Cargill has made new hires to its executive leadership team, effective April 1, to position the company for accelerated growth in sustainable food and agriculture solutions.
Researchers propose standardised testing methods to crack sensory challenge of plant-based milk Despite rapidly growing consumer demand, the quality of plant-based milk products very often underwhelms. The solution? More consistent testing at R&D stage.
There has been a surge of interest recently on the development of plant‐based milk alternatives due to increasing consumer concerns about the ethics, sustainability, and healthiness of animal‐based milks.
Consequently, producers are having to quickly develop and test new formulations to meet rising consumer demand using a range of protein sources such as soy, oat, pea, almond, coconut and flaxseed.
But a lack of standardized analytical methods and protocols is stifling successful innovation in the area, and the more widespread adoption of plant milks is being held back by products lacking the sensory attributes, stability, and functional performance of real cow’s milk.
Health campaigners call for ‘honest’ labelling on so-called healthy snacks Researchers at Action on Salt are demanding a restriction on the use of what it calls misleading nutrition claims on HFSS products after its new data revealed seemingly ‘healthy’ snacks contain often higher salt levels than crisps and flavoured nuts.
The group analysed 118 snacks including dried/roasted pulses and processed pulse snacks such as lentil curls, chickpea chips and puffs,
which are often perceived as healthy alternatives to the usual snacking options such as crisps and flavoured nuts.
Despite these products being on average lower in fat, saturated fat and calories, and higher in fibre compared to standard crisps and nuts, over one in three (43%) contained more than 1.5g/100g of salt – often more than that in crisps and nuts. KP salted peanuts contain 1.3g/100g salt, while Walkers Ready Salted crisps contain 0.35g of salt in a 25g bag.
He added:
The challenge with some other prebiotic fibers such as inulin [chicory root fiber]
is that you need 5g to get a prebiotic effect, but if you take 7g you may get a stomachache [although suppliers have
so there’s a narrow therapeutic window, whereas we have a really wide one.”
On a more practical level, Arrabina’s low viscosity means it will not gel or impact texture when added as a supplement to protein powders or as a fiber boost for nutrition bars, baked goods, and drinks, he said.
What are prebiotics?
The
definition of prebiotic agreed by the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) in 2017 is: “