A multi-functional sauce that fuses Hispanic and Asian flavors has won first place in Danisco USA's 2005 Knowledge Award New Products Contest.

A multi-functional sauce that fuses Hispanic and Asian flavors has won first place in Danisco USA's 2005 Knowledge Award New Products Contest.

Developed by a team of food science students at Clemson University, Jala-Mango is a multi-functional sauce, marinade, and glaze that combines Mexican and Asian flavors to create a sweet and sour base accented with tropical notes and a latent heat.

"The knowledge award team provided feedback on each product," says JoAnn Rupp, a marketing specialist at Danisco who coordinates the contest. "The judges said it had good viscosity, good color to the sauce, they felt the multifunctionality would make it even more appealing to the consumer and it has an excellent flavor profile."

The Clemson team, led by Michael Ryan was among four such teams whose product ideas were honored by Danisco USA in the June competition. The 24 entries submitted, resulted in first and second place awards and a tie for third.

Danisco USA and an appointed judging panel of six food industry professionals came together to judge all products entered in the contest. Dairy Foods and Prepared Foods magazines also helped to promote the contest and assisted with logisitics and judging.

All of the winners receive recognition at Prepared Foods' New Products Conference Oct. 16-19 in Naples, Fla.

Cash awards of $10,000, $5,000, and $2,000 go to the first second third place winners respectively.

"Many unique and interesting concepts were developed for the competition," Rupp says. "We truly appreciate everyone's participation."

Jala-Mango includes red and green bell peppers, and onions, which add a thick and rich texture to the sauce. Grindsted® Xanthan 80 was used to thicken or stabilize aqueous systems while Danisco's natural flavor C7977 Mango Emulsion was used to provide an explosion of taste and a burst of mango.

Second place was awarded to a Cornell University and Team led by Elizabeth Tomasino for its Moschata Butternut Squash Pie. Moschata was designed to target women and fulfill the need for good tasting, single serve healthy desserts. The pie has a delightful cinnamon, nutmeg flavor enhanced by Danisco Vanilla Flavoring. Danisco's Litesse® polydextrose a water soluble low calorie bulking agent and fiber, not only improved nutritional content but also enhanced the texture and mouthfeel of the pie. BENEFAT® CH provides fat and calorie reduction to the crust while Germantown™ Food Stabilizer 254 was added as a binding agent and stabilizer to aid mouthfeel and freeze thaw stability.

The third place tie involved California Polytechnic Institute and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

A Probiotic Strawberry Cheesecake Frozen Bar Novelty dubbed ProCream was offered by the Cal Poly team, led by Jessica Yee. It's flavored with real strawberry puree, vanilla and cheesecake flavoring. Danisco ingredients include: Pure Vanilla Extract C7212, Grindsted® EagleEmulsifier and Stabilizer System, Florafit™ Probiotics Lactobacillus acidophilus (LA14 150B CFU/gm) and Bifido bacteria (Bb-02 450B CFU/gm).

The University of Massachusetts Team developed Better Health Croutons, a new delicious and healthful way to enrich salads and soups. Led by Sylvia Gaysinsky the U-Mass team developed a crouton containing functional ingredients such as Omega-3 fatty acids. A variety of grains and seeds not only offer an exceptionally good flavor, but also provide health benefits. Danisco Ingredients include Guardian™ Rosemary Extract 08 and Panodan® Datem 205K.

The Danisco Knowledge Award contest is in collaboration with university students throughout the United States studying food science and between the Danisco departments: Innovation, Global Marketing and Communications. The mission of the new products contest and the Knowledge Award is to support innovation in academic institutions, develop stronger links between universities and Danisco, as well as encourage innovative approaches to food science challenges.

For more information go to www.danisco.com/ knowledgeaward/us or contact Danisco's Knowledge Award Program Coordinators JoAnn Rupp or Ariella Gastel at 800/255-6837.