In order to develop a new food product, many people and agencies are involved; the food industry, consumers, and governmental regulatory agencies are intertwined. The most important factor is the consumer because they dictate the direction to the food industry by changing eating habits and food preferences. In addition, the consumer dictates their preference based on sensory acceptance and health considerations. In order to keep competitive in the food industry and survive to keep strong, food innovations are largely needed.

Areas and Reasons of Food Innovations

Nutrition- formulation of inexpensive protein and vitamin supplements to prevent malnutrition or supplement the diets of the poor, as well as to enhance the market value of the product and create more value for money for the end consumers, and cater to the health conscious group of consumers. 

Food storage- this increase the storage life of fruits, vegetables, and meat products when stored under atmosphere controlled conditions where the air is low in oxygen. Food packaging is often employed in this area, the modification of the packaging simply adds on the shelf life of the products that are more susceptible to food spoilage. 

Food preservation- development of uniform quick freezing technology for perishable products using liquid nitrogen or cryogenic liquid; once thawed, the product’s structure remains the same as when frozen. Preservation of food interrelates to the shelf life and the keeping quality of the food products. It could also be further enhanced by appropriate and effective packaging methods, like Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP). 

Food safety- aided by the prevention of food illness with food preservation techniques, such as freezing and aseptic packaging or canning of food products.

Convenience of consumers- Food innovations could also be created just to suit to the needs and wants of the consumers. One of the areas is the convenience of the product usage. Often, these methods spark the interest of buyers as the idea appeals to them, and serve them ease on the usage of the product. One good example is the Rolled- on jam, and squeezable honey.  

What are some the Food Innovations ???

Minute Maid- Heart Wise Orange Juice

Minute Maid Premium Heart Wise, an orange juice proven to lower cholesterol, is a huge step in the direction of getting “healthier”.Heart Wise contains plant sterols, naturally sourced plant extracts clinically proven to help lower total and LDL cholesterol by inhibiting the absorption of cholesterol. This product uses the CoroWise plant sterols from Cargill Inc. The Heart Wise package carries the FDA-authorized claim: “Foods containing at least 0.4 g per serving of plant sterols, consumed twice a day with meals for a daily total intake of at least 0.8 g, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease. A serving of Minute Maid Premium Heart Wise contains 1 gram of plant sterols.”

Quick and easy-to-prepare meals and side dishes are top priority for consumers, especially for hectic lifestyles of mainly the working women, home makers, etc. Rice dishes have long been a good part of the solution, but at 15 minutes steaming time, they tend to slow things down. Even “instant” rice takes 5 minutes. How about red beans and rice ready in 60 seconds and cooked right in the pouch to save you a dirty pot? Or roasted chicken-flavored rice ready in 90 seconds (also cooked in the pouch)?

Masterfoods- M-Azing Munchable Chocolate Bar

After more than 75 years of producing many of America’s best-selling chocolate candies, Masterfoods USA, Hackettstown, N.J., turned its attention to the tablet (non-filled) category and created the M-Azing Bar, a color and taste sensation. It’s the first candy bar to infuse color in a milk chocolate bar that pops with bursts of bright green, blue, red, yellow and orange, courtesy of M&M’s Minis Chocolate Candies. Varieties include Peanut Butter and Crunchy. “We wanted to bring fun into the tablet chocolate bar category by creating a chocolate bar that would deliver a delicious, entertaining and uniquely one-of-a-kind snacking experience,” says Mark Mattia, vice president of marketing. This snack definitely caters to the satisfaction of both snacking and amusement of the consumers, making snack time even more “Colouful”!

Fat Replacer- Olean (Commercial name) 

 Perhaps this product, named Olestra, with a commercial name of Olean here will probably bring good news to people who are trying hard to loose some inches! This is a newly innovated fat replacer that tastes like normal fat and the above picture shows that it could be used and was used to process food that can be found on our shelves. The good thing about it is probably that the calories or fat is not absorbed by the body, and aids as a replacer for any other oils or fat. It also does not interfere with the absorption of Vitamin B and C in the body. However, more research should be done, as this product involves synthetic compounds, and the side effects should be carefully administered to, if there is any.

Lists of References:

Food Innovations

PurdueUniversity,West Lafayette, Indiana (2002)

http://www.four-h.purdue.edu/foods/New%20food%20products.htm [Online Article, accessed on 7/9/06]

Lists of Food Innovations of 2004

Dave Fusaro, (2004-2006)

Food Processing All rights reserved.

http://www.foodprocessing.com/articles/2004/91.html2004 Innovation Awards: A pageant of products [Online accessed on 7/9/06]

Olestra

Wikipedia Foundation, Inc. (6th September 2006)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olestra

 [Online Article, accessed on 9/9/06]