Cargill to Showcase Organic Product Development

07/05/07 Visitors to Cargill’s booth at the All Things Organic show in Chicago this week will have the opportunity to taste two prototypes containing organic sweeteners from Cargill. One prototype features Cargill’s Zerose organic erythritol and the other features organic glucose syrup.

“Organic products have become one of the fastest growing segments in the food industry and consumer demand has increased the need for product innovation,” said Marcelo Montero, president, Cargill Sweetness Solutions. “Cargill has the ingredients, product formulation expertise, market insights and global supply chain to help our customers efficiently develop great-tasting, USDA-certified organic food and beverages.”

An organically sweetened water illustrates how Cargill works with beverage manufacturers to develop refreshing, sweet-tasting, no-calorie beverages – full taste without the calories. It is sweetened with Zerose organic erythritol, a sugar alternative produced from organic sugars. Zerose, which is the new brand name for Cargill’s erythritol, has zero sugar, zero calories, zero aftertaste and zero artificial ingredients.

Food and beverage manufacturers can use Zerose organic erythritol to develop U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) certified organic consumer products that taste sweet and are non-glycemic and non-insulinemic, making them suitable for people with diabetes. In addition, Zerose organic erythritol does not promote tooth decay.

According to the Organic Trade Association’s 2006 Manufacturer Survey, the U.S. organic industry reached $14.6 billion in consumer sales in 2005.

“Zerose organic erythritol meets consumers’ growing demand for no-calorie, natural, organic sugar-free products,” said Kathy Fortmann, polyols and dextrose global business director, Cargill Sweetness Solutions. “It tastes 60 to 70 percent as sweet as sugar, so consumers can manage their sugar intake without sacrificing taste.”

Zerose organic erythritol can be used in an array of applications, including bakery, dairy, beverage and confectionery. The mandarin water featured at Cargill’s both also includes other Cargill ingredients: Cargill flavors, citric acid and trisodium citrate.

An organic cranberry almond granola bar delivers the nutrition of whole grain and is sweetened with organic glucose syrup, a versatile sweetener that provides an excellent balance between sweetness and other functional properties.

Derived entirely from organically grown wheat and hydrolyzed with natural enzymes, Cargill organic glucose syrups are unlike any other organic liquid sweeteners. They enable developers to manage viscosity, body, mouthfeel, freezing point, texture and sweetness, and have a non-masking flavor and transparent appearance.

“Cargill understands that developing organic products can be challenging for our customers,” said Jim Sayers, regional sales manager, Cargill Corn Milling North America. “To make it easy for them to ‘go organic,’ we’ve expanded our portfolio of sweeteners to include USDA-certified organic glucose syrups. These syrups enable food manufacturers to expand their organic product offerings into a wide range of applications.”

These applications include bars and snacks, hard and chewy candies, baked goods, ice cream and frozen desserts, jams, condiments, sauces, dressings and fruit preparations.