CHICAGO — Food technology startup BioVeritas, LLC unveiled a clean label mold inhibitor at IFT FIRST, the Institute of Food Technologists’ annual meeting held July 16-19 in Chicago.
The ingredient, a cultured vegetable oil extract, is created through a proprietary upcycling process and replaces calcium propionate in baked foods applications with no substantial differences in texture or flavor, according to the Bryan, Texas-based company and based on the findings of a third-party study completed by an independent university sensory research laboratory.
A separate study found the ingredient extended shelf life by an average of 30% in bread and tortillas compared to a clean label competitor, Pareen Shah, chief commercial officer of BioVeritas, told Food Business News.
Existing options in the market require tradeoffs, he said.
“We deliver high efficacy,” he said. “We deliver sensory that is comparable to petrochemical calcium propionate… We can deliver this at a price that’s already established in the market.”
While bread and baked foods are the primary applications, Mr. Shah said the ingredient also may be used in sauces, dressings and animal feed.
BioVeritas’ technology produces multiple short- and medium-chain fatty acids derived from the byproducts of biodiesel and corn wet milling processes, offering a “clear line of sight” for additional applications within the food preservation and digestive health markets, Mr. Shah said.
“What we offer is no compromise, no trade-off,” he said. “This is really something that benefits producers, that benefits consumers, certainly benefits Mother Nature, in a way that really nothing else has before.”
