Starch Pros

November 29^th 2017

Tate & Lyle has achieved Non-GMO Project verification for 18 starch ingredients,  including the entire line of CLARIA® Functional Clean-Label Starches.

Tate & Lyle PLC (‘Tate & Lyle’), a leading global provider of food ingredients and solutions, has achieved Non-GMO Project verification for 18 starch ingredients, including the entire line of CLARIA^® Functional Clean-Label Starches. The Non-GMO Project is a nonprofit organization committed to preserving and building sources of non-GMO products, educating consumers and providing verified non-GMO choices.

Now, more than ever, consumers are are looking for more options from food and beverage manufacturers that meet their preferences around simpler and easier to understand ingredient lists. In fact, 63% of Americans have consumed non-GMO products in the past year, which represents a 74% increase since 2012. The Non-GMO Project verification gives manufacturers and their consumers the assurance that products, such as CLARIA^® Functional Clean-Label Starches, have completed a comprehensive verification for compliance with the Non-GMO Project Standard.

“In today’s complex food and beverage landscape, consumers want foods that fit their varying lifestyles and choices. Whether it be clean label foods or options with fewer calories, manufacturers need to find ways to rise to the challenge,” said Werner Barbosa, Global Platform Lead, Texturants, Tate & Lyle. “We are committed to helping brands create on-trend, extraordinary eating experiences, through simpler ingredients but which also address formulation challenges.”

Tate & Lyle’s Non-GMO Project Verified starches provide the functionality to help customers create extraordinary food textures – all while delivering label-friendly options to consumers. The ingredients receiving verification are:

• The entire line of CLARIA^® Functional Clean-Label Starches which is:
  • CLARIA^® Elite
  • CLARIA^® Plus  
  • CLARIA^® Essential
  • CLARIA^®  Instant 340
  • CLARIA^®  Instant 360
  • CLARIA^® Bliss 560
  • CLARIA^® Bliss 570
  • CLARIA^® Bliss 580
• PERMA-FLO NG Starch
• MAXI-GEL^® 617 NG Starch
• REZISTA^® 682 NG Starch
• REZISTA^® HV NG Starch
• REZISTA^® NG Starch
• X-PAND’R^® 612 NG Starch
• X-PAND’R^® SC NG Starch
• MIRA-MIST^® 662 NG Starch
• MIRA-THIK^® 603 NG Starch: MIRA-THICK^® 603 F NG Starch
• STAR-DRI^® 10 NG Maltodextrin

These non-GMO starches enable manufacturers not only to address the demand for clean label ingredients, but also to tackle formulation challenges which deliver their texture goals. Texture is often one of the most challenging attributes for formulators to optimize. The combination of Tate & Lyle’s deep formulation expertise and ingredient portfolio provides food manufacturers with the right solutions to meet labeling requirements and the desirable texture that makes food extraordinary.

For more information on Non-GMO Project verification, visit http://nongmoproject.org. For more information on Tate & Lyle’s texturant solutions, visit http://tateandlyle.com and non-GMO alternatives, visit https://www.tateandlyle.com/non-gmo-alternatives .

Source: https://www.tateandlyle.com/articles/4

November 08^th 2017

Kröner-Stärke launches pre-gelatinized starch flakes for clean label foods.

German producer of natural wheat starches, Kröner-Stärke, has boosted its range of starch flakes to include a new instant porridge, pre-gelatinized wheat starch flakes, corn starch flakes, waxy maize starch flakes and whole flour starches for use in healthy clean-label food products.

Providing outstanding technical performance, the new flake products are ideal for manufacturers of porridges, sauces, dressings, smooth desserts, puddings, mousses, custards and similar products.

Starch flakes offer exceptional dispersion properties, making them easy to incorporate into any mixture, and immediately add to the viscosity of the product. Full viscosity can be achieved without cooking, providing a convenient and easy to use solution for producing a range of instant soups, baby foods, desserts and baked goods. The flakes are also excellent moisture absorbers and so can help to avoid lumping too.

Manufacturers should specify these starches to help them achieve a delicate combination of flavor, texture and healthy label in their product. Kröner-Stärke has created flakes which achieve a perfect texture and mouth-feel without compromising the desired flavor. As the company takes a chemical-free approach to the production of all its starches, including grain processing using its own natural spring water, food producers are guaranteed a clean-label product with full traceability.

Based on the new range, one of the company’s latest innovations is an instant porridge mix designed for healthy living with the young and more mature population in mind. It contains naturally-produced wheat starch flakes, wholemeal wheat flour, calcium carbonate and vitamin B1 which, when combined with milk, soy milk or water, creates a smooth, easy to swallow, readily digestible porridge with a high fiber content. This high quality, nutritious and satisfying product (to which fruit may be added to create a tasty meal) has no added sugar and is totally free from artificial flavors, colors and preservatives.

The bakery and delicatessen sectors can also reap the benefits of the functional properties of flakes. Potato starches, which are often expensive and problematic to source, can be replaced by Kröner-Stärke’s POMGEL. This is a wheat starch with a flaky structure that improves the shelf-life of baked goods, has a high water-binding capacity and due to its superior wettability, guarantees lump-free mixing.

Kröner-Stärke’s Sales Director, Henrik de Vries says: “We are constantly developing our range of starches to provide food manufacturers with the raw materials that enable them to keep up with the latest eating trends. The pure nature of our starches makes them suitable for a wide range of products and an even wider range of consumers. Food processors can depend on the quality and functionality of our flaky pre-gelatinized starches, many of which are also available in gluten-free or organic form too.”

Source: http://www.foodingredientsfirst.com/foodingredientsfirst-news.html

October 31^st 2017

Flour power to boost food security.

The discovery of genes that determine the yield of flour from wheat could increase milling yield, boosting food security and producing a healthier flour.

University of Queensland researchers believe the discovery could increase the amount of flour produced from wheat by as much as 10 per cent.

Wheat – the leading temperate climate crop – provides 20 per cent of the total calories and proteins consumed worldwide. Wheat grain is milled, or crushed, to make flour for bread and other food products.

UQ Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation Director Professor Robert Henry said his research team had pinpointed the genes that control a cell protein which acts like a glue, holding the wheat grain’s endosperm, wheat germ and bran layers together.

“Wheats that produce less of this glue-like protein come apart more easily in the milling process,” he said.

“This increases the efficiency of processing and improves the nutritional profile of the flour as more of the outer parts of the endosperm – rich in vitamins and minerals – are incorporated into the flour.

“This applies not only to white flour but also to wholemeal flour.”

“Potentially we can take high-yielding field wheats that have not traditionally been considered suitable for milling, and turn them into milling wheats.”

“This will improve on-farm production and reduce post-harvest wastage and the amount of resources used to grow the wheat.”

“And, by getting a few per cent more flour from the 700 million tonnes of wheat produced globally each year, we will be producing significantly more food from the same amount of wheat,” he said.

Australian wheat traditionally attracts a high price in the market as it has a reputation of giving high flour yields.

“We haven’t been able to genetically select for this trait at early stages of breeding before,” Professor Henry said.

“The effect of this cell adhesion protein explains the difference between wheats that give us 70 per cent flour when we mill it, to 80 per cent, which is quite a big difference.”

Professor Henry said this knowledge could be employed immediately in wheat breeding programs.

“It means that we can produce premium wheats more efficiently and push the yields of quality premium wheats up.”

The team is now looking at DNA testing to breed wheats based on this new molecular discovery. Their findings are published in Scientific Reports.

Source: https://www.uq.edu.au/news/search

October 14^th 2017

EFSA: Modified starches pose no safety concerns.

A dozen modified food starches used to make sauces and pie fillings have received regulatory backing after a re-evaluation found no safety concerns with levels currently used in food products.

Conclusions reached by the European and Food Safety Authority (EFSA) ruled that 12 modified starches (E 1404, E 1410, E 1412, E 1413, E 1414, E 1420, E 1422, E 1440, E 1442, E 1450, E 1451 and E 1452) could be authorised as food additives.

“Modified starches (i.e. E 1413, E 1414, E 1420, E 1450) were well tolerated in adults up to a single daily dose of 60,000 milligrams per person (mg/person) (860 mg/kg bw),” EFSA stated.

“The Panel concluded that there is no safety concern for the use of modified starches as food additives at the reported uses and use levels and that there is no need for a numerical acceptable daily intake (ADI).”

There were concerns over the way modified starches were not absorbed intact posing distribution, metabolism and excretion issues in the human body that can result in toxic build-up.

However, supporting studies indicated that the two major components of starches, amylose and amylopectin, are fermented during their passage through the large intestine by strains of bacteria found in the human colon.

The main end products of this colonic anaerobic digestive process are short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) such as acetic, propionic and butyric acids, which are absorbed from the colon.

Despite the absence of data for two modified starches (E 1451 and E 1452) and the absence of in vivo studies in humans for other modified starches, the Panel were satisfied that modified starches were excreted via intestinal enzyme break down and intestinal microbiota fermentation.

Commercial starches are generally extracted from potatoes and cereals. Their value lies in their potential for modification in order to function properly under conditions encountered during processing or storage, such as high heat, low pH, freeze/thaw and cooling.

As an additive for food processing, food starches thicken and stabilize foods such as soups and salad dressings. They also function as thickeners, extenders, emulsion stabilizers and are strong binders in processed meats.

Source: http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/4911

October 13^th 2017

Ingredion expands rice portfolio with launch of world-first multifunctional rice flours in.

Ingredion has launched two multifunctional rice flours, Homecraft Create 835 and 865, as part of its expanding rice ingredients portfolio. The company notes that these unique rice flours can enable food manufacturers to achieve the same range of functionalities as functional native starches, including process tolerance and texture stability while carrying the ultimate consumer-friendly “rice flour” label.

The new rice flours are designed to suit even the most challenging of applications, including soups and sauces. Alongside a clean-label listing, they also support both a gluten-free and a natural positioning, Ingredion notes.

The medium and high process tolerance is unique to the Homecraft Create 835 and 865 rice flours, presenting new opportunities for food manufacturers. They provide scope to formulate and manufacture clean-label products that are consumer-friendly, such as creamy soups or low-fat and gluten-free sauces with an authentic texture.

Although these multifunctional rice flours do not gel, they can deliver superior texture stability over shelf life, Ingredion adds. The unique creamy texture and neutral flavor profile they deliver add to the versatility of this ingredient across a variety of applications, such as savory soups, sauces and ready meals.

Janin Zippel, Product Manager, Pulses and Rice at Ingredion EMEA, explains: “With our clean-label heritage, we are fully aware of the ongoing scrutiny of food labels by consumers. We know they want recognizable ingredients and you can’t get much more familiar than rice and flour, so it made sense to expand our existing Novation rice starches by developing a range of complementary rice flours.”

Zippel notes that the company is particularly excited about how these flours extend clean-label opportunities into new areas by combining superior texture stability over shelf life with the ability to withstand tough processing conditions, including high-shear.

Their unique properties allow manufacturers to develop gluten-free sauces with an authentic texture and mouthfeel, according to Zippel, who says the flours may also enable the removal of fat, therefore boosting a products’ nutritional profile to meet consumer preference.
“Ingredion Research shows that rice flour outranks wheat flour and cornflour as a consumer-preferred ingredient. It is this unique combination of acceptability and functionality that make Homecraft Create flours such a versatile ingredient for our industry,” Zippel adds.

Ingredion reports that new proprietary research reveals there is already high awareness of using rice as an ingredient among consumers.

Overall, 51 percent of those surveyed are familiar with its addition to food products such as bread, soups and sauces. It is perceived as a natural, healthy ingredient and as a “good” carbohydrate that provides long-lasting energy. In addition, 78 percent of consumers accept rice flour in soups, sauces and ready meals. No other tested texturizer ranked higher.

Homecraft Create 835 and 865 are multifunctional flours that provide excellent texture stability over shelf life in demanding applications such as soups, sauces or ready meals, Ingredion states. Their small granule size and organoleptic properties provide a creamy texture.

In addition, they provide improved wheat flour-like opacity in gluten-free, low-fat and low-protein applications, such as soups and sauces. Their neutral flavor profile supports flavor release in food products.
“Consumer awareness of what goes into food and how it is produced is growing,” Zippel continues. “These multifunctional rice flours mean that applications that were previously unable to benefit from a ‘rice flour’ listing, such as soups and sauces which undergo demanding processing conditions, are now able to do so.”

Perceptions of the flours as healthy, natural ingredients, alongside their gluten-free properties, also mean they are particularly well aligned to today’s consumer food trends, according to Zippel.

“We have drawn on our existing clean-label expertise to develop new rice-based products that both meet the needs of manufacturers in terms of recipe formulation and ease of processing and those of consumers seeking familiar and healthy ingredients,” Zippel concludes.

Source: http://emea.ingredion.com/

October 12^th 2017

2^nd Starch World Europe, October 30^th – 31^st 2017 in Budapest, Hungary.

Topics being addressed:

• Starch industry in EU is more dynamic than ever as the region will see an end to restrictions come October 2017.
• Rabobank believes that isoglucose production could take off, particularly in grain and starch-rich but sugar-poor countries such as Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria.
• How much demand will there be for starch-based sweeteners after the lifting of quotas ?
• Would it replace sugar and what then will the impact be on sugar beet producers ?
• How would the EU biobased economy present opportunities for sugar and starch producers and what are the new value added streams including biobased plastics and polymers ?
• What novel enzymes are  currently in development to produce new generation of starch derivatives ?
• Starches play a vital role in our everyday life. It is the most common carbohydrate in the human diet and is contained in many staple foods.
• Starches are can-do ingredients, delivering thickening and binding, freeze-thaw stability.
• Whether it’s creating cakes that don’t crumble, ice-cream  with indulgent texture, manufacturers need starches to deliver the food experiences consumers demand.
• Starch is also used in paper coating as one of the binders for the coating formulation, and in many other industrial applications from textiles to oil drilling.
• With growing calls for naturality and transparency in the supply chain, what does this mean for starch processors ? If processed it out, what is next for clean label?

Source: http://www.cmtevents.com/aboutevent.aspx?ev=171019&

October 11^th 2017

Tate & Lyle announces major expansion of maltodextrin capacity at its facility in Boleraz, Slovakia.

Production of infant food grade non-GMO MALTOSWEET^® Maltodextrin to be more than doubled over next two years to meet growing global demand.

Tate & Lyle PLC (‘Tate & Lyle’), a leading global provider of speciality food ingredients and solutions, today announces plans to more than double capacity of its non-GMO MALTOSWEET^® Maltodextrin product line at its facility in Boleraz, Slovakia.  

This major expansion of food grade and infant food grade non-GMO MALTOSWEET^® Maltodextrin is expected to be completed in 2019.

MALTOSWEET^® Maltodextrin is a nutritive corn-based speciality sweetener made from locally sourced non-GMO dent and waxy corn starch. It is available in powder and granular formats. Maltodextrin acts as a binder, viscosity provider, fat replacer and bulking agent. The ingredient is used in a wide range of food and beverages such as infant formula, sports drinks, dairy desserts and sauces.

Joan Braca, President, Speciality Food Ingredients, Tate & Lyle said: “Tate & Lyle’s quality management systems ensure our non-GMO MALTOSWEET^® Maltodextrin achieves the high quality standards our customers look for, particularly manufacturers of infant and growing-up formula.

“This expansion will enable us to meet growing customer demand for non-GMO maltodextrins, and particularly in the infant food sector for regions such as Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific. It will also further strengthen our speciality food ingredients solutions offering worldwide.”

Source: https://www.tateandlyle.com/articles/4

October 11^th 2017

AGRANA opens additional facility at the corn starch mill in Aschach an der Donau, Austria.

Today, AGRANA opened a new facility at its corn starch mill in Aschach an der Donau in Upper Austria. Following the investment of around EUR 80 million, AGRANA has increased its processing capacity at the plant by a third to 540,000 tonnes of corn per year. The additional capacity has also created 25 new jobs in the region.

The Aschach site processes corn to make high-quality products for downstream processing industries. Corn starch is used, on the one hand, mainly in technical applications (such as in the paper, cosmetic and construction industries) and, on the other, in the food industry, e.g.
in the production of noodles and bakery products. As a whole, AGRANA processes the commodities corn, potatoes and wheat to make starches at five production sites in Europe and sells 2.5 million tonnes of starch-based products to 2,000 customers worldwide operating in over 20 different sectors.

AGRANA relies on a speciality-based strategy in the starch market: “Although our starch mills are smaller than those of US competitors, this makes it easier to flexibly manufacture speciality products. We exploit our expertise to focus on speciality starches, e.g. for clean label starches which have not been chemically modified, and therefore have invested in boosting capacity and value-adding technologies here in Aschach. We are also increasingly
processing special corn varieties here, such as waxy corn, and play a leading role in terms of organic and GMO-free starches for the food industry,” highlights AGRANA CEO Johann Marihart.

This facility opened in 1936 as a potato starch mill. In 1958, the site was converted into a corn starch mill with a milling capacity of 60 tonnes of corn per day. The plant has been repeatedly expanded since 1984, particularly since Austria joined the EU. The preceding development phase took place in 2006/2007 and focused mainly on the modernisation of infrastructure and more effective environmental protection. Production takes place year-round
and mainly involves operating in four shifts. 280 personnel at the Aschach site ensure that the various processes are performed efficiently.

Source: http://www.agrana.com/en/media/latest-news/

October 10^th 2017

Cargill introduces SimPure™ functional native starches to address consumer demand for label-friendly products.

First product in the SimPure™ portfolio designed for  convenience products, frozen foods.

In response to growing consumer demand for simple, familiar ingredients, Cargill is launching a portfolio of functional native starches under the new SimPure™ brand.  SimPure offers food and beverage manufacturers tailor-made, functional native starches that deliver the simple ingredient label consumers want, along with greater process tolerance, shelf life and storage stability. The product line will be available worldwide.

Cargill’s SimPure functional native starches, coupled with our integrated formulation and technical expertise, will allow food manufacturers to deliver on consumer demands for label-friendly products with great taste and texture.

“Consumers increasingly want to know what is in their food and are turning to product labels to better inform themselves,” says Simon Waters, Global Food Starch leader, Cargill. “Cargill’s SimPure functional native starches, coupled with our integrated formulation and technical expertise, will allow food manufacturers to deliver on consumer demands for label-friendly products with great taste and texture.

“For years, modified starches served as the workhorses of the texturizing world, solving a host of food processing dilemmas. However, as part of changing consumer preferences, many customers want to remove modified starch from their product labels.

“Through extensive research to identify new starch sources, create new processing techniques and evaluate new combinations of native starches, Cargill’s food scientists developed the SimPure line, offering innovative solutions to these difficult texturizing challenges,” explains Denis Palacioglu, EMEA Starch product line director, Cargill.

The first product in the SimPure portfolio, SimPure™ 99560, was created for use in culinary and convenience applications, such as frozen foods. A custom starch blend of various botanical sources, SimPure 99560 can replace modified starches in frozen-ready meals, without compromising taste, texture or appearance.

Cargill recognized using a single starch often falls short in replicating the mouthfeel, texture and stability provided by modified starches in frozen prepared entrée sauces. The company’s food scientists instead created a tailored system of starches, which deliver comparable performance. The result, patent-pending SimPure 99560, provides optimal freeze-heat stability in mild processing conditions, preventing water separation and producing stable functionality over time. It offers good viscosity in processing and microwave cooking stability. Equally important, SimPure 99560 maintains mouthfeel and texture, delivering on consumers’ sensory expectations.

“As a global leader, we have the most diverse texturizing portfolio, backed by world-class formulation experts and a reliable supply chain, enabling us to create custom solutions like SimPure 99560 to address the application and marketplace needs of our customer partners,” said Waters. “As we expand the SimPure product line, our food scientists will be creating similar ways to use familiar ingredients that provide the functional, label-friendly options our customers require.”

Source: https://www.cargill.com/news/press-releases

October 06^th 2017

Chernihiv to be the largest potato starch production hub in Eastern Europe and in the CIS.

Chernihiv, the Heart of Polesia, according to experts, becomes the potato processing hub. There are already two starch factories operating in the region, and in September 2018, the third one will be taken into operation. The new plant is being built with the technical facilitation of the Danish-based company SiccaDania and will become one of the most state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Europe.

Mr. S.V. Samonenko, Director of PPCE VIMAL, says: “Our enterprise has more than twenty years’ experience in producing potato starch. Over these years, we have continuously improved the quality of our products, have formed a civilized potato starch market in Ukraine, and raised the purchase price for potato producers to a level that exceeds the prices all over Europe. In summer 2018, we shall put into operation a new production facility in order to meet the needs of our customers, as well as to implement a deep potato processing project. We are convinced that the future of Ukrainian potato industry is in the deep processing of potatoes.”

Thus, the launch of the new starch processing plant alone will increase the total revenues of potato producers in Ukraine more than tenfold, and the further ambitions for the production of potato protein and food fibers will allow to deepen the processing of potatoes and obtain products with even greater value-added, both for raw potato producers the participants of the project, as well for the company.

Mr. E.V. Rebenok, Head of R&D Department of PPCE “Vimal” says: “VIMAL started its potato processing operations in 1994 with GU-50 hydrocyclones unit made in Russia by  GUP ”Korenevskij Eksperimentalnyj Zavod”.

The equipment was not perfect, but we strove for perfection and our ambition was to position our products as the best in the world. In 2001, when I was a young chemist, I began to work for the company, and realized that our starch is not the best and we will have to go a long way in order to manufacture products that will meet the customers´ requirements.

Since we supply our products to food manufacturers, we began to seriously work on microbiology, viscosity, color, ash content, and the temperature of gelatinization – over all the key indicators which are essential for the buyers and which determine whether we can sell our products at a high price or not.

At that moment the quality of our starch was formed by a GU-50 hydrocyclones unit. Like similar equipment – GU-200 and GU-500, it was made of carbon steel and was supplied with K-type pumps with a gland packing seal. An attempt to replace the material of the equipment with stainless steel and the outdated pumps with modern ones did increase our productivity, but did not affect the quality issue. Therefore, it was decided to fundamentally change the technological scheme of starch extraction and refining.”

The peculiarity of the GU-50, GU-200 and GU-500 hydrocyclones is that the extraction of the fibers and starch refining occurs simultaneously. Thus, their main shortcoming is the refining only in 4 cyclone blocks out of 12 (in the latest models in 6 out of 14).

In addition, the design of the hydrocyclone unit allows for the uncontrolled multiplication of microorganisms, and the cyclones’ overflow themselves are a foam mixture of potato fibers and juice – a substance that is difficult to dispose of.

For comparison, in modern factories, the refining line has 12 to 14 cyclone blocks, and this excludes concentration cyclones, decanters or plane vacuum filters, in which juice separation is also carried out and fibers is being removed from starch suspension. This is not to mention the attention that modern equipment pays to controlling the development of bacteria.

The desire to improve the quality of products made us take a risky step – to change the scheme of work of the hydrocyclone unit, which was designed by the manufacturer of the plant. In 2011, a technical solution was developed, then dewatering and extraction sieves as well as concentration cyclones made by Larsson were installed.

The purchased equipment installed before the GU-50, and the new flow scheme allowed to threefold increase the number of cyclone blocks involved in refinery process, and which is most important – to radically improve the quality of products and increase the productivity of GU-50 to 150 tons of potatoes per day (i.e., by a factor of three)

In 2016, VIMAL, after consideration of the offers of all potato starch processing equipment suppliers, begins construction of a new potato starch factory with the daily throughput of 1440 tons raw potatoes with the support of the Danish company SiccaDania.

In the new plant, there are separate hydrocyclone lines for the refining of starch, one for large and another one for small granules, which will not only ensure the top quality starch, but also will allow the fractionation of starch and offer products with a large or small fraction, to the customers who need them, as well as to produce modified starch based on fine granules in the future.

Also, at the new plant it is planned to produce pharmaceutical starch and special starch for yeast production.

Source: https://politvesti.com/?p=319146