Health factor flavours convenience foods

COMPANIES in the ingredients and additives sector view themselves as more than suppliers of goods; they also offer information and expertise. In addition to a focus on product safety, it is also necessary to have a good feel for consumer trends. Things move fast in today's markets, which is why it is necessary to turn innovative ideas into marketable products as quickly as possible. Consumer awareness of 'good, healthy' nutrition is growing, yet pleasure also plays a central role. Along with calories, fat and sugar, table salt is increasingly drawing attention. Salt is essential for many of the body's functions. It also rounds off the taste experience for many of our foods, improves the binding properties of meat and helps to extend shelf life. Yet too much salt over the long term can damage the human organism. For this reason, the supplier industry has been taking another look at reducing salt levels and using table salt substitutes. Whilst a noticeable reduction in the use of salt is evident, spices are in high demand for food production, particularly for their unmistakable flavour, as well as for their appearance. Spicy hot foods and special flavours are a popular trend amongst many consumers, and not just in exotic dishes. Today it is not uncommon for 'hot' versions to be included in the standard product range for items containing meat. Herbs and spices are also increasingly being used to season the exterior of meat products in order to improve their appearance. Spice foils which have been coated with decorative mixtures of herbs and spices can make it easier to produce such things as cooked cured products. During production, the spice foil is laid in the mould and the product is cooked in the usual manner. Once the cooking process has been completed, the external foil can be easily removed, whilst the herbs and spices remain, evenly spread on the product to create an attractive exterior. A number of different decorative herbs and spices are now used in this manner. Hand in hand with the global trend in salt reduction is the use of an array of herbs and spices to enhance the savoury notes of products as well as enhance shelf-life Advances in sausage processing The production of raw sausages has also been further developed. Patented maturing systems now allow raw sausages to be produced without a climatic chamber, smoking or weight loss. The resulting raw sausage is ready for sale after only ten days. The starter culture used guarantees that the finished product is stable, safe, cured and flavourful. Raw sausages produced in this manner are sold individually, in self-service packages and in convenience products such as sandwiches, pizzas and toppings. There have also been important advances in the field of sausage casings, including for smaller sausages. Synthetic casings have been improved by increasing their permeability to gas and water vapour. Additional innovations will be shown under 'value adding casings'. These are sausage casings that are able to perform important steps of the meat production process themselves even during the cooking process, e.g. the application of smoke, colour or spices from the casing directly to the surface of the meat goods. Individual production steps can thus be eliminated, allowing the producers of these meat products to reduce their costs. Value adding casings are now available for use as flat films as well. For the first time, spreadable spice sauces made using cream cheese will also be on show. These spice sauces, which come in 500g synthetic casing packages, are intended for barbecued/baked items and catering products such as filled roasts and rolls, wraps and puff pastry products. They are available in sweet pepper, mushroom, and herb varieties. 'Clean' is hot 'Clean label' is a hot topic for many producerAir Jordan IV 4 Retro Snake Skin