This year’s IFT is over, and Food in Canada has a roundup of some of the great stuff you missed
For instance, the board found that for the second year in a row consumers pinpointed nutrition as the number one reason to purchase almonds. North American consumers also rank almonds as the nut that delivers the best for being nutritious (48%), balanced (29%) and natural (25%).
The Board also found, from other sources, that 74 per cent of North American consumers report their grocery purchases are healthier than they used to be. And consumers want products that are heart healthy, full of fibre, and trans-fat free – all attributes of almonds.
California Almonds also found that per capita consumption grew 82 per cent from 2000 to 2008; and reported purchases per month increased 94 per cent in the past decade.
Also, almonds are the number one nut in global packaged new product introductions and are among the top two nuts in new product introductions across every major region in the world.
Almond have even surpassed peanuts as the nut consumers report eating most on an ongoing basis and the one consumers rank as the most essential/irreplaceable.
• Dow Wolff Cellulosics Food&Nutrition highlighted its plant-based ingredients that can provide choices for a healthier lifestyle. The company says these ingredients enable the formulation of reduced-fat and allergen-free foods and keep products looking and tasting fresh.
The company highlighted its new Methocel gluten replacement, a gluten replacer that enables the production of tasty gluten-free foods, allowing consumers to satisfy their dietary needs. It also offers consistent dough handling, prevents collapse during baking, controls crumb structure and volume, and keeps products moist. It also avoids gas or bloating effects associated with many other sources of fibre.
The company also highlighted its:
-Methocel fat replacement, a cellulose that helps reduce fat in meat and bakery products by up to 60 per cent, in line with consumer needs and health trends. It enables the substitution of saturated fats or hydrogenated oils by healthy oils such as sunflower, olive or omega-9 oils.
-Clear+Stable, a cellulose gum that thickens and stabilizes acidic food and beverages (even under acidic conditions), keeping them crystal clear. It also protects the valuable proteins consumers want, prevents turbidity, flocculation, sedimentation and phase separation, it means less hydrocolloid is needed in formulations, and it’s available in three viscosity ranges to suit a host of different food and beverage applications.
-Fortefiber, a 100 per cent soluble dietary fibre that can help maintain healthy levels of blood glucose and cholesterol. It also provides consumers with a convenient way to add more fibre to their diets because it doesn’t cause gas or bloating and it can be added to such as sports bars, biscuits, nutritional supplements and desserts.
• Purac introduced a solution, its PuraQ Verdad RV75, that can reduce sodium in products by at least 20 per cent.
The company says PuraQ Verdad RV75 also acts as a natural preservative, can extend shelf life, offers clean label, increases food safety, is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial, enhances flavour and offers listeria protection.
PuraQ Verdad RV75 can be applied in food products where microbiological control is needed of molds, yeast and/or spoilage bacteria. PuraQ Verdad RV75 is a natural ferment derived from various selected food cultures. This liquid fermentation product contains multiple components such as organic acids, peptides and residual sugars. PuraQ Verdad RV75 is a consumer friendly solution as it can be labeled as cultured sugar.
The company also showcased its PURAC FIT Plus, a solution to naturally mask stevia off flavours.