Ingredion Clean-Taste Pulses Win IFT17 Innovation Award
28 Jun 217 --- Ingredion, in partnership with AGT Foods, has received an IFT17 Food Expo Innovation Award for their clean taste pulse ingredients at this year’s Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Awards Celebration in Las Vegas, Nevada.
A panel of eight jurors across disciplines selected four winners out of 41 qualified entries. Judges considered the degree of innovation, problem-solving relevance to the food industry, benefits to food manufacturers and consumers, and scientific merit.
Judge comments on the clean-taste pulses included, “Flavor of plant proteins is a major hurdle to acceptance; finding a physical treatment to ameliorate the flavor would be welcome,” and “Innovative; problem-solving; clean label; vegan protein.”
Remarks also highlighted the reduction of beany flavor by a physical process and the validated kill step that diminishes the presence of microorganisms.
“Ingredion Incorporated and AGT Foods worked together to overcome several difficult technical challenges to reduce flavor while maintaining other desirable product characteristics such as protein content and quality, overall nutritional content, and the functionality provided by the pulse flours and proteins,” said Igor Playner, vice president of innovation and strategy, North America, at Ingredion Incorporated.
“With one in three consumers stating that they prefer a vegetable-sourced protein to an animal-sourced protein, Ingredion’s clean-taste pulses help make it possible for manufacturers to meet consumer needs and bring added nutritional balance into new applications such as alternative dairy, beverages, confectionery and savory, or to increase usage levels in current application areas such as pasta, snacks, bakery and crisps,” Playner said. 
At the IFT Annual Meeting and Food Expo, June 26 – 28, 2017 at the Sands Expo Center, visitors can taste the clean-taste pulses in action at Ingredion booth #2056. Prototypes will range from a Burmese chickpea tofu, alfredo sauce and baked churro to a vegan coconut milk pulse yogurt and chocolate pulse protein spread.
Pulse education sessions include:
• “Leveraging the Power of Plant Proteins” with Dr. Mehmet Tulbek of AGT Foods. Tuesday, June 27, 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
• “Expand Your Application Areas with Clean-Taste Pulse Ingredients” with Dr. Bicheng Wu of Ingredion. Wednesday, June 28, 10:45 a.m. – 1:15 a.m. on the IFTNEXT stage.
Ingredion is the exclusive distributor of pulse ingredients manufactured by one of the world’s largest pulse processors, AGT Foods. The clean-taste line of pulse ingredients are clean label, non-GMO, gluten-free, vegetarian and sustainably sourced. In certain applications, the inherent flavor profile of conventional pulses is a perfect fit, whereas in other applications, having a pulse with a neutral flavor profile is preferred.
Pulses are the dried seeds of plants from the legume family, like peas, edible beans, lentils and chickpeas. Special properties make pulses particularly suitable for today’s health conscious consumers. The ingredients are naturally very high in protein and dietary fiber, are rich in minerals such as iron, zinc, potassium, and are a source of B vitamins and folic acid.
