According to the McCormick Flavor Forecast 2009: Holiday Edition, expect to see America’s favorite holiday flavors used in new ways to reflect the latest baking trends. The top flavor pairings for the holidays are:

• Ginger & Molasses
• Warm Spices & Pumpkin
• Peppermint & Chocolate
• Vanilla & Red Food Color
• Nutmeg & Rum

While the flavors may be familiar, updated recipes available at www.McCormick.com, invigorate these classic pairings.

For nearly a decade, McCormick has identified emerging flavors through an annual forecast. This year, McCormick has taken an in-depth look at favorite holiday sweets through the lens of the latest culinary trends and proposed new interpretations for the holiday dessert table.

SUPPLYSIDE WEST OFFERS
DISCOUNT TO NAFFS MEMBERS

SupplySide West, set for Nov 11-13 in Las Vegas, is the world’s largest show for innovative ingredients. Product development, marketing and management executives from the global food, beverage, supplement, and cosmetic industries attend to find ingredients and suppliers, market trends and data, science and research, and more. SupplySide West offers more than 1,100 exhibit booths and more than 90 hours of presentations from leading organizations like FDA, Nestle, Kelloggs, Dairy Queen, Datamonitor, The Hartman Group, Mintel and dozens more.

For complete details, agenda and searchable exhibitor list, visit http://www.supplysideshow.com/west. SupplySide West is produced by the publisher of Food Product Design magazine, a NAFFS member.

NAFFS is an official Association Partner of the SupplySide West trade show and conference and will be presenting a panel discussion titled “The Role of Flavors and Related Materials in Functional and Health Food.” NAFFS members are eligible for a $50 discount from the registration rate for either the Expo Only badge or the Education Package badge. To register and take advantage of the NAFFS members discount, simply write “NAFFS Member $50 Discount” on the attached PDF, deduct the $50 from your total and fax it in to 480-675-8151.

Members that manufacture finished products may register online at http://www.supplysideshow.com/west and enter NAFFS in the Promo Code box to qualify for additional discounts.

LECITHIN ADDITIVE ENHANCES
NUTRITIONAL PROFILE OF FRUITS/SAUCES

Formulating processed fruit and vegetable products with soy lecithin may enhance not only the physio-chemical properties, but also the nutritional profile, according to a new study published in Food Research International.

Researchers supplemented tomato juice, tomato sauce and grape juice with varying levels of soy lecithin, including 0.1, 0.25, 0.5 and 1.0 g per 100 ml of juice or sauce. Results showed that the lecithin increased the protein content of the tomato sauce and juice in a dose-dependent manner. Improvements in color were also recorded, along with increased levels of lycopene, the antioxidant pigment responsible for the red color.

“In general, the addition of lecithin had a stabilizing effect on red pigments during processing of tomato products,” noted the researchers led by Gopinadhan Paliyath from the University of Guelph in Canada.

In grape juice, the red color was not significantly affected, even when the highest level of lecithin was used. It also did not affect the polyphenol content of the grape juice.

“This may be due to the fact that tomato products such as juice/sauce are rich in pectin and several insoluble components which might have interacted with soy lecithin and proteins thereby stabilizing the juice and improving the various quality parameters,” said the researchers. “Grape juice, which is rich in soluble solids but lacking in insoluble solids, showed lesser interactions with added lecithin. Thus, lecithin may better enhance properties of juices with a higher level of non-soluble solids,” they added.

FDA ISSUES DRAFT GUIDANCE ON
“EVAPORATED CANE JUICE” INGREDIENTS

FDA has issued a draft guidance entitled “Draft Guidance for Industry: Ingredients Declared as Evaporated Cane Juice.”

The draft guidance states that the practice in recent years of declaring certain sweeteners as “evaporated cane juice” on food labels is unlawful because the name is false and misleading. The term “evaporated cane juice” is not an appropriate common or usual name for any type of sweetener, including dried cane syrup.

Additionally, the guidance states that sweeteners derived from sugar cane syrup are not “juice” and should not be included in the percentage juice declaration on beverage labels.

The draft guidance is available HERE. While comments on guidance documents may be submitted at any time, to ensure agency consideration in development of a final guidance, comments must be submitted to FDA by December 7.

“EXOTIC FUNCTIONALS”
POISED TO GROW

Cocktails and exotically flavored drinks with functional properties will be key beverage category influences in the years ahead, according to a new Culinary Trend Mapping Report from the Center for Culinary Development (CCD) and Packaged Facts.

Interest in artisan liquors, as well as retro drinks, is gathering momentum. CCD expects cocktails to also inspire a wave of ready-to-drink, non-alcoholic beverages as this trend matures, reported MediaPostNews.

Regarding exotic functional beverages, pomegranate and blueberry have been overshadowed by goji berry, mangosteen and acai. These, in turn, will be overshadowed by aronia, yumberry and other next-wave flavors within the next year or two, according to the beverage trends report.

Other trends noted include RTD drinks offering a convenient way to ingest traditional ingredients from Eastern cuisines believed to contribute to health and longevity, coconut water, “21st Century sodas” offering sugar cane sugar and stevia-sweetened drinks.

NAFFS WELCOMES
NEW MEMBER

Delfi Cocoa USA, Inc.
P. O. Box 251
Rt. 517
Allamuchy, NJ 07820
Phone: (908) 813-1100
Fax: (908) 813-1105
Website: www.delficocoausa.com
Contact: Tom North
Products: cocoa ingredients

NAFFS CALENDAR

March 11, 2010 – NAFFS California Meeting, Crowne Plaza, Anaheim, Cal.
Nov. 4-7, 2010 – NAFFS 93rd Annual Convention, The Resort at Longboat Key Club, Longboat Key, Fl.