The company has also added resistant tapioca starch to their growing starch ingredient portfolio. This ingredient contains 90 percent dietary fiber and is ideal for low net carb formulations, especially for customers seeking non-GMO and gluten-free clean label claims, shares Lin.
ADM takes sustainability seriously: the company reached a milestone and is proud to share it has achieved net carbon neutral status for its U.S. milling operations—a first step toward creating carbon neutral flour. The company also offers HarvestEdge Gold certified sustainable flours that are traceable to the farm and verified by the Food Alliance.
Cargill, Minneapolis, offers a variety of different plant proteins including pea protein. “Pea protein is sourced from non-GMO yellow pea seed varieties specially selected to minimize off-notes and processed without the use of hexanes to bring out the best flavor possible. Nutritionally, pea protein also has a very good protein content. Our products from PURIS (joint venture partner) have a minimum 80 percent protein. While not a complete protein, pea protein has a high PDCAAS (protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score) of 0.78, well above most plant proteins. However to make a complete protein claim, formulators will need to blend pea protein with a complementary protein source such as rice, wheat gluten or soy. In bakery applications we typically rely on protein blends—not only to achieve nutritional goals, but to manage formulation challenges around flavor and water absorption,” explains McKenna Mills, senior technical services specialist.
There are several different types of pea proteins available based on the different product application needs. For example, some pea proteins are better suited for crackers where it’s important to prevent staling and moisture migration versus other formats that work better in bread where controlling the dough viscosity is important.
The superfood power of almonds provides delicious and nutritious benefits to snack and bakery products. Almonds are rich in fiber, protein, calcium, and vitamin E and are available in multiple formats including: whole, diced, slivered, or flour form. “In any form, almonds can assist in the formulation of many better-for-you versions of cakes, breads, muffins, cookies, and bars. Gluten-free macarons, made with extra-fine almond flour, deliver a light and airy touch to a classic treat. The extra fine granulation allows the almond flour to be distributed evenly during formulation, producing a smooth exterior and delightful, delicate texture. On the indulgent side, almond flour and almond inclusions can be combined within a chocolate almond brownie, for example, using both the fine flour texture to structure the treat, while still providing a crunch factor from the almond inclusion,” shares Laura Gerhard, vice president, Blue Diamond Global Ingredients Division, Sacramento, CA.
Fiberstar’s Citri-Fi, an upcycled, natural functional fiber, “tells its own sustainability story which begins as a byproduct of the citrus juicing industry. This upcycled fiber is produced using a process free from chemical modifications. Because of this, the native pectin content remains intact giving this citrus fiber its high functionality versus other similar ingredients in the marketplace. The high fiber content which contains both soluble and insoluble work synergistically with this pectin content to provide high water holding and emulsification properties,” explains Jennifer Stephens, vice president of marketing, Fiberstar.