SWEETENING CONSUMER TASTES FOR CLEAN-LABEL There has been a clear trend towards cleaner label food products over the past decade. In the Australia and New Zealand region, Mintel has observed a two-fold increase in all natural product 24 NOVEMBER 2016 By Christian Philippsen claims in new products in the past five years. In the same period, the confectionery market in New Zealand has been growing robustly, with an average of 5% in market value and is set to cross NZ$1billion by 2019. As such, confectionery manufacturers in New Zealand are facing a challenge - as well as an opportunity - to cater to the rising demand for products with clean labels. Naturally, manufacturers need to continue to ensure the same expected product quality…sensorially and technically… while doing so. Manufacturers in the confectionery industry can create products with a cleaner and simple label while maintaining taste, stability and texture. Some additives that are used in confectioneries are coming under severe scrutiny, and titanium dioxide is one of them. Titanium dioxide is commonly used for the bleaching of confectionery products – giving them a bright white coating seen in sugar-coated candies and gums. It is sometimes also used as an anti-caking agent, which is to prevent the product from clumping. Titanium dioxide can also be used to give chocolate a smooth texture, and provide powdered sugar-coating with the extra ‘oomph’ while making it appear dense. However, as with chemically modified starches, titanium dioxide is not certified as clean label and is often unrecognisable to consumers. As a result, it does not comply with the healthy and natural attributes that are increasingly demanded by consumers. So what is a natural option to titanium dioxide? The answer is rice starch, which can be declared as ‘starch’ on a product’s label. It is an all-natural ingredient and can be used versatilely in confectioneries. The unique properties that are naturally found in rice starch include a high starting gel point and small starch granule size. This means that rice starch does not need to be chemically modified to exhibit such unique functionalities, which is key in confectionery applications. With consumers agreeing that ‘rice starch’ sounds natural, the benefits of using it to help create natural, clean-label, non-GMO and no additives products are evident. I N G R E D I E N T S Clean Label Solutions Scientifically Proven iIngredients www.invita.co.nz - info@invita.co.nz - (09) 272-2092 FT205
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