Tate & Lyle’s SODA-LO Salt Microspheres Wins 2013 Institute of Food Technologists Innovation Award

16 July 2013 --- Tate & Lyle, a leading global provider of specialty food ingredients and solutions announced that SODA-LO Salt Microspheres is a winner of the prestigious 2013 IFT Food Expo Innovation Award.

SODA-LO is Tate & Lyle’s groundbreaking salt-reduction ingredient that is made from real salt, which means that food manufacturers can meet lower salt requirements without compromising the taste or functionality of their products.

“We are extremely honored to receive this respected award for SODA-LO Salt Microspheres,” said Dr. Andy Hoffman, Director of Wellness Product Development at Tate & Lyle. “SODA-LO is a revolutionary ingredient that helps food manufacturers reduce the amount of salt in their products, and, as a result, contribute to improvement in public health and wellness.”

The IFT Food Expo Innovation Award was announced and presented during the July 14 opening general session of the 2013 IFT Annual Meeting and Food Expo in Chicago. Award entries were judged by a panel of nine jurors from industry, academia and government with broad expertise in research and product development, processing and packaging technology, and food safety. Judging criteria included degree of innovation, technical advancement, benefits to food manufacturers and consumers, and scientific merit.

Reducing salt while maintaining taste and flavor

SODA-LO Salt Microspheres is created using patented technology to transform standard salt crystals into free-flowing hollow crystalline microspheres that efficiently deliver salty taste by maximizing surface area relative to volume. “Application development with SODA-LO has demonstrated successful sodium reductions of 25 to 50 percent in various applications including breads, peanuts, popcorn, crackers, chips, French fries and seasoned meat”, said Judy Turner, Director Food Applications North America at Tate & Lyle. “Because SODA-LO is made from salt, there are no bitter aftertastes or off-flavors associated with other salt substitutes. Sensory test results indicate that the sodium-reduced products are not statistically different from the control samples for attributes including overall acceptance and flavor.”

SODA-LO is the result of Tate & Lyle’s Open Innovation team that creates partnerships to bring the most exciting new food ingredient technologies to market. Through a license agreement with Eminate, a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Nottingham, UK, Tate & Lyle has exclusive, worldwide rights for product development, manufacturing and commercialization of the SODA-LO Salt Microspheres technology.

The 2013 IFT Food Expo Innovation Award is the fourth industry award for SODA-LO Salt Microspheres. In November 2012, SODA-LO was recognized at the Health Ingredients Europe trade show as the “Heart Health and Circulatory Innovation of the Year” and as the overall “Most Innovative Health Ingredient of the Year.” It also was selected as one of the most innovative new ingredients at Food Ingredients South America in September 2012.