Baking&Snack - November 2012 - 56

STARCH

consumers.” The white paper went on to state, “Delivering these products on an industrial scale can be challenging. From processing and transportation through to storage and preparation, prepared foods are put through their paces.” When formulations go glutenfree, starches help make up for its absence. “Starch blends such as PenTech GF will continue to play an important role in gluten-free formulating since they provide structure, crumb formation and moisture retention,” said Bryan Scherer, director of R&D, Penford Food Ingredients Co., Centennial, CO. Gluten-free formulating is constantly evolving, Mr. Scherer added. “In the next few years, starches will

offer new and expanded functionalities including allergen replacement, fiber enhancement, and sugar and fat reduction,” he said. Although wheat gluten is banned from gluten-free foods, wheat starch is not. Dr. Maningat described glutenfree native and modified wheat starches that stay under the 20-ppm limit, the de facto standard for gluten-free labeling. Wheat starch, he said, has unique functionality in baked foods. “This attribute is primarily due to the similarity in granule size, shape, size distribution and surface characteristics of added wheat starch compared to the naturally occurring wheat starch in the flour,” he explained. By stabilizing texture and shelf life, starches enhance convenient use

Bread yield and texture can be improved by adding the right starch.
Penford Food Ingredients

Considering 2012 corn
By any measure, corn had a difficult year in 2012. Drought severely limited the US harvest of this important agricultural commodity crop. Yet these conditions won’t necessarily cause problems for baked foods and snacks made with corn starch, according to what starch suppliers told Baking & Snack. “The percentage of the crop dedicated to producing food ingredients is relatively minor when compared with Despite the 2012 drought, other uses such as animal feed, ethanol and exports, ex” corn starch supply should plained Carl Jaundoo, PhD, associate program coordinator, be adequate for food uses. Tate & Lyle Roquette America, Inc., Keokuk, IA. “While raw material costs for corn-based food ingredients are expected to increase significantly, at this time, we do not expect difficulties with availability. ” Joe Carmosino, technical director, Manildra Group USA, Shawnee Mission, KS, expressed a similar opinion. “We believe the results of the drought will be mostly seen in high food price throughout the US as wheat is increasingly used to cover for corn in many of the nation’s feedlots, he said. Starch sup” plies, however, will be adequate to meet food processors’ needs throughout the year, with no shortages anticipated for 2012-13, he added. Two years ago, potato crops in Europe withered, reported Mel Festejo, COO, American Key Food Products, Closter, NJ. The resulting higher prices for potato starches influenced tapioca costs. Looking at this year’s conditions, he said, “When corn is limited, it tends to put more demand on potato and tapioca starches. ” Starch suppliers proactively advise their customers about conditions and work with their supply chain. “To the extent that the customer’s application allows one starch to be substituted with another — for example, native tapioca for native potato starch — we recommend the shift as a means to cope with the supply gap, Mr. Festejo said. ”

of baked foods. Mr. Festejo observed that the rapid development of convenience foods and strong growth in the c-store, in-store bakery and bakery chain channels put a premium on stability and shelf life. Products for these customers can also reflect consumer preferences for shorter ingredient lists and greater use of natural or clean-label ingredients. And let’s not forget economic issues. “Cost reductions could be achieved by use of starches as egg replacers to meet the current high cost of eggs,” Mr. Festejo said. Emfix modified starch, he noted, mimics the processing and emulsifying properties of eggs, providing essential structure and texture in cakes, muffins and other baked foods. PenTech NG, a blend of native starches with a gum and leavening system, can replace dry or liquid whole eggs and/or egg yolks in baked goods while maintaining great product integrity, according to Mr. Scherer.

Native starches
Food starches come from many sources, but the most common are cereal grains (wheat, corn, rice), tubers (potato, tapioca) and legumes (pea). Plants form starches to store energy for later use, but they do so in different ways — hence, the functional differences between them. Starches contain two basic molecules: linear-chain amylose and

/ Baking & Snack / November 2012

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Baking&Snack - November 2012

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