Coca-Cola Co. and Coca-Cola United has just opened a new production and distribution facility in Baton Rouge. The current issue of Beverage Industry Magazine has the full story, with excerpts highlighted here.

Despite the current economy, Coca-Cola invested over $175 million in the facility which currently has two warehouses and four production lines.

As the third largest bottler for the company, Baton Rouge will surely need a lot of sugar and sweeteners. This is sure to please ingredient manufacturers and food distributors alike.

At 781,000 square feet, this formidable facility is a testament to the confidence the company has in its products.

It also sits atop 112 acres, offering room for future expansion.

Claude Nielsen, chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola Bottling Co. United in Birmingham, Ala., is very optimistic and proud to be an integral leader in a product he is so passionate about.

Neilsen states,

"We're optimistic that as we come out of this economic downturn we are going to be stronger than ever.

"The reason for that is we are very focused on improving our capabilities and serving our customers.

"The facility should be concrete evidence of our confidence in this business and the future of our enterprise. It represents a substantial investment."

Seems like a symbiotic relationship exists between Coca-Cola and the southern region that was so acutely impacted by Hurricane Katrina, since the new location is in the vacinity of the old one.

More employment opportunities await the beverage drinkers of Baton Rouge. By 2012, the company plans to operate six production lines at the facility, eventually employing more than 600 people. Three cheers for the local bottler!

And it seems that Coca-Cola's doesn't mind the state funding incentives. According to Darian Chustz, president of Coca-Cola United's Gulf Coast Region and Baton Rouge Coca-Cola Bottling Co.,

"We've been in this town for 103 years now.

"... when it came down to it, based on all the feasablility studies and the infrastructure support that we are going to receive from the state of Louisiana for economic development, we decided to build our new facility close to our existing site in Baton Rouge..."

In addition to Coca-Cola, the new facility produces Dr Pepper, Big Red products, and Powerade, and will soon produce Vitaminwater.

As far as immediate plans for company growth, Chustz reinforces, "We're always exploring new opportunities... but we are focused and determined to do what we do best, and that's produce, sell and distribute Coca-Cola."

Cheers to another 103 years of Coca-Cola products!

Kraft Foods Inc (US:KFT) announced yesterday that they have appointed a new president of Kraft Foods North America.

W. Anthony Vernon, 53, will start his new role in mid-August, after current president, Rick Searer, retires from nearly 30 years of service.

If you're wondering about Vernon's credentials, they are impressive. At present, he works for a private equity firm, Ripplewood Holdings.

Prior to that, Vernon led many of Johnson & Johnson's large consumer brands, such as Tylenol, Motrin, Pepcid, and Splenda, for more than 20 years, according to Food Business News.

We've seen what he can do with with a new sweetener like Splenda in a competitive market. Now he has an opportunity to lead some of Kraft's big products.

(But what more really needs to be done for Kraft Macaroni & Cheese? It is boxed perfection!)

When he assumes his new responsibility at Kraft, he will report to Irene Rosenfeld, chairman and CEO.

In the words of the Rosenfeld,

"Tony has an impressive history of building and sustaining iconic consumer brands. His strong track record of growth through consumer-driven innovation, world-class marketing and strong retail relationships will help to further accelerate our business performance."

Best wishes to Mr. Vernon in his new suit.

According to Forbes, shares of Kraft fell 16 cents on Monday, closing at $25.25.

Stevia lovers rejoice!

Long used in Japan and South and Central America, Rebiana (Reb A) has finally made it's debut on the US market with FDA approval.

Rebiana is the trade name given to the sweet extracts from any of the 240 species of Stevia plant. The compounds responsible for the sweetness are known as stevioside and rebaudioside.

Back in December 2008, the FDA granted GRAS status to two versions of Rebiana A (Reb A) as a general purpose sweetener, not just as a supplement.

One of the approved products, Truvia™ [.pdf file], was developed by a partnership between Coca-Cola and Cargill.

The other, PureVia™, was developed by a partnership between PepsiCo, PureCircle, and Whole Earth Sweetener.

Both contain Reb A at 95% purity or greater.

Previous attempts by other companies at getting FDA approval had been unsuccessful. The FDA cited insufficient and conflicting experimental data regarding the safety of Reb A.

New R&D data generated by these ingredient and beverage giants was submitted concurrently and met the rigid criteria, ending a greater than five year research expedition in sweet victory.

Cargill, which recruited top scientists to execute the rigorous safety experimentation for Truvia™, even published the data for public view.

According to Marcelo Montero, President of Cargill Health & Nutrition,

"Given the extensive research conducted to assure the safety of Truvia™ rebiana, Cargill has tremendous confidence in the product.

"The FDA letter further validates what the science has concluded - that Truvia™ rebiana is safe for all consumers.

"The FDA brought the appropriate rigor to the process and we are extremely pleased with the news."

PepsiCo also received the same letter from the FDA for PureVia™.

Not long after the designation, both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo announced plans to launch products that incorporate their respective ingredients.

Peter Milsted, sales and marketing director for PureCircle, feels that these new products by PepsiCo and Coca-Cola will help place stevia into the mainstream and motivate other companies to launch new products as well.

He says,

"It now opens the door for Reb A to be used right across the food spectrum.

"Other manufacturers now will feel sufficiently confident to go ahead and incorporate it into their own product development."

In related news, current research is underway to develop products to mask unpleasant bitterness and aftertastes that sometimes accompany Reb A. This certainly provides additional growth potential for manufacturers and distributors of Reb A and related products.

Also, Since Reb A is so much sweeter than sugar, imagine the potential cost savings that may result from competitive pricing, especially with the backdrop of the fluctuating sugar market.

So it seems that Reb A is here to stay. It's likely we'll even start to see packets of stevia extracts on tables next to the sugar and Splenda® at our favorite restaurants, making us think before we say, "Please pass the sugar."

If you attended the IFT Expo 2009 in Anaheim this past week, it's likely you left with a sweet taste in your mouth.

As an IFT Expo newbie, here's a morsel of my experience.

At sign-in, each attendee was heartily welcomed with a bag containing a Program and Exhibit Directory, an IFT pen (who doesn't love conference pens?), a few promotional leaflets, and access to free issues of Food Technology magazine.

A multipage pamphlet set in the inside front cover of the Program, provided by Corn Refiners Association, shed some insight on what to expect upon entering in to the Expo. The fact sheet applauded the recent FDA clarification of High Fructose Corn Syrup's natural labeling claims, and promoted websites, www.sweetsurprise.com and www.HFCSfacts.com, which aim to disband unfavorable press surrounding HFCS that has plagued the corn industry over the past decade.

Corn Products was also there to promote this message, and starches, of course, with a grand booth... a great example of cooperation among competing companies, reflecting inter-corporate culture these days.

Upon entering the actual Expo room, you couldn't help but feel like a kid at DisneyLand, which happens to be just across the street from the Convention Center.

Food industry leaders spared no expense to create alluring booths, equipped with sales and marketing professionals and food techs at-the-ready to answer questions and promote products.

Many booths had samples for tasting to highlight the usability of their ingredients and the diversity of their application.

A few vendors even had taste tests/comparison trials where attendees could participate, to help gather data, and promote flavor and texture enhancing ingredients.

One exhibitor, Blommer Chocolate, helped set the tone by passing out complementary ice cream bars to plug their "Signature Milk Ice Cream Coating." It wasn't long before the lines started forming, pleasing neighboring vendors with the exposure.

A few times I wondered if anyone was singing, "It's a Small World" in their head, and briefly forgetting about the global economic crisis.

Major US and European companies seemed to dominate the main promenade areas of the floor, with enormous and colorful architectural exhibits. You could see people using Domino sugar, ADM, Corn Products, ConAgra, Solae and Morton Salt (for example) as landmarks while they texted colleagues their locations in the grand hall.

Buzz words like "non-GMO", "clean label," "Rebaudoside-A," and of course "HFCS," were emphasized in conversation, booth displays and literature. Cargill had most of their current product line containing Truvia (Rebaudoside-A/stevia product) on display for impact. Many samples of this "new to market" sweetener were also available.

Awareness of the "green" paradigm for packaging and labeling mirrored trends in consumer demand for "clean label" and "natural" foods. The chosen colors reflected a "return to nature," dominated by greens, yellows, and browns.

Reduction of material waste and biodegradable technology was demonstrated by many package engineering companies. I learned that SunChips produces the delicious snack by solar power and distributes in biodegradable bags.

Mintel group gave three information seminars per day to discuss relevant global industry trends, including consumer marketing, sweeteners, and clean labeling.

After each presentation, Mintel had an impressive display of products for sampling (discussed in the respective seminar) and attendees were asked to fill out feedback forms... the research firm never tiring of obtaining data.

Despite China's vast representation, their booths seemed to be less ostentatious in appearance and networking strategy. Conversations were pulled into more streamlined booths, where tables were setup for quiet business discussions.

The booths also didn't seemed to be as highly visited as the US and EU exhibitors. A likely impact of some recent bad press relating to quality control. Still, not as expected for a company as large as Niutang, for example.

A different energy surrounded the US and European booths, where people dynamically networked on foot, with food or beverage sample in hand, reminiscent of a cocktail party. Many old business relationships were kindled and new alliances formed.

All in all, the IFT Expo 2009 really seemed to showcase the food industry's response and responsibility to consumer demands, environmental awareness and the global economy.

Kudos to the IFT employees, sponsors and exhibitors that made the event a success.

Known for their assortment of food texturizing and flavoring ingredients, Cargill "casts a star" in the food industry today.

Starrier Starch, is a milled native maize starch that is pre-gelatinized, and has a unique flake-shaped particle structure that is pending patent approval.

It's derived from "identity-preserved, non-GMO maize," plus it's a clean label product... can we say, "bonus points!" Starrier can be declared simply as starch, maize starch, or corn flour.

Most importantly, it has a loading capacity upwards of 60%.

So, why does that make it so great?

Starrier starch can convert liquids, liquid flavorings, and oils into free-flowing, easy handling, dry powders.

You may be thinking, "so can salt and maltodextrin."

Starrier Starch makes improvements over these conventional products with significantly enhanced absorption capacity and neutral flavor.

Absorption capacity (a.k.a. loading capacity), refers to the amount of liquid that can be absorbed onto the surface of the carrier (material that absorbs the liquid) when converting liquids and oils into dry-powders.

Cargill's starch has a loading capacity of up to 60% before it starts to get sticky, versus 10% for salt and maltodextrin. Hence, less is needed for a better result.

This property alone eliminates the need for:

1. expensive and complex drying processes (like spray-drying)
2. conventional plating methods (depositing a liquid on a solid carrier material)

These techniques are required when loading capacities exceed 10% for products with intense flavor requirements.

And, the adverse effects that accompany spray drying and plating, such as heat degredation and flavor changes, are eliminated. Ingredients that are volatile at higher temperatures won't be subject to the associated temperature changes.

The unique flake-like shape of the starch particles accounts for the increased loading capacity. This structure-activity-relationship (how the structure/shape affects the way it works) enables easy handling and cost-savings to food science and manufacturing.

Despite being a more expensive product by volume compared to salt and maltodextrin, there should be real cost savings for manufacturers: Less product is needed by percent to achieve the same result, accompanied by reduced energy consumption and lower energy costs.

Mike Jones, EMEA category manager for convenience, Cargill Texturizing Solutions, said:

"This is a convenient and cost-effective solution for flavour houses as well as for functional foods producers. Starrier starch helps turn oils and liquid flavours into manageable and user-friendly powders, without damaging delicate and complex final tastes. Upon eating, flavours carried by Starrier starch are rapidly released, meaning a satisfying experience for the consumer, as well as the manufacturer."

Certainly, it'll take some time before the food industry incorporates this new ingredient into an approved food formulation launched into the consumer market.

But, you can bet food scientists will be ordering small batches, in the meantime, for development purposes.