By Dr. Bernhard Reichenbach

One of the news in this issue (page 7) highlights the growing trend towards healthier diets, especially in confectionery: Barry Callebaut and FlavaNaturals have announced a partnership to develop chocolates with a particularly high content of flavonoids. Flavonoids have antioxidant properties and are therefore intended to delay aging processes and prevent the development of diseases. The premium chocolate bars of the two partner companies shall contain five times as much cocoa flavonoids as ordinary dark chocolate.

Cocoa and chocolate are also featured in our special section: we present current research findings on the production of premium chocolate with a high cocoa content and point out which saving potentials offer optimized filling quantities for chocolate bars. Another important topic of our special is plant optimisation and mould protection in chocolate production.

In our series “sp portrait” we introduce the company Krüger & Salecker. The renowned manufacturer of machines for the confectionery industry this year celebrates its 70th anniversary. The special feature of the machines from the northern German town of Bad Schwartau: they treat the ingredients of products such as cereal bars particularly gently.

Our review of trade fair Anuga FoodTec 2018 is also interesting: the leading international supplier fair for the food and beverage industry saw a significant increase in visitors to a new record of more than 50,000 people. One of the focal points of the event was the future-oriented topic of resource efficiency.