The push to clean up food label declarations has escalated over the past few years. Initially, clean label interest focused on artificial flavors and colors. Today, other food ingredients are now coming under question, including starches, gums, chemical emulsifiers and stabilizers. In response, food companies are quickly reformulating or creating new products using natural ingredients to improve their clean labeling compliance. Unfortunately, foods containing natural ingredients are often not as tolerant to food processing conditions, which has food developers scrambling for alternatives.
In response, Fiberstar recently announced the introduction of natural, plant based fibers to help many segments in the food industry clean up their labels.
One of these new products is Citri-Fi®, a natural citrus fiber that is produced from the citrus juice industry. Using a clean, patented process, the fiber is opened to provide a higher surface area which provides higher water holding capacity. This characteristic makes it an ideal alternative for key food applications such as meats, bakery, dairy, beverages and sauces.
In addition, Citri-Fi is non-GMO, gluten-free and non-allergenic. Plus, it qualifies as fiber under the new FDA ruling and can be labeled as citrus fiber, citrus flour, dried citrus fiber or pulp.
This natural fiber can be a natural solution in the following applications:
- Meat & Poultry: 100% phosphate replacement when used with native starch, and it provides yield improvement and firm and juicy texture.
- Sauces: Starch and gum replacement in tomato-based products, and it provides viscosity to improve quality and texture while maintaining tomato sauce red color and flavor.
- Dairy: Chemical stabilizer and emulsifier replacement, and it provides reduced syneresis, freeze thaw stability, and smooth mouthfeel.
- Dry Plating Oils: Alternative to silica, starches and spray drying which can be costly, and it provides high oil load (25-30%) while remaining free flowing with functional benefits in final products such improved stabilization, texture, and mouthfeel.
Please click here to review the complete release.
Please contact your Skidmore representative for samples or additional information.
