The recently concluded Gulfood Manufacturing, the Middle East’s biggest food, beverage manufacturing, processing and supply chain exhibition in Dubai, UAE showcased the latest innovations to meet evolving consumer preferences.

Amongst those showcasing innovative products was Monk Fruit Corp. With offices in China, New Zealand and the United States, Monk Fruit Corp claims to be the only company in the world focusing solely on monk fruit, which is only grown in China and is named after the Buddhist Monks who first cultivated the fruit 800 years ago.

Monk Fruit Corp was debuting its innovative monk fruit juice and monk fruit extract for the first time in the region at Gulfood Manufacturing in collaboration with Middle East and Africa partner Fanar Al Khaleej.

“This is a 100 per cent natural ingredient. With a very clean flavour profile and no lingering bitterness, monk fruit juice concentrate is an ideal solution for reducing or replacing added sugar in foods and beverages,” said Yashvir Ahluwalia, vice president, Sales and Marketing, Monk Fruit Corp.

“Using monk fruit juice, formulators can significantly reduce or replace added sugar, and achieve a clean label with a consumer-friendly, simple fruit juice ingredient. When you consider the evolving consumer perceptions, monk fruit juice is a compelling alternative to high-intensity sweeteners and synthetic sugars. Monk fruit juice concentrate really is a new way of reducing sugar and calories.”

Already supplying leading global food and beverage manufacturers, Ahluwalia was confident Gulfood Manufacturing will prove to be a fruitful regional expansion initiative with Monk fruit innovations being added to products on UAE shelves in the near future.

Another exhibitor showcasing its innovative ingredient was French firm Bel Industries. The firm was awarded for its innovation – soft spongious and slightly sweet meringue type confectionary named Zephyr – in the French Innovation Corner contest, hosted by Business France, a French government agency tasked to boost France’s export economy.

Replacing 100 per cent egg white, Bianbel NG offers Zephyr, which is a dairy and delicate confectionary to enjoy with coffee or tea that dates back to medieval times in Russia and Eastern Europe.

“We wanted to bring something new, something exciting and something completely unique to the market for our first time exhibiting at Gulfood Manufacturing,” Karim Keskes, area sales manager Diary Ingredients, Bel Industries.

 “These zephyrs made with Bianbel which is a 100 per cent egg white replacement offer a healthier alternative with a spongey, soft texture and remarkable unctuosity.”

Meanwhile, Tate & Lyle, the British-based agri-business leader, placed focus on 18 types of stevia it says can deliver up to 60 per cent less sugar than a full sugar product, in-line with the firm’s objective to provide products that allow consumers to enjoy the same juice taste experience minus heavy sugar content.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), worldwide obesity rates have tripled since 1975 and in 2016, 650 million adults over the age of 18, 13 per cent of the world’s adult population, were classified as obese.

With countries spending on average 2-8 per cent of their annual healthcare budgets on treating lifestyle diseases such as Type 2 Diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, obesity is a weighty burden that an increasing number of governments, private sector entities and food and beverage manufacturers are acknowledging needs immediate action.

The UAE’s visionary leadership has set the regional benchmark to tackle the problem via the October introduction of a 50 per cent excise tax on soda drinks, 100 per cent on energy drinks and tobacco products. - TradeArabia News Service