A new study commissioned by the International Food Additives Council (IFAC) on carrageenan, a stabilizing ingredient that also is used to support texture and nutrients in many foods and beverages, demonstrated that the ingredient does not induce inflammation in human cells as claimed by carrageenan critics.  

Whenever consumers make Jell-O, thicken gravy or add corn starch to a pie filling, they knowingly or unknowingly are using hydrocolloids to thicken their products and give them a desired consistency. As health-and-wellness trends impact new product development, beverage formulators increasingly are using these ingredients to give consumers the clean label, nutrient-enriched beverages they seek, experts say.

Johns Creek, Ga.-based Amelia Bay published a new white paper written to assist beverage manufacturers in making the proper decisions when it comes to formulating ready-to-drink (RTD) iced tea.

As health and wellness trends continue to rise, more and more consumers are looking for natural options and checking the labels before they buy.

Westchester, Ill.-based Ingredion Inc., a global ingredients solutions provider specializing in nature-based sweeteners, starches and nutrition ingredients, entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Penford Corp., a Centennial, Colo.-based leader in specialty ingredients for food and non-food applications.

When playing Jenga, players have to carefully remove small wooden blocks to simplify a tower’s structure without pulling out the wrong block, which can cause the tower to topple. In some ways, formulating beverages is like playing a game of Jenga: Formulators add and remove certain elements to simplify beverage processing or meet consumer interests; however, if they pull out the wrong ingredient, the beverage’s structure can fall apart.

Similar to how gamers try to navigate through the complex and intricate challenges of some of today’s latest video games, research and development (R&D) specialists for the beverage marketplace are navigating through their own sets of challenges as they develop more complex formulations.