1989 Ad

Prepared Foods, April, 1989 by Marty Friedman

Refrigerated fare scare chills British food show

In the past six months, British processors, retailers and consumers have been rocked by a series of food safety problems. A junior health minister named Edwina Currie was forced to resign when she pronounced that most of the eggs and chickens in England were contaminated with salmonella, which brought the egg and poultry business to a halt. One year ago, more than 120 peers and others in the House of Lords were struck with salmonella infections after eating free-range eggs.

The Labour party has demanded a multi-million-pound culling program to wipe out salmonella from poultry flocks, a move that would kill the majority of chickens. And to top it off, the sous-vide process for preserving food is attracting negative press and television exposure.

With British consumers highly suspicious of their food these days, the atmosphere at London's sixth International Food & Drink Exhibition (IFE) was a bit gloomy. No one in England, however, seemed to know anything about oat bran or was worried about tropical oils.

IFE, the biennial event held at the Olympia Center in January is Great Britain's foremost food exhibit. Over 1,300 companies representing 50 countries showcased their newest product entries.

Hoechst, a German company, reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved use of its Sunette sweetener for dry beverage mixes, instant coffee and tea, gelatin desserts, puddings, creamers, chewing gum and table-top sweeteners. The NutraSweet Co. provided samples of ice cream, cookies, dessert mixes, and two varieties of ready-to-eat cereals. Ti'Light sweetener, from Parrish and Fern, contains both sugar and artificial sweeteners. Each cube has 99.2% sugar, 0.6% aspartame and 0.2% acesulfame-K.

On the other side of the spectrum, Klinge Foods was offering samples of Lo Salt, a reduced-sodium alternative to salt that contains 66.6% potassium chloride and 33.3% sodium chloride. Another new seasoning shown was Mersley Farm's Kingcob Fresh Peeled Garlic. The cloves are vacuum-packed immediately after peeling. Pepper & Spice, a British company, exhibited a browning/seasoning aerosol spray called Little Squirt.

From the refrigerator case

Although chilled foods are under fire for their potential food safety risks, a number of imaginative new refrigerated items are being tested. New Covent Garden Soup Co. launched three refrigerated soups packed in one-pint milk cartons. Varieties include Vichyssoise, Cream of Chicken with Lemon and Tarragon, and Carrot and Coriander.

Kroef B.V., a Dutch company, offers 15 varieties in its Peka Salad Bar. These aseptically packaged, ready-to-serve salads are preservative-free and have a three-month chilled shelf life. Varieties include cole slaw, Waldorf, bean, carrot and potato.

The trendy Italian dessert from Zott Dairies called Tiramisu is now available in single-serve cups and 1,000-gram trays. Tiramisu is a sponge cake soaked in coffee liqueur, filled with chocolate cream cheese, enhanced with amaretto and topped with powdered cocoa.

Oaster's Pure Whole Egg is a liquid, pourable egg. The product has been pasteurized to kill salmonella, according to the company.

Two new health beverages were presented at the show. Golden Foods' Vitawise, a refrigerated, milk-based energy drink, is available in pina colada, mango, and five other flavors. Phoenix Foods' Vita Shake is an instant shake mix that provides "25% of the daily requirement for good health and growth."

Exotic Indian fare

Although the British consumer shares Americans' affection for Italian and Chinese food, Indian specialties seem to be the ethnic favorite. It seems there is a low-priced curry restaurant on every corner, and more prepared items are available in frozen food cabinets and refrigerated cases.

Buxted Chicken displayed a Kashmir variety of its International Ready Meals For One line, while its competitor, Padley's, exhibited ready-to-eat or -heat Chicken Tandoori. Azpac Foods showed a lentil-based snack called Poppadoms in Plain Madras, garlic and green chillies varieties.

British producers are looking to other parts of the Commonwealth for new products and new flavors. Dynamar is marketing Singapore Satay, a kit containing foil packs of satay seasonings and sauces, plus 50 satay skewers. Consumers supply the meat. Net Foods offers Singapore Spices Gourmet Spice Blends in such exotic varieties as Nonya Curry, Redang Malaya, Singa Satay Sauce, Singa Satay Marinade, Singapore Sambal Sauce and the ever-appealing Fish Head Curry. The same company also distributes Mikado Sauces, "made to traditional Malaysian recipes." Another Far Eastern specialty spice is Fox's Bambu, a wet blend containing fresh Indonesian Herbs and spices for dishes such as Ajam Paniki, Redang and Nasi Goreng.

The Caribbean heritage provided such new products as Suncharms Old Jamaica Ginger Beer and Lion's Caribbean Extra Hot Pepper Sauce. Forth Valley Foods searches around the world for its Spice of Life snack flavors. Varieties include Cayman Island Crackers, Fiji Flips, Penang Puffs, and Coral Reef Clusters.