Starch Pros

January 18^th 2021

Modified starch ‘ink’ developed for 3D printing: ‘They’re simple, cheap and easy to implement on an industrial scale’.

‘Ink’ used to make foods and novel materials by additive manufacturing have been developed by food engineers from modified starch.

3D printing is attractive to food manufacturers for a number of reasons: foods printed using this next-gen tech have the potential to suit consumer preferences in terms of taste, texture, cost, convenience, and nutrition. The technology is predicted to play a key role in food personalisation going forward, whether it be via the customisation of shapes, textures, flavours or colours for demographics with particular needs, such as children and the elderly.

To advance progress in the 3D printed food world, researchers in Brazil and France have developed plant-based ‘inks’ they say can be used to build these products. The hydrogels are based on modified starch.

Researchers from the University of São Paulo’s Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (ESALQ-USP) in Brazil, and colleagues from France’s Nantes Atlantic College of Veterinary Medicine, Food Science and Engineering (Oniris) and the National Institute for Research on Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE), developed different technologies to modify starch and obtain gels with ‘ideal characteristics’ for 3D printing.

The first gels produced by the team of international researchers were based on cassava starch, using ozone modify the starch’s structure and properties. The ozone was produced by applying an electrical discharge to oxygen, bubbled gas in a container with a mixture of water and cassava starch in suspension, and dried the mixture by removing the water.
By playing with this process, including ozone concentration, temperature and time, the researchers were able to make gels with different properties to find the right consistency for 3D printing.

“Control of the conditions enabled us to obtain weaker gels for other applications and firmer gels that are ideal for 3D printing because they retail the shape of the printed structure without flowing or losing moisture,” noted principal investigator and professor at ESALQ-USP Pedro Esteves Duarte Augusto.

Cassava and wheat starch ‘ink’Another method has also been developed by the researchers. This one involves dry heading cassava and wheat starch in an oven while controlling both temperature and time. This method enabled them to obtain gels that displayed ‘optimal printability’ – meaning that food can be printed layer-by-layer and maintain its structure. “We obtained good results with both methods. They’re simple, cheap and easy to implement on an industrial scale,” said Augusto.

Potential for new ingredients.

Next up, the research cohort plans to identify other methods of starch modification for the production of 3D printing gels, they revealed. ESALQ-USP has acquired a 3D printer, which the researchers will use to test structures developed with the new gels.

It has also been suggested that the gels based on modified cassava and wheat starch could be used to print things outside of the food sphere, such as drug capsules and nutraceuticals.
“We’ve demonstrated the feasibility of food production by 3D printing and fabrication of tailor-made ingredients,” said Augusto. “Now we plan to extend the applications and test other raw materials.”

Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0963996920307560?via%3Dihub

December 31^st 2020

December 10^th 2020

Rising food consumption drives Cargill’s expansion of cold-water swelling starch production in Indonesia.

Expansion will double production capacity to better serve food manufacturers, particularly in the convenience and foodservice categories.

Food manufacturers across the world today are faced with the challenge of meeting rising consumption demand, especially within the convenience and foodservice categories . To better help manufacturers address this need, Cargill is doubling its cold-water swelling starch production capacity at PT. Sorini Agro Asia Corporindo, its sweetener plant in Pandaan, Indonesia. The expansion is expected to be completed by May 2021.

“Since the start of our cold-water swelling starch line in Pandaan three years ago, we have provided customers in the region with shorter delivery lead times, increased supply reliability, and more cost-competitive, Asia-focused specialty starch products,” says Franck Monmont, managing director of Cargill Starches, Sweeteners & Texturizers Asia. “Along with our recent announcement of a US$100 million investment to build a corn wet mill and starch dryer at the same site, this latest development reaffirms Cargill’s confidence in Asia as a leading food and beverage market, as well as our long-term commitment to support both Asian and global consumption needs as a trusted and innovative food ingredients company.”

Derived from plant origins, cold-water swelling starches are regarded as the best-in-class instant starch solutions that give unique textures to end products, while offering improved viscosity, better dispersibility, and more flexibility in processing. As a cost effective and functionally superior solution, cold-water swelling starches are ideal for sauces and dressings, snacks, bakery goods, as well as bakery fillings and cold prepared dairy products.

The Pandaan expansion complements existing lines in North America and Europe to further strengthen Cargill’s cold-water swelling starch manufacturing capabilities worldwide. Cargill’s growth in cold-water swelling starch is just one more example of its industry leadership in texturizing solutions as it continues to supply innovative products and services that meet the application and marketplace needs of customers around the world.

Source: https://www.cargill.com/2020/rising-food-consumption-drives-cargills-expansion-of-cold

December 09^th 2020

S.Africa’s Tongaat sells starch business to Barloworld unit for $353 million.

South Africa’s Tongaat Hulett said on Wednesday it had sold its starch business to a subsidiary of Barloworld for 5.260 billion rand ($353 million) based on debt and working capital at the end of October.

Barloworld’s KLL Group unit had paid 4.986 billion rand to Tongaat on Oct. 31, as an estimate of the final purchase price based on the financial position of the starch business at the end of September.

($1 = 14.9219 rand)

Source: https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/s.africas-tongaat-sells-starch-business-to-barloworld-unit-for-%24353-million-2020-12-09

Novermber 25^th 2020

Cargill invests US $100 million in facility in Pandaan, Indonesia.

Investment in new corn wet mill and starch dryer increases production of starches and sweeteners to meet growing demand in food, industrial and feed markets across region.

Cargill is investing US $100 million in its sweetener plant, PT. Sorini Agro Asia Corporindo, in Pandaan to build a corn wet mill and add a starch dryer to better serve the growing customer demand for corn-based starches, sweeteners and animal feed ingredients. The facility is expected to be online by early 2022.

“The new corn wet mill allows us to purchase corn and convert it into corn-based starch and sweeteners. With an enhanced product portfolio and substantially more production capacity, we are better positioned to support our customers’ growth plans,” shared Franck Monmont, managing director of Cargill Starches, Sweeteners & Texturizers (CSST) Asia. “This investment also demonstrates our commitment to grow in this region and provides significant support to the local economy with a new revenue stream for regional farmers.”

The Pandaan facility originally opened in 1983 and currently imports dry starch (tapioca and corn) and converts it into sweeteners, such as glucose, sorbitol, and maltodextrin. With the expanded capabilities, Cargill will be able to produce corn-based equivalents of its existing sweeteners and add corn starch, corn gluten meal, corn gluten feed and corn germ to its portfolio. In doing so, Cargill is better prepared to collaborate with customers to meet their formulation needs, from confectionary, dairy, and convenience foods to personal care products and paper products to animal feed.

“Our investment to enhance and expand our sweetener plant in Pandaan comes at a time when the Indonesian government has identified a critical need for more investments1 into the country’s agricultural sector,” said Sunit Dhoka, CSST managing director for Southeast Asia and country representative for Indonesia. “According to data from the Investment Coordination Board (BKPM), only 3% of foreign direct investments into Indonesia in 2019 were in agriculture – a sector which accounts for 29%2 of the country’s total employment. We are optimistic that our investment will have a positive impact, with our operations creating sustained demand to support upstream agricultural activities in Indonesia and especially in East Java.”

Today, Cargill employs 20,000 people at 60 locations across Indonesia. In addition to its total direct investment of $800 million in Indonesia in the past 5 years, which includes this project, Cargill has contributed more than $5 million to nonprofit organizations in the country to support health, education and community economic empowerment.

Source: https://www.cargill.co.id/en/2020/cargill-invests-us-$100-million-in-facility-in-pandaan,-indonesi

December 07^th 2020

Dry heating treatment: A potential tool to improve the wheat starch properties for 3D food printing application.

Brazilian and French scientists working out of the University of São Paulo and the Atlantic National College of Veterinary Medicine, Food Science and Engineering have discovered a dry heating treatment that converts wheat starch to hydrogel form. This discovery better allows the starch to be used in additive manufacturing for food products. The innovation notably improves the printed wheat product’s ability to retain shape, which is a critical part of large-scale additive food production. The researchers also successfully tested their method on cassava starch. The researchers’ results are published in Food Research International.

Printing food products is a growing segment in the additive manufacturing space. This network has reported recent developments, which include a first bioprinting meat in space and Cakewalk3D’s Digital Patisserie. The segment has also grown to attract more established investors. These developments augur well for the scientists’ research, which could help promote increased investment and commercialization of additively manufactured food products.

The researchers in the instant case modified wheat starch by dry heating it over two and four hours at 130˚C. This process caused the starch’s granule size to increase while retaining its original shape. The starch’s molecular grouping did not change. These altered starches were used as hydrogel inks, which were passed through a 3D printer to create test shapes.

These resulting shapes demonstrated higher structural strength at rest, higher resistance to external stresses, higher gel firmness, and lower expulsion of liquids than the control starch. The form produced with the four-hour-treated-starch gel showed the best reproducibility. The dry heat treated starches also showed better texture detail than the control starch.

These results suggest that wheat starches may be able to play a more important role in the food segment of the additive manufacturing industry, notably as structural elements that might allow other food products to break into the space.

Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0963996920307560#!

November 23^rd 2020

Beneo unveils first-ever instant functional rice starch for sauces, dressings and fillings.

Beneo has revealed its latest creation for enhancing clean label claims in foods. Remypure S52 P is a precooked functional native rice starch that can help manufacturers produce clean label food preparations, such as cold processed sauces, dressings, dairy desserts and bakery fillings.

The new ingredient delivers soft and creamy textures and product stability, even under harsh processing conditions such as shear and acid, according to Beneo.

Benoit Tavernier, product manager specialty rice ingredients at Beneo, says: “We launched our first Remypure product in 2016 and since then we’ve been focused on developing the range further.”

“In 2018, we launched Rempure S52, and the development of a precooked version was the logical next step in the extension of the Rempure product portfolio.”

Remypure S52 P has performed well in taste trials, with spoonable dressings, ranch dips and bakery creams, says Tavernier.
While Rempure S52 can be used in applications produced using hot and harsh process conditions, Rempure S52 P presents new opportunities for cold processed applications that traditionally have to withstand acidity and/or high shear during preparation, Tavernier explains.

“For example, food dressings, sauces and dips, bakery fillings and dairy desserts, are often produced using a cold process, hence the need to develop an instant functional native rice starch.”

Previously, only selected categories stood out with clean labels, such as baby food, Tavernier highlights.

“However, today, clean label claims are included in a strong majority of products and can be found in many applications such as confectionery, bakery, soups and sauces, to name a few.”

This is due to a rise in consumers seeking out products with natural credentials and clean label ingredients because they regard them as healthier, adds Tavernier.

“At the same time, consumers are looking for tasty, delicious and convenient foods. As a result, manufacturers are increasingly being challenged to create product solutions that meet all these demands,” he continues.

“With our Remypure range and, particularly with Remypure S52 P, we can help our customers rise to the challenge and tap into these growing trends with our native functional rice starches.”

Remypure S52 P is now available globally. As international consumers continue to avoid products that contain artificial ingredients, transparent and simple labels are on the rise worldwide.

As such, “Transparency Triumphs” was recently pegged as Innova Market Insights’ Top Trend for 2021, highlighting a burgeoning consumer appetite for traceable, sustainable ingredients.

Recent research has shown that one in four food and beverage launches carry a clean label claim, and this increases to one in three for sauces and seasonings, Beneo reveals.

Global consumers are looking for authentic and natural ingredients.

For example, half of UK shoppers and three out of five German consumers “intentionally avoid foods and/or beverages with artificial ingredients and look for natural products instead,” according to Beneo.

When asked why consumers were interested in eating cleaner, almost three out of every five consumers (62 percent) said it was because it was healthier.

Rice is seen as a familiar and healthy ingredient by the large majority of consumers.

Furthermore, it brings added creaminess and mouthfeel to any recipe, thanks to the rice starch granules’ unique characteristics.

Remypure S52 P performed well in taste trials, with spoonable dressings, ranch dips and bakery creams tested, all receiving positive feedback, particularly regarding the recipes’ creamy textures and stability.
Applications such as food dressings, sauces and dips, traditionally have to withstand acidity and/or high shear during preparation.

“Remypure S52 P has been developed for food producers searching for an instant clean label texturizer for food preparations that can withstand harsh process conditions while giving an additional creamy aspect to the texture of the end product,” Tavernier explains.

“It is the first rice starch of its kind on the market for this type of application and has already been well received in a range of taste tests.”

“With the now extended Remypure range of functional native rice starches, Beneo is well set to support existing and potential new customers in their development process of various new clean label products.”

Beneo expects interest in natural ingredients and clear and transparent labeling, which will continue to increase in 2021 and beyond.

“Already today, two in three consumers worldwide want to see nutritional information that is as simplified and clear as possible, and the majority of consumers regard rice starch as a natural and familiar cupboard ingredient,” Tavernier continues.

“This is why we believe rice starch holds the key to unlocking new opportunities for product development that responds to the growing transparent labeling trend.”

Additionally, rice starch is a plant-based texturizer that provides mouthfeel and stability to dairy alternatives such as drinks, desserts or spreads. With almost one in two European consumers aiming for less dairy and meat products, plant-based rice starch offers manufacturers opportunities to tap into this growing trend, Tavernier highlights.

Beneo has already invested significantly in its rice starches, with the recent launch of its organic starches and €50 million (US$59.3 million) funding into expanding its Wijgmaal rice starch plant in Belgium, which will lead to a 50 percent capacity increase by March 2022.

Source: BENEO Launches First-Ever Instant Functional Rice Starch – Agro & Food Processing (agronfoodprocessing.com)

November 18^th 2020

Roquette’s innovative plant-based solution unlocks possibilities for veggie softgel market.

Roquette has unveiled Lycagel, a pea starch technology positioned as a pharmaceutical-grade solution for vegetarian softgel capsule formulations.

As it meets both US and EU pharmacopeia standards, Lycagel is the first vegetarian softgel option that is suitable for nutraceutical supplement softgel products, as well as regulated pharmaceutical drug products, according to Roquette.

“Gelatin is currently the gold standard for softgel capsules in the nutraceutical and pharmaceutical markets. However, gelatin is animal-derived and has incompatibility issues with fill ingredients that can shorten softgel shelf life,” says Steve Amoussou-Guenou, innovation project leader of pharma at Roquette.

Lycagel is designed to be easily adaptable to existing gelatin processes, with only minor production modifications needed to handle the higher gel mass viscosity and temperature requirements.

“A key ingredient in the Lycagel system – pea starch – is the first of its kind to market, supporting high performance and attractive softgel solutions through patented technology.”

Amoussou-Guenou continues that Lycagel’s best characteristics are its strength compared to gelatin and its ability to maintain structural integrity during production and throughout storage.

“Unlike gelatin-based capsules, for example, Lycagel softgels exhibit no crosslinking. In terms of visual appeal, Lycagel capsules have a transparent, shiny finish and excellent reproducibility and can be adapted to the manufacturer’s brand,” he adds.

Another advantage is that Lycagel is processed at higher temperatures than gelatin. “In addition to maintaining its structural integrity at higher temperatures, it also removes the temperature limitations experienced with gelatin.”

This allows manufacturers to include ingredients such as pastes or waxes, as well as giving the option to implement multi-ingredient and complex formulations.

Additionally, some manufacturers may feel that the manufacturing process is much slower for plant-based softgels, and therefore inefficient and more expensive than gelatin versions. However, Roquette has found that manufacturing time with Lycagel is equivalent to gelatin.
Lycagel capsules have a transparent, shiny finish and excellent reproducibility.

Roquette has spent the past two years investing in the R&D around Lycagel. The final formation includes pea starch, carrageenan, Neosorb sorbitol and salt.

Unlike gelatin, hydroxypropyl (HP) pea starch does not possess the gelling properties needed to form a homogeneous softgel film.

Therefore, the team needed to explore ingredient combinations to achieve this characteristic, with carrageenan eventually being selected.

However, when mixed together, pea starch and carrageenan are more viscous. In addition, Roquette found that the formulation was jellifying at temperatures below approximately 85°C.

This meant that in comparison to gelatin, the preparation of the gel mass required a higher temperature, as well as for film casting and capsule sealing.

“We also experienced some challenges with capsule sealing during the initial stages of the development – finding that the capsules were leaking, or the films were too thick,” explains Amoussou-Guenou.

The answer to these R&D challenges was eventually found in a specific cooking procedure for the pea starch and carrageenan system. The teams also implemented some equipment adjustments to avoid the immediate jellifying of the gel mass.

“Following multiple testing phases, a new temperature setting profile was established. Our efforts to optimize and adjust the process parameters for Lycagel subsequently removed challenges with capsule leakage and sealing marks,” says Amoussou-Guenou.

The launch is now supported by the validation of its reproducibility at scale when encapsulating varying fills for different capsule sizes and shapes.
The Roquette R&D team developed a specific cooking procedure for the pea starch and carrageenan system.

This gelatin alternative taps into a growing market for plant-based offerings. Indeed, “Plant-Forward” is Innova Market Insights’ second Top Trend for 2021.

The market researcher reports that plant-based or vegan claims on supplements had an average annual growth of 34 percent between 2015 and 2019.

“With demand for plant-based alternatives showing no signs of abating, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical manufacturers alike require a solution that can help them meet discerning consumer preferences for sustainable, non-animal derived ingredients,” explains Amoussou-Guenou.

He continues that it’s not just people who categorize themselves as vegetarian that are looking to swap animal-based products for plant-based alternatives, with many omnivorous consumers simply reducing their meat intake.

“Religious reasons, as well as an increased awareness of environmental and health concerns regarding meat consumption, are all contributing factors fueling a global drive toward plant-based products and solutions,” he details.

Source: https://www.roquette.com/media-center/press-center/2020-11-18-lycagel-softgel-alternative-to-gelatin-pharmaceuticals-nutraceuticals

November 17^th 2020

Israeli start-up launches clean label native chickpea starch.

The Israeli foodtech start-up says its new ingredient extracted from chickpeas offers food and drink manufacturers a pure, high-value, functional ingredient.

Foodtech start-up ChickP Protein has launched a new range of native starch developed from chickpeas for food and drinks applications. The new ingredient is non-GMO and a by-product of ChickP protein process using proprietary technology.

ChickP’s technology allows the company to separate and purify the solid components of the chickpea (protein, starch, and fibres), which the Israeli start-up offers to food manufacturers as pure, high-value, functional ingredients.

The launch of the novel starch ingredient follows the successful introduction last year of a line of innovative chickpea isolates specifically designed for plant-based dairy alternative products.

“The inspiration for developing a native chickpea starch was to offer another purified fraction from chickpea – similar to ChickP’s isolated protein, which contains 90% protein,” said Ram Reifen, managing director, founder and chief science officer of ChickP. “We’ve extended the purity approach by introducing our pure native chickpea starch, with more than 98% starch content.”

ChickP says its native chickpea starch eliminates food waste during processing and ensures a sustainable, clean ingredient.

The start-up claims the ingredient has high amylose to amylopectin ratio, with neutral taste and no aroma.

It also claims that due to its narrow granules size distribution, compared with pea and potato starches, ChickP native starch provides better gelling and thickening properties.

As a result, it can be used as a thickening/binding agent in a variety of food applications – soups and sauces, confectionery, dairy, baked goods, desserts, meat, plant-based meat, and many more.

According to Innova Market Insights, the use of specifically identified starches in food and drink launches has increased globally, featuring a 7% increase in year-over-year growth when comparing 2019 and 2018 launches.

Last year, the top category of global product launches tracked with starches was bakery (27%), with corn starch being the leading ingredient among the starches tracked. The top positionings of global product launches tracked with starches last year were no additives/preservatives (17%), gluten-free (15%), and vegetarian (9%).

“The ChickP technical team currently is developing food applications using our native chickpea starch,” said Ron Klein, chief executive of ChickP. “We invite companies to collaborate with us to create new plant-based products that meet all the demands of today’s informed consumers.”

Source: https://www.chickp-protein.com/

October 29^th 2020

Starch manufacturer seeks $2.6M tax break for expansion plans.

An Indianapolis City-County Council committee has advanced a $2.6 million tax abatement request for a starch and sweetener producer that plans to expand the capacity of its facility southwest of downtown.

Chicago-based Ingredion Inc. plans to spend about $60 million to expand its operations at 1515 Drover St., allowing it to add 22,000 metric tons of capacity to meet customer demand. The company manufactures starches, sweeteners, animal feed products and edible corn oil.

The company does not plan to add any jobs but will retain 374 employees who earn an average hourly wage of $33.92. Ingredion expects to dedicate approximately 5% of its abatement savings toward a job training initiative that will increase maintenance technicians’ skill sets.

The company said the expansion is necessary to keep up with North American and global competition for “clean-label” starches, which typically means free from chemical modification.

The project, which has already begun, will play out in phases through 2024. The expansion is taking place within the facility’s existing footprint.

The company has requested a five-year personal property tax abatement. In year one, the abatement would save the company 100%; 80% in year two; 60% in year three; 40% in year four and 20% in the fifth and final year.

The abatement would save the company about $2.6 million over the five-year period. After the tax abatement expires, Ingredion is expected to pay an estimated $2.8 million in personal property taxes annually on the new equipment.

The Metropolitan and Economic Development Committee approved the tax abatement request on Monday night. It now advances to the full city-County Council, which next meets Nov. 16.

Source: https://www.ibj.com/articles/council-committee-advances-tax-abatement-for-starch-manufacturer-expansion-plans