Ulrick & Short Sticks With Non-GM Clean Label Coatings

21 June 2013 --- As the UK Government throws its hat into the ring in the GM debate, Ulrick & Short Ltd, leading British owned starch specialist, has reinforced its commitment to clean label, non-GM starches as replacement ingredients in a vast range of food products including coatings and batters.

The company’s latest research programme has revealed innovative new applications for wheat, tapioca and rice starches, focusing on the special attributes of each ingredient to create new food manufacturing solutions, from providing enhanced pre-dust adhesion to ensuring a crisp, brown coating on baked foodstuffs.

Ulrick & Short supplies household name food manufacturers across the world with natural non-GM ingredients, innovating across a diverse range of food industry sectors including bakery, meat, dairy, soups and sauces. The company has a team of dedicated sector specialists and food technologists based in Yorkshire and works hand in hand with key customers to maximise value from new product development.

Ulrick & Short director, Adrian Short, explained: “Batters have been in production for hundreds of years, but it’s only more recently that the full potential of clean label replacement ingredients has been realised. Wheat, tapioca and rice starches facilitate very different outcomes, from unique applications enabling thicker or thinner batters, to lighter or darker colours for different results. As well as outright replacement, existing recipes can be enhanced by mixing a clean label starch with flour, for example to create a lighter, more versatile batter.

“Regardless of the outcome of the GM debate, there is significant and growing demand within the food industry for clean label, non-GM ingredients – especially with the commercial spotlight currently on traceability and accountability. As consumers become more discerning about their diet, manufacturers of batters and coatings - and other products – are seeing the value of simplifying ingredients and cleaning up their labels to increase shelf appeal. We fully expect that trend to continue for the foreseeable future.”