Fi Europe Show Review “I was delighted to also be
part of the winning team for the Fi Europe Sustainability
Innovation Award for the impact we’re making through our Cocoa Compass ambition”
key attribute of the perfect sweet biscuit is it being ‘not too sweet’ while 57% of UK consumers say they are interested in reduced sugar or sugar-free sweets that have no artifi cial sweeteners.
While sugar is primarily used for its role as a natural sweetener, it also performs many other functions, which can make it challenging to reduce. Brands can combine alternative sweeteners, such as stevia or sucralose, with other functional ingredients such as inulin fi bres, and maltodextrins to achieve similar functional properties.
One exhibitor at Fi Europe, had an innovative development that could help meet these requirements and offer a unique method to unlock the capabilities of a seemingly simple ingredient. Established in 2013 and based in Aurora, Colorado, MycoTechnology creates products from mushroom mycelia that solve some of the biggest challenges in the food industry. At the show, we sat down with Pete Lubar, Co Founder at MycoTechnology, who told us all about the novel mycelial fermentation platform and how this can solve sugar reduction challenges. He said: “mushrooms digest their food externally by secreting enzymes into their external environment; enzymes that break down complex organic matter into simpler nutrients - like sugars, nitrates and phosphates.
“We use this natural fermentation process to create novel ingredients derived from the power of nature. We harness the mycelia’s ability to digest and transform its growth medium,
KennedysConfection.com
whether by improving taste, texture, nutrition levels or bioavailability, he explained. Addressing the need for sugar reduction, Pete said: “For
decades we’ve relied on sugar to make food taste better, using it as a cheap, easy tool to mask off notes. At Myco, we believe there is a better solution. Using mycelial fermentation, we’ve found a way to improve fl avour without the need for sugar. The ClearIQ natural fl avour is a series of powerful modulation tools that can help decrease the perceived metallic, bitter, sour, astringent, and general off-fl avours found in many food and drink products.” MycoTechnology uses ‘bitter blockers’ to block some of the
25 bitterness receptors at the back of the human tongue. This cleverly will allow for fl avour modulation in plant-based and functional foods to allow for healthier ingredient formulation without the negative sensory impact of undesirable taste attributes. Cargill had an impressive stand at the show this year,
and boasted almost 200 employees on-hand to create and inspire with 13 on-trend prototypes at fi ve category stations that show how they are enabling trends and applications to meet. Geert Maesmans, the R&D Leader, EMEA, at Cargill said: “These prototypes truly demonstrate the latest and greatest to meet today’s macro trends of: HEALTHY for Me, CONSCIOUS Consumption, EXPERIENCE It, and SIMPLIFY My Life.”
Kennedy’s Confection December 2022/January 2023 45
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