Cucumber Flavored Cottage Cheese?
Source: International Dairy Foods Association
Two new milk and cultured dairy products – Cucumber Dill Cottage Cheese and Caramel Apple Flavored Milk -- were named the most innovative dairy products in the Most Innovative Dairy Products Competition.
The awards were presented this week at the International Dairy Foods Association's Milk and Cultured Dairy Conference in Indianapolis. The competition was sponsored by TIC Gums, a leader in advanced texture and stabilization solutions for food and beverage companies.
"The competition for new products and prototype flavors provide great insight into the creative approach that milk and cultured dairy companies and flavoring suppliers are using to create new flavors and products," said John Allan, vice president of regulatory affairs for IDFA.
Most Innovative Milk or Cultured Dairy Product
HP Hood’s Cucumber Dill Cottage Cheese was named the most innovative cultured dairy product. "Hood has a history of bringing new, high quality flavors to the cottage cheese category in New England," said Sarah Barrow, HP Hood spokesperson. "This flavor, cucumber and dill, provides an opportunity to continue that history of innovation while adding unique, savory flavors to the category."
Most Innovative Milk or Cultured Dairy Prototype Product
A newly developed, yet-to-be-released Caramel Apple Flavored Milk, submitted by SensoryEffects Flavor Systems, was named Most Innovative Milk or Cultured Dairy Prototype Product. SensoryEffects is a flavor company serving the dairy industry.
"This winning flavored milk prototype leverages our strength of hybrid flavor combinations and is just one example of an extensive library of products available to meet demand for flavored milk and cultured dairy innovation," said Mike Smith, technical director at SensoryEffects. "We provide innovative product development and solutions to support our customers and drive demand for dairy consumption."
The 2014 IDFA Milk and Cultured Dairy Conference explored cutting-edge innovations in the use of ingredients, culture selection, processing technology, packaging and product development for milk, dairy beverages and cultured products, such as yogurt, sour creams, buttermilk and cottage cheese. Expert speakers also provided insight into key regulatory issues on probiotics benefits and claims, changes to nutrition labels and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act.
The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, D.C., represents the nation's dairy manufacturing and marketing industries and their suppliers, with a membership of 550 companies representing a $125-billion a year industry. IDFA is composed of three constituent organizations: the Milk Industry Foundation (MIF), the National Cheese Institute (NCI) and the International Ice Cream Association (IICA). IDFA's 220 dairy processing members run more than 600 plant operations, and range from large multi-national organizations to single-plant companies. Together they represent more than 85 percent of the milk, cultured products, cheese and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States. IDFA can be found online at www.idfa.org.
