Unimills Launches Food Colouring Brand and Expands Selection with Confectionery Range

When applied, Vitolio changes the colour of the food products from yellow to red. Unimills Vitolio 150 is easy to use and mixes well with all oil-based products.

1 Dec 2009 --- Unimills, the leading supplier of vegetable oil based ingredients for the food industry and the European subsidiary of the world’s largest palm oil originator, Sime Darby, has launched two new product series - Vitolio and MasterCraft - during the Food Ingredients Expo held in Frankfurt from 17 to 19 November, 2009.

Vitolio is a natural vegetable oil based ingredient with food colouring benefits, while MasterCraft is trans-free ingredients for creams and fillings.

Vitolio is a range of value added natural vegetable oil based ingredients for food products. With growing consumer awareness around health and food safety, there is an increasing demand for the use of natural food colourings.

Unimills Vitolio 150 is rich in natural carotenoids, such as beta-carotene, which is one of the most important groups of natural pigments used in food colouring and a source of pro-vitamin A.

This ingredient is used in colouring foods such as margarine, mayonnaise, snacks, cheese, and bakery products in a natural fashion. Vitolio does not need a special declaration as a food colorant on the packaging because the beta-carotene is an integral part of the fat ingredient.

When applied, Vitolio changes the colour of the food products from yellow to red. Unimills Vitolio 150 is easy to use and mixes well with all oil-based products. Unlike many other food colourings, there is no need for pre-blending before mixing the ingredient with the main product during the manufacturing process.

Additionally, Unimills Vitolio 150 contains natural antioxidants in the form of Vitamin E, that help improve the shelf life of the foodstuff and adds natural nutritional value to the finished product. Sime Darby uses a sophisticated mild refining process to conserve all of the oil’s essential nutrients.

“Sime Darby is committed to ‘Developing Sustainable Futures’, good agricultural practices and responsible social and environmental management,” says Alexander van der Klauw, Managing Director of Unimills. “Because we are part of an integrated supply chain, we have access to responsibly produced oils and are able to monitor these from the tree to our clients´ tables, ensuring that they only receive the freshest and highest quality products.”

The MasterCraft series is Unimills´ brand for confectionery fats for biscuits, chocolate bars, bonbons, nougats and fudges. All products in this range are trans-free and guarantee full flavour release, have a smooth texture and tempting appearance. It allows consumers to combine indulgence with a healthier lifestyle.

The Unimills MasterCraft 100 (cream layer) and 200 (centre fillings) series feature unhardened confectionery fats.

Unimills MasterCraft 178 is a fine cream layer fat that provides maximum elasticity and stickiness in layered biscuits. Furthermore this product has significantly less saturated fatty acids.

Unimills MasterCraft Centre Filling fats range from soft melting fats – such as Unimills MasterCraft 282, which is based on non-lauric fats and designed to be used in combination with real chocolate coatings – to the more solidified Unimills MasterCraft 274, which is based on lauric fats. Both MasterCraft 274 and 282 are unhardened and trans-free centre filling fats.

“We feel that the best products are created by embarking on a journey of transparency and partnership with our clients. This is at the centre of our ‘customer intimacy’ approach,” says Gerhard de Ruiter, Head of the Sime Darby Innovation Centre Europe.

”We immerse ourselves in our client´s needs and take away the complexity that is often considered to be an essential part of product development, especially in the confectionery market. Our aim is to simplify this complex confectionery market by being open and transparent through the sharing of information, ideas and expertise. This allows us to develop the right blend or recipe for our clients,” he adds.