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Technical

Parker Products has an active team of R&D professionals who develop new products and work with customers to ensure that our products meet their technical requirements. This page covers some of our key technical capabilities.

September 29, 2017

WHITE PAPER: Chef-Driven Snacks

Snacking has become a larger part of the American diet; a recent report by the NPD Group forecasts snacking to grow by 12 percent by 2024, continuing a trajectory that has been underway for several years. As consumers eat more snacks—including as meal replacements—their expectations for the quality and flavor […]

Technical Capabilities

High Heat

Parker offers numerous bakestable ingredients for both pre- and post-bake application. Our inclusions can be made to preserve excellent piece identity, or to melt out as a source of flavor. Bakestable items include our proprietary Droplet™, Crunchlet™, and Soflet™ inclusions, as well as our popular bakestable toffee, which performs well even in very high heat environments.

High Moisture

Many of our ingredients are made with a moisture barrier to ensure good performance and sensory attributes in high-moisture environments like a beverage or ice cream. We offer products that can suspend in liquids or dissolve out, as
required for your desired application.

Natural and Free-from

In addition to being a peanut-free facility, Parker offers all-natural, organic, and allergen-free ingredients, including gluten-free items. Our product line is 100 percent PHO-free, and we also provide non-GMO and preservative-free items.

Grind Sizes

We offer a variety of grind sizes to suit your applications. Our technical team can work with you to ensure that you specify the right size for your needs.

Packaging

Our packaging options range from 500-pound drums down to single-serving portion packs, shaker jars, and tubs. Products can be packed for dry, frozen, and refrigerated storage.

Food Safety

Parker’s food safety programs include kill step validation studies, environmental pathogen monitoring, and external kill step validation of inbound materials. We are an SQF Edition 8 certified facility, and possess other certifications including QAI Certified Organic, and audits from ASI, Cook, and Thurber.

Parker's Kill Step Validation

Step 1

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To simulate a worst-case scenario, test products are inoculated with KF streptococcus agar to at least 6 logs per gram. This validates that the cooking process will mitigate potential biological risks.

Step 2

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Ingredients run through our normal cook lines using “edge case” situations (lowest heat, shortest cook time) with oversight from an outside lab.

Step 3

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The cooked test products are sent to an outside lab for evaluation of the bacteria content.

Step 4

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The lab verifies that Parker’s process achieves a reduction of Salmonella by a minimum of 5 logs in the product. Parker continues to pursue periodic kill step validation studies to ensure ongoing food safety.