NCGA
CEO Helps Cut Ribbon at New Z-Trim Production Facility (8-27-04)
Innovative
research has led to the development and commercialization of hundreds
of consumer items derived from corn, ranging from well-known products
like ethanol to new merchandise such as plates and comforters. Now
FiberGel Technologies Inc. is adding another product to the ever-expanding
list of corn-based consumer items – a zero-calorie fat substitute
known as Z-Trim.
This week, National Corn
Growers Association CEO Rick Tolman participated in a ribbon-cutting
ceremony for a new Circle Group Holdings Inc. production facility
in Mundelein, Ill., that will generate 1 million pounds of Z-Trim
annually. In addition to providing consumers with a new healthier
food ingredient, Z-Trim may help create another niche market for
corn, he said.
“The Z-Trim product
serves as another example of the limitless potential of corn,”
Tolman said, adding that the product is made by extracting fiber
from corn bran. “Corn is being used in more than 600 consumer
products to date, and that number keeps growing every year.”
By using Z-Trim, an insoluble
fiber that goes through the body without being digested, food manufacturers
and consumers can replace up to 50 percent of the fat in their food,
while maintaining the same taste and texture characteristics of
full-fat foods, according to FiberGel Technologies. Company officials
say Z-Trim will help Americans lose weight without drastically altering
their diets.
“It’s ironic
that uninformed critics have been wrongly blaming corn in the form
of high fructose corn syrup for this country’s obesity problem,
when in fact corn may actually hold part of the solution,”
Tolman said. “The public wants healthier foods and it’s
exciting to see that food manufacturers are turning to corn as an
answer to this demand.”
At the ribbon-cutting
event, the company served lasagna, garlic bread, cheese cake, brownies,
cookies and ice cream all made with the patented fat replacement
product. “The foods they served really didn’t taste
any different than if they’d been made with traditional fats,”
Tolman said. “And they had significantly less calories.”
The $3-million plant
will produce Z-Trim in the forms of powder, emulsion, gel and Z-Trim
blends, allowing the company to sell the product to food companies
or directly to consumers. The product was invented by the U.S. Department
of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agriculture Research Service and is
exclusively marketed by FiberGel Technologies and its parent company,
Circle Group Holdings Inc.
Also on hand at the ribbon-cutting
were: Dr. Richard Greene, USDA; Dr. Adrianna Hewings, USDA; Illinois
State Sens. Kathy Ryg and Terry Link; Rep. Phil Crane (R-Ill.);
Brenda Sherwood, representative of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich;
and Z-Trim national spokesperson Cory Everson.
For more information
on Z-Trim, go to www.ztrim.com.