IFT 2007 Wrap-Up: the View from the Show Floor

New innovations and technologies at this year’s Institute of Food Technologists Expo…

Flavor Modulation for Better Health

Mastertaste introduced new flavor modulation technology aimed at lowering sodium and caloric contents in foods and beverages. The company’s natural salt modulation technology purportedly cuts sodium by up to half while boosting both overall flavor profile and salinity perception, without an aftertaste. Mastertaste’s sweet/beverage modulation technology aims to reduce calories and preserve flavor, even in alcoholic beverages, and may improve aftertaste in products containing diet sweeteners.

Natural Savory Flavors

DSM Food Specialties showed off its meat-free, yeast extract-based natural flavors. The boiled range included chicken and beef varieties imparting an aroma similar to the first pan drippings from the roasting process, sans the roasted flavor. The range is intended for use in soups, sauces and processed meat.

Sodium Reduction

Cargill’s proprietary research has shown that 37% of consumers aged 50 and over are actively managing their salt intake. Thirty-two percent use low-sodium foods, while 28% are managing hypertension. The company’s SaltWise sodium reduction technology aims to address this situation in food products ranging from prepared foods to soups and sauces to salted snacks by cutting sodium levels by 25–50%.

Exploring Vanilla’s Savory Side

Vanilla in tomato-based beverages or brown gravy? This may sound strange to some, but David Michael & Co. showed off the versatility of this popular flavor material, which in savory applications can enhance natural sweetness, soften acidic bite, add a signature flavor profile or even round out an overall flavor profile. The company displayed the material in two unusual applications—pork meatballs in bourbon bar-b-cue sauce and chicken in wild mushroom vanilla cream sauce. The former dish employed soy sauce, bourbon, brown sugar, chipotle flavors and vanilla extract. The latter featured a 2x vanilla extract with mushroom, onion and garlic flavors. David Michael & Co. also featured more familiar vanilla themes with a chocolate peanut butter cup pie and white chocolate forest cake dessert beverages.

Reduced Salt/Sugar

Celebrating its 100th anniversary with a birthday cake-themed booth, Wixon presented a number of health conscious options. Its pizza, incorporating Wixon’s KCLean Salt, was designed to maintain flavor while reducing sodium content by 50%. Wixon’s birthday cake employed KCLean and a trio of sweet flavor modifiers—Mag-nifique Sweet Lift, Mag-nifique SugarLift and Mag-nifique Mouthfeel—to deliver sweetness and creaminess while cutting sodium by 50%, sugar by 29% and fat by 27%.

See you next year: IFT 2008, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans, June 29–July 1

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