The aisles of Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center were crowded as 21,500 food industry professionals attended the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting and Food Expo in mid-July.

The aisles of Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center were crowded as 21,500 food industry professionals attended the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting and Food Expo in mid-July. According to show organizers, the education sessions covered the latest in food science and technology and the exhibit hall was sold out with more than 1,000 companies and 2,100 booths.

IFT also announced that the winners of its 2010 innovation award went to Bunge North America, Caravan Ingredients, Handary SA and co-recipients Bühler Barth AG and Log5 Corporation.

New nutritional ingredients and concepts at this year’s show included:

• The addition of Hidrox 12 to Creagri’s line of organic olive polyphenolic ingredients.

• Powdered berry concepts from Innovative Food Processors and InterHealth Nutraceuticals, Inc. such as a joint health formulation called Triple Berry Tempo in stickpacks.

• Ganeden Biotech, Inc. partnered with Tropical Nut & Fruit, Inc. to launch four functional confection mixes. On display at the show were yogurt-covered raisins as a concept.

• Ajinomoto AminoScience LLC of Raleigh, NC showed off its AjiGRAS-Leucine ingredient, which FDA just acknowledged as GRAS. According to the company this “is the first amino acid to be allowed as an ingredient for use in conventional foods like non-milk and milk based meal replacements, sports and isotonic beverages, vitamin enhanced waters, and meal replacement bars, at levels of 0.5 to 3 grams per serving.”

• Naturex, headquartered in France, launched Xtrablend RP (rosemary and pomegranate extracts) and announced several application studies.

• Hormel Foods Specialty Products Division announced an omega-3 EPA/DHA and vitamin D combination ingredient.

• Cargill showed off its new Clear Valley Omega-3 oil for heart health.

• Bioenergy showed off a few new concepts for its Bioenergy Ribose which include a creamer, toaster fruit tarts and energy gel shots.

Published in WholeFoods Magazine, September 2010