CHICAGO — Buhler Barth AG, Log5 Corp., Bunge North America, Caravan Ingredients and Handary S.A. were recipients of the Institute of Food Technologists’ Food Expo Innovation Awards, which were handed out July 18. A panel of nine jurors with experience in research and product development, processing and packaging innovation, and food safety chose the five companies from 56 entries. To qualify, the companies had to be exhibiting at the I.F.T.’s Annual Meeting & Food Expo, which is going on in Chicago through July 20.

Co-recipients Bühler Barth AG, Freiberg/Neckar, Germany, and Log5 Corp., Phoenix, Md., earned an Innovation Award for their Controlled Condensation Process Pasteurization Technology, which pasteurizes low-water-activity foods, such as tree nuts, peanuts, spices, and grains, and preserves the natural quality of the food. The technology maintains thermal equilibrium conditions by controlling pressure, temperature, surface condensation, and moisture levels.


Bunge North America, St. Louis, won the award for its Phytobake Shortening with Phytosterols. The shortening for bakery applications enables the dilution of the amount of traditional hard fat or saturates and trans fats used in the plastic shortenings by up to 46%. Bakers using this ingredient may produce healthier sweet goods, such as cookies, pie crusts, and cakes.

In 2008, Bunge North America earned an I.F.T. Innovation Award for its Nutra Blanche/Nutra-Clear NT Frying System Solution & Donut Fry NT, which uses hydrogenation technology to reduce trans fats by more than 85% in shortening systems for par-fried potatoes and fried donuts.

Caravan Ingredients, Lenexa, Kas., was honored for its Trancendim Emulsifiers for Zero Trans Shortening — a zero trans, reduced saturated fat alternative for structuring fats and oils that mimics or improves the melting behavior of common fat-based products. Applications include salad dressings, frying oils, margarines, and bakery products.

Handary SA, Brussels, captured the 2010 I.F.T. Food Expo Innovation Award for its NisinA Natural Antimicrobial Agent, a vegetable-based natural product that may improve food safety by controlling foodborne pathogens, such as Clostridium botulinum, Listeria monocytogenes, and Bacillus cereus. It also extends the shelf life of foods by controlling lactic acid bacteria and prevents the formation of bacteria due to high temperatures.