Chia Seed in Bakery and New Fruit Flavor Combinations
24 Sep 2012 | Bakels
Paul Morrow of Bakels on Chia Seed in Bakery and New Fruit Flavor Combinations.
Is at the EBA in Munich and I'm here with Paul Morrow from Bels and Bels are highlighting a number of new concepts, and one of which is the use of, chia seed in, in bakery.
Can you tell me a little bit about this?
Yes, chia seed has been quite popular in Australia for some time, but it couldn't be used in Europe until 2009 when it got clearance under EU novel Foods regulations.
So it's really a quite a new ingredient for us to use.
And uniquely at the moment, it's only permitted to be used in bread, so bakers have that advantage that no one else, not, not other food type, can use chia seeds as an ingredient as yet in the EU.
So we've launched a chia seed bread, which was initially launched in Sweden in 2011 and in 2012 in Ireland and in the UK.
And today we have it on the stand so that anybody in the group or any customer of the group can get chia seed bread.
Why would a company want to use chia seed in a bread product?
It, first of all, there's the health, trend claims that are associated with chia seeds of essential amino acids and other, other health benefits, but the bread itself, It is a very flavorsome bread.
It's, it's more akin to white than whole meal, and it is slightly sweet.
So it's a very good eating bread, but the chia seeds have got some health benefits that the consumer is beginning to pick up on.
Have you seen much in the way of commercial activity so far?
Yes, not only did we launch the bread mix, which can be used by the artisan or the inst baker, but at least one of the big 3 bakery groups in the UK has now launched a branded sliced chia loaf.
So it has moved into mainstream as one of the big brands putting a chia bread out.
Another very interesting that you have at your stand here, Paul, is, a, a concept where you're highlighting new kind of spicy flavors for, for confectionary products.
Can you tell me a little bit about that, please?
Yeah, at the moment it's a concept.
We are very aware that fusion flavors in foods in restaurants have become quite popular.
So, what we've done is developed a range of products where we're putting spice flavors into traditional.
Fruit.
And at the show we're letting people sample them and getting feedback.
If the feedback's positive, then we launch the product.
But really it's to, it's to try and see if we can actually create a new category of fruit products.
What are some of the flavors in that?
We've taken quite traditional ones, so pineapple and vanilla and cinnamon would be quite traditional.
But to mix dark cherry and licorice would be a little bit unusual.
Blackcurrant or blackberry and cumin, blackcurrant and cocoa.
So, it's that.
That sort of crossover.
And I think one of the more interesting ones, apple and bergamot.
So, established flavors, but not established in the same combination.
Why do you think consumers might go for such a concept?
Hopefully they will enjoy them, but initially I think it will be the interest that it's a new flavor combination which they haven't experienced before.
And the spice shouldn't be so strong to kill the fruit, it should, it should enhance the fruit.
So it really is an entirely new flavor sensation.
OK, thank you very much.
All right, thank you.
