Ferré & Consulting Blog (English Version)

Fi Europe and Ni 2011 has exceeded the expectations of exhibitors, visitors and organisers alike. Indeed pre-registration for this year’s show was 20% up on the previous show and the 15,000-plus people came through the doors on the first day fo the show, 19% ahead of 2009’s first day attendance.

“It’s not just about the numbers, though,” said Nick Ornstien, portfolio director for food at UBM, who is responsible for the show. “Every stand seems to have meetings taking place. The feedback from the exhibitors has been extremely positive: they note not only the high number, but also the high quality, of this year’s visitors. They’ve also been very positive about how the show looks, and what a good place it is to do business.”

“We’ve been very happy with the reaction this year,” said Mattius Van Uffelen, head of sales, Europe and UK at Taura. “The feedback has been incredibly positive.”

“We met more people in one day at the show than we had met in 10 years of working away in the South of France,” said Jean-François Picard, marketing manager at Nattives

A global show

With exhibitors coming from more than 50 countries, and visitors coming from more than 100 countries, Fi Europe and Ni is a European show in name only. “The fact is,” said Ornstien, “it is now a global show.”

Ornstien is also enthusiastic about the show’s innovations, with over 80 entries for this year’s Fi Excellence Awards and double the number of products on display in the new products zone.

“What we’re seeing is an industry that is very positive and very confident,” said Ornstien. “We’re seeing not just new products, but new companies. There’s a lot of energy and spirit on the show floor.”

The future

Fi Europe celebrates its 25th birthday this year. How does Ornstien believe the show will look in 25 years’ time?

“In an increasingly digital age, shows like this will become even more important,” he said. “Businesses are placing even more value on the opportunity to network face-to-face, to meet people they have only previously met via email. Fi Europe will not only still be happening in 2036 – it will be even bigger than it is today.”

What about 2013 in Frankfurt? “The floor plan is already open, and we’re seeing enormous interest in the show from this year’s exhibitors,” said Ornstien. “We’re very much looking forward to seeing everyone again in two years’ time.”

Source: Ingredients Network

Unespecified Fi Europe

Bakers can gain in terms of time and energy savings by opting for an infrared–microwave combination oven to bake gluten-free breads, finds a new study evaluating the technology with bread made from chestnut flour.

Turkish food engineers, writing in the International Journal of Food Science and Technology, reported that the addition of chestnut flour up to a certain concentration improved the quality of gluten-free breads significantly.

They also comment that breads baked in infrared–microwave combination oven at the optimum conditions had statistically similar quality with conventionally baked ones in terms of colour, specific volume and firmness, while baking time of was cut by 64 per cent.

The authors note no previous study looking at the optimisation of formulations and processing conditions for gluten-free breads to be baked this way.

Microwave over conventional ovens

The use of microwave over conventional ovens can bring energy efficiency, space saving, and food with high nutritional quality but the authors stress that there are associated quality problems including high moisture loss, firm structure, rapid staling and lack of surface browning, flavour and crust formation.

“To overcome these problems, the combination of microwave with infrared heating has been recently used by several researchers,” remarked the researchers.

Chestnut flour provides not only health and nutritional benefits but also some functional properties to the dough including stabilising, texturising and thickening attributes, continued the authors.

But they caution that a high amount may worsen product quality, giving low specific volume, firm texture, dark colour and bitter taste. “Thus, the drawbacks associated with using only chestnut or rice flour may be overcome by the synergistic effect of using of chestnut and rice flour together in the formulation,” they said.

The study

Rice flour mixed with different proportions of chestnut flour and different emulsifier contents were used to prepare breads, said the team.

To improve heating uniformity of samples, a rotary table was introduced into the microwave-infrared combination oven, they continued.

Two halogen lamps (1500w) were located at the top of the oven and one (1500w) was at the bottom. To maintain the humidity in the oven, beakers containing 400 ml of water were placed in the corners of the oven during baking. Four dough samples of 100 g each were placed at the centre of the turn table for baking, said the team.

Gluten-free breads and wheat breads baked in conventional oven were used for comparison, they reported, with weight loss, firmness, specific volume and colour change of the breads evaluated.

Response surface methodology (RSM), explained the authors, was used to optimise gluten-free bread formulations and processing conditions.

RSM is an effective way, argue the authors, to examine the relationship “between the responses and factors. It is used to minimise the number of trials and to provide multiple regression approach for optimisation of ingredient levels, formulations and processes in food technology.”

Comparable quality

Using this method, the food engineers found that breads containing 46.5 per cent chestnut flour with 0.62 per cent emulsifier and baked using 40 per cent infrared and 30 per cent microwave power for 9 minutes had “statistically comparable quality with conventionally baked ones.”

Moreover, “conventional baking time of gluten-free breads was significantly reduced,” added the engineers.

Source: International Journal of Food Science and Technology

Unespecified baking times, gluten-free breads, microwave technology

Finnish confectionery and bakery company Fazer is considering expanding in the Beltic region.

In Latvia, the company, which reported €24.6 million in consolidated sales last year, has a 23% market share. Fazer Maiznicas bakery is the second largest bread producer in Latvia.

CEO Karsten Slotte notes, “We will spend time this year mainly reinforcing the newly created business structure and current market position. This will be our launch pad for expansion in the region.”

Companies, Unespecified

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the “Bread – Global Strategic Business Report” report to their offering.

This report analyzes the worldwide markets for Bread in US$ Million. The report provides separate comprehensive analytics for US, Canada, Japan, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World. Annual forecasts are provided for each region for the period 2007 through 2015. Also, a six-year historic analysis is provided for these markets.

The report profiles 493 companies including many key and niche players worldwide such as Associated British Foods Plc, Allied Bakeries, Barilla Holding Societa per Azioni, Barilla Holding Societa per Azioni, Fletchers Group of Bakeries, Flowers Bakeries, Inc., Frank Roberts & Sons Ltd., Franz Family Bakeries, Greggs plc, Grupo Bimbo S.A. de C.V., Bimbo Bakeries USA, Mrs. Bairds Bakeries, Inc., George Weston Bakeries Inc., Interstate Bakeries Corporation, La Brea Bakery Corporate, Martins Famous Pastry Shoppe, Inc., Pepperidge Farm, Inc., Premier Foods plc, Sara Lee Corporation, Warburtons, Ltd., William Jackson Food Group Limited, and Jacksons Bakery. Market data and analytics are derived from primary and secondary research. Company profiles are mostly extracted from URL research and reported select online sources.

Key Topics Covered: I. INTRODUCTION, METHODOLOGY & PRODUCT DEFINITIONS II. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. Industry Overview 2. Product Overview 3. Product Launches/Developments 4. Recent Industry Activity 5. Focus On Select Global Players 6. Global Market Perspective III. MARKET

* Region/Country:

* – The United States

* – Canada

* – Japan

* – Europe

* – France

* – Germany

* – The United Kingdom

* – Italy

* – Spain

* – Rest of Europe

* – Asia-Pacific (Excluding Japan)

* – Latin America

* – Middle East

IV. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

* Total Companies Profiled: 493 (including Divisions/Subsidiaries)

Company Profiles:

* Associated British Foods Plc (UK)

* Allied Bakeries (UK)

* Barilla Holding Societa per Azioni (Italy)

* Fine Lady Bakeries (UK)

* Fletchers Group of Bakeries (UK)

* Flowers Bakeries, Inc. (US)

* Frank Roberts & Sons Ltd (UK)

* Franz Family Bakeries (US)

* Greggs plc (UK)

* Grupo Bimbo S.A. de C.V. (Mexico)

* Bimbo Bakeries USA (US)

* Mrs. Bairds Bakeries, Inc. (US)

* George Weston Bakeries Inc. (US)

* Interstate Bakeries Corporation (US)

* La Brea Bakery Corporate (US)

* Martins Famous Pastry Shoppe, Inc. (US)

* Pepperidge Farm, Inc. (US)

* Premier Foods plc (UK)

* Sara Lee Corporation (US)

* Warburtons, Ltd. (UK)

* William Jackson Food Group Limited (UK)

* Jacksons Bakery (UK)

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/350c25/bread_global_str

Unespecified Companies, profiles, worldwide markets of bread

Food-packaging products made from dairy ingredients could provide a viable alternative to petroleum-based packaging products, according to a chapter written by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist Peggy Tomasula for a new book, “Dairy-Derived Ingredients: Food and Nutraceutical Uses.”

The book was written by an international team of contributors and published by London-based Woodhead Publishing in October 2009. It serves as a guide to new developments for the dairy and nutraceutical industries, as well as researchers in those fields.

Tomasula works at the ARS Eastern Regional Research Center (ERRC) in Wyndmoor, Pa., where scientists are developing strong, biodegradable dairy-based films that are better oxygen barriers than petrochemical-based films. Tomasula leads the center’s Dairy Processing and Products Research Unit.

Most food packages are made of multilayer films that are thin, continuous sheets of synthetic polymers. But consumers and food retailers are concerned about the waste generated during the manufacture of such packaging. Many, it seems, are interested in replacing petroleum-based packaging with biobased packaging.

Tomasula’s chapter in the new book is titled “Using Dairy Ingredients to Produce Edible Films and Biodegradable Packaging Materials.” The chapter focuses on films made from dairy proteins, with an emphasis on those based on casein and whey, the major proteins found in milk. It also covers research efforts to improve the proteins’ mechanical and barrier properties so that these natural materials eventually could be used in a variety of future applications.

As a dairy ingredient, casein shows good adhesion to different substrates. But while casein is an excellent barrier to oxygen, carbon dioxide, and aromas, it is a weak barrier to moisture. Because the water-soluble nature of those proteins poses a challenge, much of the research on edible casein films to date is directed toward improving their water-vapor-barrier properties.

More information on the book can be found at www.woodheadpublishing.com. ARS is the principal intramural scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Source :  ARS

Unespecified biodegradable dairy-based films, dairy ingredients, packaging