MEXICO CITY, MEXICO—On October 2nd-3rd, 2024, over 450 exhibitors from across the global food and beverage industry gathered in Mexico City for the 2024 THE FOOD TECH® | SUMMIT & EXPO (FTS). This summit is considered to be the largest and most important display of food and beverage ingredients, additives, processing, packaging, and solutions for the F&B industry in Latin America.
“The year-to-year growth in size and impact of this event is quite impressive,” says Edlong’s Director of LATAM R&D and Applications, Alicia Vega.
She continues, “We see companies investing and sending more people to this event each year to learn about all the technologies, innovations, and solutions that FTS has to offer. At Edlong, we definitely believe that we can provide valuable solutions to many of the challenges facing developers, especially in LATAM. [So] we feel a strong presence at this show is crucial.”
Dr. Lourdes Mato, Associate Principal Scientist-Applied Research
Health and sustainability were two categories that took center stage at this year’s expo. A major topic of conversation was how to create a more tailored approach to personal health and nutrition, mainly centered around functional ingredients, cleaner labels, and better-for-you alternatives.
Plant-based innovations also remained top of mind for many attending the event. Edlong developed three delicious demos showcasing innovative flavor solutions to help developers looking to capitalize on and stay ahead of these trends.
These included:
- Analog Oaxaca Cheese: Utilizing authentic flavor profiles that highlight the creamy, cultured, and milky notes while also providing masking functionality for off-notes.
- Plant-Based Ice Cream: With a base consisting of pea protein and vegetable fat, achieving an indulgent and creamy profile using our dairy-free Dulce de Leche Flavor.
- Cheddar Cheese-Flavored Potato Chips: Cheddar cheese-flavored potato chips showcase our salt enhancer technology, which is capable of increasing and modulating sodium perception while reducing overall sodium content.
The last demo highlighted a considerable concern for FTS attendees and developers in LATAM and specifically in Mexico.
According to Dr. Lourdes Mato, Associate Principal Scientist–Applied Research at Edlong, this is due primarily to the NOM 051 regulations.
“Associated with the so-called black seals placed on packaged foods to protect consumer health, the current revision of this regulation from October 2023 established a new threshold of 300mg of sodium per 100g in solid product.”
She adds, “For developers looking to successfully position themselves in this changing regulatory atmosphere, the ability to avoid these labels can’t be understated. However, with salt playing such an important role from preservation, as a process aid and in flavor perception, this can be a daunting task.”
To help deepen understanding of these challenges and, more importantly, how to overcome them, Dr. Mato and Vega delivered the aptly titled presentation: Technologies to Face the Challenge of Reducing Sodium in the NOM051: Modulators and Mechanisms of Action of Sodium Enhancers.
The in-depth talk covered the following points:
- The mechanisms for sodium perception, the latest findings regarding how salts are perceived, and the uniqueness of how humans detect and perceive sodium
- The basis for creating flavors using the synergistic mechanisms that influence the perception of saltiness
- How to use flavors as a solution to modulate sodium content
“It is well understood that reducing salt in food and beverages not only directly affects salty perception but also the overall flavor perception due to salt effects as a booster of other basic taste such as sweet, sour, and umami as well as to the aromatics,” explains Dr. Mato.
“The entire flavor experience is complex and very difficult to separate but reduction in salt always results in a less tasty food product. But this is where our salt modulators synergistically potentiate salt perception without providing any off notes. Not to mention that they are essentially free of sodium. “
Near the end of the discussion, attendees were provided with the previously mentioned Cheddar Potato Chip demo to taste Edlong’s salt enhancer technology in action. Garnering rave reviews, people were incredibly impressed at how well the saltiness could be perceived while only containing 80mg of sodium.
“We received a lot of positive feedback not just about the demo but also the level of knowledge and applicability of the information from the presentation. “This led to more than a few fruitful discussions at our booth with companies looking more into the wide range of solutions Edlong can provide,” reflects Dr. Mato.
Vega concludes by saying, “The FTS is, and will continue to be, a great opportunity to engage with clients and potential customers and really show off the innovations Edlong has developed to tackle the challenges they face. I also think it’s a venue where we can demonstrate the strength of our team in LATAM and the investments we’re making into the future of this important market.”
About Edlong Flavor Solutions
Edlong has the world’s largest portfolio of authentic dairy and dairy-free flavors that improve classic taste profiles for Cheese, Butter, Sweet Dairy, Cream, and Milk. Working closely with our customers, Edlong can apply the right building blocks to create tastes that uniquely differentiate a brand. At Edlong, we believe the taste of dairy can be innovative, inspiring, a sales booster, and even a game changer. That is why Edlong believes in Everything Dairy Can Be.
Contact us or visit edlong.com.