TWENTY-FIVE products from ingredients, processing, packaging, food safety, and other major categories were selected for their advanced features at this year’s Ringier Technology Innovation Award.

 

The products as judged by well-respected experts in the field, address hot issues in the industry such as energy efficiency and increased productivity. In food and beverage ingredients, many of the winners focus on health & nutrition and clean labeling. 

 

Food and Beverage Ingredients

 

The awardees in the functional-type ingredients category under Food and Beverage Ingredients are Bloomage Freda Biopharm Co., Ltd., Shanghai Lithy Food Materials Co., Ltd, DKSH (China) Co. Ltd, Ingredion China Limited and DSM (China) Co. Ltd.

 

Bloomage Freda Biopharm Co., Ltd was recognized for its work on the GabarelaxTM γ- aminobutyric acid (GABA) offered as a natural relaxation ingredient.

 

Backed by 20 years of mastering fermentation technology, Bloomage Freda has successfully developed the use of lactic acid fermentation technique in developing Gabarelax products, making it the first local company to adopt the first patented fermentation process to produce high-purity GABA for various product applications.

 

The Gabarelax has natural active amino acids widely distributed in plants and animals. As a new food ingredient, it can be used by manufacturers to develop new and functional products. The wide range of applications covers health food and beverage items, cocoa products, chocolate and chocolate products, candies, and baked goods.

 

The clinically proven ingredient can also relieve stress, stimulate brain activity, and improve sleep. It is certified kosher and Halal.

 

Bloomage Freda can provide different purity levels from 20% to more than 98% to meet the requirements of different target products. The company complies with ISO 9001 and GMP standards for product quality and reliability.

 

Meanwhile, Shanghai Lithy Food Materials Co., Ltd, is making its mark with the first independent intellectual property rights for its advanced sea linkage krill oil production lines. The company’s krill oil production lines, China’s first joint lines, use the most advanced low-temperature extraction technology and have won 11 domestic and foreign invention patents.

 

Shanghai Lithy is currently the only China company licensed to market krill oil from Antarctica. It set up China’s first Antarctic krill professional team, provincial technical centers, and provincial engineering center certification. It currently has a full-time R&D team of 37, including 20 staff with masteral degrees, three with PhD degrees, and two with post-doctorate degrees.

 

The company has also established close cooperation with the China Academy of Engineering. To further strengthen its expertise in this line, the company hired Trond Storebakken, a well-known international fish nutrition expert and professor at the University of Life Sciences in Norway, as technical adviser.

 

The krill oil produced by Shanghai Lithy has obtained license from the State Health Planning Commission.

 

Wild pure krill oil from Antarctic krill, which live in the waters of Antarctica, the only unpolluted last piece of “pure land” on the planet, contain Omega-3 essential fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), phospholipids, flavonoids, VA, VE, and astaxanthin. Its phospholipids-bound Omega-3 is more easily absorbed than fish oil triglyceride-type Omega-3. In addition, the inherent natural antioxidant astaxanthin, which is also attached to the phospholipids, provides a more stable and lasting antioxidant effect.

 

Many basic and clinical research studies have confirmed krill oil is safe for chronic long-term efficacy of dyslipidemia, chronic inflammation, and cognitive disorders.

 

Krill oil offers 20 times the physiological benefits of regular fish oil. In general, fish oil supplements contain DHA arranged in a random manner, hindering the complete absorption of fatty acids. In contrast, krill oil, which is fixed to the second position on DHA, can be completely absorbed by the body to maintain brain and heart functions. Meanwhile, the phospholipids’ position on the part of the cells allows them to enter the cell membrane and help in maintaining the normal functioning of the body. 

 

Another Innovation Award winner in the functional ingredients category was DKSH (China) Co. Ltd. The company was recognized for its use of embedded technology in improving the absorption rate of curcumin.

 

Curcumin and its derivatives in traditional Indian and Chinese medicine demethoxy curcumin and bisdemethoxy curcumin, commonly referred to as curcuminoids, is the main active component of turmeric, itself widely used in treating various mental disorders and diseases. Curcumin is a highly hydrophobic substance but has a low bioavailability.

 

The High Bioavailability Curcumin from Wacker has embedded curcumin using γ-cyclodextrin to greatly improve bioavailability. Pure curcumin extract shows 95% purity in clinical trials. Tests have also revealed the absorption rate of curcumin-formulated products is 47 times better than that of conventional curcumin extracts.

 

Cyclodextrin-based formulations can be used for tablets, capsules, bars and other energy biscuits, and dried or powdered dietary supplements. They are also ideal for functional beverages.

 

For their achievements and innovations in the processing ingredients category, Ingredion China Limited and DSM (China) Co. Ltd were honored with the Ringier awards.

 

Ingredion tapped its expertise in the field of emulsification to use the Q-NATURALE 200 soap bark extract as an emulsified flavor. The Q-NATURALE can now be adopted by beverage manufacturers to produce a range of products from orange juice, energy drinks to carbonated drinks and alcoholic beverages. It can emulsify a series of active substances, including nutrients and vitamins, to produce transparent beverages.

 

This breakthrough brings to light the potential use of high load oil emulsion in the beverage industry, which has been traditionally adopting gum arabic and modified starch as emulsifiers.

 

Flavored waters and clear sports drinks conventionally use water-soluble flavors, colors, and other ingredients instead of oil-soluble alternatives. This is because the latter typically require pigment such as rosin esters or SAIB stable emulsion to provide turbidity and some flavored drinks need larger amounts of emulsions, which compromise the clarity of the product. Also, some emulsifiers can achieve a particle size distribution greater than 0.25 microns.

 

The Q-NATURALE 200, which is extracted from the Chilean soap bark tree, has a very low molecular weight of about 1800 to 2000 Dalton compared with traditional gum arabic and modified starch. It has an HLB value of about 13.5, suitable for high-load oil emulsion. Its viscosity is similar to water.

 

As an emulsifier, the Q-NATURALE 200 features an oily flavor, long-term low temperature stability, and wide pH range. Because of its excellent emulsifying ability and low viscosity, it has the ability to stabilize the high load oil emulsion. In addition, it can use the random close packing (RCP) method for the production of up to 50% fuel load emulsion. This high fuel load system can be used without a weighting agent system to produce extremely small-particle stable emulsion droplets. This means beverage production will require only a lower amount of emulsion added. Also, the Q-NATURALE 200 emulsion enables an average particle size smaller than 0.200 microns, generally about 0.150 microns.

 

DSM (China) Co. Ltd’s Maxilact® lactase offers a solution to address the odor-related problems common in dairy products containing arylsulfatase. With China’s population characterized by a high percentage of lactose-intolerant citizens, this could potentially increase use of lactose-free dairy products and improve people’s nutritional intake.

 

The arylsulfatase-free Maxilact lactase is awaiting patent approval in China and Europe. Because it does not contain arylsulfatase, Maxilact lactase enables dairy producers to make odorless lactose-free products with a longer shelf life and better flavor. The innovation also ensures DSM’s recently launched Maxilact® LGi 5000 and Maxilact® LAGX 2000 products deliver high purity and quality.

 

Food & Beverage Processing Technology

 

In the Food & Beverage processing technology category, Hanovia was recognized for its medium-pressure UV energy-optimization system (UVEO).

 

The system’s ease of operation and maintenance, and power adjustable and energy saving features help reduce operating costs, a key issue in the food and beverage industry, where energy consumption accounts for more than 50% of costs. Conventional UV systems do not allow for adjustments on power and UV dose.

 

The Hanovia UVEO uses efficient ballast technology to provide optimum power control in off-peak periods for higher energy efficiency. The optimized design of the shape of the cavity, lamp orientation, and piping connections save system footprint and operating costs while enhancing treatment ability. Finally, because the system enables power adjustments, a single system can meet the different UV dose flow requirements, translating to greater savings overall.

 

The Food and Beverage Ringier Technology Innovation Award aims to improve production efficiency among manufacturers toward boosting overall economic benefits for the industry. By recognizing companies’ efforts, the Award hopes to continue encouraging similar work and initiatives toward contributing to sustainable development of innovative products and technologies for the long term.

 

This year’s winners were chosen by a selection committee comprising industry experts. Readers of Ringier’s magazines also voted online.

 

Winners in the other categories will be featured in upcoming issues of FoodPacific Manufacturing Journal.