More and more manufacturers want to formulate ‘label-friendly’ products without compromising quality, claims T&L, and Claria is designed to fit this bill. Claria provides similar functionality to modified food starch, with the added benefits of a clean taste and clean-label, adds T&L.
According to Innova Market Insight, almost 25% of new product launches globally were positioned this way in 2013.
Global survey
Supporting this trend, ingredients supplier DSM has just published the results of a global survey which showed consumers demand dairy products, such as yogurt, prepared with simple and familiar clean-label ingredients, made with fewer, more natural ingredients and would consider paying extra for these attributes.
Ingredion, another ingredients supplier, has launched a ‘Clean Label Guide to Europe’, which provides advice on the clean-label trends and implications for the food industry.
“Driven by consumer demand for clean-label declarations, we see that the growth of natural colours and preservatives in food has overtaken that of their synthetic counterpart,” Jacob Bauly, global marketing manager at DSM Nutritional Products, says.
“The survey clearly reveals that consumers of today want authentic food products with clean- and lean-labels. And therein lies the challenge, as these clean-label solutions need to perform as well as their artificial counterparts without negatively impacting product cost or quality.”
Paul Collins, md of natural colours supplier GNT UK, agrees with these views, referring to a survey it had commissioned into the use of ingredients in ice cream: “More and more consumers look for natural foods and beverages that are free from additives. Therefore, a look at the product label is often part of purchasing foods and beverages.”
Benefits
Referring to the Claria launch, Esther Van Onselen, global marketing category director, texturants and convenience foods at T&L, says: “T&L recognised the need for a high-performing starch with similar functionality to a modified starch with all the benefits of a clean-label.”
Sensory tests have shown that Claria has a neutral flavour profile and colour that is comparable to modified starches. This facilitates their incorporation in food categories that have historically had limited options with functional clean-label starches.
The new product line enables tolerance to shear, heat and acid, even under extreme conditions like ultra-high-temperatures and homogenisation. It also demonstrates high thickening efficiency and texture consistency over time, says T&L. It can be used across a broad range of applications, including soups, sauces, dressings, prepared meals and yogurt.