Ingredient Development Awarded at IFT Food Expo

The winners are Bühler Barth AG and Log5 Corporation (co-recipients), Bunge North America, Caravan Ingredients, and Handary SA.

Jul 23 2010 --- At the keynote session of the 2010 Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting & Food Expo, incoming IFT President Bob Gravani and President-Elect Roger Clemens announced and presented five companies with the 2010 IFT Food Expo Innovation Awards. The winners are Bühler Barth AG and Log5 Corporation (co-recipients), Bunge North America, Caravan Ingredients, and Handary SA.

A panel of nine jurors from industry and government with broad expertise in research & product development, processing & packaging technology, and food safety selected the five companies and their innovations from 56 qualified entries. Only companies exhibiting at the 2010 IFT Food Expo in Chicago were eligible. Judging criteria included degree of innovation, technical advancement, benefits to food manufacturers and consumers, and scientific merit.

Co-recipients Bühler Barth AG and Log5 Corporation garnered the 2010 IFT Food Expo Innovation Award for their Controlled Condensation Process Pasteurization Technology, which pasteurizes low-water-activity foods, such as tree nuts, peanuts, spices, and grains, and preserves the natural quality of the food. The technology maintains thermal equilibrium conditions by controlling pressure, temperature, surface condensation, and moisture levels.

Bunge North America won the award for its Phytobake Shortening with Phytosterols. The functional shortening for bakery applications enables the dilution of the amount of traditional hard fat or saturates and trans fats used in the plastic shortenings by up to 46%. Bakers using this ingredient can produce healthier sweet goods, such as cookies, pie crusts, and cakes.

Caravan Ingredients was honored for its Trancendim Emulsifiers for Zero Trans Shortening a zero trans, reduced saturated fat alternative for structuring fats and oils that mimics or improves the melting behavior of common fat-based products. Applications include salad dressings, frying oils, margarines, and bakery products. Users can create better-for-you products without sacrificing taste or mouthfeel.

“Trancendim technology provides unique opportunities to reduce saturated fat in trans fat free applications. Caravan Ingredients is very proud and also excited that this innovative technology has been recognized by the Institute of Food Technologists,” said Larry Skogerson, Vice President R&D at Caravan Ingredients reported that, “Development of Trancendim underscores the commitment of Caravan Ingredients to provide innovative ingredients that enable food manufacturers to provide healthy, nutritious and delicious food choices for consumers.”

The Trancendim line of high diglycerides from Caravan Ingredients, transcends existing lipid structuring technology by delivering zero grams trans fat and significantly reduced saturated fat; all while maintaining exceptional taste, mouthfeel and flavor release.

Choosing shortenings and margarines with Trancendim eliminates "hydrogenated" from the label and works well in a variety of applications including cakes, donuts, Danish, icing, frying, puff pastries, laminated products, popcorn oil, peanut butter and compound coatings.

A panel of nine jurors from industry and government with expertise in ingredients, product development, processing and packaging technology, microbiology and food safety reviewed all entries. Judging criteria included: degree of innovation; solves a problem relevant to food science and technology; technical advancement; benefits to food manufacturers; benefit to consumers; and scientific merit.

One juror wrote with regard to Caravan Ingredients' winning product submission: "Replacing the functionality of the trans fat in baked goods continues to be a challenge. This product may be the solution that baked products need to become trans fat free."

Handary SA captured the 2010 IFT Food Expo Innovation Award for its NisinA Natural Antimicrobial Agent, a vegetable-based natural product that can improve food safety by controlling foodborne pathogens, such as Clostridium botulinum, Listeria monocytogenes, and Bacillus cereus. It also extends the shelf life of foods by controlling lactic acid bacteria and prevents the formation of bacteria due to high temperatures.