Innovative Insect Ingredients

About

C-fu FOODS INC uses patent pending food science to extract and restructure the proteins from insects into a variety of versatile and functional food ingredients for B2B supply. We have two general product categories, Protein Powders and Textured Insect Protein products. In Protein Powders we have two product lines: The first is regular insect protein powder; an insoluble fortificant, made by roasting and finely milling whole insects. It is most commonly used in protein bars and other baked goods. Complete nutritional data is available upon request, it has ~65% protein and high levels of B12. This ingredient has been commercialized however, there is significant room for growth. Our second protein powder is a patent pending ingredient, called, Insect Protein Concentrate (IPC). Having learnt the major detractions to regular cricket flour/powder from insect food brands, we developed a soluble protein powder that unlocks beverage applications, improves textures in bars and baked goods and can even provide some egg replacement functionality in baked snacks. A complete nutritional profile as well amino acid profile is available upon request, generally, it is very similar nutritionally to regular cricket flour/powder. Additionally due to its processing method, spray drying, it is lighter in colour and incredibly fine. It is worth noting that a by-product of IPC production is regular insect flour/powder, allowing for cost-savings to company who purchase both our soluble and insoluble protein powders. This ingredient has been proven technically feasible through repeated small scale production and demand from insect food brands is significant, however, this ingredient has not yet been made commercially available. Click the link below to view comparison videos  Solubility Side by Side - Cricket Flour v IPC Textured Insect Protein (TIP), are our second, patent-pending, product category, and are only available from C-fu FOODS INC. TIP is a dramatic change in the way edible insects are processed for ingredient supply, but most impressive is its ability versatility. TIP can function as a standalone meat analogue, delivering meaty patties and sausages or provide seamless meat extension for example, 50-50 split cricket chicken nuggets. It is formulated to have the same amount of protein as ground beef, but half the saturated fat and one third less the cholesterol of ground beef and when made from crickets can have close to three times the B12 in beef. TIP is presently used by, One Hop Kitchen INC (OHK), a B2C sister company of C-fu FOODS INC, that manufactures acidified tomato Bolognese sauces for North American markets. OHK currently has 2 SKUs one is made using cricket TIP and the second mealworm TIP. This TIP has been specifically formulated for OHK for the purposes of: price, nutrition, and ensuring a free-from sensitive label. TIP can also be formulated to ensure a smooth texture in textural hyper-sensitive foods like ice cream where it functions as an egg and partial cream replacer. TIP can also be used in baking applications as an egg replacer provided ‘buttery’ dairy-egg-soy and gluten free baked snacks. TIP is a moist ingredient with a 28 day fresh, 1 year frozen shelf life, being a moist ingredient its per kg cost is significantly lower than powdered products. Technical and Commercial feasibility of TIP have been achieved with limited commercialization in North American markets. TIP production also has the potential for by-products such as regular insect flours/powders and most importantly, a soluble, non-turbid protein powder perfect to RTD and RTM sports nutrition beverages. This by-product is only available to customers ordering TIP at scale, it has been proven technically and commercially feasible but not yet commercialized. All ingredients can be made from any edible insect species however demand for most ingredients is predominantly for crickets. There are many cricket species and we proudly use Acheta Domesticus (House Crickets) species as we find this has the lightest colour and flavour, especially compared to Gryllodes Sigillatus, (Banded Crickets) which have a very dark colour and strong rancid / malty flavour.