Growth & Jobs | CFF showcases innovative baking solutions at ADM-JF Mills Baking Seminar

CARIBBEAN FLAVOURS and Fragrances (CFF), a subsidiary under the Derrimon Trading Group, presented at the annual Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) Jamaica Flour Mills Baking Seminar. The two-day seminar, held on June 25 and 26 at the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at the University of Technology, also featured local bakers from various bakeries, both large and small. The event’s focus areas included ingredient functionality in breads, techniques for different types of breads, shelf life, and the versatility of JF Mills cake mix.

The seminar was hosted by ADM, a multinational food processing and commodities trading corporation, in collaboration with US Wheat Associates.

CFF in 2023 expanded its product portfolio with new concepts and solutions to improve dough texture and shelf life of products, while maintaining the nutritive value. CFF’s extensive portfolio has helped to increase the quality, texture, shape, and visual appeal of baked goods manufactured in the island, extending their shelf life in the market, which marked a significant game-changing development in the industry.

Presenting at the seminar was CFF’s Allison Phipps, business development officer, who highlighted the company’s product offering, which includes enzymes, emulsifiers, and antimicrobials — a range of all-natural, clean-label, friendly ingredient alternatives for bakeries. The team also showcased a variety of bakery ingredients from their product line-up, explaining what they are, how they work, the best ways to use them, their functionality, and their shelf life. The benefits highlighted included improved bread quality, shape, appearance, crumb softness, freshness, and texture. Retaining freshness throughout the shelf life was noted as an attractive attribute for both retailers and consumers, enabling longer storage and distribution times.

“We are happy to be part of the ADM seminar. Events like these are especially important because they seek to enhance not just the quality of the products our country produces, but also the quality of the bakers through enhanced knowledge and skills. We would have launched our new ingredients late last year, and since then they have been performing excellently. Customers have provided positive feedback, particularly for the PowerFresh Bun Enzyme, which significantly increases softness and extends shelf life up to 25 days. Additionally, our cultured wheat has been praised for limiting mould growth three times longer than chemical preservatives,” Phipps shared.

Participants were able to apply theory to practice, kneading perfect doughs based on the information shared during the seminar, emphasising the event’s aim to further educate Jamaican bakers by enhancing their knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Reaffirming the commitment to providing quality products to the Jamaican bakers, ADM-Jamaica Flour Mills Managing Director Derrick Nembhard stated, “Jamaica Flour Mills is committed to supporting Jamaican bakers by facilitating information-sharing sessions, such as the annual Baking Seminar. Through these seminars we are able to interact with our bakers, while providing for them opportunities to improve their skills. Over the years, we have seen where the number of persons participating have grown, which tells us we are doing something right. We also use the positive feedback received from the evaluation exercise as an indicator that the participants appreciate what is being done. We were happy to have given CFF the opportunity to present solutions for our bakers, and hope that as a supplier of complementary products the partnership continues. CFF’s product offering is integral to the baking industry.”