KEY INTERVIEW: Limagrain Comes Into its Own in Growing Clean Label Market

22 Feb 2016 --- With a turnover of around €2.5bn, French cooperative Limagrain has three main activities: Vegetable seeds; Field seeds such as maize, wheat, rapeseed; and a food division with two arms, Jacquet Brossard (French leader for bakery) and Limagrain Céréales Ingrédients (LCI). Walter Lopez, LCI marketing executive, spoke to FoodIngredientsFirst about how LCI’s functional flours are tapping into the trends for clean label, improved nutrition and gluten-free products.

“Clean label is very important at the moment, particularly in ready meals,” says Lopez. “LCI has been involved in this area for many years, due to its functional flour. It’s a very simple product, although it comes from a specific variety. We work with a seed developer to develop a wheat with a particular starch which gives a fat sensation in the mouth. This allows food manufacturers to cut back on some of the fat content in their foods to improve the functionality. Limagrain calls this its ‘waxy wheat’. It can be labelled as wheat flour.”

LCI has been producing clean label solutions for more than 30 years. “Our solutions are based on new cereal varieties for new applications,” says Lopez. “For instance, the first waxy wheat (high amylopectin wheat) able to reduce fat for food applications was launched by LCI. Thanks to our agricultural roots, we guarantee a complete traceability, from the folk to the plate. For maize, our “LimaTrace” chain is unique: all the production steps are managed by Limagrain, from the selection and creation of seeds, cereal production and storage to the final transformation into ingredients.”

The Farigel hydrothermal process that LCI uses can be adapted in order to obtain different characteristics. For example, stability (shelf life increasing, microflora reduction, enzyme stabilization); Batch to batch consistency; Bitterness reduction; Viscosity: direct impact on starch gelatinization, from a stabilized flour (very low treatment) to an instant flour (high treatment) which can develop cold viscosity; and Granulation.

LCI’s functional flours can be used for a number of purposes, particularly to achieve a clean label in a market that is increasingly plagued by food scares and a suspicion that foods are not traceable enough. Gluten-free products are also gaining in popularity in many parts of Europe, such as Spain and France.

In terms of clean label, the four main areas of use are bakery & sauces, for fat reduction while maintaining mouthfeel; ready meals, where removal of modified starches is required; dairy products where rice functional flour is used to replace other additives; and meat products, to increase water-binding capacity, better cooking yield and to mimic the mouthfeel of a product.

“In France & Spain there is a growing trend for clean label and reducing fat and calories, particularly in bakery products,” says Lopez. “Consumers want the same organoleptic sensation so with Limagrain’s solution, manufacturers have managed a 25% fat reduction. The product can substitute all fats.”

In terms of the trend towards more gluten-free products, today’s options are based on three different crops. Maize is good, says Lopez, but the intense color is a problem in food manufacturing, he says. Rice is white, but it is a bit more expensive, which leaves pulses, which have presented a solution in recent years. Gluten-free pasta is particularly popular in Italy now and Limagrain, in collaboration with an Italian University has developed a good chickpea solution with positive results in both texture and resistance, as well as taste.

“The gluten-free offering is based on three main staples - bread, pasta and pastry applications, explains Lopez. “What Limagrain has found, particularly in a very developed market such as Italy, is that if there is a family member with coeliac disease and therefore gluten-free, then the rest of the family also tends to eat a gluten-free diet as well, and this opens up the market to a huge amount of consumers.” 

Lopez thinks that the UK will also continue to develop into a more commercial market, however it is in Spain that gluten-free is making inroads.

“The EU regulates that to be gluten-free, a product should contain no more than 20ppm of gluten,” he says. “The Spanish coeliac association, however, stipulates that to carry its highly respected logo, it should contain no more than 10ppm. This regulation means that other countries often supply an even further reduced gluten-free product in order to keep up with Spanish recommendations.”

Lopez’s view of the future sees an increase in the popularity of 100% vegetarian products across Europe, with a rise in vegetable-based ‘meat’ alternatives. While this is already a strong trend in the UK, Lopez sees this increasing throughout Europe.

Limagrain’s meat replacement is a functional flour that is granulated in a way that produces a bite that mimics meat. It can be used in a vegetarian steak, for example and it will give the consumer a very similar sensation to meat.

Another trend that will continue to increase is that of high protein, particularly breakfast cereals and ready meals, says Lopez.

“In terms of new products, LCI has recently launched Nutricorn, a new, toasted ingredient made from maize germ, which gives a taste rather like toasted hazelnuts. This means that it can be used to substitute nuts in some applications and as it is rich in essential nutrients such as fibre and magnesium, it’s an interesting ingredient to put into a variety of food products,” he says.

The trend for clean label food is reasonably new, but LCI has been providing for that market for over 30 years. With that kind of experience, and the backing of a multi-billion euro owner co-operative, LCI is in a good position to continue its research and development into trends that will become the mainstream in the near future.

By Kelly Worgan