AMSTERDAM, December 10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

The global food and beverage industry continually moves forward because of constant innovations and new ingredients being introduced by small and large suppliers. Such changes are the lifeblood of the industry and help spurn new food and drink concepts or create entirely new food and beverage ranges. Often a single ingredient can be a game changer and produce billions in sales. For many consumers, what is driving the change in new flavours, textures or performance type foods is unknown. Behind the scenes, the world's leading research and development teams in both big and small ingredient companies are the very source of food and beverage product innovation. The Fi Innovation Awards takes place at Food ingredients (Fi) Europe & Natural ingredients (Ni) to honour their talent and years of dedicated focus, and is the barometer of such innovation. These Awards also provide a glimpse at what consumers will see on their supermarket shelves tomorrow.

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The Fi Innovation Awards was held just last week on Tuesday 1 December in Paris at Fi Europe & Ni 2015. A panel of expert judges from various sectors and industry professions, including thought-leaders such as Albert Zwigers of Unilever and John Madden, Global Head of Ingredients Research at Euromonitor, critically appraised all entries and nominated the winners for each of the 10 categories.

The overall winner and winner of the 'Most Innovative Food Ingredient' award was Dutch company Scelta Mushrooms, for their product Scelta Taste Accelerator. "We are very proud to have won the biggest award in a competition with such a strong field of competitors. Through the evaluation of a jury of experts, the Fi Innovation Awards provides us with an objective platform to disclose the potential of Scelta Taste Accelerator as a powerful sodium reduction tool and natural flavour enhancer to the wider public. Winning the award gives our new product a flying start in the market," commented Jeroen Dekkers of Scelta Mushrooms.

AAK won two awards for Best Bakery Innovation and Best Confectionary Innovation while Novozymes' innovation LactoMonitor™ was also highlighted for signposting the direction into the future category 'Innovation in Technology', which will be introduced at the next Innovation Awards in association with Expo FoodTec.

The Awards were presented at an evening canape and drink ceremony on 1 December at Fi Europe & Ni 2015 by the Awards Judging Panel Chairman, Peter Wenstromm of Healthy Marketing Team and Fi Europe's Brand Director, Richard Joyce. The winners in each category endorse the exemplary work and contribution to the food and beverage industry.

The complete list of winners  of the Fi Innovation Awards 2015 is as follows:

Most Innovative Food Ingredient 

• Scelta Mushrooms - Scelta key Accelerator

Best Bakery Innovation 

• AAK - Akopastry HP 400 & 200

Best Beverage Innovation 

• FrieslandCampina Kievit - FrieslandCampina Kievit's Vana-Cappa 26W

Best Confectionary Innovation 

• AAK - TROPICAO ™

Best Dairy Innovation 

• Arla Foods Ingredients - Nutrilac®

Best Functional Innovation 

• Scelta Mushrooms - Scelta key Accelerator

Best Natural / Organic Innovation 

• Fiberstar Inc - Citri-Fi 100

Best Savoury / Meat Innovation 

• Roquette - NUTRALYS® T70S

Best Sustainability Innovation 

• Cargill - Affordable finance for cocoa farmer cooperatives

Lifetime Achievement Award 

• Dr. Daryl B. Lund

New Scientist Award 

• Dr. Xiaonan LU

For more than 25 years, Food ingredients (Fi) Europe & Natural ingredients (Ni) has provided a global platform for sourcing ingredients, knowledge and solutions for food and beverages. The three-day exhibition is regarded as one of the most influential and important events of the entire industry. Many exhibitors have already confirmed their participation at the next edition in Frankfurt, 28-30 November 2017, including leading companies such as Cargill, Brenntag, ADM, DSM, Naturex and many more. For more information, visit http://www.fi-europe.eu/

About Food ingredients Global - The trusted route to market since 1986 

Food ingredients was launched in Utrecht, The Netherlands, in 1986. Its portfolio of live events, extensive data, digital solutions and high-level conferences are now established throughout the world and provide regional and global platforms for all stakeholders, in the food ingredients industry. Over 500,000 people have attended our shows over the years with billions of Euros worth of business created as a result. With over 25 years of excellence, our events, digital solutions and supporting products, deliver a proven route to market, with a truly global audience. For more information about the Food ingredients portfolio please visit: http://www.fi-europe.eu/PM. For more information about press and for press registration please visit: http://www.figlobal.com/fieurope/press/.

About UBM EMEA 

UBM EMEA connects people and creates opportunities for companies across five continents to develop new business, meet customers, launch new products, promote their brands and expand their markets. Through premier brands such as Routes, CPhI, IFSEC, Ecobuild, Seatrade, and many others, UBM EMEA exhibitions, conferences, awards programs, publications, websites and training and certification programs are an integral part of the marketing plans of companies across seven industry sectors.

UBM EMEA is committed to the continual improvement of sustainability 

To ensure long term profitability, UBM EMEA aims to be a leader in sustainable business, aligning all key business decisions with our sustainability strategy. UBM EMEA sees it as fundamental that we are conscious of the impact that our actions have on the environment and the communities in which we operate. UBM EMEA strives to manage its impact by ensuring that the principles of sustainability are at the core of all our activities. A corner stone to our journey towards sustainability is our certification to the ISO 20121 Sustainable Event Management System. UBM EMEA is one of the first major organisers to successfully implement and certify our sustainable event management system against the International Standard ISO 20121.

SOURCE UBM EMEA