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Thai firm launches gluten free cassava flour based on BIOTEC’s technology

admin — Thu, 20 Jul 2017 12:56:21 +0000

Recently, Chorchaiwat Industry Company Limited, a starch-processing company, introduced its new product, Sava flour, to the Thai market. Sava flour is gluten free all purpose flour made from cassava and can be used for baking and cooking. The manufacturing process for this novel product was developed by researchers from BIOTEC and Kasetsart University.

As it is made from cassava, a GMO free crop in Thailand, Sava flour is free of gluten, grain, nut and dairy. Thus, this premium cassava flour is suitable for people suffering celiac disease and health conscious consumers. The flour has natural light yellow color and neutral flavor. It is easy to use in recipes in place of traditional grain-based flours or gluten-free flour blends.

Chorchaiwat Industry has been in the business of manufacturing and selling cassava starch for over 60 years. As the bakery market in Thailand has progressively expanded, the company found an opportunity to introduce a gluten free product produced from a local cash crop in the market. Chorchaiwat Industry, therefore, received the license of cassava flour manufacturing technology from NSTDA and became the first Thai company to launch the gluten free all purpose cassava flour in Thailand. The company also gained support from NSTDA Innovation and Technology Assistance Program (ITAP) to develop recipes for using Sava flour in bakery products including cookies, brownies, cakes, muffins, pancakes, and waffles.

The production technology of cassava flour is a mechanized process of which bitter cassava containing high levels of toxic cyanide can be processed into high quality cassava flour with less than 10 ppm cyanide content. This technology can be implemented in the cassava starch factory with some process modifications, enabling the factory to diversify its products and keep the production cost competitive. The conversion to premium cassava flour significantly adds value to the bitter cassava.

Growth Of Starch

admin — Sun, 19 Mar 2017 13:11:53 +0000

Growth of starch usage in new applications.

The use of starch in new global product launches tracked increased by +13% from 2014H1 to 2015H1.

The top category for tracked launches globally is bakery (27%), followed by ready meals (18%), sauces & seasonings (15%), meat (7%) and fish & eggs (6%).

Fast growing starch ingredients are tapioca (+26%) and wheat starch (+15%). With both corn and potato starch following (with 11%). Top ingredient used overall is corn starch.

New product launches tracked with health claims showed growth for clear label driven by organic (+30%) claims, gluten free (+23%), free from allergens (17%), no additives/preservatives (9%) and low fat (7%) claims.

Thailand Investment Review

admin — Sun, 19 Mar 2017 13:07:53 +0000

Thailand eyes cassava cartel

admin — Sun, 19 Mar 2017 13:04:57 +0000

Thailand is poised to team up with Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam to stabilise cassava prices.

Adul Chotinisakorn, director-general of the Foreign Trade Department, said Thailand will use the World Tapioca Conference 2018, scheduled for June 27-28, as an opportunity to exchange information and ask for cooperation with three Asean peers to help stabilise tapioca prices.

The department aims to prevent price-cutting competition among the quartet and increase their bargaining power against importer countries.

The conference will showcase varieties of Thai tapioca products and their trade potential.

The theme this year is “Can You See The Magic Tapioca: The Magic Plant for a Sustainable Future”.

The trade show is expected to gather tapioca industry leaders from China, Asean, South Korea, Japan, India, Taiwan and the EU to meet for business-matching and talks.

About 1,000 international producers, exporters and importers of tapioca, as well as representatives from relevant agencies, are expected to participate in the event, where overall industry prospects, global production and trade will be discussed.

Information promulgated from the event is intended to help cassava growers, tapioca product makers, traders and exporters to better prepare their supply amounts.

Mr Adul said the event will also allow Thai farmers and producers to learn about and use new tapioca farming technologies and innovations.

The conference aims to help exporters expand to new markets such as Turkey, India and New Zealand, helping them reduce their heavy reliance on China.

Thailand produces 28-30 million tonnes of fresh cassava roots annually, fetching the country more than 100 billion baht a year and engaging more than 500,000 families nationwide.

Thailand is the world’s largest exporter of tapioca products, controlling more than 50% of the global market.

Combined with Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, their total share of the global market is 80%.

Last year, Thailand exported 11 million tonnes of tapioca products, while exports worldwide totalled 21 million tonnes.

For the first four months of this year, Thailand exported 3.6 million tonnes, down 8% year-on-year.

But the total value was worth 1.178 billion baht, an increase of 26%.

In 2018, Thailand has set an export target of 10.6 million tonnes, with lower production anticipated.

Export value is estimated to be on par with last year.

“Tapioca prices are likely to increase this year because of rising demand,” said Mr Adul.

“Currently the price of tapioca chips averages US$252 (8,268 baht) per tonne, up from $170, while modified starch averages $540 per tonne, up from $360.”

Domestic fresh cassava root prices average 2.95-3.20 baht per kilogramme, up 85% from the same period of last year, because of lower production.

WHAT IS WAXY TAPIOCA STARCH?

admin — Sun, 19 Mar 2017 13:02:29 +0000

The article described the development of new variety of cassava which researched from Thai Tapioca Development Institute (TTDI) and Center Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT). This is the first time in the world for generating new variety of cassava which high amylopectin content. After processing to be high amylopectin tapioca starch or waxy tapioca starch, SMS Corporation researched the characteristic of waxy tapioca starch and found the outstanding benefit in term of good texturizer, high performance of viscosity and together with freeze and thaw stability which could enhance many aspects of food products in food industry.

Starch is a polysaccharide substance derived from a complex structure of glucose. In photosynthesis the plant’s enzyme polymerize glucose and result in amylose and amylopectin. Starch from different plants will possess a different ratio of amylose and amylopectin.High amylose has high retrogradation which makes it unsuitable for the soup, sauce, bakery and frozen food industry. Numerous researchers who tried to reduce amylose level in plants have successfully yielded interesting products, like high amylopectin corn starch, rice, or wheat. Products like these are in high demand for the Thai food industry, however, with the lack of technology to produce on industrial level, these products had to be imported.

AMYLOPECTIN, or WAXY TAPIOCA STARCH

To enhance the distinctive characteristics of tapioca and to encourage Thai farmers to grow more valuable varieties of cassava,the THAI TAPIOCA DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE ( TTDI ), COLOMBIA’S CENTER INTERNATIONAL de AGRICULTURA TROPICAL ( CIAT ) and a team of professors of KASETSART UNIVERSITY had successful developed a breed of high amylopectin cassava. This is the first time in the word that it can be cropped on industrial level.

Growth of Tapioca Starch Market Projected to Amplify During 2017 – 2025

admin — Sun, 19 Mar 2017 12:59:27 +0000

Being prominent in home diet, the starch is also one of the important ingredients which is widely distributed in nature. Tapioca is the starch extracted from the cassava root which is native to South America. Tapioca starch is widely used in industrial, commercial and residential applications. Tapioca is often consumed as a staple food in some of the tropical countries but is used for various manufacturing and industrial uses in the developed economies. Market for tapioca starch is majorly driven by the increasing demand of tapioca starch as a thickening, and stabilizing agent. Starch being vital in the dietary food is expected to gain traction in the global market supporting the growth of modified starch namely tapioca. The global tapioca market is further expected to gain traction in the forecast period owing to wide industrial uses.

Global Tapioca Starch: Market Dynamics and Restraints

The global tapioca starch market is prominently driven by its applications. The tapioca starch is used as a thickening and stabilizing agent. The factors that favor the growth of global tapioca market in terms of demand generation owing to the high percentage of carbohydrates and prevention from the food allergies. Moreover, the macroeconomic factors such as rise in per capita income, Tapioca helps to reduce cholesterol level and maintains blood sugar level. It also helps to prevent constipation. Tapioca is a rich source of calcium, manganese, folate, and iron which makes it useful for pregnant women also. Tapioca helps metabolize carbohydrates. Thus the increasing awareness of health benefits of tapioca fuels the growth of global tapioca market in the forecast period.

Global Tapioca Starch: Segmentation

Based on the types, the global tapioca market is segmented into the following:

Fresh
Dried

Based on the uses, the global tapioca market is segmented into the following:

Thickening Agent
Stabilizer Agent
Bodying Agent
Binding Agent
The uses of tapioca starch in the market play a crucial role as it enhances the taste, and quality of the food and product in which it is used. It is majorly used as the thickening agent as it provides thickness to the product. In the textile and other industries, the global tapioca starch is used as a binding agent owing to its properties.

Based on the applications, the global tapioca market is segmented into the following:

Food
Snacks (crackers, noodles)
Ice Creams
Confectionaries
Syrups
Beverage
Textiles Industry
Fabric finishing
Printing
Glue Industry
Pharmaceutical Industry
Cosmetics Industry
Mining Industry
Construction Industry
Others
Animal Feed
Home Use
The tapioca starch is used in beverage and food industry. It is used as a binding, thickening agent. It is used in syrups and other sweeteners.

Geographically, the global tapioca starch market is segmented into seven regions namely North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Japan, and Asia Pacific excluding Japan, and the Middle East and Africa. Asia Pacific excluding Japan is expected to dominate the market in terms of demand generation and consumption. APEJ contribute significantly in the global tapioca market. India, China, Thailand, and Indonesia are prominent Asian countries that lead the regional market. North America and Western Europe has the considerable share in the overall tapioca market and is expected to have significant growth in the market. Thus the global tapioca market is expected to gain traction in the forecast period.

Thailand’s mounting trash problem

admin — Sun, 19 Mar 2017 12:53:58 +0000

To tackle Thailand’s mounting trash problem, one company is turning to the country’s plant life.

Universal Biopack makes packaging that it sells to restaurants and manufacturers. But rather than plastic, it uses a mixture of bamboo and cassava, crops that are widely found across the country.

After growing rapidly in recent decades, Thailand has become one of Asia’s biggest economies. But like many other countries in the region, it’s been slow to try to combat the millions of tons of trash produced each year.

“Waste management is a big problem everywhere,” said Universal Biopack’s managing director, Vara-Anong Vichakyothin.

Related: The company turning 4 billion plastic bottles into clothes

The company is using a technology devised at a Bangkok university to make its zero-waste packaging. It hopes it will eventually replace many of the Styrofoam boxes and plastic bags that end up in huge garbage dumps across Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries.
Its eco-friendly formula took five years to develop and is so adaptable it could end up being used to package things like furniture and even phones. The bamboo it uses comes from leftover scraps from the chopstick manufacturing process.
UB Pack 3

In the cities of Bangkok and Chiang Mai, where takeout drink containers and noodle packets line the sidewalks, the company supplies restaurants, organic farmers and other businesses in the food and drink industry.

But finding new clients can be tricky.
Takeout food vendors in Thailand want to keep costs down in a competitive business with thin margins. Asking them to spend more on packaging for environmental reasons is a tough sell.
“The local economy still does not support [this technology]” said Universal Biopack’s founder, Suthep Vichakyothin.
UB Pack 2

But that hasn’t stopping other companies from entering the sustainable packaging market in Thailand. Like Universal Biopack, they’re betting on growing environmental awareness eventually leading to an increase in demand.
To become more competitive, Suthep’s company is investing. It’s aiming to ramp up production by building a partially automated assembly line at its factory near Bangkok and doubling.