Sustainability “is probably on slide two or three of every customer presentation now,” notes Ingredion, but how can consumers cut through the PR noise to make meaningful comparisons between brands? Checkout our final gallery of trends at IFT FIRST exploring upcycled fibers and proteins and sustainability claims.
Sustainability claims from ‘climate-friendly’ to ‘sustainably-sourced’ to ‘carbon-neutral’ to ‘regeneratively-farmed’ are starting to appear like a rash on CPG products, but if they are not underpinned by clear standards, they will lose credibility with consumers and potentially land companies in legal hot water, said Andrew Utterback, senior manager, sustainability, at Ingredion.
“It's like when the word ‘natural’ took off. Everything was natural. We don't want sustainable ag or regenerative ag to be that because then it doesn't mean anything. So we're working really hard on verifiable, measurable standards that you can point to and say yes, this has scientific rigor behind it and a third party verification behind it that means something, so it’s not just marketing and greenwashing.”
On regenerative agriculture, for example, he said, “The Sustainable Agriculture Initiative is working on a regenerative agriculture program with five principles and 10 to 20 different indicators or measurables, so there will be some sort of verifiable standard enabling you to say I’m regenerative ag verified by a third party via this SAI program and we're working on that right now, because I agree it’s very confusing right now as so many people are making claims about this.”
Image credit: Elaine Watson
Pointing out that sustainability is “probably on slide two or three of every customer presentation now,” Utterback said SEC proposals that would require public companies to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions have ratcheted up pressure on companies to measure and report their emissions according to internationally recognized standards laid out in the World Resources Institute’s Greenhouse Gas Protocol.
“And then the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is developing guidance on setting science-based targets for Forest, Land, and Agriculture-related greenhouse gas emissions and removals. So I think with this focus on ESG from investors now, I think it’s clear that we need clear protocols that everyone abides by.”
Image credit: GettyImages-Hype-Photography
Ingredion – which has just completed a lifecycle assessment exploring the relative environmental impact of its stevia products compared with each other and with sugar and high fructose corn syrup – is working on multiple sustainability initiatives, said Utterback.
“One example is a partnership with PepsiCo and Nutrien Ag Solutions where we all chipped in money to incentivize growers on cropland in northern Illinois to plant cover crops, reduce their tillage, and reduce their inputs to make carbon reductions and water quality improvements.
“I don't think it's fair to go to farms and say we need you to reduce the carbon output from your farm and we're not going to incentivize you, because it might be three to five years before your soil becomes more productive, and [the impact of using] less fertilizer is offset by your other practices. So we need to support farmers in that interim time where they might not be making as much per acre because we're asking them to change their practices.”
Image credit: Gettyimages/bsd555
Several firms at IFT were promoting upcycled ingredients, including Minnesota-based startup Apparo – which developed technology now being deployed by AB InBev/EverGrain on a commercial scale to extract highly functional barley protein from brewer’s spent grains – and is now turning its attention to another upcycled protein it reckons could have just as much potential: sunflower.
Apparo, said CEO Ian Mackay, can extract a highly functional protein from the protein-and fiber-rich cake left after sunflower seeds are pressed to extract oil: “We fully de-hull the seeds and then we press the seeds to get out as much oil as we can, without degrading the protein. Then out of the aqueous extraction process - we don't use any organic solvents - we get two proteins and a nutraceutical (chlorogenic acid) and create a flour that still has about 25-30% protein in it as well.
“It’s basically all food coming out, and could potentially double the revenue you could get from that seed.”
Image credits: Gettyimages/KLSbear(left) and Apparo (right)
Comet – a startup developing functional fibers and sweeteners from upcycled ingredients – is building a manufacturing facility in Kalundborg, Denmark with RE Energy where it will deploy patented water-based extraction technology allowing it to extract the prebiotic fiber arabinoxylan from wheat straw, said CEO Rich Troyer.
“Our plan is on track to start this year. We have two grades of arabinoxylan. One has polyphenols attached so it has some color to it and works well in applications such as coffee, chocolate, and powder as it’s highly soluble and pH stable. And we have a second product that is white and flavorless.”
A fiber found in the cell walls of several plants, arabinoxylan has a range of benefits from prebiotic effects to blood glucose control and immune health support. But no one has found a cost-effective way to isolate and produce it on an industrial scale… until now, claimed Troyer, who said it had distinct advantages in the prebiotic space given its high-tolerability and high-potency: “We’re seeing prebiotic effects with only 3g a day."
Image credit: Elaine Watson
Fiberstar’s upcycled citrus fibers, sourced from byproducts of the juicing industry, have myriad applications as firms seek to rid product labels of phosphates, carrageenan, gums, starches, mono- and di-glycerides and other substances gracing food marketers’ ‘unacceptable ingredients’ lists said VP global sales Nick Kovalenko.
The products contain soluble and insoluble fiber but are typically used in small quantities for their technical properties rather than to help companies make fiber claims, he said, and are now widely used to replace phosphates, enhance yield and maintain moistness in meat products, or to replace eggs, fat, mono and diglycerides or various gums and hydrocolloids in bakery products.
“Initially our target was fat replacement in bakery applications because it binds water very effectively," he said, "but we’ve since moved into multiple applications.”
In plant-based milks, citrus fibers can help firms develop more consumer-friendly labels, for example replacing cellulose (for suspension) and carrageenan (for mouthfeel) with gellan gum and citrus fiber.
He added: “We have a strong pipeline in plant-based dairy and meat, but we are also doing a lot of projects are in phosphate replacement in [conventional] meat applications and replacing starches and gums in bakery products.”
Image credit: Elaine Watson
Dole Specialty Ingredients, a b2b business unit in Dole specializing in the supply of high value natural ingredients for food & beverage, nutraceuticals and cosmetics, highlighted a series of upcycled ingredients at IFT FIRST.
These included nutrient-dense pineapple fiber powder from byproducts of juicing, which can be used to add fiber, texture/body, nutrition and flavor to everything from fruit smoothies, sauces, energy bars and extruded snacks to infant and toddler foods and potentially clean up labels (if they are replacing gums or hydrocolloids for mouthfeel, for example).
The second ingredient on show from DSI was green banana powder, which can be used in bakery, snacks and plant-based beverages, although its ‘resistant starch’ credentials (and associated prebiotic claims) would be compromised by applications involving high heat, said James Bickmore-Hutt, culinary R&D manager, pictured left.
“If you expose it to high heat it would convert from RS2 to RS3, but if you combine it with other ingredients you can encapsulate it and protect it from heat in some applications, plus it also depends on how much water you're adding into the formulation.”
Image credit: Elaine Watson
Grain Processing Corporation (GPC) also showcased a new product at the show: FYBRIN RS, a chemically modified resistant starch (RS4 – which is more stable than RS2) from corn that’s classified by the FDA as dietary fiber that works particularly well in pasta, tortilla, and baked goods as a partial flour replacement.
With a bland flavor, low water holding capacity, and smooth mouthfeel, FYBRIN RS does not add viscosity and mixes readily with other ingredients, said business development manager Kelly Belknap.
“Primarily, people are using it to increase fiber levels, because you can incorporate a large amount into a formula, so 20% in a cracker, 30% in pasta, and when you're adding that much fiber, you're taking away some of the calories from flour, so we're seeing fiber fortification and calorie reduction.”
As for prebiotic claims, she said, “We don't have our own clinical studies, but because it is a resistant starch it passes through the small intestine to the large intestine where it's fermented but it's also easily tolerated.
"But our customers are most interested in talking about fiber. In consumer research where we’re asked, 'Why are you choosing fiber? people will say for a healthy weight, digestive health, cholesterol management and blood sugar control.”
Image credit: Elaine Watson
