HAHN's answers to market demands

HAHN's answers to market demands - HAHN & Co. developed an analog pizza cheese, made possible by a specific stabiliser system. Important for manufactures, it meets all expectations in terms of price, simplified production requirements and sensory properties. Viscosity, mouthfeel and taste are adjustable depending on consumer needs. Similar to cheese this product can easily be handled cold or heated in processing, grating, cutting, sprinkling, crumbling and portioning processes. Once heated, this analog cheese is designed to melt lightly while forming excellent cheese strings. HAHN's recipe uses only 15-18 % casein and is based on water and vegetable fat. The convenient solution is suitable for multiple application areas like gratins, baguettes, toasts, sandwiches, cheese fillings, mixed salads or soufflés.

HAHN's Processed Cheese Variations

The worldwide production of cheese with more than 12 million tons is continually growing. This results in another HAHN product idea - processed cheese with added components. The basic recipe contains 20 - 70 % cheese, mixed with different milk proteins and melting salts. It is stabilised with hydrocolloids, starch or gelatines depending on the needed characteristics. HAHN adds savoury components such as ketchup or pesto, ham preparation or wild garlic, and pineapple pieces for a sweet variation.

Substitution of dairy protein in finefood products

HAHN & Co. are now offering a range of solutions that permit the replacement of dairy proteins in mayonnaise, dressing and sauce products. Finefood producers worldwide are suffering from escalating prices of dairy-based raw materials which have lead to a considerable cost increase in finefood products. There is thus a high demand for attractive alternatives to dairy ingredients such as dairy protein, skim milk powder, caseinate, etc.

Searching for these alternatives, HAHN has thoroughly analysed the functionality and synergisms of numerous different vegetable proteins, emulsifying starches and chemical emulsifiers. Based on the results, highly functional stabiliser systems have been designed to offer solutions for the production of finefood products without the use of dairy protein. All systems can individually be fine-tuned so that it is possible to meet specific customer requirements with regard to viscosity, consistency, mouthfeel and other characteristics. To help identify individual requirements with customers, HAHN can draw on a set of product examples from the HAHN Technology Centre - such as for example a mayonnaise produced with different stabiliser options. The samples show up the variety of possibilities and serve as reference to discuss specific product needs.

Successful market realisation - exemplified by 'healthy balanced' meat products

Fresh, healthy balanced and low in fat - but please without compromises on quality, taste and texture - vital criteria for successful product developments. This has now also moved as a trend into the normally traditional meat segment. Offers with continually growth potential are healthy sausages and meat products that have features such as fat reduction and/or contain functional ingredients, e.g. meat cold cuts with whey, or liver paté with added fibres and vitamins. Additionally, special meat products targeted at particular consumer groups to generate sales such as calcium enriched liver spread for kids or cholesterol reduced cold cuts for seniors/ 50+ generation.

Taste, structure, texture and indulgence, with regard to healthy meat products this means that they should have the same product characteristics as well-known traditional meat products, i.e. tasty, creamy and full mouthfeel despite having less fat. When the combinations of these characteristics are optimised, the buying decision for the consumer becomes easier, for healthy balanced meat products.

HAHN's latest meat product developments are precisely focused on all these issues. The tailor-made stabiliser systems maintain the desired product characteristics even with trendy enhancements and addition of different new ingredients. Three of various HAHN product innovation strategies for sausages and meat products can be mentioned here:

• 1. The 'cross-over strategy' - More and more meat products contain dairy ingredients, like whey and yogurt. HAHN offers recipes and product prototypes like conventional scalded sausages with new spinach-, red currant- or yogurt inserts to gain new market potential.
• 2. The 'reduction strategy' - Fat reduction, this trend can be applied by the use of lean meat or water instead of fat. HAHN stabiliser systems compensate for the functional characteristics of the removed fat and connective tissue to ensure the target viscosity and mouthfeel.
• 3. The 'Healthy fatty acids' strategy - Healthy fatty acids become increasingly important as a functional food additive, such as omega-3 fatty acids. Another possibility to increase the healthy fatty acid content of meat products is the replacement of animal fat with vegetable oil.

Another big advantage of these introduced HAHN product developments is the use of simple technology with a standard process-equipment - simply cut, fill and cook.