Making use of simpler ingredients

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.