Twelve of the best from Fresh
Fresh Ideas @ IFE is a showcase of the newest, innovative products in the sector. Brand new for IFE 2003, 12 of the most innovative products have been chosen by a panel of industry experts to feature in Fresh Ideas @ IFE.
The 12 products are:
Raw Soy Sauce from Yamato Soysayce & Miso Co, 280, is pasteurised before it is bottled. It is micro-filtered to preserve its own natural flavour. It can be used for marinating food, as well as added to finished dishes and stir frys.
Butter Buds from the Clover Group, 281, are butter flavour granules which can be sprinkled on hot food like potatoes and vegetables. The granules rehydrate giving a buttery taste, with virtually no fat or cholesterol.
The Indian Meal Spice Pack from Kitchen Guru & Co Ltd, 282, comprising pre measured herbs and spices with a recipe to serve four, which eliminates the hassle for finding different spices and requires no storage space.
Orchard Maid Probiotic Yoghurt Drink from Farm Produce Marketing, 283, is packed in a 250ml Tetra-Prisma pack with a LifeTop probiotic straw, making this the first "grab and go" yoghurt drink. The straw is sealed in foil and contains several live probiotic "friendly" bacteria which are delivered to the consumer when the yoghurt is drunk through the straw. It uses Splenda, the new calorie-free sweetener, so it will appeal to weight-conscious consumers..
"Olives with Attitude" from The Big O Ltd, 284, comprise pre-packed marinated deli style olives, not immersed in brine or oil, with an ambient shelf-life of six months. It took the company a year to develop a process to extend the olives' shelf life without brine or oil. The packs are stacked on a pole, an eyecatcher which stands on the bar.
Qimiq from Gourmet Classic, 285, is a dairy base for use in savouries, desserts and pastries. It contains only 15 per cent fat and with a nine month shelf life, it can replace milk, fat, cream, eggs and gelatine partially or completely.
Liquid Cheese from AB Technologies Alimentaines Ltd, 286, can be poured and mixed directly with other ingredients without the need to grate and melt down cheese. It is a medium fat cheese made from natural ingredients, available in pails from 10g to 20g. (Stand SQ4616 in the cheese and dairy section)
What is considered to be the first chutney made from the African marula fruit has been produced by Kikapu (African Farm), 287. The chutney is a combination of the Marula berries and the firm texture of Cape yellow cling peaches. The company claims that the chutney contains more than twice the amount of fruit found in standard chutney.
In the packaging and design section, The Twin Bag from The NNZ Packaging Network, 288, is made from a film on one side that can be printed in up to eight colours to promote the contents. The other side of the bag is made from CLAF-net (Cross Laminated Airy Fabric) allowing ventilation for the fresh product inside and thus extending the shelf-life.
Hampstead Tea and Coffee, 290, showed its Organic White Leaf Tea in the speciality and fine food category. The leaves are carefully picked during the first weeks of spring and then gently dried. The white-gold infusion has health giving and antioxidant properties.
In the healthy eating category, Thorncroft Kombucha Cordial by Thorncroft Ltd, 291, is a highly concentrated drink, made by fermenting china tea and a special microbial culture. This brew is placed in a cane sugar based cordial. Peach juice is then added for body and cider vinegar for tartness.
Cherrybell Peppers by Leathams Plc, 292, are a type of chilli pepper, about the size of a cherry tomato, which were discovered on a trip to South Africa. They are cored and pickled in a sweet vinegar solution within hours of being picked. The peppers have a crunchy texture and can be used in different dishes.
Stop press exhibitor round-up
Smoky Dutch is the newest addition to Frico's, 700, range of Dutch cheese. This cheese has been smoked on beechwood to give it a smokey flavour. Other varieties include: Red Hot Dutch, a combination of Dutch Edam with red chillies.
Bagel Nash Bakery, 701, will be showing an extensive range of frozen gourmet bagels and bagel dough rings. There are 24 flavours such as Cheese and Jalapeno, Olives and Sun Dried Tomato and Blueberry and Chocolate Chip.
Visits to the Padley's 702 stand could have won you £1000 worth of holiday vouchers if you were the lucky winner of the prize draw on the stand. There were presentations and sampling opportunities to show the versatility of Plain Cooked Wings, as well as other products such as Chick 'n' Ferno Fillets, Tikka Style Bites and Crunchy Chick 'n' Mini Fillets.
Quick Fill, 703, showed its extensive array of chilled fresh fillings that have a 16 week chilled shelf life. The fillings can be used for sandwiches, potatoes, toasted sandwiches, tortillas, baguettes and wraps.
Bombay Bangers, 704, launched the Quick Curry Fix - a curry in a hand held pastry which is simply heated up for three minutes in the microwave. Also on the stand were its gourmet sausages and its curry sauces.
Visitors to the Silver Hill Foods, 705, stand were able to taste the company's range of duck products. These include Aromatic Roast Duck Wings - wing joints supplied vacuum packed with ten wings to a pack; Roast Duck Legs, available with garlic and black pepper, Chinese spices, Cantonese or tikka marinades or cooked confit in duck fat; Crispy Roast Boneless Duckling, fully deboned.
Celebrity chef Raymond Blanc was among the famous line-up of visitors to the Florette stand, 706, during the show. Others included Jean-Christophe Novelli and Richard Corrigan.
HRH makes a Fresh showing
On Monday 24 March at 10.30am, HRH The Duke of York attended the 13th International Food and Drink Exhibition at ExCeL in London's Docklands.
As Special Representative for International Investment and Trade, His Royal Highness visited a number of companies exhibiting at the show, before taking part in a special reception with overseas trade buyers in the International Visitors Lounge.
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