Once again, Sargento Foods Inc., Plymouth, Wis., is first to market with an innovation in natural cheese. This time it’s with a line of reduced-sodium natural cheeses. With 25% less sodium, the new cheeses are worthy substitutes for regular natural cheese in both cooking and snacking. The six new varieties are Colby-Jack slices, provolone slices, Colby-Jack snack sticks, string snacks, mild Cheddar shreds and mozzarella shreds.

“With almost 50% of consumers reading food labels for sodium content, we’re responding to their interest in lowering their daily intake by offering Reduced Sodium Sargento cheeses,” says Chris Groom, marketing director. “However, we only wanted to launch the line if we could still provide the great-tasting natural cheese that consumers love, which this line does successfully.”

Rebecca Maine, senior sensory and taste expert at Sargento, adds: “People often assume when salt is taken out of food, it becomes bland and tasteless. When we were developing the new line of reduced-sodium cheeses we took into consideration our consumers’ demand for flavor and taste as our highest priority.”


Richfield, Wis.-based DCI Cheese Co. introduces Organic Creamery American cheese slices. The new organic pasteurized process slices come in an eight-slice straight stack and 16-slice twin stack packs.

Through the Organic Creamery brand, DCI offers the most extensive line of certified organic cheese varieties in the United States. In addition to the new organic American slices, Organic Creamery’s full product line includes white Colby, white mild Cheddar, sharp Cheddar, Muenster, Monterey Jack and Monterey Jack pepper sticks; Gorgonzola, blue and feta crumbled cups; asiago and Parmesan shredded cups; Parmesan grated cups; Colby, sharp Cheddar, white Cheddar, Muenster, Parmesan, Monterey Jack and Monterey Jack pepper wedges; mild Cheddar shingle slices; string cheese; and goat cheese logs.


Peeps brand marshmallow candies, a springtime icon marketed by Just Born Inc., Bethlehem, Pa., is partnering with Trevose, Pa.-based Rita’s Italian Ice, the nation’s largest Italian Ice company, to offer foodservice customers new Peeps Italian Ice. Fans can enjoy the combination of the Peeps marshmallow taste and the refreshing, cool, smoothness of Rita’s Italian Ice in three different innovations. Peeps Chocolate Covered Gelati layers Peeps-flavored ice with smooth, creamy chocolate frozen custard. Peeps Chocolate Covered Misto combines the same two products into a blended drink. And last, Peeps Pie Blendini is the same two starters combined with tiny cookie pieces to create a sweet crunch sensation.

Wells’ Dairy Inc., Le Mars, Iowa, introduces Weight Watchers Strawberry Smoothie Bar and Weight Watchers Dark Chocolate Raspberry Bar. Through a licensing agreement with Weight Watchers International Inc., New York, Wells’ Dairy is the exclusive marketer of Weight Watchers frozen dairy desserts in the United States. As required by Weight Watchers, these new products taste indulgent, yet provide a smart and satisfying choice for weight-conscious consumers.

The Strawberry Smoothie Bars are made with low-fat strawberry frozen yogurt and real strawberries. The Dark Chocolate Raspberry Bars are made with low-fat raspberry ice cream and with raspberries covered with a dark chocolate-flavored coating. Both novelties are sold in boxes of 12 bars at a suggested retail price of $4.29 to $5.49. The Strawberry Smoothie Bar has a Weight Watchers Points value of one per bar, while the Chocolate Raspberry Bar has a value of two points per bar.


Dairy Foodsoffers Dairy Product Innovations ( www.dairyfoods.com/dpi), an e-newsletter focused on new dairy products and new products and services from dairy industry suppliers. Subscribers receive Dairy Product Innovations monthly with the occasional special installation or themed issue focusing on specific niches like artisan cheese or organic and natural foods. To subscribe, visit www.dairyfoods.com.

noteworthy introductions

Previously sold only in a few markets, the Dannon Co., White Plains, N.Y., takes Dan-o-nino nationwide. Recommended for children ages two to four years, this creamy and smooth dairy snack comes in a 1.76-ounce serving and delivers ounce-per-ounce two times the amount of calcium of milk and contains 3 grams of protein.

Dole Fruit Bars return to the freezer. At one time marketed by CoolBrands International, Target Foods LLC, Barrington, Ill., has entered into a licensing agreement to once again make these frozen fruit bars made from all-natural Dole fruit and juice available to Americans.

international

Kulfi is a milk-based frozen dessert with a creamy, dense texture similar to custard. Although it is native to India and enjoyed throughout south Asia and the Middle East, kulfi is also available in the United Kingdom because of that country’s strong Indian cuisine tradition. But now U.K. consumers don’t have to venture to their neighborhood Indian restaurant to enjoy kulfi; they can pick it up in their supermarket freezer. Everest Ices just launched Kulfi Ice Cream Sticks in an Indian-style cardamom flavor.

In Japan, private label brand Topvalu now offers butter in single-serve portions. This new product contains eight 8-gram pieces of individually wrapped butter squares - equivalent to about one half tablespoon.

Today it’s hard to find a food category that doesn’t promote fiber as an ingredient.  Although yogurt has already embraced fiber fortification, it’s rare to find fiber ingredients in the milk category. But in Latin America, where dairy-based cereal drinks are widely available, milk with fiber has started appearing on supermarket shelves. In Argentina SanCor now offers Semi Skimmed Milk with Natural Fibers. It is made with inulin, a soluble fiber that is frequently used as a functional ingredient. Although this milk offers a relatively low level of fiber (only 2 grams per serving), it is said to help regular intestinal transit.

Contributed by Krista Faron, senior analyst, Mintel Custom Solutions,  Global New Products Database (GNPD). For more information call 312/932-0400 or visit www.gnpd.com.

Focus on Ice Cream

A first-of-its-kind frozen yogurt debuts in retailers’ freezers this month. Lancaster, Pa.-based Turkey Hill Dairy introduces limited edition PomBlueberry Chocolate Truffle Frozen Yogurt with omega-3 fatty acids. Each half-cup serving contains 32 milligrams of the omega-3 fatty acids docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), as well as a healthy portion of live and active cultures, calcium and vitamin D, reports the company.

“Turkey Hill believes in providing a superior product to enhance the health of its consumers,” says Tom Wright, vice president of marketing at Turkey Hill.


St. Paul, Minn.-based Kemps, a division of HP Hood, Lynnfield, Ma., has launched a line of tangy frozen yogurts under the sub-brand Fro-Zing! The low-fat frozen dessert comes in eight flavors - blueberry, cherry vanilla, mixed berry, peach, pomegranate, raspberry vanilla, strawberry and vanilla - and is promoted as containing 110 calories per serving and live and active cultures. Fro-Zing! comes in 1.5-quart containers and has a suggested retail price of $4.29 to $5.49.


Blue Bell Creamery, Brenham, Texas, combines everyone’s favorite birthday desserts into a single frozen treat. New Cake and Ice Cream is creamy vanilla ice cream with chocolate sprinkles, chocolate-coated cake pieces and a swirl of chocolate icing.

“At birthday parties it’s very common to pair a scoop of ice cream with a slice of cake,” says Paul Kruse, Blue Bell CEO and president. “Our new flavor is making it a little easier for you. The chocolate-coated cake pieces are a great combination with the vanilla ice cream.”

Cake and Ice Cream is the first new flavor released from Blue Bell this year. “We’ve got some really great things planned,” Kruse adds. “With ice cream, the possibilities are endless. At Blue Bell we enjoy every minute of creating and testing new and flavorful ideas.”

Wells’ Dairy continues to grow it successful Blue Bunny Cookie Creations premium ice cream line with White Chocolate Macadamia Nut. This macadamia cookie-flavored ice cream contains white chocolate chunks and white chocolate macadamia nut cookies pieces. The original line includes Chocolate Chip Cookie; Peanut Butter Cookie; no-sugar added, reduced-fat Chocolate Chip Cookie; and no-sugar-added, reduced-fat Chocolate Chunk Cookie.

The very popular Häagen-Dazs Five ice cream line from Dreyer’s Ice Cream Co., Oakland, Calif., adds a lemon variety to its lineup. Häagen-Dazs Five focuses on the simplicity and goodness of five ingredients - milk, cream, sugar, eggs and one flavoring ingredient.


Cedar Summit Farm Cinnamon Premium Ice Cream from Cedar Summit Dairy, New Prague, Minn., uses milk from grass-fed cows that live in sunlight and breathe fresh air, and according to the company, enjoy a good life. The product contains no preservatives or artificial coloring and retails in a round quart container. Flavors are chocolate, mint chip and vanilla.