Milling & Baking News - June 16, 2020 - 24

Food Ingredient Solutions

but really small on the grand scale,"
Mr. Keaveney said.
Manildra USA, Leawood, Kan., a
business of the Manildra Group,
also supplies vital wheat gluten and
has promotional materials such as
shirts that read "I (heart) gluten."
The company's Gem of the West vital wheat gluten works in a variety
of baking and food applications that
require unique visco-elastic properties. GemPro wheat protein isolates
provide a nutritional boost to food
products.
Nearly identical to sugar
The Corn Refiners Association
for more than a decade has pointed out high-fructose corn syrup is
nearly identical to sugar (sucrose)
and that the American Medical

Association has stated HFCS does not
appear to contribute to obesity more
than other caloric sweeteners.
The association continues to put out
that message in 2020.
"The Corn Refiners Association
(CRA) and its members are committed to the advancement of transparent,
science-based food and nutrition policies that meet the needs and interests of
consumers," said John Bode, president
and chief executive officer of the CRA.
"At current physical activity levels,
most Americans need to reduce their
total intake of calories. So, CRA does
not promote increased consumption of
caloric sweeteners of any kind, including high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).
But there may be advantages to using
HFCS as an ingredient in certain foods.
HFCS is used in products, including

baked foods, for a variety of reasons,
such as enhancing texture and browning, retaining moisture, and helping
with product bulk and volume.
"HFCS is nutritionally equivalent
to sugar, with no unique dietary concerns, and it offers functional advantages for many products. If choosing
between caloric sweeteners, it should
be given consideration."
Defending GMOs
Non-genetically engineered acres
account for about 20% of the 500,000
acres of high-oleic soybeans that
should be harvested in the United
States this year, said Richard Galloway, a consultant for Qualisoy, a
third-party collaboration that promotes the latest soybean traits.
Qualisoy does not hide the fact that

Malaysia takes steps on sustainable palm oil

he Malaysian Palm Oil Council has gone on the offensive in explaining its efforts to reduce the deforestation caused by nonsustainable palm oil production. The Council now has its own
sustainable standards that cover seven areas and its own certified
sustainable seal.
Indonesia and Malaysia produce more than 85% of the world's
palm oil, according to the World Wildlife Fund, Washington. The two
countries are the only remaining home to orangutans. Fewer than
80,000 orangutans exist, and their habits are under threat of deforestation. Palm oil made with conventional production methods can
lead to unchecked agricultural expansion that threatens forests and
wildlife, according to the WWF.
Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil certification covers all aspects of
palm oil production, said Kalyana Sundram, PhD, chief executive officer of the Malaysian Palm Oil Council.
"It includes general principles as well as stringent criteria for all
parties involved in palm oil production, from the independent family farmers who tend the trees that produce the oil-rich fruit to the
organizations that assist these smallholders to the palm oil mills that
process the oil," he said.
The standards cover seven areas: management commitment and
responsibility; transparency; compliance to legal requirements; social
responsibility, safety and employment conditions; environment, natural resources, biodiversity and ecosystem services; best practices; and
development of new plantings.
The WWF works with the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil
(RSPO). The MPOC originally partnered with the RSPO on sustainable
palm oil, Dr. Sundram said, but then set up its own standards to better
reach out to the smallholder farmers who account for nearly 40% of
acreage cultivated for oil palm in Malaysia.
The MPOC uses blockchain as a tool for sustainable palm oil.
"Designed specifically for the Malaysian palm oil industry, the
blockchain app and web interface add a layer of accountability to
every touch point, from the individual oil palm tree through processing and product delivery," Dr. Sundram said.
Palm oil legally is cultivated only on land zoned for agriculture.

24 / June 16, 2020

Milling & Baking News

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"Many of today's oil palm plantations once farmed rubber, rice, cocoa, coconut or other agricultural crops but were converted to more
efficient, economical and sustainable oil palm," he said.
Research seeks to cultivate oil palms capable of higher oil yields
per hectare from the current 4 tonnes to at least 6 tonnes, he added.
"Overall plantation management practices are being improved
continuously, contributing toward meeting Malaysia's sustainability
and certification standards along with an eye on reducing overall carbon emissions throughout the supply chain," Dr. Sundram said.
Malaysia in 1992 pledged to keep at least 50% of its land under
forest cover in perpetuity. Statistics subjected to international verification, primarily through the Food and Agriculture Organization of
the United Nations, recently placed forest cover in Malaysia at 55.3%
of its total land mass. In 2019 the Malaysian Cabinet officially adopted a policy that no new deforested land could be licensed for oil
palm cultivation with immediate effect. It was extended to exclude
planting on peat and capping of overall land that will be given up to
oil palm cultivation, Dr. Sundram said.
"This clearly demonstrates a viable land use policy even as we committed 5.9 million hectares toward oil palm cultivation," he said. MBN

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Milling & Baking News - June 16, 2020

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