Answering the Demand for Quality and Freshness

Anyone who has ever attended the International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) knows there’s always more to see and learn than there is time. So in case you made it this year, but missed the Tech Talk presentations by experts from Corbion, here’s a brief look at what they covered.

“Evolving Consumer Food Preferences: Addressing Consumer Quality Solutions”

Presented by: ?? Megan Passman , Global Insights Manager, Corbion

???????????????????????? Ben Howard , Technical Service Representative, Corbion

In this talk, Megan Passman discussed how Corbion’s investment in developing and analyzing market insights informs the company’s approach to solving processors’ challenges. “It all begins with understanding consumer concerns, perceptions and aspirations,” she said, “then exploring how consumer needs translate into areas for future innovation for our customers.” Ms. Passman also explained how providing valuable market insights are part of Corbion’s comprehensive value proposition, which also includes applications expertise and modeling tools to support the formulation process, and technical support to ensure smooth implementation.

Ms. Passman shared a number of key themes that emerged from Corbion’s proprietary consumer research, including a “loss of control” driven by insecurities about time scarcity, financial limitations, and the need for convenience without sacrificing quality and health considerations. She also touched on the fact that, although U.S. consumers tend to take food safety for granted, effective pathogen protection is no less essential for producers in this market.?

To help producers respond to these consumer pain points, Corbion’s predictive modeling tools enable rapid identification of optimal food safety interventions for inhibiting Listeria and C. bot. Ben Howard explained how the Corbion Listeria Control Model, for instance, can address study complexity, aid in challenge study design, and increase the processor’s speed to market. The tool was recently enhanced to include a dynamic temperature modeling feature, which helps combat temperature abuse by allowing the user to simulate up to 5 different temperature conditions in different stages of the value chain.

Knowing that a growing number of consumers focus on labeling to determine if a product is for them, Corbion’s broad ingredient portfolio provides processors with options that let them formulate quality, nutrient-rich products that resonate with health-minded consumers. This includes solutions that allow reduction or elimination of sodium content, as well as vinegars and ferments that protect product quality and safety without causing concern to label-focused shoppers.

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“When Plans Fail”

Presented by: ?? Rob Ames , Director-Business Development, Corbion

???????????????????????????? Rodolfo Garza , Sr. Business Development Manager, Corbion

Rob Ames began his presentation by focusing on what is clearly a problem area for the meat industry: the cost of food waste at the manufacturing level, food value loss in the retail environment, and food quality loss in the home kitchen.?The latest estimates from the USDA put retail fresh meat shrink at 11% across species (chicken, pork and beef), which when factored with individual species shrink and value adds 36 cents to a pound of chicken, 27 cents for pork and 68 cents for beef. Consumer research reveals that “use by” labels contain the most commonly read information on the label, even more than ingredient and nutritional statements.

Mr. Ames was joined by Rodolfo Garza in discussing how technical challenges to shelf-life frequently accompany changes in ingredients, as with many value-added products, and arguing that common solutions are often not equal to uncommon challenges.

To illustrate, the presenters shared specific examples of problem-solving in action, whereby Listeria growth and spoilage can commonly be controlled with vinegar but not under the increasingly common circumstance of high pH or high sugar inclusion.? The case in point highlighted the bottom-line difference that a partner with technical expertise and advanced spoilage prevention products can make for processors wanting to offer products with robust shelf-life promises.

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