Lycored, a global leader in natural lycopene-based color and taste-enhancing ingredients from tomatoes has stepped up with ready solutions to help the prepared foods industry meet supply and cost issues as a result of ongoing tomato shortages.
As we approach the 2022 growing season, California’s ongoing draught will continue to have a tremendous impact on crop yields and the tomato shortage is threatening to raise the cost of processed tomatoes for paste.
According to the Washington Post California grows more than 90% of America’s canned tomatoes and supplies fully a third to the rest of the world. Noting processing tomato’s “water-hungry” nature, California’s ongoing clear skies and low crop yields will likely prompt prices to burst far more than they already have.
Further, continued damage from California’s “Tormado” notes the Washington Post, threatens to disrupt the cost structures associated with prices of some of the world’s favorite tomato-based foods with the price of pizza sauce, marinara, tomato paste, stewed tomatoes and ketchup hanging in the balance.
Lycored tomato science has the answer: LycoFibers and CTC (Clear Tomato Concentrate), two of Lycored’s versatile ingredient solutions that help extend tomato paste supplies by reducing solids and naturally boosting texture and taste while reducing carbohydrates in crust.
“With tomatoes in short supply for the foreseeable future,” explains Lycored’s Senior Vice President of Food, Tammi Higgins, “tomato sauce processors and prepared food makers can rely on these ingredients to help manage the shortfall and extend their tomato paste supply to meet consumer product demands.”
For prepared sauce recipes reducing key “structural” ingredients like tomato paste can be especially challenging. Lycored research and customer experience has shown that with LycoFibers, manufacturers can extend tomato paste supply by up to 25%, deliver a smooth texture to sauces and eliminate less attractive ingredients such as starches and emulsifiers in most applications.
Lycored carefully manages and controls its own tomato supply which has allowed the company to sustain its operations and limit the impact of drought or natural disasters.
Lycored’s supply will sustain operations and customer orders in 2022 with plenty of product that will help the pizza industry manage tomato paste supply shortages with natural tomato products that are clean label and align with consumer expectations.
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