New Products: April 2007

Cargill launches ‘pure chocolate’, Online eco-impact assessment tool for packaging, Pretested stabilizer icing makes the cake, Low-trans fat emulsifier, Better for you wheat flour, Baking enzyme boosts batter, cuts costs, New range functional wheat protein isolates, Bite this – KK wholewheat doughnut, Medicinal herbs organic chocolate, Hi-maize® whole grain corn flour natural has functional benefits

Cargill launches ‘pure chocolate’
A fine cocoa powder, for use in the confectionery industry, and which is marketed as a “pure chocolate” has been launched by food ingredients manufacturer, Cargill.  As the latest addition to “Peter’s” product range, the Finely-Ground Semi-Sweet Burgundy is a powder, ideal for use as a drinking chocolate, but also appropriate for decorating cakes, tortes and other dessert items.  It can also be used as a seeding agent for tempering chocolate during the manufacturing process.

Online eco-impact assessment tool for packaging
The U.S. Life-Cycle Inventory (LCI) Database is a publicly available database that allows food companies and others to assess the environmental impact of their product’s packaging and make adjustments, if necessary.  With processors under pressure from regulators, retailers and consumers to make their products and the waste from them more environmentally friendly, this is an important resource that can be used to evaluate the sustainability of packaging alternatives.  The LCI quantifies the environmental consequences of a package based on all of its characteristics – such as material, weight and recycled content.  The database can be accessed at www.nrel.gov/lci.

Pretested stabilizer icing makes the cake
TIC Gums offers a specially designed gum system, TIC Pretested® Stabilizer Icing, which delivers effective, consistent and palate-pleasing icings and glazes.  Comprised of a blend of hydrocolloids, Stabilizer Icing imparts properties key to stable icings and glazes, such as emulsification, aeration and water binding.  The cold-water soluble powder is also effective in preventing sugar “blooms” that can occur in products like cream cheese and German chocolate icings and ganache glaze.  For more information, please call 800-899-3953.

Low-trans fat emulsifier
Cognis’ new emulsifier with low-trans fat content will help food manufacturers conform to consumer health demands.  Nutrisoft 55, which can be used in ice cream, bread and mousse desserts, is able to replace saturated standard emulsifiers while, according to the company, “also increasing the stability and quality of prepared foods.”  According to Cognis, “when used in bread or yeast-raised products, it interacts with the starch to improve crumb softness and increase bread volume – both of which significantly enhance the products’ overall appearance, making them more attractive to consumers.”

Better for you wheat flour
Cast your mind over all the foods made with wheat flour and consider the health benefits available to millions of consumers – not just North Americans, but worldwide – who will try a new protein-enriched wheat flour.  The Agricultural Research Scientists in California have identified a gene that works actively inside wheat kernels to increase the wheat’s protein, iron and zinc content by 10 to 15 per cent.  The gene works in bread and pasta wheats alike, so health-conscious consumers can indulge in both their favourite carbs.  For details, contact:  ablechl@pw.usda.gov.

Baking enzyme boosts batter, cuts costs
DSM, ingredients manufacturer for the bread, milling and cereal industry, has developed a new enzyme for the cake and pastry industry that promises to cut raw material costs while improving product quality.  CakeZyme, the microbial phospholipase, joins the company’s “Let’s BakeZyme” range, and is added directly to the cake batter during processing.  It enhances the emulsifying properties, which can reduce egg use by up to 20 per cent – significantly cutting baking costs.

New range functional wheat protein isolates
Archer Daniel Midland (ADM) has a new range of functional wheat protein isolates designed to enhance the taste, texture and appearance of cereal products.  Prolite, available in two varieties, has been developed to “meet consumer demand for better-for-you foods, and enable formulators to enter this burgeoning market efficiently.”  ADM claims these new isolates increase protein content without altering flavour, and can reduce bitterness in wholegrain applications.  They are suitable for low-sugar bakery, frozen dough and batter systems, and reduced egg and dairy products.

Bite this – KK wholewheat doughnut
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (KKD), still suffering from the low-carb diet craze, launched a wholewheat doughnut, with caramel flavouring and the KK original glaze.  KKD sales started slipping about three years ago, during the height of the low-carb diet craze.

Medicinal herbs organic chocolate
Dagoba Organic Chocolate has developed an apothecary line of chocolate bars and cacao elixirs infused with beneficial botanicals – better known as medicinal herbs.  The elixirs are a breakthrough product made with cacao bean pieces, or nibs.  They are vegetable-glycerin based, alcohol-free and sugar-free.  Currently, they will be available to consumers through natural food channels.

Hi-maize® whole grain corn flour natural has functional benefits
National Starch Food Innovation has launched a natural, functional whole grain flour that delivers the highest dietary fibre content of any whole grain flour on the market, while providing high antioxidant, vitamin A and folic acid levels.  Made from a specialty hybrid, high-amylose corn, the product adds crunch to cereals, enhances the crust texture of hard rolls and artisan breads, adds high fibre and great eating qualities to whole grain cookies, and imparts a surprisingly light texture to whole-grain cakes, according to the company.