Tate & Lyle Collaborates on IFT Product Development Competition

12 May 2014 --- A Rutgers University student team won the Heart-Healthy Product Development Competition at the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Wellness Conference held last month in Chicago, using Tate & Lyle’s groundbreaking sodium-reduction technology, SODA-LO Salt Microspheres.

“It’s incredibly important to us at Tate & Lyle to partner with student teams,” said Sue Butler, Senior Research Scientist, Health and Wellness, Tate & Lyle. “Students are the next product developers. They did all the hard work, but we were thrilled to provide the resources and information that helped them to be successful.”

The Rutgers team used SODA-LO Salt Microspheres in their award-winning cracker concept to showcase how the food industry can meet demand for heart-healthy options without compromising great taste.

“Sodium reduction plays a key role in heart health, but we were having a difficult time finding a solution that actually tasted good,” said Vi Dao, second-year graduate student on the Rutgers team. “Then we came across an article about SODA-LO and quickly called the Tate & Lyle team. They were able to provide samples of their product and share their broad applications experience with us.”

After collaborating with the Tate & Lyle applications team, the Rutgers students chose to use SODA-LO topically on baked cracker pieces, passing sensory taste-testing conducted at the university.

“From formulation to sensory testing to marketing, I learned so much through this experience,” said Dao. “With the help of Tate & Lyle, we were able to create a product that could actually succeed in the marketplace.”

SODA-LO Salt Microspheres meets the challenges of sodium reduction without compromising great taste. Made through proprietary technology that turns standard salt crystals into hollow, crystalline microspheres, SODA-LO tastes, labels and functions like salt while cutting sodium content in many foods by up to 50%.

SODA-LO Salt Microspheres was developed in partnership with Eminate through Tate & Lyle’s Open Innovation platform. In October 2011, Tate & Lyle signed an exclusive agreement to license and distribute SODA-LO worldwide.