Going clean with starches sourced from tapioca or rice
Starches, particularly those sourced from tapioca or rice, played into the clean label trend at the Institute of Food Technologists’ annual meeting and food exposition in Chicago in July.
Tate & Lyle, P.L.C., London, introduced a Claria Delight tapioca-based starch. Tapioca-based starches deliver a clean flavor, color and gelling texture that benefit a variety of applications, said Werner Barbosa, global platform leader, texturants. He cited data from Innova Market Insights, Duiven, The Netherlands, showing a 27% average increase in cleaner label new product launches with tapioca-based starches from 2010 to 2015.
Achieving a clean label with tapioca-based starches has proven troublesome in the past. Unlike modified offerings, native tapioca starches are limited primarily to gelling functionality and not best used to thicken foods and beverages, Mr. Barbosa said. In addition, native starches are less able to withstand heat and shear than modified starches, rendering them unsuitable or inconsistent in many applications.
To tackle these issues, Tate & Lyle used a proprietary processing technique to enable Claria Delight granules to stay intact after cooking under a variety of conditions, Mr. Barbosa said.
“In addition, Claria Delight tapioca-based starches have been shown in internal sensory testing to have a lighter color and cleaner taste than other functional ‘clean label’ tapioca-based starches on the market,” he said. “The product line offers versatility in either thickening or gelling, depending on application.”
Claria Delight tapioca-based starches have been shown to work as a one-for-one replacement for modified tapioca starches. Potential applications include soups, sauces, yogurts, custards, mousse and fruit preparations.
Also at the I.F.T. exposition, Beneo, Morris Plains, N.J., highlighted the performance of its Remypure native rice starch. Technical trials have shown Remypure, when used in fruit preparations, improved viscosity build-up equivalent to chemically modified starches. Remypure supports a clean, fruity flavor and a short and smooth texture, according to Beneo. It remains stable under severe processing conditions and is tolerant toward acidity and heat. Potential applications include jarred baby food, sauces and dairy desserts.
