Fi Europe 2017: Reduction & Reformulation Innovation Awards – the nominees

16 Nov 2017 --- The Fi Europe Innovation Awards honors professionals and companies for their ability to demonstrate and stimulate innovation, and for their contribution to the industry. With Fi Europe 2017 fast approaching, FoodIngredientsFirst takes a closer look at some of the award nominees for the Reduction & Reformulation Innovation Award. This award gives recognition to an organization or company that has developed the best solution (natural or synthetic) within the last two years for reducing salt, sugar or fat whilst maintaining flavor, texture and functionality of the ingredient replaced.

There are four nominees for this award:

DSM: Delvo Cheese CT-Light improves taste and texture in low-fat cheese
DSM’s Delvo Cheese CT-Light allows cheesemakers to create continental cheeses using low-fat milk with the same taste texture that consumers expect from a full-fat product. During the cheese making process, the culture replaces fat with water without any negative impact on physical or sensory properties. With DelvoCheese CT-Light, fat can be reduced by 30 percent or more, alongside a significant cut in calories. This is done without additives or stabilizers. This total culture solution enables cheesemakers to meet the consumer demand for healthier options by giving the impression of a full-fat product but with less fat and fewer calories.

Gert van den Hoven, Cheese Expert at DSM tells FoodIngredientsFirst: “Reducing fat is a common trend in all food categories, but also in cheese. Reducing fat in cheese is a challenge due to the complex protein matrix structure found in Continental Cheese. Delvo Cheese CT-Light enables cheesemakers to reduce fat and calories in Continental Cheese while maintaining the desired texture and flavor of full-fat cheese – all with a clean label solution.”

“Reducing fat while maintaining taste and structure is a major challenge for Continental Cheese manufacturers, in the industry today. To make low-fat cheese, fat from milk is generally replaced with water which creates two major hurdles: a weak taste, and a rubbery texture. Delvo Cheese CT-Light improves the flavor development of the cheese and lends a stronger diacetyl (buttery) flavor which mimics the taste of full-fat cheese. For texture, the culture helps to bind more water and preserves the flavor and smooth texture of the cheese due to its low post-acidification. This enables a fat reduction of up to 30 percent without adding any additives or stabilizers,” explains van den Hoven. 

Delvo Cheese CT-Light can be applied in a broad range of cheeses. The primary application is the semi-hard cheese segment, for example, Manchego, Gouda, Tilsiter, Maasdam, Edam, Havarti, and Prato.

This year there are several new launches with this product on the market. Continental cheese with low fat: Manchego and Gouda cheese. “The newly launched Cheese with CT Light is now available in the retail market in Latam and Europe,” he adds.

IOI Loders Croklaan: Presdough 270 SB
Presdough 270 SB is a second generation palm alternative based on shea. Its overall performance and clear benefits in terms of health, sensory and workability are revolutionary. This plasticized shortening has the unique property that it generates extra puff in baked puff pastry. The extra puff creates a clear health benefit as it effectively allows a 20 percent fat reduction. Together with a low SAFA level of 40 percent, it gives an overall SAFA reduction of over 40 percent when compared to current available palm alternatives. The low SAFA level also provides a quicker melting taste experience, boosting the flavor release. When baked, this shortening gives an attractive golden brown and crispy crust.

Monique Hartog, Marketing Communication Manager at IOI Loders Croklaan, tells FoodIngredientsFirst: “Presdough 270 SB releases the full potential of Shea as a premium bakery fat. It outperforms existing palm alternatives in multiple areas.”

Health. Puff pastry fats generally have a very high SAFA level of around 55 percent. Palm alternatives based on shea stearin and rape have SAFA levels of around 60 percent. Presdough 270 SB has 40 percent SAFA content. And because the product delivers a higher puff, you can reduce the fat in the recipe by up to 20 percent.

Sensory experience. Due to the low SAFA level, the fat will melt faster, providing a quick flavor release, a better mouthfeel and more taste. The extra puff provides a crispy crust, while the shea itself contributes to a golden brown color.

Workability. The key for puff pastry is to get a perfect harmony, trapping the fat between the dough layers, expanding the layer cavity. The β crystal polymorphic form allows a proper plasticity and minimizes post hardening. The unique balance of solid and liquid particles enables processing with industrial laminating pumps and multi-roller making it ideal for industrial bakeries.

Cost efficiency. Currently, palm alternative vegetable fat blends for puff pastry are costly: based on shea stearin, coconut and cocoa butter. Presdough 270 SB combines excellent technical properties with cost-competitiveness.

According to Hartog, it excels in puff pastry and laminated dough products. It is already available in bulk and from April 2018 onwards it will be available as a shortening in fully crystallized wrapped blocks.

Metarom Group: Acti’Boost Sweet range 

Metarom's Acti’Boost Sweet range and provides food manufacturers with a “high performance” natural active solution to compensate the sweet perception of low-sugar beverages and dairy. It has been specifically designed to reduce the sugar content of up to 30 percent in beverages and dairy, even 50 percent depending on the matrix. Labeled “Natural Flavor” according to European regulation, it adapts to the specific features of each product: carbonated beverages, soft drinks, milky and plant-based drinks. Its formulation is resistant to pasteurization, sterilization, low and high pH. Acti’Boost Sweet allows consumers to enjoy nutritionally beneficial food products without compromising on taste. 

“The new Acti’Boost Sweet range provides food manufacturers with a “high performance” natural active solution to compensate the sweet perception low of low-sugar products. Acti’Boost Sweet participate to enhance the global taste profile of the product and doesn’t bring any off-taste to the product,” Chloé Bard tells FoodIngredientsFirst.

“This natural solution acts in synergy with the matrix. It boosts the sugar profile in the mix while enhancing the flavoring profile,” she explains. 

These simultaneous actions strengthen the overall sweet perception up to 30 percent. The solution is very efficient in an application with an average 30 percent sugar reduction power, the result may even go to 50 percent depending on the matrix,” notes Bard. 

With a “natural flavor” declaration, Acti’Boost Sweet is clean labeling solution. 

“Since 2016, WHO has been recommending reducing our daily intake of free sugars to less than 5 percent of total energy intake – which is the equivalent of 5 teaspoons of sugar per day. Beyond the recent sugar taxes, increasing numbers of European consumers, in their efforts to adopt a healthier lifestyle, would like to reduce the amount of sugar in their diet,” Bard notes.
 
Technical aspects aside, sugar also plays an essential role in product flavor. Reducing a significant quantity of sugar without altering the flavoring profile is, therefore, a real challenge, moreover when the choice goes for non-assistance of sweeteners.

Acti’Boost Sweet range adapts to the specific features of each matrix and works in carbonated and soft drinks beverages, dairy, milky and plant-based drinks.

The formulation is resistant to pasteurization and even sterilization, low to high pH. The company is also developing solutions for biscuits and cereals.

Novozymes: Great-tasting fermented milk products with less added sugar using Novozymes Saphera FMP

This new innovative solution from Novozymes Novozymes Saphera is a new generation of lactase that opens new opportunities for introducing dairy products containing less added sugar while maintaining the same delicious taste. With this technology, health-conscious consumers gain dairy products that have less sugar and are low lactose, without sacrificing on taste.

Emmanuel Michelot, Launch Management and Positioning for Food at Novozymes told FoodIngredientsFirst: “With our Saphera FMP product, the sweetness is naturally enhanced, allowing dairies to produce fermented dairy products with less added sugar. What is unique is that our solution doesn’t require any process modification and doesn’t impact the taste and texture of the final dairy products.” 

“A key challenge for the industry is to produce dairy products with less added sugar without sacrificing on the taste and texture of the final products,” he explains. “Dairy products and particularly sugared yogurts are considered to be some of the main contributors to increased sugar intake. Consumers are looking for healthier dairy products with less added sugars. Contributing to the reduction of sugar consumption is an important goal for the food industry, and finding solutions to reduce added sugar is a key development focus area,” explains Michelot.

Saphera FMP works extremely well in yogurt production, better than conventional yeast-based lactases. This is because it works at a lower pH and a higher temperature than other lactases and is therefore very suitable for reducing added sugar in the production of fermented milk products such as flavored yogurts, cultured beverages and cream cheese.  

Saphera FMP can also be used in the production of non-fermented milk products such as flavored and functional milk drinks. 

Novozymes Saphera is already used industrially in several dairy product-categories and in more than 24 countries for sugar reduction and/or lactose reduction.

Part 2 of our review looks at the Sustainability, Organic and Clean Label nominees, while Part 3 looks at the Life Stages and Growth categories. 

The winner of this award will be announced at FiE 2017 in Frankfurt, later this month. 

By Elizabeth Green