"C*DeliTex is an exciting product that offers a range of benefits in a number of applications," said Mark Wastijn, marketing director of Cargill Texturizing Solutions.
"The fact that this has also been recognised by the FiE (Food Ingredients Europe) Award committee is a great endorsement."
The company claims that C*DeliTex, a UHT texturising product used in UHT treated soups, sauces and UHT dairy deserts and other UHT treated-product markets, can help food makers tap a booming sector that experienced a 22 per cent rise in 2004.
C*DeliTex 75320 has a newly patented combination of alkaline bleaching and n-octenylsuccinylation which Cargill claims gives a substantial improvement of texture and viscosity stability.
Cost of course remains a paramount concern for food manufacturers. Ingredients price rises across the board, in addition to rocketing transport costs, mean that companies are constantly looking for innovative means of maintaining profit margins.
To this end, Cargill claims that processing using C*DeliTex can help reduce fouling, resulting in longer production runs and subsequently less cleaning time. The low viscosity of the product during heating gives a better heat penetration which leads to cost savings through conserving energy - not only saving manufacturers money, but proving attractive to the increasingly large number of consumers concerned with 'green' issues.
It was these benefits, says Wastijn, that lead judges of the FiE Innovation Award to select C*DeliTex in the final eight. The patented starch can be used in a range of applications including UHT processed soups, sauces, custards and liquid pancakes.
The announcement of the shortlist comes after Cargill reported a two percent rise in first quarter 2006 net earnings. The company made $504 million for the first quarter ended 31 August, up 2 percent from a year ago, despite raw material cost rises and hurricane damage in the US.
The solid results follow a number of recent acquisitions. Cargill's agreement for example to purchase Degussa Food Ingredients, a business unit of global specialty chemicals company Degussa, was announced on 9 September.
The Degussa unit supplies flavours, texturants and bioactive units under its performance materials division. Flavouring systems target the food, dairy and beverage markets while the texturant arm supplies formulations based on hydrocolloids, blends and lecithins.
Cargill is the largest private firm in the US with over 120,000 employees.