Meat&Poultry - February 2011 - 78

INGREDIENT TRENDS

foods, hot dogs and sausages, when we ask consumers what is most important, ‘no artificial ingredients’ was one of the top items they responded with, after flavor,” she reports.

Clean doesn’t mean simple
When it comes to product ingredients, “clean” doesn’t necessarily mean simple. Indeed, clean foods mean different things to different consumers. Processors, then, are in a position of trying to appeal to their broad consumer base through different products and package types. Kurt Penn, founder and CEO of Ch icago -based G ood Foods Group, which produces chicken salad and macaroni and-cheese made w it h n it r ite -free bacon, a mong other prepared foods, says there

New Berlin, Wis. He says there are multiple ways to meet the criteria for those designations. Food-industry experts stress the importance of conveying the right information to consumers. Kathryn Kotoula, senior food scientist for Investigative Food Sciences in Storrs, Conn., has found consumers want to get the best food possible but often fi nd terms like “natural” and “all natural” confusing; as a result, they may wrongly infer that anything without a natural or organic claim is bad for them. “Consumers want simpler labels, but what they really need is education,” Kotoula says. “It would be wonderful if there was some place where they could look up what ingredients are. I think it would be a

offers a “green” option for subscribers.

“For some consumers, a clean label means ‘natural’ or ‘organic.’ For others, it means the meat product contains no allergens. Still others view clean to mean ‘contains no genetically modified ingredients.’”
are many preconcept ions – and misconceptions – about clean labels. “I do think there is some confusion in the marketplace. Even within organic, there is 70- , 90- and 100-percent organic [labels] and you also have many different all natural claims, and the USDA and FDA have variations on what that means. On top of it, the next piece you have is the antibioticfree claim,” he says. Ingredient suppliers that anticipate and respond to such marketplace trends agree that defi nitions can be unclear. “For some consumers, a clean label means ‘natural’ or ‘organic.’ For others, it means the meat product contains no allergens. Still others view clean to mean ‘contains no genetically modified ingredients.’ And some consumers assume if a product is ‘kosher’ or ‘halal’ approved that it is automatically a cleaner product,” points out Rick Cassidy, vice president of product development for Bindmax Proteins, good job for a trade or professional association to put together.” The importance of education is underscored by others. “Consumer education is an important factor in determining which type of clean-label products are most successful,” notes Cassidy, who cites the difference between organic and natural products. “Making an organic processed meat item is perhaps the most stringent, but is also the most expensive. Being organic does not always guarantee a product is healthier for a consumer. Making a USDA ‘natural’ product will provide most of the same benefits, but at a lower cost to consumers. That is why educating the consumer is so important.” David Meggs, business development director for ingredient supplier Purac, with US offices in Lincolnshire, Ill., says although some people do not fully evaluate ingredient statements, the important takeaway

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