Company News

Originally Published NO July/August 2010

IFT HONORS INNOVATION Caravan Ingredients, Bunge North America, Handary SA, Bühler Barth AG, and Log5 Corp. were the innovation award winners at the Institute of Food Technologists' (IFT) annual meeting and food expo in July. Caravan Ingredients (Lenexa, KS) won for Trancendim, a zero-trans, reduced-saturated-fat alternative for structuring fats and oils that allows companies to mimic the melting behavior of common fat-based products, without sacrificing taste or mouthfeel. Bunge North America (St. Louis) received an award for its Phytobake shortening containing phytosterols. It enables the dilution of traditional hard fat or saturates and trans fats in shortening by up to 46%. Bühler Barth AG (Freiberg am Neckar, Germany) and Log5 Corp. (Phoenix, MD) won together for controlled-condensation pasteurization for low-water-activity foods—such as tree nuts, peanuts, spices, and grains—that preserves the foods' natural quality. Finally, Handary SA (Brussels) was awarded for its NisinA natural antimicrobial agent, a vegetable-based product that helps control food-borne pathogens and extends foods' shelf life by controlling lactic acid bacteria. Only companies exhibiting at the expo were eligible for consideration.

Cargill's Sucromalt Gets Novel Foods Approval

Cargill (Minneapolis) has received Novel Foods approval for its Xtend sucromalt, allowing the syrupy sweetener to be used in foods and beverages sold in Europe. Xtend received Food and Drug Administration Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) approval last year.

Cargill is the only company to produce sucromalt, which is derived from sucrose and maltose. It provides the full energy of both glucose and fructose but is a slowly digestible carbohydrate with a low glycemic response.

BASF Reopens Innovations Lab

BASF (Florham Park, NJ) has reopened its Nutrition Ingredients Innovation Laboratory at its technical center in Tarrytown, NY. Previously, the lab was located in Ledgewood, NJ.

BASF plans to double its technical service staff. "This move will strengthen the performance of BASF vitamins, nature-identical carotenoids, and our other products in food and beverage applications," said Martin Jager, senior vice president, nutrition ingredients.

Canada Gives Novel Foods Approval to Cognis Plant Sterols

Canadians will soon be able to purchase foods containing Heart Choice phytosterols by Cognis (La Grange, IL), thanks to new Novel Foods status. Companies using the ingredient can also make a health claim for cholesterol lowering.

Health Canada's approved daily serving is up to the equivalent of 3 g of free sterols. Food applications include spreads, mayonnaise, margarine, salad dressing, yogurt and yogurt drinks, and vegetable and fruit juices.

In other news, Cognis announced in June that the company will be sold to BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany). The transaction is expected to be complete by November.

Naturex Strong in 2010

Botanical-ingredients supplier Naturex (South Hackensack, NJ) cited "very strong acceleration in growth" in the second quarter of 2010. Sales in the second half of 2010 grew 15.4% over sales in the second half a year ago, with revenue totaling €112.8 million.

The company said that its acquisition of the ingredients division of Natraceutical helped spur business, although sales were also up throughout the group. The firm projects growth of 5 to 10% throughout 2010.

Pharmachem: $1 Million to Vitamin Angels

Pharmachem (Kearny, NJ) has pledged $1 million to support Vitamin Angels. Over the next five years, the company will donate $200,000/year to the organization that helps eliminate child malnutrition.

Since 2003, Pharmachem has donated $2.5 million to the organization, plus raw material.

Multipower Commits to More Lonza L-Carnitine

The Multipower sports-nutrition brand has signed a multiyear supply agreement for Lonza's (Basel, Switzerland) Carnipure L-carnitine, which comprises pure, crystalline L-carnitine and Carnipure tartrate, a nonhygroscopic form of L-carnitine and tartaric acid. Applications include managing fat and energy metabolism.

"We have been buying Carnipure for many years, and we display the Carnipure quality seal on all our products containing L-carnitine," said Michael Karstens, a Multipower nutritionist.

Cyvex Grape Extracts GRAS Approved

Cyvex Nutrition's (Irvine, CA) BioVin full-spectrum grape extract and BioVin 20 grape skin extract are now GRAS-affirmed, allowing their use in functional foods and beverages.

Manufactured from whole red wine grapes, Biovin utilizes the grape in its entirety, including its stems, seeds, and skin, so that all beneficial phytochemicals are included, including anthocyanidins, proanthocyanidins, trans-resveratrol, and polyphenols. BioVin 20 comprises a minimum of 20% polyphenols.

GPC, ENRECO FORM FLAXSEED PARTNERSHIP Grain Processing Corp. (GPC; Muscatine, IA) has partnered with flaxseed specialist Enreco Inc. (Sheboygan Falls, WI) to marry Enreco's Sterling Choice flaxseed products with GPC's own grain line. GPC products infused with Sterling Choice flaxseeds will now be able to bear the claim "excellent source of ALA omega-3." Product concepts highlighting the partnership were displayed at GPC's Institute of Food Technologists' food expo booth in July, including a gluten-free cinnamon roll featuring GPC's Instant Pure-Cote film-forming starch, Inscosity instant starch, and Sterling Choice flaxseeds. The company also combined its TruBran oat fiber with Sterling Choice flaxseeds in high-fiber fruit smoothies, pizzas, and snack chips.

Sabinsa's Forskolin Process Gains Patent

Sabinsa (East Windsor, NJ) has received a New Zealand patent for its process to prepare derivatives of forskolin—mainly isoforskolin and 7-deacetylforskolin. The patent will be in effect until February 2027. The firm also received Product Information numbers from the Australia Therapeutic Goods Administration for its ForsLean forskolin 10% and 20%, now poised to enter the Australian market.

DDS Probiotics Now Kosher Certified

UAS Laboratories' proprietary DDS probiotic line—including DDS-Plus, Probioplus DDS, DDS Acidophilus, and DDS Junior—has been kosher certified by OK Kosher. The company eventually plans to apply kosher certification to all of its private-label probiotics and probiotic raw materials, blends, bulk capsules, tablets, and powders.

Nebraska Cultures Offers Private-Label Probiotics

Nebraska Cultures (Walnut Creek, CA), owner of the Dr. Shahani's line of L. acidophilus probiotics, can now provide private-label services for powders, capsules, and tablets, as well as custom blends with various ingredients, an option not offered by many other suppliers, it says.

Ganeden, Glanbia Marry Probiotics, Premixes

Ganeden Biotech Inc. (Cleveland) has partnered with Glanbia Nutritionals (Monroe, WI) to incorporate GanedenBC30 probiotics in Glanbia's custom nutrient premixes. At the IFT food expo in July, the companies displayed a prototype stick pack containing a probiotic premix for immune and digestive health.

E.T. Horn, Roquette Agree to Distribution

E.T. Horn Co. (La Mirada, CA) has agreed to distribute Roquette's (Keokuk, IA) starch and starch derivatives in the western United States, including powdered, granular, and liquid polyols, which can be used as humectants and emollients in cosmetic and personal care products and as low-calorie, sugar-free sweeteners and tablet fillers for nutraceuticals.

Jarrow Receives Patent for Activated Folates

Nutrition marketer Jarrow Formulas (Los Angeles) has received a U.S. patent for methods of producing reduced, methylated, biologically active forms of folate. The patent covers the process in which edible, mushroom-producing fungi are cultivated to enhance the uptake of pteroylmonoglutamate (synthetic folate) into edible portions of the plants. The fungi reduce and methylate the pterolmonoglutamates into activated folates. The cultivated mycelia can be processed into various nutraceuticals.

More GRAS for Pureflex

TSI Health Sciences' (Missoula, MT) Pureflex chondroitin sulfate sodium has obtained self-affirmed GRAS status for use in food and beverages. The company recently also obtained self-affirmed GRAS status for its Pureflex glucosamine line.

Soymega Tests Continue

Solae (St. Louis) is continuing testing on its Soymega stearidonic acid (SDA) soybean oil—an industry-first source of soy-based omega-3 developed in partnership with Monsanto Co.

"Food companies have been evaluating this oil, and we are pleased with the positive feedback we've received," said Al Gallegos, marketing and business development director for Solae's omega-3 business. Commercialization is expected in 2012.

Enzymotec Krill Oil Gets Novel Foods Nod

Israel-based supplier Enzymotec has achieved Novel Foods status in Europe for its Krill Oil + line. The company recently expanded its krill line to include a variety of krill-based grades and krill-phosphotidylserine combinations.

SoluBlend: GRAS for Water-Soluble Oils

SoluBlend Technologies (Frankfort, IL) announced that its technology to convert functional oils into water-soluble ingredients, including omega-3 fatty acids, resveratrol, CoQ10, vitamin D, and vitamin E, has achieved self-affirmed GRAS status.

American Laboratories, Pathway Partner

Pathway International is now the exclusive distribution agent for American Laboratories' (Omaha, NE) ingredients in Australia.