Quintus Technologies, Columbus, Ohio, announced the launch of its new North American Application Center. Under the leadership of Ngoc Phan, an experienced high-pressure processing (HPP) expert, the Center will assist food and beverage processors with the development of preservative-free, good-for-you products that today’s consumers are demanding. The Application Center’s menu of services spans the entire HPP development process, including optimized product formulation, packaging, in-house pathogen validation, shelf-life studies along with assistance in HACCP implementation and regulatory compliance. In both scope and pace, evaluation and support offerings are geared to accelerate the speed at which processors bring new HPP products to market, the company says. An open house is planned for late April.    

Zhucheng Haotian Pharma Co. (ZCGT), a producer, supplier and full-service solutions provider of premium plant-based natural ingredients, has changed its name to HOWTIAN. Incorporated in 1999, the company, located in Zhucheng Shandong, China, began as a small manufacturer of inositol, a versatile health ingredient that’s part of the vitamin B family. Today, the company is one of the largest naturally processed stevia companies with an ingredient portfolio that includes SoPure Stevia, PureQQ Pyrroloquinoline Quinone, baicalin and vitamin E powder. The new corporate brand name reflects the company’s global expanded footprint and a strengthened dedication to sustainability, it says.

EverGrain Ingredients, St. Louis, reports that it is among the first global plant-based protein suppliers to achieve the Upcycled Food Association’s (UFA) certification. This distinction is a result of the ingredient company’s upcycling brewer’s spent barley into nutritious, sustainable proteins and fibers, it says. The UFA certification, which launched in 2021, will enable food and beverage manufacturers to place that claim on its packaging. “We started our journey in 2013, long before upcycling was a trend, with the goal of unlocking every grain of potential in our barley to have a positive impact on people and planet,” said Gregory Belt, EverGrain CEO, in a statement. “We are transforming spent barley — what we, at EverGrain, call saved barley — into one of the world’s most sustainable, accessible, plentiful sources of plant-based protein and fiber.” In other news, this summer, EverGrain is due to come online with a scaled facility out of St. Louis, where it will produce EverPro, a soluble plant-based protein that is highly compatible with pea protein, it states. 

Minneapolis-based Cargill named four new leaders to its executive team. Jennifer Hartsock is its new chief information and digital officer. She previously served as chief information officer and was a member of the executive leadership team at Baker Hughes, where she led the merger of Baker Hughes and GE Oil & Gas technology systems and processes. Roger Watchorn will lead the company’s Agriculture Supply Chains business, which also includes the company’s Ocean Transportation and World Trading Group. Ross Hamou-Jennings was appointed chair of Asia Pacific where he will lead the global Trade & Capital Markets (TCM) business from Asia. In this new role, he will oversee the company’s customer-led strategy in Asia, as well as its Metals, Risk Management and TCM businesses. Stephanie Lundquist has been appointed the company’s chief human resources officer. She spent 16 years with leading retailer and Cargill customer, Target, most recently leading the food and beverage business.