LENEXA, KAS. – Caravan Ingredients has introduced Ultra Fresh Sweet, which has been shown to provide superior eating quality, including smooth, tender and resilient crumb texture, for 45 days in such products as yeast-raised donuts, sheet cakes, cupcakes, pastries and muffins, according to the Lenexa-based company. Ultra Fresh Sweet is an alternative to simple enzymes, gums, starches and sugars.

The extended freshness capability allows for expanded retail distribution possibilities, fuller shelves for enhanced selling opportunities, reduced stales and increased sales resulting from an extended sales window, according to Caravan Ingredients. For commercial manufacturers, the longer freshness cycle offers more dwell time in the warehouse and in transit. It provides better quality through freeze-and-thaw cycles.

According to a proprietary study from Caravan Ingredients, 90% of consumers look at expiration dates to determine freshness and 70% use appearance, taste and texture as freshness cues. Sixty-five per cent of consumers would like six additional days of freshness in commercial packaged products, and 78% want the same for in-store bakery products.

Ultra Fresh Sweet will be available in the same classic, premium and supreme product lines as the lines in the original Ultra Fresh. Caravan Ingredients in 2012 introduced Ultra Fresh, which delivers enzyme innovations that protect baked foods throughout the freshness cycle, from distribution onto the retail shelves and into consumers’ hands.