IFT 2019: Clean label, savory flavors, plant-based trends dominate

AAK showcased various prototypes, including dairy-free ice cream with coconut oil, a yogurt shot, King Cake cake balls, and a filled cinnamon sugar tartlet. The coating on the King Cake was made with AAK shortening—a cocoa butter replacement—and the coating does not crack. The sugar tartlet was made with cinnamon flakes, instead of powder, to prevent a waxy mouthfeel.

Agri-Neo showcased its pasteurization system. Heat can change a product, but with Neo-Pure misted onto these products, no changes occur.

Ajinomoto demonstrations included a sweet yet spicy ancho chile cinnamon chocolate drink, a zesty frisee salad with sugar- free Italian dressing, and a complex vegan curry masala with incredible kokumi flavor sensations. In addition to those applications, the company will also demonstrated the impact of their kokumi ingredients in a savory meatless poutine that tastes anything but meatless. Also at the booth was an almond cream cheese crudité showing texture improvement using enzymes in plant-based applications, as well as Tuscan tomato eggplant bites with tangy tomato flavor bursting with umami and kokumi.

Asenzya is working towards using more savory flavors, as well as high protein and reduced sugar. Asenzya grinds its own spices and makes custom seasonings—for example, adding water to make glazes. The company is also exploring seasoning applications with plant-based proteins. At IFT, Asenzya featured a Jackfruit Pibil street taco, a vegetarian twist on a Yucatan classic, with Jackfruit as the primary ingredient, which showcased the rise of veg-centric fusion. It also served a Korean Po-Boy sandwich, which included spicy Korean Fried chicken, with a Gochujang glaze, in the traditional Po-Boy style; this dish showcased international mashup trends.

Royal DSM, a global science-based company active in nutrition, health and sustainable living, presented new insight about trends emerging from three key consumer groups—“healthy agers”, “proactive adults” and “super kids.” DSM unveiled a series of innovative solutions designed to meet the unique wants and needs of each of these groups.

At IFT, Edlong showcased the Art of Possibility, demonstrating how they use dairy flavor technology to invent new profiles and re-imagine the use of existing ones. The many highlights included two interactive sessions—“The Art of Plant-Based” and “The Science of Better-for-You”—and tastings. Tastings included a flight of cashew dips, Lemon Feta Cottage Cheese Ice Cream with a lemon/basil cookie, mango tea, organic cheesecake cookies, and vegan cheese bread.

At IFT19, ADM/Matsutani LLC demonstrated the proven digestive health and sugar reduction benefits of Fibersol, a line of soluble prebiotic dietary fiber ingredients. Visitors were invited to sample three on-trend products featuring Fibersol: Better-for-You Blueberry Nut Bar, Better-for-You Kiwi-Strawberry Beverage and an Indulgent Chocolate Supplement. The three products showcased how Fibersol can help formulators easily solve for nutrition and great taste in virtually any food or beverage product, all while increasing overall fiber content, reducing sugar and calories, and being gentle on the digestive system.

Florida Food Products showcased its fermented vegetable concentrates at the show, offering booth guests a taste of fermented beet hummus, vegetarian red pozole, celery cardamom soda, and carrot ginger margarita.

GNT showcased a plant based veggie burger showing the versatility of EXBERRY® Coloring Foods. By deconstructing the carrot into its juice and pulp components, Chef Olivarez was able to create a colorful carrot bun, using the carrot juice, and a tasty plant-based veggie patty incorporating the pulp. In addition to carrots, the patty is loaded with other plant-based materials such as quinoa, black beans, mushrooms, and sweet potatoes. Taking inspiration from New Orleans, GNT showed 3 spirit inspired craft sodas: Peach Soco made with fresh peaches and real cherries, a Blueberry Gin made with blueberries, juniper and fresh spices, and a color changing Citrus Absinthe—all colored naturally with EXBERRY.

At IFT19, Gold Coast Ingredients served freshly air-fried pommes frites with flavored dipping sauces showcasing many of Gold Coast's flavors including: Creamy Thai Curry, Creamy Cajun, Wasabi Soy Mayo, Habanero BBQ, Applewood Smoked Bacon BBQ, Al Pastor BBQ, Caramelized Onion Ranch, Smoky Bacon Cheddar Ranch, Taco Ranch, Black Truffle Ketchup, Pepperoni Pizza Ketchup, and Tuscan Herb Ketchup.

At IFT19, Ingredion featured innovative ingredient solutions that supported three major shifts in global consumer eating behavior: plant-based protein, sugar reduction, and clean and simple labels. A cake featured a new low-sugar glucose syrup that delivered a 50 percent reduction of sugar, and a cracker showed how a starch-based texturizer could enhance crunch, improve sheetability and reduce breakage.

Kikkoman featured a soy glazed plant-based meatball, Korean BBQ potato chips, furikake kettle corn, and teriyaki mushroom jerky at its booth.

MGP Ingredients featured its Arise 8000 series of wheat protein isolates, as well as Fibersym RW and TruTex plant-based textured proteins. The Arise 8000 series provides enhanced dough strength and elasticity and effectively supplements weak flour characteristics for added volume. Proteins in the Arise 8000 series become more elastic when mixed with water or other liquids. Arise 8100 and Arise 8200 additionally provide improved extensibility.

Milk Specialties Global, an ingredient manufacturer, showcased ZERLAC in a high protein cold brew drink. ZERLAC is a range of lactose-free dairy proteins offering extreme versatility. The ZERLAC brand represents well-rounded high protein ingredients that contain all essential amino acids needed to promote muscle and bone health, satisfy hunger, and provide a great tasting product, while meeting the needs of a lactose intolerant or keto lifestyle consumer base. ZERLAC MPI90 is the ultimate addition when formulating ready to drink beverages (RTDs) or yogurts, and ZERLAC WPI90 is most popular for ready to mix (RTMs), protein bars and confectionery items.

Olam Cocoa’s flagship brand deZaan created TrueDark (N11D) cocoa powder, the first non-alkalized dark cocoa powder that can fully replace alkalized cocoa powders. TrueDark offers the same intense flavor and dark cocoa color as alkalized powders, but by removing the alkalization process, TrueDark can be labelled simply as ‘cocoa’ on product labels, allowing manufacturers to create new, clean-label products without compromising on taste and color.

PURIS ingredients have the some of the highest protein content with a satisfying taste and appealing texture that redefine what healthy food can be. PURIS showcased texturized pea protein (TPP) at IFT, which can be used for plant-based meat products. PURIS TPP is not only a win for your health, but for the health of the planet. Peas are nitrogen fixating, which means they give more to the earth than they take. PURIS is a vertically integrated system which means they sell non-GMO seeds to their network of over 400 US farmers across over 200,000 acres, they then buy back whatever is grown and use those crops to make pea protein, starch and fiber.

Synergy Flavors focused on the evolution of both the company and of the food, beverage and nutrition industries with their 2019 IFT theme, Timeless Tastes: Inspiring the Past, Present and Future. Their booth took visitors along a culinary journey, showing nostalgic fruity cereal mini Bundt cakes inspired by the “past,” clean label berry orange superfood smoothie bars indicative of the “present”, and a personalized ice cream sundae experience supporting the “future” evolution of custom food and beverage offerings.

Tate & Lyle offers a wide portfolio of innovative ingredients, as well as partnership and expertise in the areas of texturants, sweeteners, health and wellness, and stabilization and functional systems. One of its solutions at the IFT Food Expo in New Orleans was a speculoos sandwich cookie. The cookie featured its PROMITOR Soluble Corn Fiber 85L, DOLCIA PRIMA Allulose, STA-LITE III Polydextrose, and MIRA-CLEER 787 Instant Starch to deliver about 1/3 less sugar vs. a full sugar formula and a good source of fiber claim while still maintaining great taste and texture.

Universal Pure was at IFT19 to discuss the benefits of HPP, including food safety, shelf-life extension and clean labels. HPP is becoming more popular as a food safety method for RTE foods, meats and proteins, seafood, beverages, dairy products, wet salads, dips, and salsas. Across its four locations, Universal Pure is dedicated to ensuring the safety and quality of food and beverage products.

Virginia Dare presented their flavors, extracts, and formulation expertise with six on-trend products. The company sampled two Keto Cookies in Lemon-Lavender Turmeric and Cinnamon Bun flavors that were grain-free and an excellent source of fiber, with 2 grams net carbs, 6 grams of protein, and no added sugar. Virginia Dare also sampled four RTD oatmilk tea and coffee lattes. The Botanical Tea Oatmilk Lattes—Vanilla Lavender and London Fog—featured clean label floral and tea extracts. The Cold-Brew Coffee Oatmilk Lattes, in Cinnamon Vanilla and Cardamom Mocha, featured cold-brew concentrate and natural flavors.

Watson focused on snacking as a trend, at IFT, including bite-sized bars with health benefits. 90 percent of the population is currently potassium-deficient, and their bar sample had more than 10 percent of the daily value of potassium needed. Watson also showcased a cookie with edible glitter.

Wherefour featured demonstrations of new and other popular features of its food traceability software including its total ingredient, forward-and-backward traceability reports that are available within minutes at the push of one button. It demonstrated a new inventory forecasting tool that compares on hand inventory and existing orders with production needs to determine if future production requirements can be met. This feature is especially beneficial for businesses that deal with variable customer orders, such as bakeries. Wherefour also featured its mobile pick and ship option that enforces traceability during direct to store (DSD) delivery with bar code scanning and product selection optimized for mobile devices.

The Wine RayZyn Co. featured their MerlayZyns (merlot wine grapes), ChardonayZyns (chardonnay wine grapes), Dark Chocolate Covered CabernayZyns (#1 seller and currently on United Airlines), and Dark Chocolate CabernayZyn Truffles.

The Almond Board of California (ABC) discussed three key aspects of the almond market: “A Safe and Stable Supply,” highlighting ABC’s pasteurization program and the GMA Food Safety Award presented to ABC in 2019 in recognition of serving as a leader in low-moisture foods; “Packed with Powerful Nutrition,” highlighting ABC’s expanding body of almond nutrition research in areas of hearth health, weight management, diet quality and diabetes/blood glucose metabolism; and “The Crunch Consumers Crave,” highlighting how roasting almonds results in the crispier crunch that consumes crave, as well as how lightly roasted almonds can have a longer shelf life. ABC also discussed how almonds have maintained steady growth across consumer products worldwide with 10,842 new products with almonds introduced globally over the past year. Samples shown at the booth included: Almond Yuzu Poppy Seed Bars, Berries and Cream Almonds, Chewy Almond Power Cookies, and Coco Java Almond Butter.

During IFT19, the American Egg Board (AEB) presented “Snacks-Pectations: Consumers Want More than Guilty Pleasure,” covering consumer patters, snacking trends, egg nutrition, egg functionality, egg product availability and resources. AEB also discussed its Made with Real Eggs certification seal guidelines. A snack served at the booth was crispy Pesto Puffs made with real liquid eggs.

Bartek discussed the benefits of using fumaric acid to add a sour taste to foods, as well as its antimicrobial effects, zero hygroscopicity, low ingredient cost, minimal taste impact at pH above 4.5. Bartek also noted how granular fumaric acid functions as a delayed action leavening acid in bakery doughs and as a preferred acidulant in corn and flour tortillas. Regarding its malic acid, Bartek discussed its tart taste, flavor enhancement and blending capabilities, and synergy with high-intensity sweeteners. It can boost overall taste impact in savory snack applications. The company also unveiled its new brand identity at IFT19.

Blue Diamond Almonds Global Ingredients Division showcased its newest innovation in almond ingredients—Blue Diamond Almond Protein Powder. The ingredient is positioned to capitalize on the trend toward simple, healthy, plant-based ingredients in clean-label, nutritional products. The Almond Protein Powder is nutrient-dense and is compatible with complementary proteins, including plant-based sources and dairy sources, allowing for the creation of products with complete amino acid profiles. As a non-GMO, dairy-free, soy-free and gluten-free ingredient, Almond Protein Powder also appeals to consumers with a broad range of dietary needs. Recipe demonstrations and tastings highlighted the versatility of almond butter and almond flour in New Orleans–inspired dessert applications, including honey almond butter beignets and almond flour madeleines dipped in chocolate almond butter.

This year, Briess Malt & Ingredients Co. featured several specialty ingredients developed to help manufacturers create clean labels while solving flavor, color, texture, and processing challenges. These included: InnoSweet, a first-of-its-kind whole-grain natural sweetener that reduces added sugar while adding whole grain; Insta Grains Ready-to-Eat Ingredients, including its line of pregelatinized grains; and BriesSpecialty Malt Flours, whole-grain malt flours that naturally color to baked goods. Briess ingredients are minimally, specially processed to maintain the natural integrity of the raw grain or starch, while developing flavor, color, and function. Non-GMO, RTE and organic options are available.

Bunge Loders Croklaan announced Vream Specialty Shortenings, a new line to enhance the appearance, mouthfeel, and functionality of icings, doughnuts and tortillas. The line includes three Vream specialty shortenings. All three have a clean taste and are simple to work with given their wide temperature tolerance and extremely smooth consistency. Vream for icings delivers a bright-white appearance, light texture and eliminates post-hardening—which means better mouthfeel and longer shelf-life. Vream for doughnuts enhances adhesion of glazes and icings, and reduces glaze cracking. Vream for tortillas improves rollability—reducing tears—and makes very soft tortillas. Company chefs used Vream in a number of menu items, including espresso toffee donuts, taco Campocheno, blood orange cupcakes, and strawberry cream cakes.

Butter Buds Food Ingredients discussed its concentrated flavor ingredients, showcasing its latest non-dairy (kosher pareve) and plant-based flavor ingredients, along with a sampling of certified organic and clean label flavor solutions. Butter Buds served samples with a New Orleans flair, with each designed to showcase the functional benefits of its latest dairy alternative, organic and clean-label flavor solutions. These included Keto Bites made with Non-Dairy Butter Flavor and Butter Buds 8x Non-Dairy LD, Malted Bark with Pecans made with Butter Buds Sautéed Butter Flavor (Natural), and Iced Kringle featuring Natural Ghee Buds.

Cargill discussed its solutions for salt and sodium reduction using Alberger flake salt, Potassium Pro potassium chloride and the FlakeSelect functional system. Cargill is committed to helping its customers create great-tasting foods while achieving sodium and potassium goals. Cargill also provides applications support, while continuing to develop new solutions. This support includes application, sensory and shelf-life validation to scientifically support its ingredients in finished food formulations. During IFT19, Cargill featured Potassium Pro Ultra Fine in a reduced-sodium popcorn prototype.

Ciranda discussed its partnership with Matco Foods to deliver a new, reliable source of organic brown and clarified rice syrups to the North American market, with a focus on sustainability and farmer prosperity. The companies have now expanded the rice syrup program to include additional dextrose equivalency (DE) levels, while continuing to increase their social and environmental impact. Matco Foods and Ciranda have worked toward tuberculosis (TB) eradication by organizing TB screening camps where nearly 400 of Matco’s staff and area rice farmers in Pakistan were screened and given a digital chest X-ray. Also this year, Matco Foods completed the installation of solar panels on the rice syrup manufacturing facility in Karachi, Pakistan, with a projected annual estimate of 308 metric tons per year in CO2 emissions reduction, an equivalent to the CO2 sequestration achieved by planting 15,376 trees per year.

Corteva Agriscience reported that it is actively working on several timely initiatives relevant to top industry trends, including plant breeding to help find necessary alternatives for use in gluten-free and allergen-free product development. The company is also working with food industry companies to improve sustainability and traceability initiatives. Working to help facilitate better functionality of ingredients and industry solutions is also a top priority. Finally, combating food waste was also tapped as a top priority, noting its work with farmers to boost crop quality and consistency to help ensure reliable pathways to market.

Grain Processing Corp. (GPC) talked about its new Non-GMO Project Verified ingredients that are now available, including maltodextrins, corn syrup solids and starches. GPC also offered various southern-style applications as samples, including Southern Pecan Cheesecake, featuring INCOSITY instant modified starch for improved storage stability and MALTRIN SS dried glucose syrup to moderate sweetness and enhance texture.

Healthy Food Ingredients discussed the launch of the new HFI Marketplace to support local business, small-to-medium companies and entrepreneurs. HFI Marketplace offers wholesale quantities, beginning with single units up to 4,000 lbs, from a select line of its ingredients, including Suntava Purple Corn, as well as non-GMO expeller pressed corn oil, flax ingredients, pulses and ancient grains. HFI Marketplace grew out of demand for volumes less than HFI’s typical minimum order quantities of 4,000 lbs. Many of the ingredients that HFI offers through Marketplace are under its IntegriPure brand. IntegriPure is HFI’s microbial reduction solution that means industry-leading validation for a 5-log reduction providing food safety assurance, naturally.

Kemin Industries showcased its portfolio of new and expanded shelf-life solutions at IFT19. Kemin experts shared news of the latest solutions that help manufacturers achieve “claim-ability” in new products by using consumer-friendly, clean-label ingredients. Kemin showcased several new and expanded product lines to help manufacturers keep a range of applications fresher and safer for longer, including an extensive portfolio of shelf-life solutions for corn and flour tortillas, flatbreads and more. Kemin introduced new and expanded solutions to help manufacturers control microbes, prevent spoilage and control mold growth while creating appealing, high-quality tortillas and flatbreads.

Kerry announced the release of its 2019 Global Taste Trends report, which expands on the company’s Taste Charts annual program, showcasing key macro trends and how they are evolving throughout the world as each region defines their own trend story. The company identified six trends found throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Mexico, Brazil and APMEA (Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa) regions. In the report, the global trends are also applied to North American concepts, which utilize Kerry’s flavors and technologies.

At IFT19 in New Orleans, Manildra Group USA discussed plant-based foods, quality in gluten, clean-label dough conditioners, and more. The combination of clean-label and functionality is a sweet spot for Manildra, particularly in snacks, including sheeted-dough applications. The company’s ingredients help improve dough extensibility without shrink-back to help snack and bakery manufacturers achieve better throughput and quality with less waste.

At IFT19, Naturex, part of Givaudan, discussed its mission is to provide manufacturers with innovative natural ingredients for unique products that are healthier, safer, visually pleasing and sustainably sourced. The company focuses on Natural Taste, Preservation, Color and Health & Wellness. Highlights included the Ultimate Spirulina color, part of its Natural Vegebrite line. Naturex’s Ultimate Spirulina extract is a 100 percent natural, trehalose-free solution, available in various formats and concentrations.

Prova discussed its sweet brown flavorings, including its natural PROVANIL-US7, an economical alternative to natural vanillin, specially designed for applications in high-fat systems and products undergoing high temperatures during production. This includes compound coatings, baked goods, cookie dough and fat-based fillings. The ingredient is made of re-crystallized vanillin, encapsulated by heat-stable vanilla oleoresin and is available in liquid and powder forms.

PureCircle discussed the continued growth of stevia use, noting that since 2008, over 20,000 products have launched with stevia, including over 4,400 in 2018. North America has seen a growth rate of 21 percent. Over the past year, cookies were the No. 2 growth category for stevia, up 93 percent, and snacks was the top category for new product launches.

QUALISOY, along with the United Soybean Board, used IFT19 in New Orleans to highlight the many benefits of high-oleic soybean oil in food manufacturing applications. QUALISOY hosted celebrity chef Becky Wortman for a special customer event at Calcasieu restaurant. She discussed how high-oleic soybean oil works as a drop-in oil solution in a range of applications. She also led a live cooking demonstration to showcase the oil’s versatility and benefits to hors d’oeuvres, icings and more, discussing benefits like improved shelf life, neutral flavor, clean-label appeal, an improved fat profile and heart-healthy appeal.