Also Inside: August 2011 Vol. 100 No. 8. Bryce Ruiz, president and CEO; Fred Ruiz, co-founder and chairman emeritus; and Kim Ruiz Beck, chairman.

Transcription

1 August 2011 Vol. 100 No. 8 Bryce Ruiz, president and CEO; Fred Ruiz, co-founder and chairman emeritus; and Kim Ruiz Beck, chairman. Also Inside: Pack Expo Pre-Show Coverage Hot Products Guide

2 Fats & Oils Spread the Word About New Fats and Oils Many ingredient suppliers provide a wealth of fats and oils that deliver on taste, texture and functionality, all while significantly lowering fat content. Here s a peek at some of the products allowing bakers and snack producers to reformulate their products and provide healthier options. Lauren R. Hartman, Editor-in-Chief In the food industry, fats and oils must deal (unfairly) with bad press at times, and with health issues so important today, there is quite a bit of press coverage relating to fats and oils. The general consensus may be that all fats and oils are created equal, but all fats and oils have their own fatty acid profile and are good for different applications. And, fats and oils are important ingredients for snack and bakery products because they provide the stability needed for processing and an increased shelf life. Consumers are seeking snacks and baked goods with less saturated fat, which obviously bears the brunt of the negativity, as findings highlight its less-than-healthy aspects. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans call for an overall reduction in saturated fat intake, replaced by monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, to decrease risk of cardiovascular disease. According to Dow Agrosciences, consumers now realize the impact that bad, trans fat and saturated fats have on their diet and long-term health. Thus, consumers are looking for healthier oils now more than ever. The other Omega In the 2010 Gallup Study on Healthy Fats & Oils, adults are making about the same amount of effort to include healthy fats and oils in their diet (58%) as they are to exclude unhealthy ones (61%). That s why Dow Agrosciences developed what it believes is the first saturated fat-free oil product. Called Omega-9 Sunflower Oil, the product could be a gamechanger for many food manufacturers, the Indianapolis-based company says. Dow AgroSciences unveiled the oil at the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting and Food Expo in New Orleans, June For food manufacturers seeking solutions to meet increasing customer demand for healthier products, Omega-9 Sunflower Oil is one of the healthiest oils available, says David Dzisiak, commercial leader of grains and oils. The oil also has zero trans-fats and is uniquely high in heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, he says. With Omega-9 Sunflower Oil, companies can significantly reduce or eliminate saturated fat from new front-of-pack labels, which will begin to appear on retail shelves within the next two years. Omega-9 Sunflower Oil provides a very powerful ingredient advantage for food manufacturers, potentially allowing them to eliminate saturated fat from food products by making the switch, says Dzisiak. Recent concept research found consumers preferred a saturated fat-free label claim on a retail bottle of oil 5:1 over the same product labeled without the claim, he says. This can truly impact purchasing behavior at the grocery store. It s pretty amazing to offer an oil that s virtually all good fat. Photo courtesy of Dow AgroSciences Omega-9 Sunflower Oil is all natural and can support an all-natural package claim, the company says. The oil comes from NEXERA seeds developed by Dow Agro- Sciences through traditional plant-breeding. Because the oil has a very high level of stability, many formulations will not require antioxidants, TBHQ or partial hydrogenation to achieve the desired shelf life. Dzisiak says that while the public has become increasingly aware of the health benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids and now Omega-6 fatty acids, the other key player is Omega-9 fatty acids. Omega-9 oils ingredient solutions also improve flavor, shelf life, texture and mouthfeel while improving the health profile, Dzisiak adds. The new applications provide cleaner ingredient la- Continued on page 58 August Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery 57

3 Photo courtesy of Advanta Semillas SAIC Continued from page 57 bels because Omega-9 oils and shortening formulations are naturally stable. Without a need for antioxidants, tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) or partial-hydrogenation in order to achieve appropriate shelf life, this stability allows for a simpler ingredient list that food manufacturers and consumers alike can feel good about. Advanta Semillas SAIC in Buenos Aires, Argentina, also promotes sunflower oil as an alternative to conventional oils. Nutrisun high-stearic, high-oleic sunflower oil is stable and functional as well as palatable and meets the needs of the healthy segment for several applications such as bakery, frying, confectionery and as a cocoa butter replacer, among others, says Lucas Pan, fats and oils leader, Nutrisun Business Unit at Advanta. Compared to sunflower oil, Nutrisun and high-oleic sunflower oil, canola oil, cotton oil and low-linolenic soybean oil, Nutrisun is a much more stable product regarding oxidation, he says. The product itself and as an ingredient of the final product, Nutrisun, extends shelf life. There are some cases such as when incorporated to doughs were we have also been able to detect an interesting lubrication function. When used in frying, oil uptake is lower, therefore we avoid an oily final product that doesn t usually meet customer expectations on how the product should look and taste. Other trends Pan notices are sustainable practices, which have been observed by Advanta. They are key to eco-friendly production of Nutrisun, he says. The most popular fats and oils right now, depending on the application, are hydrogenated vegetable oils or palm oil for shortenings and hydrogenated soybean oil, cottonseed and sunflower oils for frying, as well as canola oils and palm olein. The new trends include modified oils, such as mid- and high oleic-, high-stearic high-oleic sunflower oil, low-linolenic soybean oil and shortenings based in hydrogenation and interesterification, he says [Note: Enzymatic interesterification is a modification technique used to produce low trans-fat shortening]. Clean labels clean up Cleaner nutrition labels with recognizable ingredients are high in demand as well. To compete, bakers and producers may need to take a look at their ingredient lineup, including the use of antioxidants and preservatives, Dzisiak continues. Additionally, there are challenges in formulating new fats and oils products such as rancidity, which affects flavor and can increase free radical formation. When formulating with Omegas, challenging factors include off-flavors, instability, rancidity and oxidation, Dzisiak points out. Health is key Jim Doucet, manager of the Emulsifier Innovation Center at Caravan Ingredients, Lenexa, Kan., says that in some applications, manufacturers looking for fats and oils containing no trans-fat have been able to switch from using hydrogenated fats to fully refined oils such as soybean oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, etc. For other applications requiring structuring properties, palm fats and fractions have been substituted. Given the higher saturated fat content of such options, another approach would be to include a fully refined oil structured with Trancendim, which is our line of high diglyceride products that helps manufacturers achieve a 0 g. trans-fat product, as well as reducing saturated fats, Doucet explains. Trancendim products from Caravan Ingredients can be used to produce par-fried potato products, peanut butter, donuts, bars and various chilled and frozen dough products. With health and wellness trends sweeping the nation, consumers are becoming more informed about the ingredients in the food they eat and are increasingly aware about trans-fat and saturated fat, he says. The greatest challenge or opportunity is managing cost for the balance of function versus nutrition. Doucet says that the company is currently working on combining Trancendim with products such as Olean to enable the production of shortenings that perform better than other hardstock. Caravan Ingredients can create formulations using Trancendim to structure a variety of fats and oils, including Olean to meet certain baking needs, he says. Caravan Ingredients works with manufacturers to structure the more unsaturated oils to give the functionality of a structured, saturated fat [that] is required. Although palm has a negative connotation for having high saturated fat levels, it provides for many applications the necessary processing and quality requirements. Not fully understanding the role of fat from a processing and quality perspective is often a common mistake processors encounter. In many cases, it just isn t possible to verify the functionalities [of fats and oils] until commercial trials are run and shelf-life evaluations are performed, Doucet says. Caravan Ingredients innovation center and product development center can provide starting formulations for most bakery and snack products, and our technical staff can help with formulation specific issues. Foods with functionality Arista Industries, Wilton, Conn., offers natural vegetable oils, organic oils and powder-form oils for snack foods and bakery products. Healthier oils without trans-fat are used as ingredients and for frying/baking. The powder-form oils are being used in dry formulas and bakery applications for added functionality. Many snack foods used to be viewed as junk food, but with many chips now baked, not fried and made with healthier oils, like canola, safflower, sunflower and olive oil as well as organic oils, there are now many healthier alternatives to the tra- Continued on page Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery - August 2011

4 Continued from page 58 ditional products, says Maryann Siciliano, national sales manager. Consumer trends lean toward healthier products as well as foods with functionality, like the addition of Omega fatty acids to bread and snack foods make with organic oils. The current trend is to use healthier oils containing monounsaturated fat, antioxidants, carotenoids, tocopherols, tocotrienols, vitamin E and micronutrients. Siciliano says the most popular fats and oils are canola, safflower, sunflower and olive oil. They do not contain trans-fat and Photo courtesy of Arista Industires are fairly stable in frying and baking applications. Many of these oils have cardiovascular benefits and help lower cholesterol and risk of heart disease, she adds. Arista s research and development department works with bakers and snack producers, suggesting the best ingredients regarding functionality, smoke point and shelf life based on the specific product being produced. We can help bakers and snack manufacturers develop new products and stay abreast of trends by providing technical information on our ingredients and relaying what we hear going on in these markets, Siciliano adds. Most of Arista s oils are fully refined for maximum shelf life, she says. We provide full documentation regarding nutritional information, allergens, genetically modified organisms (GMO) status and Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (a.k.a., Mad Cow Disease-BSE). Siciliano says the biggest request Arista receives deals with healthier fats and oils. Consumers do not want to give up snack foods, but feel better about consuming better products that may also have some added functionality, she says. High-oleic canola oil The IFT show generated several new developments in fats and oils. Cargill, which launched Clear Valley 80 high-oleic canola oil at IFT, says the new high-oleic oil is the next generation to deliver the best flavor, stability, consumer label and packaging cost reduction available in any vegetable oil. The natural, high-oleic oil has the same nutritional benefits featured in earlier generations of Clear Valley products but is a first-of-its-kind product because of its low levels of saturated fat, 0 g. trans fat (per 14-g. serving) and an exceptional, costsaving shelf life. With low levels of saturated fat and 0 g. trans fat (per 14-g. serving), Clear Valley 80 high-oleic canola oil provides the most consumer-friendly label of any vegetable oil currently available. Clear Valley 80 resists oxidation and the development of flavor off-notes, which allows food manufacturers to forego familiar formulation challenges associated with the use of canola oil to create great-tasting snacks and baked products, says Willie Loh, vice president of marketing at Cargill Oils & Shortenings, Minneapolis. For more than 15 years, Cargill has been developing high-oleic canola oils with increased heat and oxidative stability, Loh states. Unlike oils that can develop grassy and painty off-notes when oxidized, high-oleic oils have natural resistance to oxidation without going through hydrogenation, fractionation or other complex processing. Cargill also offers a shortening designed to help bakers make Omega-3 nutrient content claims: Clear Valley Omega-3 shortening helps bakeries grow their top lines by capitalizing on consumer demand for adding Omega-3 sources to their diets. The shortening can differentiate bakery products with the addition of a Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act Photo courtesy of Cargill Oils & Shortenings nutrient content claim for ALA Omega-3. Clear Valley oils and shortenings work in shelf-stable applications such as cereal bars, baked snacks and baked goods, says Kyle Marinkovich, marketing director, at Cargill Oils & Shortenings. Today s focus is not only in eliminating trans-fats; we are also focused on decreasing saturated fats, offering a total system cost reduction and providing a nutritional balance, Marinkovich says. Because consumers will gladly give up fat in the diets yet won t give in on flavor, Cargill developed CitriTex GSG71 as a fatreplacement system that can replace oils in bakery sweet goods. CitriTex blends reduce fat without compromising taste or texture and often without increasing costs. They allow bakers to replace up to 50% of the oil to create a great-tasting muffin that contains 44% less fat versus a full-fat muffin. The new corn muffin formula used MaizeWise whole-grain corn flour products that deliver 100% whole-grain nutrition, Marinkovich adds. Also included in the formulation was Clear Valley Omega-3 oil, and low-cost canola-flax oil blend, which provides food manufacturers with a method to add alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) Omega-3 to shelf-stable products without affecting product taste, mouthfeel or shelf life. This new generation of high stability oils offers superior stability. Clear Valley 80 has the highest levels of oleic acid and the highest level of oxidative stability among all high-oleic vegetable oils for an extended shelf life, reducing system costs, he sums up. 60 Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery - August 2011

5 Extending shelf life, safe handling John Nedderson, application specialist, fats and oils at Danisco USA, New Century Kan., says solid fats are typically purchased from a shortening or margarine producer in cubes and are added directly to a product. Liquid oils are usually purchased from an oil refiner in bulk form, stored in a tank and metered directly into the product. Some bakeries produce their own shortenings. We have applications experience in all types of baked products and snacks. Danisco offers a full line of ingredients that are used to extend shelf life. These include emulsifiers, antioxidants, enzymes and hydrocolloids. Most of its ingredients contain no allergens. Today, the new fats and oils, in general, are healthier, lower in trans-fat and saturated fats and are higher in liquid oils, says Nedderson. We see unique uses of emulsified oils in pie crusts, cookies, cakes and crackers, he says. Consumers want healthier products and reduced trans-fat and saturated fat, and we see more use of liquid oils and reduced calories. Consumers also desire oils perceived as healthy, such as olive oil, Omega-3 oils and plant sterols. The company is always looking at new trends going forward, developing novel uses of emulsifiers and crystallizing agents to lower saturated and trans-fats, Nedderson explains. Danisco recently launched PinVita phytosterols that can be used in bakery and Photo courtesy of Danisco USA snack products to help lower cholesterol. We are working on the development of natural chelators that can be used to replace synthetic preservatives, he adds. All too often, however, problems can arise with processing fats and oils, and involve improper processing, storage, handling and saving packaged shortenings that are too hot, which can lead to oiling out or holding liquid oils too hot, potentially leading to oxidation. Another mistake is not selecting the correct fat for the application or not including a crystallization promoter or antioxidants, Nedderson acknowledges. We can assist customers with proper ingredient selection and process knowledge to overcome these common mistakes. But the bottom line seems to be healthy products, so the company is formulating more of them, which is also what customers are doing. We also have requests for more natural products and cleaner labels, he says. Enhanced oils New Plenish high-oleic soybean oil from Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Johnston, Iowa, maintains a reduced amount of unstable fatty acids that provide stability against oxidation without the need for hydrogenation. Fats and oils provide the stability needed for the process, as well as increased shelf life for packaged snacks. According to Amanda Rinehart, marketing communications manager at Pioneer Hi-Bred, the first generations of enhanced oils were introduced as an immediate solution, but in many cases, they didn t have the stability required for the application. Plenish high-oleic soybean oil provides the same degree of stability as that of a partially hydrogenated oil for the baking and snack food industry, without the harmful trans-fat. And based on the soy platform, the trait can be delivered in the volumes required by the industry in a costefficient manner, says Rinehart. Plenish was created using biotechnology to modify the fatty acid profile of soybean oil, Rinehart says. Flavor also is an important component of a food company s oil selection, she adds. Photo courtesy of Pioneer Hi-Bred International New advancements, such as the development of high-oleic oils, provide the same neutral taste with a healthier, more stable oil profile that is suitable for snacks and baked goods. Pioneer Hi-Bred is working with oil processers to explore many ways in which Plenish can be combined with traditional oil processes to develop new formulations. Plenish has the ability to extend shelf life significantly over alternative oils based on the increased oxidative stability of the oil, Rinehart adds. Lowering the saturated fat SunOpta Grains and Foods Group, Hope, Minn., focuses on specialty fats and oils, such as expeller-pressed, organic and/or non-gmo products. Its research and development team works with customers to select the best ingredients for their applications. The company can also customize an ingredient for specific needs and develop products to exact specifications. Its newest product line is organic palm products, which are ideal for replacing hydrogenated oils. With expeller pressing, a screw-type machine presses the oilseed to mechanically extract the oil. The pressing process separates the oil from the fiber solids without any chemical solvents. Expeller pressing does not use any harsh chemicals in the process and produces a higher quality oil. Canola and soybean oil are the most popular, attests Caren Montante, specialty oils manager. Canola oil is the lowest saturated fat oil, and soybean oil is plentiful and the most economical. Montante points out a common mistake many processors overlook: The least expensive oil or fats aren t always the best choice for a specific application. We work Continued on page 62 August Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery 61

6 Continued from page 61 with customers to create ingredients that fit the specific application, whether it s a new flavor or new type of ingredient, she says. We continue to work with growers to institute new programs for advanced oilseed breeding, for example, high-oleic soybean oil and high-oleic canola oil. High-oleic hybrids will extend shelf life on the finished products. One challenge SunOpta finds is that every year, the supply on certain oils can be dicey. On the cost side, risk management is always a challenge, Montante, says. We are working to develop other strains of oilseeds for better results in specialty oil applications. More whole grain and fiber Today s bakers and snack producers are looking to develop snack and bakery products that contain 0 g. trans-fat per serving, along with low to moderate levels of saturated fats, says ADM s Tom Tiffany, senior technical manager. ADM Oils works with a variety of applications that help support the snack and bakery industry, Tiffany notes. The technical team works with a variety of bakery applications, including icings, snack cakes, pastry, donuts, cookies, etc. More snack and bakery products are being formulated to include whole grain and fiber, he says. Oils and fats used in these new types of products help improve Photo courtesy of SunOpta Grains and Foods Group the texture, flavor and moistness. They also deliver flavor, structure and nutrition to the new snack foods. Food companies are looking for oils, fats or blends that provide them with functionality, shelf life, good flavor, proper nutrition characteristics and cost management. Palm blends and interesterified soybean oil are popular shortenings for bakery applications. Mid-oleic sunflower oil, cottonseed oil and higholeic/low-linolenic canola oil are popular oils for snack food applications. The Decatur, Ill.-based firm works closely with customers on product development to help them identify an oil or shortening that will meet their functional, nutritional and economic needs, Tiffany adds. Currently, ADM Oils is working more with enzymatically interesterified soybean oil, a product it introduced in This product continues to receive attention as food companies look for soybean oil-based shortenings, Tiffany says. Interesterified soybean oil-based shortening can act as a drop-in replacement for partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. In some instances, processors and bakers can underestimate the complexity and the functionality that oils and fats contribute to the finished food product. Nutritional, economic and functional demands will continue to create challenges for the edible oil industry, he says. High-oleic soybean oil could help meet challenges for shelf life, functionality and nutrition. This oil can be used alone, in blends with solid fats or as the liquid component in enzymatic interesterification. Some things don t change With respect to the world of fats and oils, the more things change, the more they remain the same, according to Roger Daniels, director of R&D at Bunge North America, Bradley, Ill. Shortening, margarine and oils as ingredients are subsets of snack and bakery products, Daniels says. The overarching trends we see are taste, quality, convenience and price as tier one, followed by health and wellness, simplification, sustainability and safety as tier two. In snack frying, there is strong demand for high-oleic oils balanced with traditional Photo courtesy of ADM Oils oils derived from soybean and canola. In bakery applications, there is strong demand for domestically sourced soybean oil-based ingredients subjected to our proprietary partial hydrogenation process, or Ultrablends Enzymatic Interesterification process and palm oil-based. Bunge Oils Ultrablends Enzymatic Interesterification products and our high-oleic canola oil offering provide two approaches to achieve this trend, he says. The company s latest products include saturates sparing shortenings. The allpurpose and emulsified shortening variants deliver improved nutrition with broader applications potential from functional bakery shortenings, he explains. Key highlights include 0 g. of trans-fat per serving, lower saturated fat levels (greater than 33%) versus traditional functional shortenings and higher heart-healthy monounsaturates and polyunsaturates levels over traditional functional shortenings. Bunge Oils customers are asking for shortening, margarine or oil ingredients that contribute to snack and bakery products that work each and every time in four basic areas: the shop (plasticity allows the dough to machine well), on the shelf (stability of the shortening, margarine or oil in terms of the ratio of liquid oil to solids balanced to prevent oiling out during the distribution and a balanced approach of polyunsaturates and saturates to maximize flavor performance in terms of shelf life), on the plate (the product delivers taste, quality, convenience and price) and in the consumer (the product has taste, quality, convenience and price, augmented with healthful oil options). SF&WB 62 Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery - August 2011