Booth 4457

The FDA’s proposed sodium reduction targets will be challenging for U.S. food manufacturers to achieve but are nothing to panic about, according to experts.

FDA recently issued draft guidance on the voluntary reduction of sodium levels in processed and prepared foods. It said that Americans consume almost 50% more sodium than is recommended, and suggested cross-category short- and long-term goals for sodium reduction to address this.

In the wake of the FDA’s announcement, Lycored has joined forces with leading chef Tony Lagana, the president of Culinary Systems Inc. During the IFT Expo he will appear live at Lycored’s Booth 4457 to showcase how food manufacturers and foodservice companies can use “real food” ingredients to reduce the salt in their manufacturing formulas by more than 60% without compromising on quality or sacrificing a clean label. This can be achieved without any need for ingredients such as MSG, I+G, IMP and hydrolyzed vegetable proteins, which are unappealing to today’s consumers.

Mr. Lagana commented: “When the FDA’s draft targets were published you could hear a sharp intake of breath across the food industry. And while there will undoubtedly be plenty of work to do once the targets have been agreed, it’s important not to panic. In fact there’s already a lot that manufacturers and foodservice companies can do right now to reduce sodium, and at the IFT Expo I’ll be demonstrating how Lycored’s ingredients can make this an easy and straightforward task.”

For IFT 2016 Mr. Lagana has developed sauces and dressings that contain over 60% less salt than typical standard products. Among the ingredients he will be using is Lycored’s SANTE, a natural taste enhancer derived from tomatoes. SANTE provides a high concentration of the natural compounds that produce umami (the fifth taste) and kokumi (the Japanese word for deliciousness) to accentuate existing flavor characteristics while remaining taste neutral. It enables product formulators to create deliciousness naturally and avoid ingredients that are undesirable on the label.

In addition to the taste enhancement solutions presented by Mr. Lagana, Lycored will showcase Dry Tomato Pulp (DTP), a 100% natural real food ingredient from tomato that can be declared on the label simply as “Tomato.” It adds a fresh, consistent red color to sauces (including pasta sauces), condiments, soups, ready meals, and processed meats with no risk of turning brown like some other colorants. In addition, it also provides an authentic cooked-from-scratch texture and healthy fiber content.

Other innovations from Lycored at IFT 2016 include Lyco-Fibers, which enable product formulators to modify the pulpiness, viscosity and mouth-feel of sauces, soups and meat products naturally. Not only do Lyco-Fibers deliver a cleaner label, but they also carry the positive benefit of fiber content. Their high stability means that they do not undergo syneresis when used in sauces. In addition, while alternative stabilizers such as gums and starches can lead to a slimy consistency, Lyco-Fibers deliver an authentic vegetable fiber texture. They also improve the juiciness of meat products and prevent burning of the meat when barbecuing.

Lycored, a global leader in carotenoids, will also present its range of Tomat-O-Red and Lyc-O-Beta natural colors—vibrant reds, oranges and yellows that make it easy for food and beverage manufacturers to stop using artificial ingredients. Natural colors from Lycored are certified Kosher and Halal, non-GMO, vegetarian and are heat, light and pH stable. At IFT 2016, Lycored will showcase the stability of its colors compared with artificial alternatives and highlight how well they perform when exposed to very high temperature processing conditions.