ANAHEIM, CALIF. — Ingredient innovations included gluten-free flours, as well as soybean oils and a blueberry marketing campaign at the Institute of Food Technologists’ annual meeting and food exposition held June 6-10 in Anaheim, Calif.

New ConAgra flours

ConAgra Mills, Inc., Omaha, introduced a multigrain, gluten-free flour and a flour designed to make traditional Indian flatbreads.

Eagle Mills gluten-free all-purpose multigrain flour features ConAgra Mills’ Ancient Grains and tapioca starch. It may be used across a range of products, including pan bread, tortillas, muffins, snacks, coatings and extruded cereals.

Focus groups tested two top-selling gluten-free bread varieties against bread made with Eagle Mills gluten-free flour. Participants favored the bread made with Eagle Mills flour, according to ConAgra Mills. ConAgra Mills points to a Packaged Facts study that shows gluten-free food and beverage products grew at a compound annual growth rate of 28% from 2004 to 2008 and finished with retail sales of $1.6 billion last year.

ConAgra Mills Mumbai Gold Fresh Chaki Atta is milled from selected durum wheat to traditional Indian specifications for taste, texture and functionality. The flour may be used to make flatbreads on a large commercial scale, including at food service outlets.

Traditional Indian flatbreads include chapatti/roti, paratha and puri. ConAgra Mills cited Mintel International statistics showing new retail product introductions for flatbread rising to 26 in 2008 from 5 in 2005.

For more information, call (800) 851-9618 or visit www.conagramills.com.

High-oleic soybean oil

DuPont business Pioneer Hi-Bred launched Plenish brand high-oleic soybean oil. The varieties are on track for U.S. introduction in 2009, pending regulatory approval and ongoing field testing.

Testing in 2007 and 2008 confirmed Plenish contains about 80% oleic acid and has less saturated fat, including 40% less palmitic acid, than commodity soybean oil. It has 75% less saturated fat than palm oil.

The Plenish high-oleic soybean oil trait received

Canadian regulatory approval in May. Pioneer completed U.S. regulatory submissions for approval of the trait in December 2006. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration completed its review of Plenish earlier this year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is reviewing the trait.

For more information, visit www.pioneer.com.

 Rich with antioxidants

The Wild Blueberry Association of North America, Portland, Maine, unveiled a new brand identity as part of the launch of its new ingredient marketing campaign.

The campaign includes a new logo: "Antioxidant Rich Wild Blueberries: Premium by Nature." It also includes trade advertising, trade show promotion, web site marketing and public relations.

"Our efforts will be focused on more aggressively communicating the natural premium characteristics and differentiating marketing elements of our special little wild blue fruit," said J. Kim Higgins, president of the association made up of growers and processors in Maine and Canada.

For more information, visit www.wildblueberries.com.

Gluten-free solutions

National Starch Food Innovation, Bridgewater, N.J., launched gluten-free solutions that may be used with such products as cookies, muffins and cakes. The company combined its experience in producing such gluten-free ingredients as corn, tapioca and rice with the company’s functional flour expertise.

"Let’s face it," said Bob Allin, marketing director, North America. "Most gluten-free baked goods don’t quite match gluten-containing products, especially when it comes to texture and shelf life. Our initial testing indicates we’ve made a dramatic improvement in terms of consumer liking."

A sensory panel found products using National Starch gluten-free recipes came close to matching gluten-containing products in such attributes as smooth, moist and chewy.

"With these data in hand, we are very confident that we can assist bakers in producing exceptional gluten-free products without major compromises," said Dr. Yadunandan Dar, Ph.D., material scientist for National Starch Food Innovation.

For more information, call (866) 961-6285, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.foodinnovation.com.

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