”
“Consuming diets with adequate magnesium may reduce the risk of high blood pressure (hypertension). However, the FDA has concluded that the evidence is inconsistent and inconclusive.”
“Some scientific evidence suggests that diets with adequate magnesium may reduce the risk of high blood pressure (hypertension), a condition associated with many factors. The FDA has concluded that the scientific evidence supporting this claim is inconsistent and not conclusive.”
INGREDIENTS
Kerry’s Global Taste Charts for 2022 revealed the flavors and ingredients that are set to inspire food and beverage innovators across North America, Europe, Latin America, the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, and Africa over the coming year. Tastes that offer novelty, over-the-top indulgence, and targeted health benefits are set to drive consumer preferences in the United States in 2022. Trends that were accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic have developed further and will become more sophisticated in 2022, with consumers seeking new tastes paired with familiar formats and flavors. This will lead to interesting combinations, Kerry forecasts, such as beer blended with kombucha and sage, and chocolate milkshakes with lavender and chilies.
A desire for authentic flavors is being driven by an interest in long-term wellness and overall health following the pandemic, while cravings for more novel flavors—such as Nashville Hot, “everything bagel” seasoning, and chili crisp—are being led by consumers seeking surprise and fun from their foods and beverages. Restrictions around movement have also led consumers to “travel the world” through their tastebuds, with furikake and sambal trending in meals and entrées.
Indulgence and comfort are also important to consumers and can be invoked through traditional flavors like chocolate, according to Kerry’s analysis. As consumers enthusiastically begin to return to foodservice chains forced to close or limit service during the pandemic, tahini, saffron, and cocktail-inspired flavors are trending across the sweet food and treat spectrum.
INDUSTRY UPDATE
Royal DSM launched its new Food & Beverage business group, which unifies three areas of DSM’s nutrition business: Food Specialties, Hydrocolloids, and part of its Nutritional Products group. The new business group combines the company’s full range of food and beverage ingredients, expertise, and science-based solutions that improve the taste and texture of foods, while also supporting healthier lives and a healthier planet.
A startup company, Better Juice, announced its first official commercial deal to bring reduced-sugar juices one step closer to supermarket beverage aisles. The company inked an agreement with a major U.S. fruit juice manufacturer for commercial installation of its sugar-reduction technology.
This is Better Juice’s first official commercial venture in its long-term collaboration with GEA Group AG, a world leader in process engineering for the food and beverage sectors. Better Juice’s patented enzymatic technology uses all-natural ingredients to convert fructose, glucose, and sucrose sugars into prebiotic and other nondigestible fibers. Under the terms of the new venture, GEA will design, manufacture, and install the bioreactor that reduces sugars, and offer follow-up technical support. Better Juice will produce the microorganisms for the enzymatic process. According to the first commercial order, the fruit drinks manufacturer will produce natural juices with a minimum sugar reduction of 30%, and it expects the product to arrive in supermarkets this spring.
Puratos and ReGrained have announced a partnership to offer upcycled solutions for the commercial baking industry through an exclusive collaboration and supply agreement. ReGrained’s Upcycled Food Lab is an innovation platform for upcycled product development. Puratos brings global expertise in natural fermentation, health and well-being, enzyme-based technologies, and consumer insights. Together, they share a customer-centric and agile approach to creating scalable and highly marketable baked goods.
Matrix Fine Sciences USA announced its name change to Matrix Life Science, to coincide with the updating of the name of its parent company in India.
Prinova Europe secured AA-grade BRC certification for its distribution business. The BRC standard provides a framework for the management of product safety, authenticity, quality, and legality, rating companies on a scale from AA to D. It is one of only two schemes recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) for brokers and agents, enabling ingredient suppliers to demonstrate that they have robust quality and safety management systems in place.
The FDA announced that it intends to propose that “Acacia (gum arabic),” also known as gum acacia, be included as part of the FDA’s definition of dietary fiber. The action is being taken in response to a citizen petition from Nexira, Alland & Robert, and Importers Service Corp.
CBD Health Foods, trading as BRITISH CANNABIS, announced that it has entered into an exclusive Trademark & Know-How License Agreement with Elixinol Wellness Limited (Elixinol), the wholly owned subsidiary of Elixinol Wellness (Corporate Services) to sell CBD products across the United Kingdom.
RESEARCH
Olam Food Ingredients (ofi), in a partnership with Brightseed, a biosciences data company, will explore the health benefits and potency in ofi’s black pepper and garlic supply.
ofi’s innovation team hopes to discover exactly what health benefits exist in its U.S. garlic and global black pepper varieties. Brightseed will use its Forager artificial intelligence platform to seek to identify complex molecular structures and novel compounds in these spice categories. Forager seeks to pinpoint the specific mechanisms of plant bioactives that likely correlate to a direct health benefit, thus decoding the health impact of plant-based bioactive compounds and increasing scientific understanding of these spices’ qualities.
Forager will analyze the ways in which different regions, cultivars, growing conditions, and processing methods impact phytochemical expression and bioactive potency across multiple areas of human health for ofi’s black pepper estates and its U.S-based garlic sources. All of Forager’s discoveries undergo in vitro validation and enable a de-risked clinical trial process for innovation.