The non-GMO ingredients, certified by third-party bodies SGS International and Eurofins, have the same functionality as their conventional counterparts, the company said.
The 17-product range is intended to cover the full spectrum of category applications and includes Rezista cook-up starch, which is used for puddings, dairy products, condiments, sauces and dressings, and X-Pand’r instant starch which gives baking and snack manufacturers dough machinability and crispy, crunchy textures in crackers, chips and snacks.
Maxi-Gel cook-up starch, meanwhile, helps manages moisture for smooth textures in yoghurts, soups, sauces and dressings, and superior freeze-thaw stability in frozen meals.
The non-GMO ingredients will have a pricing premium to reflect the additional costs of raw materials, production, segregation and certification, the company said.
Citing IRI data from 2017, global platform leader for texturants at Tate & Lyle Werner Barbosa said non-GMO product sales in the US have grown by 270% in the past three years.
“We are committed to providing manufacturers with solutions which respond to consumer demands," he added. "Therefore, we are delighted to be able to provide our customers with a range of non-GMO options, alongside our existing starches, to help them deliver extraordinary food with great taste and texture.”
A spokesperson for the ingredient supplier told us it expected to see a demand for these starches in all global regions; according to Innova Market Insights, non-GMO is the fastest growing clean label claim globally, up 49% over the last five years.
North America and Eastern Europe have seen the fastest growth but demand is on the rise in all regions, the spokesperson added.
The company did not say whether it also planned to invest in an organic starch portfolio.
According to Judy Whaley, vice president of texturants and new product development at Tate & Lyle, there are also regional preferences when it comes to starch sources.
“We see the trend to look at regionally-based sources – it’s good for a firm’s sustainability footprint and there is an interest in local crops that haven’t been developed in the past,” she said.
Regional preferences for starch sources tend to be closely aligned with crops. In Asia they tend to be rice or tapioca-based while in Latin America they are from corn or tapioca.
In North America there is traditionally a heavy bias on corn, said Whaley, but manufacturers are showing an increased interest in other crops that are commercially produced such as oat and wheat. Europe, meanwhile, has been a stronghold for potato and wheat starches.