Ulrick & Short launches new starch for ready meals

Ulrick & Short specialises in clean label ingredients, and already has a portfolio of Synergy ingredients produced from a range of crops, which are billed as replacements for modified starches in processed foods such as soups, sauces and prepared foods.

The company says the new Synergie Supreme starch can be labelled as ‘wheat flour’, a store-cupboard ingredient that is recognisable to consumers.

But it brings “exceptional processing performance”, ​process tolerance and stability when used in gravy or sauces, meaning that the result has a finish that is akin to restaurant meal standards.

Talking of the clean label potential, company director Adrian Short said: “Ulrick & Short is thrilled that we have been able to achieve this declaration for Synergie Sumpreme. The response from development chefs has been great as they love working with a product that they can really relate to – ‘wheat flour’.”​

A company executive was unavailable prior to publication to comment on how the ingredient’s functionality has been achieved.

Ready meals market​

The ready meals market in Germany, France, UK, Italy and Spain was worth €8.4bn in 2007, representing growth of five per cent on the yea before, according to Mintel. The analyst predicts a further 18 per cent sales hike by 2011 to reach €9.9bn.

According to Ulrick & Short, the UK ready-meal market is “the most advanced in Europe​” – making it an attractive market for an ingredient like Synergy Supreme.

But there are other starch players on the market that are also targeting ready-meal advancement and high quality demands through starches.

For instance, in late 2007 National Starch introduced an extension to its Homecraft range of functional flours to the European market called Express 760, aimed at building viscosity and texture in instant and ready-to-heat foods.

The underlying aim of this ingredient was to enable processed food products that have the same texture as home- or restaurant-made foods.