UK-based food ingredients firm Tate & Lyle has announced the expansion of instant starch production capacity at its manufacturing facility in Koog aan de Zaan, the Netherlands.
This expansion will allow the company to cater to the increasing demand for speciality starches including its MERIGEL range of pre-gelatinised starches. Pre-gelatinised starches are used as thickeners or stabilisers in a wide range of applications such as instant puddings, pie fillings, soups, sauces, salad dressings, mayonnaise and snack products.
The company stated that with ingredients such as MERIGEL 300 and MERIGEL 301, it can help snack product manufacturers reduce fat content while preserving a taste and a crunchy texture at no extra cost.
In mayonnaise production, the MERIGEL 34X series helps overcome manufacturers' challenges to produce greater dispersion, fast hydration and superior shear resistance, the company said.
Tate & Lyle Speciality Food Ingredients Product Management senior vice president James Blunt said that demand for the company's MERIGEL range is driven by product innovation, such as fat reduction or exciting new developments in recipes, and the need for non-GM ingredients in Europe as well as in some other markets across the world.
Tate & Lyle Global Applications vice president Luis Fernandez said, "Our global innovation network helps manufacturers undertake new product development with functional food starches and our increased production capacity lets us better meet the growing demand for this versatile and innovative range."
Operating from more than 30 production facilities worldwide, Tate & Lyle is a global provider of ingredients and solutions to the food, beverage and other industries. The company operates through two global business units, Speciality Food Ingredients and Bulk Ingredients.
