Contact: Peggy Armstrong
(202) 220-3508
parmstrong@idfa.org
Sponsored by TIC Gums
(Washington, D.C. - April 6, 2011) Two new yogurt products - an all-natural, low-fat vanilla yogurt designed for making parfaits and a fruit-and-vegetable flavored yogurt - were named the most innovative dairy products this year at a recent competition judged by dairy professionals. The Most Innovative Dairy Products Competition, sponsored by TIC Gums, recognized the latest creative dairy products. The awards were presented at the International Dairy Foods Association's Milk and Cultured Dairy Products Symposium, which took place March 21-23, in Rosemont, Ill.
The most innovative cultured dairy product is All Natural Lowfat Vanilla Yogurt, designed by Upstate Niagara Cooperative to give foodservice operators a product that consumers can use easily to build their own healthy yogurt parfaits. Orange Carrot Cranberry Fruit & Vegetable Yogurt by California Custom Fruits and Flavors was named the most innovative prototype for milk or cultured dairy products.
"It is a great honor for our team to be recognized by dairy industry and supplier representatives at the IDFA Symposium," said Eva T. Balázs, product, packaging and communications manager for Upstate Niagara. "This vegetarian-friendly yogurt was developed specifically for parfait-building. This innovative system allows for an easy way to measure the quantity of dispensed product one ounce at a time while also eliminating the mess generated when scooping yogurt out of large containers."
"California Custom Fruits and Flavors appreciates the opportunity to participate in the IDFA Symposium and the dairy contest associated with it; we're honored to be recognized," said David Rambo, account executive for California Custom Fruits and Flavors. "The IDFA has put on a fine and informative program for many years. This is why we have participated as an exhibitor, panel speaker and contest entrant for much of the last decade."
The 2011 Milk and Cultured Dairy Products Symposium explored cutting-edge innovations in the use of ingredients, processing technology, analytical methods, packaging and product development for milk, dairy beverages and cultured products, such as yogurt, sour creams, buttermilk and cottage cheese.
IDFA would like to thank the symposium sponsors, Cintas Corporation, Danisco USA Inc., DSM Food Specialties B.V., Symrise Inc. and TIC Gums, as well as the exhibitors, for recognizing the importance of the symposium to the industry. The exhibiting companies were Atlantium Technologies Ltd.; California Custom Fruits and Flavors, Inc.; CEM Corporation; Flavorchem Corporation; and GEA Tuchenhagen.
The winners received kudos and trophies from the competition's sponsors. (L to r) Donna Berry, Dairy Foods Magazine; Donna Klockeman, TIC Gums, Inc.; Earl Christiansen, Upstate Niagara Cooperative, Inc.; David Rambo, California Custom Fruits & Flavors, Inc.; Eva Balazs, Upstate Niagara Cooperative, Inc.; and James Gregg, TIC Gums, Inc.
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The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, D.C., represents the nation's dairy manufacturing and marketing industries and their suppliers, with a membership of 550 companies representing a $110-billion a year industry. IDFA is composed of three constituent organizations: the Milk Industry Foundation (MIF), the National Cheese Institute (NCI) and the International Ice Cream Association (IICA). IDFA's 220 dairy processing members run more than 600 plant operations, and range from large multi-national organizations to single-plant companies. Together they represent more than 85 percent of the milk, cultured products, cheese and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States. I