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USA food maker American Delight has been chosen as the winner of the prestigious SIAL Middle East Innovation Award, for its canned fishless tuna.
The award was presented to the Georgia-based company at a gala ceremony last night during the food and beverage trade exhibition SIAL Middle East, which concludes tomorrow (Tuesday). The winning product was on display alongside its shortlisted competitors and 70 of the most innovative food products from around the world at the exhibition’s Innovation Observatory.
Thirty one food and beverage products were shortlisted to win the award by a jury of independent food professionals, chaired by Xavier Terlet, CEO of the global food industry consultants, XTC World Innovation.
Terlet said that the SIAL Middle East Innovation Observatory had a truly global appeal this year, with products coming from 14 countries, including three from the UAE.
“It was very difficult for us to select the final winner this year because almost every product provided something new to the consumer,” said Terlet.
“We chose the Fishless Canned Tuna from American Delight because it is a 100% natural tuna substitute product made from vegetables and is ideal for vegetarians or for people who don’t want to eat tuna for ecological and ethical reasons. I think this product will have big potential all over the world.”
The shortlisted products at the SIAL Innovation Observatory were selected against specific food attributes that included health aspects, taste, ethics, convenience and appearance, as well as the level of innovation involved in developing the product, including the manufacturing process and ingredients.
Added Terlet: “One of the points we noticed this year at the SIAL Innovation Award was that there was a huge international variety of products coming from countries that had never been represented before. The other was the high quality of innovation of products – there was a strong focus on tastes and textures with new spices and unexpected flavours.
“We are also seeing a lot of exotic foods that fuse together different cultures, while many focused on providing health benefits for the heart, children’s growth, bone health and digestion.”
The UAE finalists for the SIAL Innovation Award included Canned Camel Cocktail Sausage from Gulf Meat Products, Benecol Milk from Al Ain Dairy, and Specialised Baklawa from Al Dar Sweets.
Held in strategic partnership with Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA), SIAL Middle East is the region’s fastest growing business platform for the food, drink and hospitality industries. The three-day event is part of SIAL Group, the world’s largest network of professional B2B food exhibitions which include SIAL Paris, SIAL China, SIAL Canada, SIAL Brazil, and SIAL ASEAN in the Philippines.
Now in its fourth year, the three-day event opened yesterday, and has grown by 20 per cent year-on-year in terms of exhibitor numbers, exhibition space, and pre-registered visitors taking part.
In addition to the popular Innovation Observatory, SIAL Middle East returns with a conference, a hosted buyer programme, and La Cuisine by SIAL international chef competition, and is co-located with ITCA (International Travel Catering Association) Abu Dhabi, and the Emirates International Date Palm Festival.
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