Silvermill Coconut/Gray & Co. (booth 1942) showcases its Coconut Chips in three varieties—Slightly Sweet, Spicy, Salt & Pepper. Slightly Sweet has just the right amount of cane sugar to bring in sweetness without eliminating the taste of coconut. Salt & Pepper is 100% natural and crunchy, while Spicy has a tinge of spiciness.
Posts Tagged ‘produce’
Coconut Chips
Wednesday, June 27th, 2012Micro-Dried Berries
Tuesday, June 26th, 2012
Using an innovative process, Milne Fruit Products Inc. (booth 2959) produces Micro-Dried Berries that are 100% natural with no added sugars, flavors, colors, or preservatives. Each berry offers a plump “puff” appearance and the color and texture of the fruit.
Advancing the Safety of Fresh Produce
Monday, June 25th, 2012
Since 2000, the U.S. National Integrated Food Safety Initiative (NIFSI), a competitive grants program, has awarded approximately 300 grants to fund applied research using an integrated approach to solve food safety problems over the farm-to-fork continuum. In 2006, the Special Emphasis Grants was introduced to the program in order to increase funding for critical food safety issues as they arise, and in 2007 the “Improving the Safety of Fresh and Fresh-Cut Fruits and Vegetables” Special Emphasis area was launched, which has remained because of the many issues the food industry faces with produce safety.
NIFSI has funded seven produce safety special emphasis projects since its inception for a total of $11.5 million. They are focused on a variety of pathogens and viruses and the development of interventions and trainings targeted towards farmers, processors, retailers, and consumers. Session 022 “Improving the Safety of Fresh Produce: An Integrated Approach” will provide information on the major outcomes and impacts of several projects that have been funded through this funding stream as provided by the project directors for individual projects.
Jodi Williams, USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, will give attendees an overview of the successes and accomplishments of grants program over its 12-year lifespan thus far.
Michael P. Doyle, Univ. of Georgia, will delve in and specifically discuss a research project that was initiated in 2007 to cover both production and processing elements to improve the safety of leafy green products.
Following Doyle, Jeffrey LeJeune, Ohio State Univ., will discuss another research project that looked specifically at how to identify farm management practices to reduce pathogenic contamination and how to get farmers to adopt such methods.
Finally, Larry Goodridge, Colorado State Univ., examines how index organism testing can be used to predict Salmonella contamination in a greenhouse tomato operation.
With the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans stressing the importance of eating fresh fruits and veggies, the research being done to keep produce pathogen-free is vital. Attend session 022 on Tuesday, June 25, 10:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m. in room N113 to learn more about this research.
Frozen Whole Cranberries
Monday, June 25th, 2012
Simply Incredible Foods (booth 3848) showcases its Frozen Whole Sweet Cranberries. The sweet cranberries are so low in acid that you can eat them like a grape but they have all the flavor and taste of a cranberry. 80% less calories than a dried cranberry and less expensive.
Celebrating 100 Years
Monday, June 25th, 2012This accomplishment can be compared to a Royal Flush in poker. (Only there’s very little luck involved—it’s based on hard work and experience.) And although it doesn’t happen too often—after all, it takes a little while to reach this particular feat—when it does occur, it can be considered a most singular, valuable, and winning hand. I’m referring, of course, to those companies celebrating 100th year anniversaries.
These events are particularly exciting—and fun—when they are celebrated at our IFT Food Expo. This year, two companies are having centennial celebrations
Let’s start with Bell Flavors & Fragrances (booth 2101). Since 1912, the company has developed and manufactured flavors for its food and beverage customers. Its diverse lines have been created for a number of application areas, including confections, beverages, savory, dairy, bakery, and pet care.
Bell’s theme for this year’s IFT Food Expo is “Celebrating 100 Years with Flavor.” As part of its anniversary bash, the company is highlighting a number of food and beverage prototypes featuring flavors from its 2012 top 10 list, organized into three categories—sweet, savory, and beverage. From the savory category, for example, come flavors such as White Truffle Oil, Kimchi, Absinthe, Calamansi Lime, Rich Umami, Rose Water, Aged Cayenne Pepper, Satsuma Orange, Mirin, and Romesco. The top sweet flavors category includes Salty Caramel, Red Velvet, Strawberry Jasmine, Cinnamon Chipotle, Eucalyptus, Taro/Sweet Potato, Roasted Coconut, Café de Olla, Lucuma, and White Sesame. And the top beverage flavors consist of Lemonade, Maqui Berry, Aloe Vera, White Tea, Mamey, Cucumber Mint, Chysanthemum, Kumquat, Honey Ginger, and Green Coconut.
Several of Bell’s prototype dishes are focusing on emerging cultures. With consumers having more interest in cuisines throughout the world, these menu items are becoming more mainstream. Korean cuisines are predicted to make a huge hit in the market with Cajun and Greek following close behind. Attendees can sample a variety of dishes that represent these emerging cultures.
Celebration is also the theme at the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (booth 2438), which is marking the centennial of the highbush blueberry’s 100th birthday. A century ago, USDA botanist Frederick Coville and collaborator Elizabeth White began breeding the best and most promising blueberry plants and produced an entirely new variety—the highbush blueberry, which provides a sweet, fruity, burst-in-the-mouth flavor and bright, bold possibilities for innovative product development.
As part of its celebration, U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council is also honoring the birth of Julia Child on August 15, 1912. For Julia Child, the emergence of oven-warm blueberry muffins was reason for a late-night champagne celebration. Julia was the first “star” chef, and her efforts helped spawn the appearance of the celebrity chef, which has become so common on television and the book circuit.
Today, blueberries are an important ingredient in many recipes—both sweet and savory. They can form flavor combinations with spices, botanicals, floral flavors, and citrus and herbaceous products, and they can complement and enhance as well as balance flavors. Their sweetness adds excitement to the smoky qualities of sauces and salsas. With the birthdays of the highbush blueberry and Julia Child, U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council is truly honoring two American originals.
Although this company is not celebrating its 100th anniversary, it has reached the halfway point and should be recognized. German/Finnish titanium dioxide manufacturer Sachtleben (booth 2648), celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. The company started the production of titanium dioxide in Finland in 1961 and in Germany in 1962. Experts from the company will explain how to incorporate this white colorant into several food products and how to improve coloration and clouding properties. In addition to its international purity and quality standards, all Sachtleben products are kosher and halal certified.
Happy anniversaries to all!
Sessions Advance Food Safety Knowledge
Friday, May 18th, 2012In a global marketplace with an increasingly complex food retail environment, it is vital to stay on top of new ways and technologies to enhance food safety. With one of the more popular focus areas in IFT being Food Safety & Defense, it is no surprise that attendees to this year’s Scientific Program will find many options to choose from. Here are just a select few:
Improving the Safety of Fresh Produce (session 022): Jodi P. Williams of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture with the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) will review the accomplishments of the National Integrated Food Safety Initiative Competitive Grants Program. Michael P. Doyle of the Univ. of Georgia will discuss minimizing Escherichia coli O157:H7 food safety hazards associated with fresh and fresh-cut leafy greens, and J. LeJeune of Ohio State Univ. will discuss validating pre-harvest and peri-harvest food safety practices for their impact on microbial contamination of fruits and vegetables. Lastly, L.D. Goodridge of Colorado State Univ. will discuss the use of microbial index organisms to predict the presence of Salmonella in a greenhouse tomato operation.- Food Safety Assurance in a Global Food Biotechnology Market (session 065): A. Gutsche of Pioneer Hi-Bred will describe how comparing the composition of a genetically altered crop to its parental conventional counterpart is one of the elements of a full safety assessment of the altered crop. Randal Grioux of Cargill Inc. will provide an overview of the global standards and guidance for the risk assessment of genetically altered foods, and Hector Quemada of the Biosafety Resource Network at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center will address developments in genetic engineering of crops and how communication and perception limit the ability to develop new technologies and products.
- Case Studies in Fresh Produce Safety, Fast Food, Food Processing, and Foodservice (session 181): C. Harold King of Chick-fil-A Inc. will discuss tools and procedures to prevent foodborne illnesses in restaurants. Valentina Trinetta of Ecolab will discuss use of chlorine dioxide and ozone for microbial inactivation on produce, and P. Crowe of Applied Oxidation will discuss a new chlorine dioxide technology called D-Fenz for pathogen control in food processing.
- New Tools and Emerging Strategies to Minimize Risk of Economically Motivated Adulteration (session 244): Jeffrey C. Moore of U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention will describe development of a searchable online
database of food ingredient fraud reports and detection methods and a project to create a toolbox of rapid authentication methods for skim milk powder. Joe Jablonski of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will address detection of adulterated skim milk powder. Ken Rosnack of Waters will discuss detection of adulterated pineapple juice, and David Bolliet of Kalsec Inc. will discuss adulteration of garlic and onion oils. - Safety, Quality, and the Future of Raw Milk Cheese in the United States (session 264): Dennis D’Amico of the Univ. of Vermont will discuss assessing the risks associated with cheeses made from raw milk. Diane L. Van Hekken of the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service will discuss the quality advantages and disadvantages of making cheese from raw vs. pasteurized milk, and John Sheehan of the FDA will review the federal regulations governing raw-milk cheeses.
