Ferré & Consulting Blog (English Version)

A wheat-based egg substitute can replace up to 50 per cent of eggs in sweet bakery products such as eggs, muffins and cupcakes and requires no changes to a product’s labelling, claims UK supplier Ulrick & Short

Adrian Short, director of the clean label ingredients manufacturer, said that its egg replacer, Ovaparox, is produced from wheat fractions in combination with proteins that the supplier had previously used in products targeted at the meat sector.

“The way in which the wheat-based egg substitute is formed allows us to call it wheat flour, and this, of course, means there are no labelling implications as this ingredient is already declared on baked goods,” he said.

Ovaparox, continued Short, has a shelf life of 18 months from date of manufacturer and allows bakers, therefore, to hedge their bets against fluctuating egg prices: “They can keep the substitute in storage and simply switch to it in times of sharp increases in the cost of that commodity,” he explained.

Ovaparox can replace up to 50 per cent of egg in cakes without compromising on quality, taste, bake volume or shelf-life, said the supplier.

The product is sold in powder form, which is then combined with water to produce the equivalent of liquid egg but this does not impact on shelf life, claims Short, as Ovaparox wraps and binds the water.

Testing

He told BakeryandSnacks.com that texture and water characteristics of sponges using the egg replacer were independently tested by technologists based at Sheffield Halham University, with their results showing the end products had properties equivalent to those based on 100 per cent egg based recipes.

Furthermore, said Short, trials with the supplier’s lead bakery customers based in the UK, Holland and Belgium demonstrated that the egg replacer works on an industrial scale with one manufacturer declaring it to be easier to use than egg in some recipes.

He said that that Ovaparox can achieve savings of up to 30 per cent for bakery processors.

Egg supply

Egg prices have been going up for about 12 months with increases on intensive liquid egg in the order of 10 per cent.

And food manufacturers are predicting further price hikes and availability worries as European egg producers struggle to get to grips with changing welfare legislation, with new rules banning the use of traditional battery cages to produce eggs, scheduled to come into force in January 2012.

European Egg Processors’ Association (EEPA) secretary general Filiep Van Bosstraeten told our sister publication Food Manufacturer that it would probably take several years for European egg farmers to make the necessary investments to meet the new welfare rules given the difficulty of accessing finance in the current economic climate: “Finance is not easily available to egg farmers and this is slowing down action in many countries.”

He added: “Our members are facing significant difficulties in sourcing eggs for processing. Our industry uses 25-30 per cent of total EU egg production to supply the food industry with high-quality egg products needed as ingredients for a wide range of food products.”

The problem was being further exacerbated by increased imports from Germany, where the welfare legislation came into force earlier this year, he said: “In Germany, they imposed this regulation in 2010 and this has resulted in about 20% less production. Germany was already the largest importer of eggs in the EU and its demand for imports is now much higher.”

Source : Bakery and Snacks

Ingredients egg substitute, Ovaparox

AB Enzymes has entered a partnership with The Ingredients Company for sole distribution of its baking enzymes in the United States and Canada in order to strengthen its presence in the region.

The company said the agreement will improve its customer relations and help it to accelerate growth in North America, as well as increase the reach of its Veron baking enzyme range, which has multiple uses in flour improvement and milling.

AB Enzymes already has a US headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, but until now, it was working with a distributor covering only the Mideast region.

“After assessing several candidates, the benefit with [The Ingredients Company] was that they already supply baking ingredients in North America and they can cover the whole of the United States and Canada,” said Pieter-Jan Heykoop, sales development manager baking at AB Enzymes.

He told FoodNavigator-USA.com that the new partnership would provide AB Enzymes with a better market presence in North America – including smaller accounts – and it will supply enzymes to the milling market and the bread improvement market, but not to industrial bread manufacturers.

Heykoop said that a major benefit of using Veron baking enzymes is “optimum use of what is naturally present in flour” to provide faster throughput in the factory, to make higher quality bread, to increase shelf life, or to increase bread volume.

“This can also be done with other ingredients, but the benefit of enzymes is that you use a natural process that gives optimum use of the flour,” he said. “…When a manufacturer starts to bake, the enzyme is deactivated, so there is no need to label it.”

The Ingredients Company already supplies baking ingredients in North America and has conveniently-located warehouses throughout the region, AB Enzymes said.

AB Enzymes supplies its products to more than 50 countries and is part of ABF Ingredients Group, a subsidiary of Associated British Foods.

Companies AB Enzymes, baking enzymes, The Ingredients Company

The latest innovation in sandwich technology is the Candwich, the sandwich in a can.

The foodstuff is sold inside a 3oz pop-top can and comes in three delicious flavors: PBJ Strawberry, PBJ Grape, and BBQ Chicken. Thankfully, only the first two have candy surprises inside.

Its makers, Mark One Foods, hope to go into production later this year, maybe after its inventor clears up that whole nasty SEC lawsuit that alleges he took investors money intended for real estate investments and put it in canned sandwiches instead.

But rest assured, NYT reports: “The shelf life of a Candwich is excellent, Mr. Kirkland said.”

Bakery, packaging can, Candwich, sandwich

Aunt Millie’s has converted its Early American Breads to Hearth 100% Natural Breads following an ingredient change in the product line. The reformulated and renamed bread will be available beginning July 12.

“Aunt Millie’s introduced the Early American Breads in the fall of 2009,” the company said. “These breads featured ingredients that were not genetically modified. Aunt Millie’s struggled to make a good loaf of bread with a non-G.M.O. softening agent (enzyme), so we have moved away from this to a regular enzyme. The rest of the ingredients remain non-G.M.O., but we can no longer call the bread non-G.M.O. We also found that consumers were more interested in the 100% Natural attribute than in non-G.M.O.”

The bread is available in four varieties: Whole Grain White, Amber Grains, 100% Whole Wheat and Honey Oatmeal. Each serving contains 3 grams of fiber and between 12 and 20 grams of whole grains, depending on the variety. The bread has no high-fructose corn syrup or trans fat, and it is made with sea salt.
The product’s suggested retail price is $3.19 for a 24-oz loaf.

In addition to the ingredient conversion, Aunt Millie’s said it is implementing a packaging design upgrade for the six other items in the Hearth Bread line — three under the Whole Grain subline and three under the Fiber for Life subline. The change, which will be introduced gradually over the summer, features a return to the fireplace illustration that consumers prefer, according to the company.

Bakery, Companies Aunt Millie’s, Early American Breads

Kraft Foods has signed an agreement to sell Cadbury’s Kandia-Excelent chocolate, soft cake and sugar confectionery business in Romania to Oryxa Capital, an international investment fund, for an undisclosed sum.

The sale includes the Kandia-Excelent brands (Rom, Magura, Kandia, Laura, Sugus and Silvana and others), related trademarks and the manufacturing facility in Bucharest. Approximately 530 Cadbury Romania employees work for Kandia-Excelent.

This sale follows the divesture of Cadbury’s E. Wedel business in Poland, which was announced on 28 June. Both these sales are subject to the Commission’s approval.

Companies Cadbury's Kandia-Excelent, Kraft Foods

Cocoa prices have sparked allegations of manipulation in the London market.

Sixteen European cocoa industry participants have sent a letter of complaint to NYSE Liffe, the global derivatives business that runs futures and options markets in Amsterdam, Brussels, Lisbon, London and Paris, saying the extent of speculation on the London cocoa market could drive them towards using the US-based Intercontinental Exchange.

None of the largest cocoa trading companies, however, such as Cargill, ADM, Olam, Touton and Barry Callebaut, signed the letter.

“NYSE Liffe is aware of concerns being expressed by some customers about current conditions in the nearby delivery months of the cocoa futures contract,” the exchange says in a statement.

One signatory notes, “We believe that the London market has lost its capability to function as a hedging tool. There is a deep feeling of dissatisfaction because the London market is non-transparent.” As there is no transparency on what proportion of the positions held on the London market are from speculators, it is difficult to substantiate what their influence is on prices.

The London market is not regulated as heavily as the New York market, where the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has been cracking down on speculation and already requires companies to give more information on their activities than Liffe does.

Dealers said they have been expecting Liffe to introduce a report showing fund positions in the market, but there is no timeline for when it would be launched.

The London cocoa market outperformed the US cocoa market in the first half of the year, which some dealers attribute to increased fund investment.

Chocolate, Ingredients Cocoa prices, manipulation

Researchers have been looking into adding polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) to boost the health properties of cereal products.

Cereal grains are a rich of both proteins and carbohydrates, but they contain low levels of fats, compared to most other seed crops. On average their fat content is less than 4 per cent of total calorific value.

PUFAs are seen as health-giving – especially the omega-3 and omega-6 ones – so there could be benefits in adding these to cereal products, and even balancing the ratio of omega-3 to omega-6.

Scientists are looking to make the PUFA´s in-situ, using microbial fermentation processes under controlled conditions. The use of solid state fermentation (SSF) to achieve this deliberately, using selected micro-organisms – chosen for their ability to develop specific PUFAs, – to grow on moist whole grains, could be a relatively inexpensive way of adding value to conventional food grains, by enhancing PUFA content.

Researchers at the Slovak University of Technology, Bratislava, have found that certain lower filamentous fungi were able to do this successfully, opening up the prospect of preparing “tailor made” cereal products with a desired fatty acid composition.

They have produced wheat grains with enhanced content of GLA (gamma linolenic acid), and incorporated this “wheat-GLA bioproduct” into flours for making bread rolls, other bakery products and pasta.

However, elevated levels of the GLA-wheat product (above 5 per cent or so of the flour blend) led to reductions in dough rise, darkening and reduced crispness in the crust, and a typical “fungal” flavour.

Research cereal products, pol, polyunsaturated fatty acids, PUFAs

The International Bakery, Pastry and Related Industries Show, INTERSICOP ‘11, which will be celebrating its ninth edition between March 24 and 28, 2011, at the Madrid Trade Fair Organization, has initiated its promotion and marketing.  In fact, the first awarding of exhibition spaces will begin in July, among the almost one hundred companies which have confirmed their participation to date at the trade fair organized by IFEMA.

Among the companies which have announced their presence at INTERSICOP ‘11, we should once again highlight the significant number of foreign firms, particularly from Portugal, France, Italy and Belgium, which are the leading countries customarily represented at the show.  Thus, INTERSICOP is once again reaffirming its important international scope and reinforcing its position as the leading commercial showcase for the Spanish bread- making and pastry industry and one of the top events in Europe.

The next INTERSICOP fair is an event which has sparked a great deal of expectation in the sector, for four years have transpired since its previous celebration.  Now it offers the perfect opportunity to present the latest innovations and the chance to exchange valuable knowledge and experience.  In summary, the trade fair will be indeed a truly important business opportunity for everyone involved.

There is a great deal of optimism in the sector thanks to the entrepreneurial associations’ commitment to INTERSICOP, for this will prove vital to the successful functioning of the trade show.  INTERSICOP will once again count on the support of the leading entrepreneurial groups in this area, such as CEOPAN, the Spanish Confederation of Bakery Organizations, and CEEAP, the Spanish Federation of Fine Pastry Entrepreneurs.

Furthermore, INTERSICOP has renewed its collaboration agreements with the associations representing the different sectors at the trade fair:  AMEC AFESPAN, the Spanish Association of Manufacturers and Exporters of Machinery, Ovens and Equipment for Bakeries, Pastry Shops and Similar; PROVEA, the Association of Product and Service Suppliers for the Professional Food Industry; and ASEMAC, Spanish Association of Frozen Dough Manufacturers.

These associations are encouraging their members to participate in this reference trade fair and to take an active part in the intensive agenda of professional seminars and meetings, which will be held within the framework of INTERSICOP ‘11, whose preparation is already well underway.  One of these encounters, customarily held at INTERSICOP, is the MMAPE Championship, for the Best Pastry Chef in Spain, promoted by CEEAP.

Events Intersicop 2011, reservations