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Previous award winners

Innovations from 19 food and beverage companies have been short-listed as finalists in the biennial Fi Europe Innovation Awards.

Many submissions were received from around the world for innovative ingredients created in 2015, across categories ranging from bakery to dairy and savoury to organic.

This year the shortlisted candidates are: AAK, Ingredion, FrieslandCampina Kievit, CHR Hansen, IOI-Loders Croklaan, Avebe, Arla Foods Ingredients, Dutch Spices, Probi AB, Salt of the Earth, Scelta Mushrooms, ADM, Fiberstar,Inc, ENRICO GIOTTI SPA,  and Roquette.

Chair of the judging panel, The Healthy Marketing Team President Peter Wenstromm, said it was a duty and a joy to be celebrating the companies who carry the torch for innovation.

“In a time when innovation in the food industry is challenged by financial pressure, regulatory barriers and consumer distrust, it is vital that we continue to recognise the efforts of the companies that are still innovating,” he said.

The winners will be announced at Fi Europe in Paris, a trade show dedicated to the food and beverage industry that brings together more than 20,000 industry members every two years.

The Fi Innovation Awards honour professionals and companies for their ability to demonstrate and stimulate innovation in the food industry under nine different categories. There is also an award for the Most Innovative Food Ingredient – the overall winner of the Fi Innovation Awards, as selected by the independent judging panel.

Mr Wenstromm said worthy finalists had been selected in all categories and he was looking forward to announcing the winners.

“In the meantime, I am pleased to announce Cargill as the winner of the Best Sustainability Innovation – for their affordable finance for cocoa farmer cooperatives.

“We received an outstanding entry from Cargill, which was head and shoulders above the competition, so the judging panel agreed unanimously to declare them the winner,” he said.

Finalists 2015:

Best Bakery Innovation

• AAK– Akopastry HP 400 & 200
• Ingredion– PRECISA Bake GF texturising system
• FrieslandCampina Kievit– FrieslandCampina Kievit’s Vana-Monte DP96

Best Beverage Innovation

• CHR Hansen– CapColors® Orange 057 WSS
• FrieslandCampina Kievit– FrieslandCampina Kievit’s Vana-Cappa 26W

Best Confectionary Innovation

• AAK-TROPICAO™
• IOI-Loders Croklaan– Creamelt Stand
• Avebe-Perfectasol™

Best Dairy Innovation

• Arla Foods Ingredients– Nutrilac®
• Dutch Spices– Daisy’s non dairy products
• FrieslandCampina DMV– Excellion EM 7 High Viscosity

Best Functional Innovation

• Probi AB-Probi FerroSorb®
• Salt of the Earth– Unami Essence Sea Salt
• Scelta Mushrooms-Scelta Taste Accelerator

Best Natural/Organic Innovation

• ADM– TRUEDARK
• Fiberstar,Inc– Citri-Fi 100
• Ingredion– NOVATION PRIMA 340 starch

Best Savoury/Meat Innovation

• ENRICO GIOTTI SPA– The Taste of Gold
• Roquette-NUTRALYS® T70S

Most Innovative Food Ingredient

• Overall winner to be announced at the awards ceremony

The International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST) Excellence Awards

• The Lifetime Achievement Award
• The Young Scientist Award

Innovation in Technology – new for 2017

A new category, Innovation in Technology, will be included in the Fi Europe Innovation Awards in 2017, in association with Expo FoodTec. In 2015, Novozymes, has been highlighted with distinction.

New award categories in 2015 include ‘Best Functional Innovation’ and ‘Best Natural/ Organic Innovation’, to recognise food and beverage developments that are meeting the growing consumer demand for these types of products.

Fi Europe has also partnered with IUFoST to present Lifetime Achievement and Young Scientist Innovation Awards, which will also be announced on 2 December.

All finalists’ innovations will be on display at Fi Europe, in the Innovation Awards Showcase.

2015 Judging panel: