The Institute of Food Technologists Honors Four Cutting-Edge Ingredient Developments as Part of the 2018 IFT/ACTA Food Industry Innovation Award

CHICAGO – The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) honored three groups for their outstanding achievement in innovation as part of ACTA’s flagship biennial event, CONACTA. The event showcases prestigious national and international companies in the areas of science and technology of food, food safety and nutrition.

The award is in its second year and celebrates innovation with a focus on ingredients.

“This year, we’re proud to recognize two companies and an academic institution for their latest achievements, which seek to address key issues such as food waste, sugar reduction and malnutrition,” said Christie Tarantino-Dean, IFT CEO.

Griffith Foods captured the award for their powdered mixture, which was created for chocolate nutrition shakes and is made with vitamins, minerals, protein and banana flour. The formulation and production of fortified banana flour transforms 21.844 kg of green bananas with peels into banana flour, which is then incorporated into the development of powdered drinks aimed at addressing nutritional deficiencies in children and adults.

The honorable mentions included Ingredion Colombia for both DOLCERRA and their Liquid 30 - 34 DE Oligosaccharide blend.

DOLCERRA is a patented system of sweetness and texture which allows partial or total replacement of sugar in a 1:1 proportion for food products such as beverages, candies, baked goods, chocolates, and dairy products. It offers consumers characteristics similar to sugar, maintaining the sweetness and texture, with the added benefits of less sugar and fewer calories, and without residual flavors.

Ingredion Colombia’s Liquid 30 - 34 DE Oligosaccharide blend is designed to improve the stability of confectionery end products due to the low content of mono, di-saccharides and high content of polysaccharides profile. With the improvement to the thermal resistance of candies, it is possible to maintain a self-life of up to 50 percent longer. It maintains the same traditional process conditions in confectionery productive processes and allows a greater substitution of sugar in candies. The reaction time is reduced during the manufacturing process, allowing a significant increase in productivity.

The Food Properties and Food Processing Research Group in the Food Engineering Program at the University of Córdoba received an academic honorable mention for the Rapid Extraction Process of Pectins from the Peel of the Passion fruit (Passiflora edulis flavicarpa). Due to the considerable production of passion fruit in Colombia, researchers have been seeking alternative uses for its byproducts, such as its peel, which is around 50 - 60 percent of the fruit. One of these alternatives is to obtain pectin and reduce the environmental impact that comes from food waste.

###

About IFT
The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) is a global organization of close to 17,000 individual members from more than 100 countries committed to advancing the science of food. Since 1939, IFT has brought together the brightest minds in food science, technology and related professions from academia, government, and industry to solve the world’s greatest food challenges. Our organization works to ensure that our members have the resources they need to learn, grow, and advance the science of food as the population and the world evolve. We believe that science is essential to ensuring a global food supply that is sustainable, safe, nutritious, and accessible to all. For more information, please visit ift.org.