There was a big focus on Milne's dried fruit inclusions.
Health and nutrition is still top of the agenda and the move to sugar reduction in food and beverages is a strong theme here at the show. Today stevia is more widely understood and being used in a number of product formulations and blends to mask the aftertaste. As Simon Daw of Sensient observed, “don’t take the sugar out if it doesn’t taste the same”. The company has its strength in the sweet sector and had chocolates to sample in flavours such as chai spiced, aniseed, pear and honey salted maple, banana and fig and a fresh tasting raspberry, redcurrant and cranberry blend.
Baobab seems to be one of the topics under discussion here at FI Europe – for its propensity to add viscosity, its nutritional benefits and its potential to transform the African economy as it can grow with very little water so withstands drought.
I have just tasted a clear baobab drink blended with spices on the Döhler stand and this epitomises the new move to slightly less sweet and slightly more spicy drinks in flavour terms. Other botanicals on offer for formulations include honeybush, olive leaf and pelargonium each with intrinsic health benefits.
Pascal Philibert of Philibert Savours was keen to talk about the company’s new fruit flakes which disappear into a bakery product but bring the fresh flavours we are all now seeking. These work in drinks too – imagine a raspberry shot in your champagne from just a sprinkle.
Still on a festive note, Per Rehné of Cornelius talked about the company’s edible glitter that can be suspended in drinks or used on cakes – although the big focus from them is on the Milne dry fruit inclusions which are microwave- and air-dried rather than freeze-dried so maintaining the best possible colour and taste. Pineapple and banana are the latest to hit the market.
On a rather more pharmaceutical note, PS or phosphatdylserene – a krill oil omega-3-rich product from Enzymotec, common in brain health formulations – is apparently proving particularly popular in China for premium infant formula and has been shown to improve cell to cell communication according to recent clinical studies on cognition.
Using the slogan “cultivating wellness”, LycoRed is offering 25% salt reduction with its Sante product and also has a new dry tomato pulp which can give texture and viscosity and allow you to remove or reduce starch while maintaining a clean label for ingredients.
And one of the most talked-about products here at the show? Well it is Scelta mushrooms from the Netherlands as these are naturally rich in umami taste and so mean that they act as a taste accelerator and can replace sodium in soups and ready meals, thereby meeting consumer, manufacturer and retail demand for lower salt products.
You can hear about all of these in more detail in our upcoming video and podcasts. Just keep a healthy eye on all that is happening on FoodBev.com over the coming weeks.
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