Besides the IFANCA booth, there were 156 IFANCA clients amongst the other vendors in attendance. We spoke to IFANCA Clients Tic Gums, Cargill, Grande Cheese and Fortitech to learn what they'd brought for show-and-tell to the expo. This information is only to further an awareness as to goings on in the industry, and do not imply certification of specific ingredients by IFANCA, unless specified.

"Rising" to the Occasion
TIC Gums Launches New Gum Blend for Fiber-Fortified Breads & Soups

As consumers continue to learn about and act on the importance of fiber in their diets, bread makers are responding to that interest with a wave of whole grain and fiber-rich products. To help bakeries maximize fiber levels, TIC Gums has developed a new gum blend designed to fortify high-fiber breads, Ticaloid® LC-SR6.

Ticaloid LC-SR6 was specifically created to boost the soluble dietary fiber content of bread products. The development is significant not just due to growing marketplace demand, but because until now, the fortification of bread has proven challenging. "Traditionally, the delicate gluten structure is either destroyed or weakened with the addition of soluble fiber at a functional dose. Finding the right combination of soluble fiber was something we had to overcome", explains Dr. Mar Nieto, director of technical services for TIC Gums, who led the work on the innovative new gum system.

Those levels make a difference: the American Dietetic Association currently recommends 20 to 35 grams of fiber a day, while the National Cancer Institute advises consuming 25 to 30 grams. "If half of this fiber requirement is soluble and half insoluble, bread could now easily be one of the food vehicles for the delivery of enough fiber in our diet", comments Nieto.

For a list of specific IFANCA halal-certified products, visit www.ifanca.org.

Cargill Showcases Development and Functional Ingredient Portfolio

Cargill, an IFANCA client, responding to consumer demand for health-oriented, great-tasting and convenient food and beverage products, showcased a broad array of application development and functional ingredient capabilities at the IFT Expo.

Visitors to Cargill's booth learned about and sampled 13 food and beverage prototypes that address everything from health issues – such as weight management, energy management and heart health – to satisfying consumer cravings for pure indulgence. The booth was organized by category with prototypes for sampling in each area. In the bakery section were decadent breads in chocolate hazelnut and mango peach varieties to delectable, zero grams trans-fat doughnuts. Amongst beverages were samples of custom combinations of inulin and calcium in raspberry-flavored and unflavored drinks, an iced latte with a sweetener that provides lasting energy and organic blueberry green tea with blueberry juice. Prototypes of confections included sugar-free mint patties, sugar-free sour gummy candy and organic chocolate-raspberry truffles.

Fortitech Unveils Energy and Wellness Premixes

IFANCA halal-certified Fortitech, Inc., the world leader in custom nutrient premixes, focused on increased energy and weight control at IFT this year. While weight management is an exponentially growing issue worldwide, consumers and new product developers are struggling to find great-tasting, cost effective products to satisfy hunger add energy and improve cardio. Fortitech has custom formulated several new premix samples designed to target those issues specifically. During the IFT Food Expo, Fortitech offered:

• Weight-Management Popcorn
• Energy-Fortified Lollipops
• Energy-Fortified Jellybeans

Grande Cheese All The Whey

Grande Cheese's IFANCA certified whole milk mozzarella cheese and skim milk mozzarella cheese are all natural cheeses without additives, fillers or preservatives to ensure optimum flavor, performance and consistency. Besides those products, IFANCA also certifies Grande whey products for the food industry. Stephen Dott, who was present at the Expo, spoke to us about Grande Custom Ingredient Group's newest prototype – a patented meat alternative produced from whey protein. It combines excellent nutrition with the taste and texture of meat. This high protein, low fat offering is aimed at markets catering to health and nutrition, vegetarian and alternative foods, sports and body building industries. Grande textured whey protein contains 70% whey protein with a complete amino acid composition and the highest biological value compared to plant proteins. It is low in total fat (0.70 %), saturated fat (0.25%) and trans fat (0.02%).

IFANCA was one of the many co-sponsors at the International Goat Symposium in Canada this September. The theme was "Profit through Genetics". A day & a half of presentations; concurrent sessions and demonstrations addressed various aspects of goat genetics from genetic improvement in Canada and around the world; to using on-farm records for daily decision making; to use of artificial insemination and embryo transfer; to discussions for those interested in entering the dairy or meat goat business.

Super Taste With IFANCA Halal-Certified Super-Pufft

IFANCA halal-certified Super-Pufft is the store brand manufacturer of choice for potato chips for North America's largest retailers. Their secret to such great quality chips? The potatoes are processed the very day they are received. Super-Pufft is also the largest manufacturer of store brand popcorn in Canada. Whether its cheddar cheese popcorn, white butter flavored popcorn, or caramel corn in tubs or bags, you can be sure that Super-Pufft produces the very best. Serve these with Citrus Farms Apple Juice, or Citrus Punch and you've got yourself the beginnings of a party!

For a complete listing of Super-Pufft products certified by IFANCA, go to www.ifanca.org and click on product search.

Malaysian Athletes Turn To Halal Powerbar By Nestle

Brian Maxwell, a former Canadian Olympic marathoner and distance running coach at UC Berkeley, and Jennifer Biddulph, a UC Berkeley nutrition and food science student, came together to create PowerBar Inc. (www.powerbar.com). They wanted to produce scientifically researched foods with natural ingredients that would provide athletes with sustained energy. The end product was the very successful PowerBar, which in 2005, attracted Nestle and resulted in the purchase of PowerBar Inc. by the Switzerland based giant. The Nestle distribution chain has made the IFANCA halal-certified PowerBar available to athletes in Malaysia. Check www.ifanca.org for a complete list of halal-certified PowerBar products for Malaysia.

In support of the mission of the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) to inspire and empower people affected by cancer, PowerBar supported the LIVE WELL LIVESTRONG® campaign with a $200,000 donation. The campaign was designed to raise public awareness about the link between living a healthy lifestyle and the reduction of cancer risk factors.

Water Is Halal So Why Does It Need To Be Certified?

IFANCA Response: ALLAH, Subhanahu wa ta'ala, has created all living things with water. Water is a natural product and halal in its natural form, for drinking, cooking, making ablutions, etc. However, water available in bottles goes through extensive processing, including purification, filtration, and sometimes mineral adjustment, chlorination or fluorination, etc. in order to make it safe for human consumption. During this process it may come in contact with chemical materials potentially derived from animals.

When IFANCA certifies water to be halal, it verifies that the bottled water was purified without the use of any haram or questionable materials. Hence IFANCA certified water is "halal and tayyab".

Flavor University at FONA International held a seminar on quality assurance at their beautiful facility in Geneva, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Besides USA attendees from Canada and Europe participated in the seminar. Dr. Muhammad Chaudry presented an overview of the halal guidelines for the flavor industry. Dr. Thomas Vollmuth Staff Director at Wrigley & Company made a presentation about the global stature of company and how it implements halal throughout its production facilities around the world. Both FONA and Wrigley are IFANCA certified companies. The seminar was organized and moderated by Ramesh Shah, vice president of technical services at FONA International. "FONA has implemented one of the strictest quality assurance programs in the flavor industry, based on pharmaceutical industry standards, which has helped FONA growth way above the industry average", said Mr. Shah.