New National Starch range to withstand processing rigours
The products, called Novation 4300 and Novation 5300, are cold water thickening starches from waxy maize.
The ingredients company said that they were developed for intensive processes, as they offer heat, acid and shear stability – shear being a mixing process used by many food processors.
This high process tolerance makes them particularly suitable for mayonnaise, dressings, dips, gravies, pizza toppings and fruit pie fillings.
At the same time, the instant starches are pre-cooked, which means that manufacturers can “eliminate the heating step of traditional cook-up starches and help to reduce production times”.
National Starch boasts of having a strong focus on meeting market and consumer trends in clean label products.
Its Novation starches are classified in the EU as ingredients not additives, which it said meant that manufacturers can differentiate their brands with a “no additives positioning”.
This is because functional native starches offer similar food processing characteristics to modified starches, but unlike the modified variety, they are not described by E numbers on product packaging,
Functional native starches can simply be called 'starch' so they are in line with 'clean label' trends, as consumers are veering away from E numbers.
Laura Goodbrand, European marketing manager, wholesome, National Starch Food Innovation, said: “By expanding our range of instant Novation starches we can offer greater choice and versatility to food developers, whatever their processing needs.
“Importantly, they can have instant stability while also satisfying increasing consumer demand for high quality, additive-free, everyday foods.”
The company boasted that other processing benefits of the new products include a smooth texture and glossy appearance with a bland flavour profile, therefore maintaining the inherent flavours of a formulation.
The starch market
The world market for starch (hydrocolloids) between 2004 and 2007 increased 4.6 per cent per year from $720m in 2004 to $820m in 2007, according to figures from Leatherhead Food International.
Leatherhead said that National Starch is among the major international starch suppliers, along with Cargill, Tate & Lyle, Corn Products International, Roquette and Avebe.
Its starch products are sold under the Novation, Ultra and Hi-Maize brands, among others.
The Novation range includes products based on waxy maize, tapioca and potato, which are suitable for different applications.
Clean-label, instant products in the range include the potato-based Novation 6600 for applications where more moderate process tolerance is required, such as soups, sauces and ready meals.
Last summer National Starch also introduced Novation 9260 and 9230 to help manufacturers meet the trend for certified organic products and were said to be most suitable for use in products such as ready meals, soups, sauces and dressings.
