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Hydrocolleague News
| Sept. 2, 2010 |
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| July 2, 2009 |
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| June 10, 2009 |
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| May 13, 2009 |
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| April 30, 2009 |
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| April 26, 2009 |
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| April 2, 2009 |
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| Feb.13, 2009 |
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| Feb. 6, 2009 |
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| Feb. 3, 2009 |
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Sept. 2, 2010
Fire Destroys Chile Agar Plant
A fire has destroyed the production capability of a small agar producer in Chile.
Executives Charged in U.S.
Alfred L. Wolff and several executives have been charged with serious crimes in the U.S.
Price Movement in Raw Materials
There is price movement in several hydrocolloids particularly related to raw material supply and price. This is particularly felt in cellulosics and seaweed extracts.
Gellan Gum Sales on the Rise
Gellan gum sales seem to be taking off. There are more than 700 food labels declaring gellan gum as an ingredient. This from a search conducted on www.innovadatabase.com. A few samples of foods containing gellan gum are found in the food labels section of this Web site.
Details in the next issue of The Quarterly Review of Food Hydrocolloids.
July 2, 2009
Unilever's Ice-structuring Protein
Unilever's Ice-structuring Protein (ISP) has been approved in the EU. If and when its use becomes wide-spread in frozen dairy desserts, it will have little impact on hydrocolloid consumption.
Hydrocolloid Pricing
There is no overall trend in hydrocolloid pricing. Some are up, some down, and some flat. Reluctance to sign supply contracts is waning with three-month, six-month, and, in some cases, multi-year contracts being signed. Each hydrocolloid has its quirks. Xanthan is a good example:
Xanthan prices are on a three-tier level with ascending prices as follows:
- Made in China by Chinese companies
- Made in China by Western companies
- Made in the West by Western companies
There is a considerable spread between the lowest and highest priced xanthan.
Oilfield demand for several hydrocolloids is dramatically lower than last year, but the impact on food grade prices has been limited.
PGA replacement is a hot topic, for good reasons, discussed in the report. Several replacements are already available, with more in the pipeline.
June 10, 2009
IFT 2009, Anaheim, Calif.
The 2009 IFT Show in Anaheim, Calif., was noticeably smaller and less splashy than recent years. IFT organizers put attendance at approximately 13,000, well below the 20,000 or more of previous years. Monday was the busiest day, with attendance tailing off significantly on Tuesday. Awards and achievement recognition was spread over the opening session on Saturday and keynote speaker session on Sunday. An abbreviation of such ceremonies would be a plus in future years, with more time allotted to keynote speakers.
Owing to the smaller size of the show, exhibitors were more accessible and personnel more available for attendees walking the floor. On the other hand, some exhibitors wistfully remembered the days of much larger shows when trolleys were needed to bus attendees from one booth to another. In short: reaction to the low numbers at the Anaheim IFT was very much dependant on whether one was exhibiting or simply attending.
A few hydrocolloid giants were noticeable in their absence: CP Kelco, Danisco, and FMC, to name but a few. Only one gelatin producer, Gelita, was present, although nearly 20 companies were listed as suppliers of gelatin. The Chinese pavilion proffered all forms of hydrocolloids, even if it was smaller than in previous years. Chinese booths offering all types of hydrocolloids were abundant. Most Chinese suppliers were grouped in the Chinese pavilion, but some ventured out with an independent booth in a separate area.
In general, exhibitors downsized from previous years, probably because of the global recession. Some companies organized off-site events in lieu of exhibiting; piggybacking on IFT's organization efforts.
Functional foods, fat replacements, and fiber were all on display. There was not, however, one overarching theme for 2009 as in previous years when no fat/low fat, or fiber/fiber/fiber was the theme du jour. There was, though, solid support for existing hydrocolloid technology, with a few novel advances here and there. Gum Arabic replacement was offered in targeted applications; in some cases, even by suppliers of gum Arabic. Fat replacement with cleaner label by starch producers (native starch) have achieved remarkable equality in taste and texture in dips, for example. Some new suppliers of existing hydrocolloids were present, along with those seeking to enter new products; eg., mustard seed gum. The 2010 IFT will be in Chicago, July 17-21. It will most likely attract a larger number of attendees and exhibitors.
May 13, 2009
LBG Raw Material Situation
A field trip has been taken by IMR to Valencia, the heart of carob pod harvesting regions in Spain. A few brief points of information obtained from local sources:
The carob harvest in Spain this coming season is likely to be lower than normal. Green, unripened pods can be seen on the ground under the trees. This is not normal and indicates a loss of part of the crop. The extent of this anticipated loss has yet to be quantified.
There is currently little trading in carob seeds. Theories on why include large stocks, price differentials between buyer and seller, etc.
The Moroccan harvest of pods has grown to be equal or larger than the Spanish crop.
A meeting of most, if not all, LBG producers is being held in Madrid this week.
Pod prices are reportedly close to or below break even point for Spanish harvesters.
Several contradictory points are to be found from various sources. This uncertainty and confusion has come to be expected in the LBG raw material marketplace.
April 30, 2009
Swine Flu – H1N1 – Hydrocolloid Impact
Talk of the swine flu is swirling worldwide. Much food gelatin is produced from pork skin. Preliminary indications from several interviews are that there is no impact on gelatin manufacturing or sales. As a pre-emptive measure, gelatin producers have issued formal statements, in an effort to allay any consumer concern arising from the current scare. The nation's $15 billion pork industry was adversely suffering from the misperception due to the term "swine flu." U.S. officials have now abandoned the term in favor of "H1N1 virus."
April 26, 2009
Vikas Vibes
Vikas, the major guar producer, is in financial trouble. In the last IMR profile of guar producers, Vikas, based in Sriganganagar, India, was ranked third largest, with a capacity of 20,000 mtpa. Already in the late 1990s, stock offerings by Vikas were raising questions in the financial world of India. An article in the Economic Times of India dated March 31, 2009, gives public notice that Vikas is in default on payments for a loan of INR (Indian Rupees) 658 million (approx. US$13.2 million at current exchange rates). Vikas is a major producer of guar gum, but stronger in oilfield and industrial applications than in food. There has been no impact on food grade supply and/or the price of food guar gum. Guar gum is one of the most cost-effective hydrocolloids available to food processors.
Brown Seaweed Availability
There is an abundant supply of brown seaweed (giant kelp, macrocystis pyrifera) on the California and Baja California coastline. In the past, most of this supply was harvested and used in the production of alginates at the FMC (previously ISP, previously Kelco) facility in San Diego. Since the shutdown of the San Diego factory a few years ago, only a small fraction of the available kelp is harvested for grinding into abalone feed. There may be a possibility for harvesting the available excess.
April 2, 2009
Pectin Profile
Pectin is undoubtedly one of the favored hydrocolloids. It has shown above average growth. Total pectin sales are estimated at over 40,000 tonnes per year and a market value of nearly $500 million. CP Kelco is the largest producer by far with 35 to 40 percent of the market. New producers have come on-stream but capacity and demand is balanced. The label friendliness of pectin is an asset as valuable as its multi-faceted functionality.
In the case of other hydrocolloids, prices have eased for some; e.g., carrageenan and LBG. Tightness continues in others such as sodium alginate and PGA. Xanthan pricing is rebounding from its lows but in a two-tiered manner.
All in all, the intricacies of hydrocolloid supply and demand continue. Attempts to commoditize this industry are foiled by its complexity.
Feb. 13, 2009
Taro Gum
Another new hydrocolloid discovery? "Taro gum" is listed on a Trader Joe's cheesecake label. See a copy of the label here: Tarot Gum Label. No taro(t) cards necessary to tell that there is a mistake in labeling.
Feb. 6, 2009
Danisco and Mingtai partnership
Danisco has signed a joint venture strategic partnership with Mingtai, producer of MCC in Taiwan. Danisco will market colloidal grades of Mingtai MCC to the food industry worldwide. Mingtai will continue marketing of colloidal and powdered grades of MCC to pharmaceutical and other non-food applications.
This agreement adds another key hydrocolloid to the range already produced and offered by Danisco: alginates, carrageenan, CMC, guar gum, LBG, pectin and xanthan.
A copy of the full press release by Danisco is at Danisco-Mingtai press release
Other major producers of MCC are FMC, Asahi Kasei of Japan, J. Rettenmaier of Germany, and Blanver of Brazil. There are sources of Chinese MCC but few sales are made in colloidal MCC food applications.
Feb. 3, 2009
FMC Alginates Reorginization
FMC has announced a reorganization of its alginate production, according to a recent press release. Alginate production will now be consolidated at the Haugesund plant in Norway. The Girvan plant in Scotland will no longer produce alginates but will produce finished product blends.
The FMC Haugesund facility will be largest alginate production facility in the western world. Cargill and Danisco each operate a relatively small alginate production facility in France. All other production of alginates is either in China, Japan or Chile. There is no PGA production in the Western world. It is only produced in China, Japan and Chile.
There is currently tightness in alginate supply mainly related to global availability of brown seaweed used in alginate production.
Nov. 7, 2008
Health Ingredients Europe
The latest Health Ingredients Europe (HIE) trade show was held in Paris Nov. 4-6, 2008. In summary, the show was smaller than previous events, but quality of contacts and business conducted was as good, if not better, than previous HIE shows.
Exhibiting companies focused on health and nutrition more than in the past. There were several hydrocolloid suppliers present, but some of the giants were notable in their absence; eg., CP Kelco and FMC. Some exhibitors that produced hydrocolloids and nutritional and nutraceutical ingredients opted to focus on the latter rather than hydrocolloids; eg., Cargill and Jungbunzlauer.
There was no major development in hydrocolloids identified at the HIE. Overall the show was an excellent venue for renewing many hydrocolloid contacts and making some new ones. A couple of hydrocolloid related events happened during this period if not directly related to the HIE:
The US$4.8 billion acquisition of Corn Products International (CPI) by Bunge is in question following a board meeting at CPI.
The designated calorific value of gum Arabic in the U.S. has been reduced by more than 50 percent.
This page last updated Sept. 23, 2010
IMR International
Dennis Seisun • DSeisun@hydrocolloid.com
Verena Seisun • VSeisun@hydrocolloid.com
Skype name – DSeisun