Over 14,600 visitors attended Food & Bake in 2004, with visitor numbers from the in-store and plant bakery sectors increasing by 55%. This year, the organisers say the show will be bigger and better, with over 15,000sq m of stand space dedicated to ingredients and mixes, frozen and chilled foods, catering equipment, bakery machinery and hygiene and technology innovation.

The show is co-located with a number of other food exhibitions, and over 40,000 visitors are expected over the four days. Look out for the new Confectionery Pavilion and Business Services area, as well as the highly popular crèche facility and the free breakfast.

Free parking is on offer to all visitors, and when you validate your parking ticket in the hall you will automatically be entered into a prize draw to win an Audi A4 – worth £21,000.

Ingredients exhibitors

This week we take a look at some of the highlights to be seen on the stands of the ingredients exhibitors.

ADM Milling (stand C400) says its investment in the latest laboratory instrumentation and equipment means it can ensure the highest product standards. The company will be showing texture analysis equipment and its C-Cell bread imaging system. A key part of the quality control process, says ADM, texture analysis equipment gives accurate measurement data on the performance of flours in both dough extensibility and bread firmness. And the C-Cell system enables analysis of finished bread characteristics, such as cell structure and distribution, holes and shape.

Australian ginger producer Buderim Ginger (stand P240) will be showing visitors how to use ginger in sweet and savoury goods. Products on display will include Standard Fine Dice, Ginger Pulp, Shreds, Crystallised and Ginger Purée. The company says ginger is complemented particularly well by macadamia nuts and will be highlighting this on the stand. The nuts are supplied by Suncoast Gold Macadamias.

Dawn Foods (stand B400) supplies US-style bakery goods such as donuts, cookies, cakes and muffins. The company will showcase its new Bakers Select products, which are low in salt, low in saturated fat and trans-fat free.

Breads made using Fermex’s (stand F100) Minute Bread Improver will be available for tasting on the company’s stand. Fermex says that part-baked breads made with the improver can be baked-off in as little as two minutes in a conventional oven, without the need for steam, and that breads are fully thawed, but cool in a matter of minutes after the bake. Minute Breads available for tasting will feature Crème de Levain, a live liquid sourdough used in the fermentation process to develop flavour.

Filling launch

James Mackle (stand B310) is launching its Natural Apple Filling and taste tests will be given on the stand. The ready-sweetened product is said to offer a fresh apple taste with a natural colour and appearance, as well as good bake-stability and fill retention. Packed in 10kg plastic pails, Natural Apple Filling has a five-week shelf-life, if kept chilled.

Ingredients supplier S Black (stand AC131) will launch a range of taste- and odour-free omega 3 nutritional oils. The newly-available forms of omega 3 are manufactured by Norwegian-based Denomega Nutritional Oils and include an odour- and taste-free liquid oil, powder and liquid emulsion. The omega 3 content varies from 13% to 30% with a DHA to EPA ratio of 1:1. Denomega powder can be used in baked goods or where a dry mix is needed.

At the show, S Black will also highlight a range of trans-free fats from Loders Croklaan and a range of natural ingredients that include bake-stable flavours and reduced sodium solutions that can help in the production of healthier baked goods.

Additionally, the firm’s grapeseed and rosemary extracts exhibit antioxidant properties that can help reduce staling, thereby increasing shelf-life, naturally.

A raft of products will be debuted by Unifine Food & Bake Ingredients (stand F250). Liquid Mix 269 is a yoghurt stabiliser creating mousse-light products with the texture of bavarois, while Air Crème is a cream concentrate for creating fonds and bavarois. Air Crème is claimed to have a higher yield than other cream concentrates and, once made up, costs up to 20% less than its rivals.

Real Belgian chocolate Belnap Chocolate Glaze is a freeze/thaw-stable mirror-style glaze for cakes, doughnuts, éclairs and muffins, which will not crack when frozen. And a Toffee & Maple filling for Danish, morning goods and cakes is also new, as is Cassis Fond for patisserie and cakes.

Also on show is Plusfil – a powder ingredient which expands and stabilises fillings during baking. Wrapable Icing is a white icing that contains no artificial colouring, flavouring or additives. It is freeze/thaw-stable and sticks to the product, not its packaging, says Unifine.

Products with a low glycaemic index are increasingly in demand, and Bakels (stand J125) says its Multiseed Bread Concentrate fits the bill perfectly. The concentrate contains pumpkin, linseed and sunflower seeds, plus wheat, bran and oat flakes to produce a darker-style bread with a coarse, open texture.

The bread is approved for a diabetic diet by the charity Diabetes UK and also has a salt level 25% below that of normal breads.

By contrast, those looking for an indulgent treat will find Bakels’ Gourmet Filled Biscuits offer a good opportunity for impulse purchases. Frozen and ready to bake, the biscuits are available in Chocolate Cherry, Fruit Mince, Chocolate Mint and Pecan Latte varieties.

Visitors to the stand are offered a £2 high street voucher for every 16kg bag of Multiseed Bread Concentrate or 5kg carton of Gourmet Filled Biscuits they order. Free point-of-sale material is available for both products.

Ingredients exhibitors

ADM Milling - K14

British Bakels - J125

Buderim Ginger (UK) - P240

Dawn Foods - B400

Eurobake - F500

Fermex International -F100

Food Design - P200

Fuerst Day Lawson - P230

Heygates - G350

Interbake - L550

Macphie of Glenbervie - F340

Mauri Products - C350

Muntons Malted Ingredients - F240

Orchard Valley Foods - B460

Rank Hovis - J201

Reynards - H300, P410

S Black - F250

Schokinag - A410

Unifine Food & Bake Ingredients - F250

www.foodandbake.com

March 19–22, 2006

Venue: Halls 6 and 7, NEC, Birmingham

Opening times: Sun-Tue 9.30-17.00; Wed 9.30-16.00

Organiser: Managed Events, NEC Ltd, Birmingham. tel: +44 (0)121 767 2118

Travel: By road: The NEC can be accessed from the M6, M1, M40 and M42; the centre has its own car parks

By rail: Birmingham International station is connected to the NEC by a covered bridgelink

By air: Birmingham International Airport is a few minutes from the NEC

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