ConAgra lines up healthy alternative ingredients
address the needs of its customers, and was at the IFT conference
last week to show off its potential, writes Anthony
Fletcher.
The division, which brings together three brands - ConAgra Mills, Gilroy Foods and Spicetec - promises to offer customers a wide array of ingredients solutions designed to tap into growing consumers concerns over health without compromising taste.
On display at New Orleans were Ultrabeignets made from ConAgra Mills' Ultragrain white whole-wheat flour. This ingredient has been developed to incorporate the goodness of whole grain with the flavor and sweetness of white flour.
"Ultragrain provides the food industry and its customers with the first whole-grain flour that combines preferred taste and texture with nutrition," said ConAgra Mills marketing vice president Don Brown.
"It's not enough to provide just a nutritious product; you have to provide a product that consumers love to eat."
New ingredients products throughout the IFT exhibition provide ample evidence of this. There is an acceptance that the food industry must develop more nutritious products, but that taste is still paramount.
In addition, Americans are still not eating enough fiber. Only seven percent of the population eats enough grain products. The low-carb fad may be fading, but the National Bread Leadership Council recently reported that 40 percent of people surveyed are eating less bread than a year ago.
A patent-pending milling technology helps Ultragrain retain whole-grain nutrients, while at the same time delivering the fine texture of popular while flours. Ultragrain has a lighter, more golden flour color, and according to Brown, is the first time that a wholegrain wheat has been ground to the consistency of white flour.
"Ultragrain is an ideal ingredient for a number of different foods that generally use refined flour - from breads to crackers, cookies, pasta and even pastries,"he said.
Similarly, ConAgra Ingredients showcased Gilroy Foods' Controlled Moisture fire-roasted and grilled vegetables.
During production, vegetables can lose significant amounts of water as well as color and flavor. Gilroy Foods' process reduces the amount of water in vegetables by between 30 and 50 percent, which means there will be less water loss to a finished product.
According to ConAgra Ingredients, it takes 33 percent less Controlled Moisture vegetables to make a nutritional serving than if made with traditional individually quick frozen (IQF) vegetables.
ConAgra Ingredients also used the IFT show to highlight a number of products such as Creole sausage and chicken bayou LaFouroche featuring new Spicetec flavors. Although press coverage tends to focus on current issues such as obesity and trans fat labeling, flavor remains the top priority for both consumers and manufacturers.
Spicetec is the leading specialist in natural savory flavors and the third largest supplier of industrial seasonings in the US.
ConAgra Food Ingredients is a business segment of ConAgra Foods, one of North America's largest packaged food companies.
