Cargill launches functional starches to address consumer demand for label-friendly products

11 Oct 2017 --- In response to growing consumer demand for label-friendly, simple and familiar ingredients, Cargill has launched a portfolio of functional native starches under the new SimPure brand. SimPure offers food and beverage manufacturers tailor-made, functional native starches that deliver the simple ingredient label consumers want, along with greater process tolerance, shelf life and storage stability. The product line will be available worldwide. 

“Consumers increasingly want to know what is in their food and are turning to product labels to better inform themselves,” says Simon Waters, Global Food Starch leader, Cargill. “Cargill’s SimPure functional native starches, coupled with our integrated formulation and technical expertise, will allow food manufacturers to deliver on consumer demands for label-friendly products with great taste and texture.” 

“For years, modified starches served as the workhorses of the texturizing world, solving a host of food processing dilemmas. However, as part of changing consumer preferences, many customers want to remove modified starch from their product labels,” explains Waters. 

“SimPure 99560 was designed for mild to moderate processed frozen-ready meals, but we have already started to see success in other applications, including egg frittata and gourmet dips.  The key here is the processing conditions utilized by food manufacturers,” Waters tells FoodIngredientsFirst. 

“SimPure 99560 has been rigorously validated and can withstand up to 12 freeze/thaw cycles without showing a reduction in water-holding capacity and texture.  This is important as shelf-life stability is critical in frozen meals,” he notes. 

“Through extensive research to identify new starch sources, create new processing techniques and evaluate new combinations of native starches, Cargill’s food scientists developed the SimPure line, offering innovative solutions to these difficult texturizing challenges,” explains Denis Palacioglu, EMEA Starch product line director, Cargill.

Johan Steyls, Principal Application Scientist, Cargill  also spoke with FoodIngredientsFirst: “We worked for over 12 months fine-tuning the solution and validating it internally and externally before launching it officially to the market.”
 
Steyls also says that there are further developments planned of the back of this: “This week marks the launch of our SimPure brand – our functional native label-friendly starch portfolio. All of our SimPure offerings will be label-friendly and deliver additional functionality, such as greater process tolerance, shelf life or storage stability. SimPure 99560 is our first new launch in the portfolio, and we have more solutions on the way.” 

“As an industry, we have always assumed that native starches were not as robust as modified starches,” continues Steyls, “However, since Cargill began experimenting with different starch blends from various botanical sources, we’ve found native starches can do more than we ever imagined – especially if we blend two or three together. To identify the best blends, our researchers went back to the basics, studying and quantifying all of the attributes of each individual starch in our portfolio.”

“By gaining greater insight into the structure and unique properties of each of our starches, we are learning how the best work together. We’re also using basic processing techniques – like controlling moisture and heat – to create more robust starch solutions that better withstand harsh processing conditions, yet still appear on ingredient statements as plant-sourced starches,” he adds. 

“Clearly, this work is being driven by consumer demand for simple, understandable ingredients in their everyday favorites.  Starches have been used for centuries to stabilize and add excitement to foods,” Steyls states. 

Introducing SimPure 99560
The first product in the SimPure portfolio, SimPure 99560, was created for use in culinary and convenience applications, such as frozen foods. A custom starch blend of various botanical sources, SimPure 99560 can replace modified starches in frozen-ready meals, without compromising taste, texture or appearance. 

Cargill recognized using a single starch often falls short in replicating the mouthfeel, texture and stability provided by modified starches in frozen prepared entrée sauces. The company’s food scientists instead created a tailored system of starches, which deliver comparable performance. The result, patent-pending SimPure 99560, provides optimal freeze-heat stability in mild processing conditions, preventing water separation and producing stable functionality over time. It offers good viscosity in processing and microwave cooking stability. Equally important, SimPure 99560 maintains mouthfeel and texture, delivering on consumers’ sensory expectations. 

“As a global leader, we have the most diverse texturizing portfolio, backed by world-class formulation experts and a reliable supply chain, enabling us to create custom solutions like SimPure 99560 to address the application and marketplace needs of our customer partners,” says Waters. “As we expand the SimPure product line, our food scientists will be creating similar ways to use familiar ingredients that provide the functional, label-friendly options our customers require.”

By Elizabeth Green