Ferré & Consulting Blog (English Version)

Bakery manufacturers face the threat of rising egg prices – and even shortages – when new Europe wide animal welfare legislation comes into force on 1 January. But they could avoid taking a hit by specifying egg replacers instead, according to Arla Foods Ingredients.

The Welfare of Laying Hens Directive will ban the use of cramped battery cages, forcing egg producers to use larger ‘enriched’ cages that allow laying hens more space to perch and move around.

However, as many as 13 countries across the European Union, including Spain, Italy and Poland, have admitted that their egg industries will not be ready to meet the new requirements in time for the New Year – sparking fears of availability problems and higher prices.

The looming crisis has prompted Arla Foods Ingredients to urge bakery manufacturers to consider using egg replacement products – such as Nutrilac – to protect themselves from growing uncertainty in the market.

John Gelley, sales director for EU Bakery at Arla Foods Ingredients, says, “No-one knows for sure what impact the Directive will have. But with so many member states admitting that they are unprepared for the changes, there are worrying signs that bakers could face difficulties sourcing sufficient eggs for their needs or, at the very least, significantly higher prices.”

He continues, “Egg replacement ingredients, such as our own Nutrilac range, offer the perfect solution to avoiding this uncertainty. They perform just like eggs in a host of bakery applications, and enable companies to maintain product quality and all-important clean label status.”

Manufactured from fractionated whey proteins, Nutrilac egg replacers offer several advantages over eggs. They are less expensive than eggs, they are lower in calories, saturated fat and cholesterol than eggs, they have a longer shelf life than eggs – up to 18 months – and they produce great tasting end products.

Gelley says, “We’re confident that bakers will be delighted by the benefits of egg free baking with Nutrilac – and there’s no doubt that the onset of the Welfare of Laying Hens Directive means now is the ideal time to make the switch.”

The Welfare of Laying Hens Directive comes into force across the EU on 1 January 2012. It prevents hens being kept in cages with less than 45cm of headroom and 750cm2 of floor space. It also obliges egg producers to provide perches and litter to allow the hens to nest, peck and scratch.

 Source: Confectionery Production

Ingredients directives, egg supply, prices

Barry Callebaut continues to focus on convenience and premiumness with the launch of new confectionery decorations, fillings and inclusions.

Barry Callebaut is proud to present Désir, the ultimate chocolate filling with the smoothest bite and the most delightful taste, comparable to an artisanal made ganache. The Désir filling range will help you to create superior chocolate applications, eventually with a personal touch, as they are the ideal interior for high quality moulded products.

Barry Callebaut’s mini decorations nibs, vermicelli, CrisPearls, splitters and blossoms, are small in size but big in style and beauty. Innovative inclusions close the range.

The mini vermicelli decorations have an incomparable taste thanks to the use of quality ingredients and are ideal to decorate pralines, cakes and plated desserts.

For a festive and sophisticated chocolate touch, Barry Callebaut has created mini Blossoms. The irregular and handcrafted character of this decoration allows you to create special effects and highlights.

Mini CrisPearls are made from the finest dark, milk and white chocolate around a crispy toasted biscuit kernel for an overwhelming taste sensation. They can be included in confectionery, ice cream, desserts and pastries for a tasty, crispy bite, or as a seductive, shiny decoration.

Mini splitters are shiny flat shaped chocolate bits, and provide an impressive look and taste eg to create a stracciatella effect in ice cream or to decorate truffles, pralines, cakes, desserts, cakes and roles.

Mini nibs are probably the most typical decorations for Barry Callebaut. They are roasted kernels of the cocoa bean with a refined and intense taste, a mild and pleasant roasted bitterness and fruity notes. They offer a pleasant, mild crunch and enhance the artisanal and authentic character of your products.

Barry Callebaut offers new possibilities when it comes to personalised inclusions eg your logo embossed three dimensional in a real chocolate inclusion.

Barry Callebaut also offers an extensive range of nut products ranging from whole roasted hazelnuts and almonds to fine, pure nut pastes, gianduja’s, praliné’s and so much more. All products are produced in an authentic way. Our hazelnuts and almonds are sourced from the best nut cultivating regions in the world.

Source: Confectionery Production

Chocolate, Ingredients Barry Callebaut, Désir, premium ingredients

The European Union, the world’s largest grower of sugar beets, wants to abolish limits on domestic sugar production in 2015.

Sugar quotas should expire on 30 September, 2015, the European Commission, the EU’s regulatory arm, said. At the moment, the quotas cap how much sugar can be produced for the EU’s domestic market.

The EU spent four years since 2006 shrinking its sugar- beet industry to comply with a World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruling limiting exports, turning the EU into a net importer. As a result, Nestlé is among the food companies to complain of a lack of supplies.

The WTO ruling limits EU exports of subsidised sugar to 1.37 million metric tons. Beet growers have been asking to increase the amount of sugar they can ship outside the region, as well as how much can be sold for food use within the bloc.

“With most developing countries enjoying unlimited duty- free access to the EU market, but EU exports limited by WTO rules as long as there are quotas, an end to quotas is the only option for providing the sector with a long-term perspective,” the commission said in the statement today.

The EU began paying sugar factories to shut in 2006 to cut output. Tate & Lyle, after 132 years in the business, sold its EU refineries last year to American Sugar Refining. Danisco, based in Copenhagen, sold its sugar operations in 2009 to Germany’s Nordzucker.

EU sugar production is forecast to exceed 18 million tons this year, up from 15.4 million tons in 2010 and 17.5 million tons in 2009.

Source: Ingredientsnetwork

Ingredients Europe, sugar

Lecithin is indispensable in the making of chocolate. A natural emulsifier, with just short conching it gives a homogeneous, low viscosity chocolate mass that is relatively easy to work and melts gently. Lecithin reduces fat blooming, increasing the product’s shelf life. It also offers cost benefits, since with lecithin up to eight percent less cocoa butter is needed. Sternchemie, an international supplier of lecithins, has now once again shown in trials that sunflower lecithin is a viable alternative to IP soy lecithin for chocolate manufacture.

Sunflower lecithin is similar to soy lecithin in terms of phospholipid composition. To find out if sunflower lecithin has the same functional properties as soy lecithin in chocolate manufacture, Sternchemie ran practical tests in cooperation with sister company Herza Schokolade. According to Janine Binder, applications technician at Sternchemie, “First we made samples of dark chocolate, with and without added cocoa butter, and milk chocolate. The cocoa butter content was 27% and 34% with the dark chocolate, and 29% with the milk chocolate. We processed some of the samples with our Yellothin 100 IP soy lecithin, and the rest with our LeciStar S 100 sunflower lecithin. We then tested the samples for viscosity, flow moisture point and taste.”

Production testing at Herza Schokolade showed that in milk chocolate the standardised sunflower lecithin LeciStar S 100 gives properties that are essentially identical to soy lecithin. In dark chocolate, the flow moisture point was slightly higher. However, adding about 0.1% more sunflower lecithin gives the same flow moisture point as with soy lecithin. To test the flavour profile, the chocolate samples were blind-tested. With both milk chocolate and the pure dark chocolate, there was no significant difference in taste between sunflower and soy lecithin. “In summary, you can say that you need to use a little more sunflower lecithin in chocolate to get the same flow moisture point as with soy lecithin. In terms of taste, there are no significant differences,” says Binder.

Soy lecithin has a host of uses as an emulsifier and homogeniser. However, the rapid rise in cross contamination between GMO and non-GMO soy is a problem. This creates fertile ground for speculation even before the harvest, which has a significant effect on market prices. For the food industry, this is very disadvantageous. As a result, demand is rising for sunflower lecithin as an alternative. “We are seeing a trend where big supermarket and discount chains are increasingly demanding alternatives to soy lecithin,” explains Michael Heidland, in charge of lecithins at Sternchemie. “One reason is that there is currently no risk of genetic modification with sunflowers or products made from them. Another reason is that sunflower products are hypoallergenic.” Unlike soybeans, each sunflower seed has a shell that must be removed in a separate processing step. Raw sunflower lecithin also contains more by-products that influence the quality, which varies greatly depending on production methods. This makes it necessary to process the lecithin before use. Sternchemie removes by-products from the sunflower lecithin it receives from oil mills by a special cleaning process at its own facilities in Poland and Holland. “With our process technology, we attain such a high product quality that we can use the sunflower lecithin in our oil separators to derive a pure lecithin,” says CEO Andreas Reith.

Source: Confectionery Production

Chocolate, Ingredients Chocolate, lecithin, soy lecithin, sunflower lecithin

Guar

The addition of thickeners and stabilisers such as guar gum could help to boost the usage chestnut flour in gluten free breads, according to new research.

The study, published in the International Journal of Food Science & Technology, found that guar gum at 1% addition seems to be the most promising gum to improve [the] bread-making aptitude of chestnut flour doughs because of its high stability in the mixing stage, its high starch stability and heat resistance to dough processing and its elasticity.

Gluten-free growth

The findings from the new study could help chestnut flour products break into the already booming gluten-free market.

Since it was valued at around $580m in 2004, the gluten-free market has grown at an average rate of 29% per year, and was worth $1.56bn in 2009, according to a report from Packaged Facts – which estimated the market could be worth up to $2.6bn by next year.

In order to develop better quality gluten-free breads, a number of alternative flour types have been investigated, including corn, rice, bean starch, buckwheat, and chestnut.

However the many gluten-free flours cause problems because they lack the correct viscoelastic properties for bread production – something that is normally provided by gluten.

Objectives

Although chestnut flour has properties such as the absence of gluten, low protein content and a high amount of essential fatty acids, the lack of gluten proteins means that it is difficult to produce certain products without the addition of additives such as hydrocolloids – “which imitate the viscoelastic properties of gluten.”

“The main aims of this work were to prepare chestnut flour doughs with different contents of arabic gum, carboxymethyl cellulose, guar gum and tragacanth gum … to study the rheological behaviour by analysis of the corresponding parameters from steady-shear, oscillatory, temperature sweep and creep-recovery tests,” said the researchers, led by Ramon Moreira from the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

Study details

Moreira and his colleagues noted that the use of hydrocolloids with thickener and stabiliser properties – such as arabic gum, carboxymethyl cellulose, or guar gum – in gluten-free formulations “seems to be a promising alternative for the development of high-quality products.”

They found that the rheological properties of chestnut flour doughs during mixing, heating and cooling tests were significantly modified by the addition of arabic gum, carboxymethyl cellulose, guar gum and tragacanth gum. Guar gum, they concluded, offered the most promising results.

Source: Bakery and Snacks

Ingredients Chestnut flour, gluten-free, guar gum

A call from the Netherlands to end European import duty on sustainably produced palm oil has been welcomed by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). The proposal is designed to encourage the uptake of sustainable palm oil by offsetting some of the added costs.

The European Union currently charges a 3.8% import duty on crude palm oil. The Dutch Product Board for Margarine, Fats and Oils (MVO) believes that abolishing the EU import duty on sustainable palm oil will remove a significant barrier to its market uptake in Europe.

Typical estimates put the extra cost of farming palm oil sustainably at between $7 and $10 per tonne.

The MVO’s proposal calls for the duty on CSPO imported from Malaysia and Indonesia for use in consumer goods to be abolished. Currently, crude palm oil for use in non-food products and palm oil originating from nearly all other producing countries are exempted from import duties.

Darrel Webber, RSPO secretary general, said: “The Dutch industry initiative once again places the Netherlands, the largest palm oil importer and processor in Europe, at the forefront of spearheading market transformation towards sustainable palm oil. The RSPO commends and supports the MVO’s resolution.”

Rapid growth

The RSPO’s Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) scheme began in 2008 and now covers close to 5m tonnes, or around 10 per cent of global palm oil production.

“The commitment towards 100 per cent CSPO by 2015 on the demand side by many established global organisations — including processors, traders, consumer goods manufacturers and retailers – has been a major driver in getting growers on board,” said Webber.

The uptake of available CSPO has also grown quickly, up to 56% in 2010 from 26% in 2009. But this still means that almost half the CSPO produced last year wasn’t sold through any of the specialist supply options. It entered the global supply chain somewhere in the same way as standard palm oil and didn’t command a premium.

Supply chain

“[The removal of duty] would help in terms of reducing cost but it’s only looking at one step in the supply chain,” said Simon Chrismas, business development executive with the RSPO-endorsed sustainable palm oil product certification scheme, GreenPalm.

GreenPalm is designed to encourage greater support for sustainable production among end-user manufacturers, whatever their supply chain looks like.

Rather than physically segregating the CSPO from standard oil, which would be more expensive, GreenPalm awards sustainability certificates to eligible growers for every tonne of CSPO they produce. They can then sell these certificates on to manufacturers who want to use the GreenPalm logo on their products.

“GreenPalm doesn’t follow the physical flow of the product, but it allows all end manufacturers to support sustainable production. A company may be manufacturing a standard biscuit or soap using standard palm oil and that’s fine,” Chrismas told this publication.

Source: Bakery and Snacks

Ingredients GreenPalm, palm oil

The omega-3 ingredients market is set to expand, thanks to the essential fatty acids health-giving properties and new production technologies which allow omega-3 fatty oils to be added to an expanding number of foods and beverages, says the US market research company Packaged Facts.

There is good evidence that omega-3 fatty acids support good cardiovascular, reproductive and immune system health. The report estimates U.S. retail sales of food and beverage products with a ‘high omega-3’ or ‘high DHA’ claim grew 11% and approached $4 billion in 2010.

Packaged Facts predicts the U.S. omega-3 ingredient market will grow 40% between 2010 and 2015 as U.S. retail sales of ‘high omega-3’ or ‘high DHA’ foods and beverages approach $7 billion by the end of 2015.

For many years fish oils and powders containing omega-3 fatty acids were consumed as dietary supplements. With better encapsulation technology companies have began to add fish oils to different types of foods, beginning with spreads and oils and continuing into dairy products, cereals and even fruit-flavoured beverages.

“When the first omega-3-enriched foods entered the market in 2003, some predicted that there would be a flood of products within a couple of years,” said Don Montuori, publisher of Packaged Facts. “But the challenges of finding ways to get the fatty acids into foods and beverages, making the resulting product palatable and achieving a reasonable shelf-life, were more daunting than expected.”

“Now that many of these technology hurdles have been overcome, more categories of products have become viable candidates for fortification with omega fatty acids. Several industry experts we interviewed believe that the biggest trend in the next five to 10 years will be food and beverage companies seeking to fortify their products with omegas.”

Source: Ingredients Network

Ingredients fatty acids, omega 3

The European Commission (EC) is set to introduce plans to reform the European Union (EU) sugar regime in mid-October, according to industry sources. The plans are thought to contain proposals to abolish beet sugar production quotas. British sugar prices rocketed by 60% to reach €880/tonne this year, compared with €500 – 550/tonne a year ago. Industry participants are calling for the EU to either increase quotas or to allow food manufacturers to import sugar tariff-free from the world market.

Industry giant Nestlé also believes reform is overdue. “Significant changes are required to bring sufficient transparency and fair conditions to the market. As such, the EU reform should phase out sugar production quotas as of 2015,” a spokesman recently told the Financial Times.

The EU commission has agreed to allow one million extra tonnes of sugar to enter the market, after lobbying from UK’s Defra. Earlier this year, the EC suspended import duty on some categories of sugar imports. Two duty-free import quotas were opened for a total of 500,000t and 500,000t of surplus EU sugar production was released onto the market.

The price increases have been blamed on lower-than-expected harvests in the key producing regions of Brazil and Australia, global demand rising at 2% each year and more of the European harvest being diverted to ethanol production.

Fuente: Dairy Industries

Ingredients production quotas, sugar

Tate & Lyle, P.L.C. has launched a cocoa replacement solution that uses Carcao, a carob powder ingredient, and is designed to save costs in the total recipe. Carcao may be used as a partial cocoa replacer in dairy, bakery and ice cream applications.

Manufacturers also may achieve a desired color or flavor. For instance, Tate & Lyle specialists may adjust the temperature and roasting conditions during carob powder production to produce a series of different Carcao products. The products may range from light brown and sweet-tasting to dark brown with a strong unsweetened taste.

Tate & Lyle has developed case studies to demonstrate the cost benefits of using Carcao. They include a chocolate mousse, a chocolate-tasting muffin, a cocoa drink, chocolate ice cream and a cocoa filling.

Source: Food Business News

Ingredients carob powder, cocoa replacer

Ingredients european companies, prices, sugar quotas