GOOD HEMP, a leading UK hemp food and drink company, has launched a unique hemp cream designed to promote health and sustainability in plant-based food production. The product is the world’s first dairy-free hemp cream concentrate, according to the company, which aims to revolutionise the fast-growing plant-based food and drink market.
The hemp cream is designed for high temperature (UHT) and extended shelf life applications, quite different from hemp oil, which is suitable for low temperature applications. It has only a light flavour, which allows it to be used in sufficient proportions in a wide variety of formulations so that the resulting formulations benefit from existing marketing and labelling opportunities in terms of health, sustainability and the environment.
Hemp ingredients add value to food and beverages in two key ways: they are nutrient-rich and environmentally sustainable. Hemp seeds are rich in bioavailable omega-3, -6 and -9 fatty acids (including GLA, the active ingredient in evening primrose oil) and provide good fats that have a positive effect on the heart, brain, skin, hair and immune system. Hemp seeds can also produce protein products containing all 20 amino acids, including the 9 essential amino acids. Hemp seeds are also rich in fibre and provide a wide range of vitamins and minerals.
Hemp is an environmentally friendly crop that has a growth cycle of only 100 days. It needs no pesticides and binds almost four times more CO2 than trees. The new cream produced by GOOD HEMP is a pure natural product, free of allergens and rich in polyunsaturated fats. It is free from enzymatic changes and is not converted into free sugars in the body. The product has a wide range of applications and can be used to make vegan-friendly drinks, milk alternatives, desserts, yogurts, cheeses, ready meals and ice cream.
David Shaw, Good Hemp’s managing director, says: “This is a remarkable product that we are now making available to all plant-based food and drink manufacturers. It’s a pure, clean tasting cream made from sustainable hemp that allows manufacturers to use the added nutritional and environmental value of hemp in their products while achieving the desired flavour profile.”
Paul Skipworth, chairman of Good Hemp, added: “We are thrilled that this unique hemp-based ingredient, developed at our state-of-the-art facility in Devon, is available to the plant-based food and drink market. With the benefits of 20 years of research and development, we now act as a business-to-business ingredient supplier, producing hemp-based food and drink products under our own consumer brand, Good Hemp, including plant-based milk alternatives, oils, a range of protein powders and fibre enhancement products.”
