Applied Food Sciences (AFS) is proud to receive the Sello Chakra (Chakra Seal), a certification from the Amazonian Kichwa communities of Ecuador, in recognition of its integral role in sourcing raw material for its guayusa extract. This recognition reflects AFS’s multi-faceted commitment to ethical and responsible ingredient sourcing, which includes sustainable growing, socially responsible sourcing, and full traceability, it says. “With this certification, AFS strengthens our commitment to deliver high-quality, sustainable guayusa extract to the global market,” said Chris Fields, chief science officer of AFS, in a statement. Guayusa is a caffeine-containing holly species native only to the upper Amazon basin of Ecuador, Columbia and Peru. Applied Food Sciences supplies guayusa to the natural products industry with its patented, organic extract called AmaTea Max, which is becoming increasingly popular in coffee alternatives, functional beverages and nootropic supplements. The Chakra Seal, developed by Corporación Chakra, is a participatory guarantee system that highlights the importance of sustainable, female-led, and biodiverse agriculture.

TraceGains, a leading provider of compliance, quality and innovation solutions for the food and beverage (F&B) industry, announced the launch of its Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) solution for material compliance and lot-level ingredient quality control. Purpose-built to streamline Certificate of Analysis (COA) processing to ensure a product’s compliance in terms of quality, performance and safety, TraceGains’ IDP eliminates the need for manual processes while improving accuracy and operational efficiency across workflows, the company says. “Our AI-driven solution eliminates the inefficiencies of manual data verification, empowering brands to proactively manage supply chain quality and compliance,” said Paul Bradley, senior director of product marketing at TraceGains, in a statement. Built on OpenAI’s foundation model, and trained and validated against global F&B industry COAs, IDP delivers superior accuracy and reliability, even as COA formats evolve, according to the company. Large-scale brands processing thousands of COAs monthly spend countless days and hours relying on manual inefficient and error-prone methods. TraceGains IDP improves the process by automatically reviewing inbound COAs against required specifications, flagging potential issues where additional human oversight is needed. In time-in-motion studies, IDP eliminated the average 12-minute per-page manual setup previously required, drastically reducing implementation times while ensuring data integrity and compliance.

Symrise is relaunching its beverage incubator Califormulations and renaming the brand into bWorks. This step completes the evolution from a partial investment into a full acquisition over recent years. Since 2019, Symrise has been delivering end-to-end beverage innovation to consumer-packaged goods (CPG) companies and their brands. bWorks now builds on the existing legacy of innovative and trustworthy beverage solutions, the company says. It is expanding its services as an incubation partner with the unique capacity to support both small-scale and large-scale production. In its capacity as beverage incubator, bWorks offers end-to-end solutions from concept to market-ready products. It is leveraging consumer insights, winning flavors, rapid prototyping, as well as agile manufacturing. “Customers can obtain limited-edition runs, line extensions, regional or national launches, or long-term productions from us,” stated Fernando Levy, senior director of Beverages BU NA. “bWorks adapts to customer needs through our bundle services and longstanding flavor expertise.” As a premier solution turnkey partner, bWorks will continue to support customers with beverage innovation across three beverage-focused locations within the United States in Teterboro, N.J., Columbus, Ga., and Laguna Beach, Calf. The manufacturing site in Columbus, provides agility with run capabilities ranging from 10,000 to 100,000 cases per SKU.