Nature preserves

Consumers are looking for less artificial ways to keep foods fresh, says Ivo van der Linden.

“Purac's core competence has always been the fermentation of lactic acid, so why not use that technology to ferment other micro-organisms, creating products that we can use in food to inhibit bacteria growth?”
-Ivo van der Linden

Conscientious consumers in all demographics are examining the foods they eat more closely, steering clear of products they view as nothing more than a chemical cocktail. They are instead migrating to more natural products, made from ingredients with names they can pronounce and that they recognize from their own pantries.

Concurrently, from a microbial standpoint, it's a veritable jungle out there. Salmonella in peanut butter and frozen potpies. Listeria in cheese and meats. E.coli in hamburgers and pepperoni pizza, are all pushing consumer demand for safer foods.

The convergence of these two issues means that food product designers need to carefully consider their product formulations and choose ingredients that mesh the latest product-protection technology with a natural ingredient list.

"Although convenience and the environment are popular talking points today, these benefits did not receive anywhere near the same level of attention as 'natural' claims did," explains Lynn Dornblaser, leading new product expert, Mintel, in a release announcing this megatrend. "With economic struggles driving people toward a simpler way of life, we expect that food and drink manufacturers will continue to prize natural, wholesome benefits well into 2010 and beyond."

That's not surprising, given the market for natural foods and beverages. According to The Natural Marketing Institute, 79 percent of consumers are natural food and beverage users. They believe the products are 'better' for them, and that they promote overall health, as well as help them avoid negatives such as toxins, pesticides and additives. Plus, many believe they taste better and have higher quality.

Not only are people looking for natural products, the majority - more than 70 percent, according to NMI - monitor food and beverage labels. Half of consumers base their food selection on the ingredient list, and about half are also looking for a short list of ingredients.

NMI finds over a third of consumers (37 percent) rate natural preservatives as "beneficial." But, because of the perception that artificial equals "bad," half of consumers would be more likely to purchase a product with natural preservatives, rather than a product containing artificial preservatives. What's more, 55 percent of the segment identified as a 'Natural Channel Shopper' exhibit the highest willingness to pay a five percent premium for a food product with natural preservatives versus one with artificial preservatives.

Fermentation is recognised in most legislation as being a natural way to preserve foods. Clearly this fact puts Purac in an excellent position as it has been fermenting natural L+ lactic acid for more than 80 years and having a major share in preserving foods for decades with lactic acid and lactates.

"Purac's core competence has always been the fermentation of lactic acid, so why not use that technology to ferment other micro-organisms, creating products that we can use in food to inhibit bacteria growth?" asks Ivo van der Linden, Category Manager Food Preservation at Purac. "The resulting line of fermentation based non-microbial preservatives will broaden the scope of problems that we can attack." Examples of application areas could include beverage, ready to eat meals, sauces and dressings, meat products, etc.

The company has developed new label-friendly products that can help extend shelf life and fight pathogenic organisms in a wide variety of foods. These ingredients in the PuraQ family can carry simple label statements like cultured (cane or corn) sugar and vinegar. The ingredients include PuraQ Xtend to control spoilage organisms, PuraQ Safe to control pathogens like Listeria and PuraQ Verdad for label friendly preservation solutions controlling spoilage and pathogens

"Besides, consumers are becoming more label conscious and value more natural products, the development of our new PuraQ portfolio is the way to answer the need of the market. Our products are made with 'natural' bio-based ingredients, not unsustainable petrochemicals, and we can call it 'cultured sugar' and 'anti-microbial', which doesn't have the negative connotations that 'preservative' could have," says van der Linden, "The industry is complaining that there aren't enough natural preservatives around, so these new products could become a significant pillar of our company's future success. "Products like these will establish us as a leader in natural preservation in the food industry instead of merely being known as a lactic acid based preservatives company."

Ivo van der Linden is Category Manager Preservation for Purac. based in The Netherlands. He has a Bsc. in Food Technology and a history of working in the food industry and food ingredients for more than 10 years. Van der Linden is responsible for the strategy of Purac to become leader in natural preservation.