Penford introduces new gluten-free starch

The new modified tapioca starch is the result of months of research involving a number of the firm's line of starches to find combinations that provided the best results in gluten-free baked goods.

Gluten, a protein found in certain grains, including wheat, rye and barley, plays a crucial role in the development of dough structure, and is consequently responsible for the texture of baked goods.

However, manufacturers are increasingly looking into finding ways to replace gluten in formulations, due to the rising diagnosis of celiac disease, a condition characterized by an intolerance to gluten.

The disease has no cure, but avoiding the consumption of gluten can resolve its symptoms and reduce associated health risks.

According to Penford Food Ingredients, its new tapioca starch can be used alone or in combination with other starches to bring back some of the texture lost through the absence of gluten in bakery products.

PenPlus 2510, launched last month, is a pre-gelatinized tapioca starch, otherwise known as an 'instant' starch since it becomes viscous when room-temperature water is added to it, without the need for external heat as with some other starches.

Penford marketing manager Andrea Gaebe said the firm's research on the ingredient focused on its use in baked staples, such as loaf bread, pizza crust and flat bread-type applications.

However, she said she was confident the ingredient could also be used in a wider range of products, including muffins, pastries, brownies and French breads.

Gaebe said that for best results, PenPlus 2510 can be used in combination with a 'cook-up' starch, or one that needs heat.

"Instant starches provide elasticity, resilience and a certain level of gumminess in applications, while cook-up starches provide crustiness and an open-crumb grain, reducing some of that gumminess," said Gaebe.

"So best results are achieved by using PenPlus 2510 together with a cook-up starch such as PenBind 150 to get the more desirable mouth chew," she told FoodNavigator-USA.com.

According to the firm, PenPlus 2510 can be used at 10 percent and PenBind 150 at 15 percent of a total formula, in combination with a non-wheat flour such as tapioca, amaranth or sorghum.

Penford, which claims to have received positive feedback from bakeries that have already tested the new ingredient, said it is ready to start supplying manufacturers immediately with its modified tapioca starch.

Other starches in the company's gluten-free portfolio include modified potato starch, native tapioca starch and waxy rice starch.

According to Mintel, the market for gluten-free products holds great potential, but the major challenge remains producing products that meet high consumer taste expectations.

At the recent IFT expo in Chicago, Mintel said the overall 'free-from' market has already enjoyed sales growth of over 300 per cent since 2000.

The free-from market was worth $123 million in 2005, and Mintel said that the gluten and wheat-free sector has benefited in particular from the nation's increasing interest in healthy eating.

Sales of products such as wheat-free breads and cakes have grown by almost 120 per cent over the last three years alone, to reach $65 million.

According to the latest figures, around three million Americans, a little less than 1 percent of the population, currently suffer from gluten intolerance, although estimates suggest that 97 percent of celiac sufferers remain undiagnosed and go untreated.

Estimates suggest that the number of known sufferers of celiac disease will increase worldwide by a factor of 10 during the next few years.

Congress mandated the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to define gluten-free products by 2008.

For the moment no standards exist, and products may claim food is gluten-free if it has no gluten, if it has a limited amount of gluten, or if it never had gluten.