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2015 Review: The Key Ingredient Launches

Dec 2015

2015 was characterized by a fall in commodity prices after several uninterrupted years of rising prices. In Europe, the end of the EU milk quota system, coupled with various other market factors have led to a well-documented oversupply of milk and a subsequent fall in prices. Sugar intake has been an important topic for years, but 2015 was yet another major year with anti-sugar movements increasing. In the US, the big regulatory news of 2015 was the FDA’s final determination on partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs), which requires manufacturers to stop using them by June 18, 2018, or submit a food additive petition for the safe use of PHOs. Overall, it was clear this year that clear label and free from foods have now truly entered the mainstream, while consumers who are regularly reduce their meat consumption rather than forgoing it altogether are also shaping new product development efforts. Key themes in ingredient development this year therefore included: clean label, vegetarian options, cost reduction, sodium replacement, protein enrichment with alternative proteins and vegetable fortification. Our 2015 review looks at some of this year’s supplier highlights.   


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Chr. Hansen has launched YoFlex Acidifix, a culture that due to its exceptional pH stability can revolutionize the way yogurt is produced and significantly reduce cost. With YoFlex Acidifix, a pH stable culture that, through the warm filling process, manufacturers can achieve the desired yogurt texture with a protein content that is 0.3-0.6% lower than with any other yogurt culture. With protein being one of the more costly texturizers, this corresponds to more than 5% of the recipe cost of a plain yogurt, or approximately US$1 million for a 50,000 ton per year line.